Recommended me USB DAC

banja · 1 May 2014 at 01:45

smogsy said:
dont be silly Digital Signal is Digital signal.

Exactly my point. You haven't entered the murky world. Try just this one thread for starters.

It really gets cooking around page 17 when a poster called CommenTater has the audacity to enter the conversation armed with knowledge, experience and a bit of science (read post 423 and 446). He's nothing but polite, but surprisingly he's almost run off the forum by butthurt audiophiles - some of whom it's obvious just keep spending more and more £££££ on different USB cables, forever chasing that perfect tight bass, detail, timing, clarity and open high end.

There are also other guys on such threads who seem to have a wealth of technical knowledge which proves USB cables can and do make an audible difference. Some of these guys sell these USB cables because they believe in them so much. They sell them for £££££££££.

rids57 · 1 May 2014 at 03:48

That thread is hilarious, I think my favourite is this...

There is a big difference between you (Tater) and CG. He is willing to listen and understand that not everything is explained by theory. You could really make a valuable contribution if you spent some of that retired free time listening to different cables.

That shows the futility of arguing with fanatical audiophiles

banja · 1 May 2014 at 04:13

"Did the burn in lead to significant improvement?"

Another gem ^

They are nutcases, totally consumed by confirmation bias. They refuse to accept that blind tests could prove or disprove that USB cables sound different. They refuse to provide any measurable evidence, of any kind other than subjective listening, that might show differences in audible quality between USB cables.

Yet if someone comes forward with rational opinions and knowledge about how digital data is actually transferred, including a willingness to be convinced otherwise if it can be shown, they get very angry and act insulted.

I think they believe that audio down a USB cable is actually a digital representation of audio, and not simply data. Plus I think many of them, being middle aged men with more money than sense, are just set in their ways in life and don't like being wrong. Especially when they've spent the kind of money on a stereo gear which could buy you a house.

And this is from an online retailer of specialised audio USB cables:

There are differences between various USB cables and for high end systems it becomes important to have a cable of suitable quality. The data stream is not like the information sent to a printer by a computer - it is not sufficient for the 1s and 0s to merely arrive in the right order without error; they must also arrive at the right time. Any cable which conveys high speed data will cause variable delay in the rise and fall times between voltage levels corresponding to the 1s and 0s. This variation is called 'Jitter' and it has been shown to affect the perceived quality of the audio data when reproduced.

rids57 · 1 May 2014 at 04:44

with the ludicrous prices they are charging it's hardly surprising that some manufacturers are happy to invent some science to support their product.

DataVampire · 1 May 2014 at 06:08

I thought the only difference came into play when you consider the length of the cables themselves ?.
but this is coming from someone who has no idea lol, I generaly use the cables that come with an item that uses it.

Unless ofc I need a longer cable, this I have done a few times, but I would never spend loads of money on a digital cable.

Cookeh · 1 May 2014 at 14:05

RavenXXX2 said:
Would the EHP-O2D be wasted with 595s.

Nope. Would improve them actually, imo - add a bit more warmth and character as well as tightening them up a bit.

HazardO · 1 May 2014 at 15:05

You won't be wanting any of these then..

http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina31.htm

rids57 · 1 May 2014 at 16:23

Haha - that is insane, specially the line about them now being in ziploc bags instead of jars because the response was more linear.

HazardO · 1 May 2014 at 16:44

Quite, cling film would probably produce even more clarity.

BananaDunka · 7 May 2014 at 16:22

Is this real life o.0

Cookeh · 7 May 2014 at 16:52

HazardO said:
You won't be wanting any of these then..

http://www.machinadynamica.com/machina31.htm

What on earth. Unbelievable.

smogsy · 7 May 2014 at 18:08

just recieved EHD-02 much better sound than the STX indeed.

rids57 · 7 May 2014 at 18:21

dammit, you're going to cost me money now then because I love the sound of the STX but if you say it's much better I am going to have to investigate

smogsy · 7 May 2014 at 18:24

had to buy a new cable to as i went to a 6.5mm but its epic build qaulity & sound.

only thing i dont like is:
power cable should be on the back not the front!

it would be to quiet with no amp though so i got the amped version

got mine from a rainforest
186 quid + 7 pound delivery
new akg cable 20 quid

costly but could sell my stx if i wanted now

rids57 · 7 May 2014 at 18:34

I'm still a bit dubious about positional audio from games that don't have a dedicated headphone driver - without dolby headphone they will be limited to straight stereo.

smogsy · 7 May 2014 at 18:37

going to be giving gaqmes a go now shall let you know,

but never had issues with my stx in 2 channel mode with dolby off.

using AKG K702s

rids57 · 7 May 2014 at 18:59

You can actually buy a version of the O2 and O2D with the power and input on the back, plus it has a full size headphone socket...

http://www.headnhifi.com/O2-ODAC-fully-modded

Expensive but shows that it can be done.

smogsy · 7 May 2014 at 19:12

happy with mine now, played titranfall with music on full past too could still hear every position so no problems their

Cookeh · 8 May 2014 at 01:30

rids57 said:
I'm still a bit dubious about positional audio from games that don't have a dedicated headphone driver - without dolby headphone they will be limited to straight stereo.

Of course the headphones you pair it to will have an impact as positional accuracy is impacted by bass, mid and treble levels, as well as soundstage, sound presentation, width and clarity. That being said, as I recall you have DT990s which are pretty darn good with regards to positional accuracy and as such I really would not worry about a lack of positional audio.

RavenXXX2 · 8 May 2014 at 06:21

smogsy said:
just recieved EHD-02 much better sound than the STX indeed.

Can you describe how it is better.