Forum DAC Test Application.
- Thread starter TwsT
- Start date
Silverstones arrived today. Have not tried the DAC but had a quick demo of the 03 before going to work and it's really nice sounding. Had a quick go with the Mixamp and they pair really well. If my impressions stay the same I'd probably be looking to invest in one because it went really well with my gear.
Full review of both to come when I have a better idea.
Full review of both to come when I have a better idea.
Caporegime
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- 21 Jun 2006
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Mine arrived 10 mins before I had to leave for work. So basically I had enough time to see what it was before leaving.
Will hook it up tonight and have a blast.
Are they used? (been broken in) or new?
Do op-amps need burn in? I think it's only fair I use it with HD600's and Q701's first then other cheaper sets I own later on in the week.
Will hook it up tonight and have a blast.
Are they used? (been broken in) or new?
Do op-amps need burn in? I think it's only fair I use it with HD600's and Q701's first then other cheaper sets I own later on in the week.
Currently listening to Xanadu by Rush in glorious 24bit 96KHz HD Flac (works out to 3079kbps - eat that MP3 
) on my HD 650's - Can't stop grinning
The STU is working flawlessly, downloaded the Win 8.1 drivers fired it up, installed and rebooted - job done.
I'd have reported in earlier except I didn't know it was coming and I picked this afternoon to clean my Q-Pad mech keyboard - so all the keys had been pulled off.
) on my HD 650's - Can't stop grinning The STU is working flawlessly, downloaded the Win 8.1 drivers fired it up, installed and rebooted - job done.
I'd have reported in earlier except I didn't know it was coming and I picked this afternoon to clean my Q-Pad mech keyboard - so all the keys had been pulled off.
I have used all of them i have probably used the STU and the Silverstones the most
The essence one was fantastic but too big to have out I was terrified of damaging it on my cluttered desk.
Glad it all arrived ok can't wait to here your thoughts
In all I've ran them all for a good few hours at reasonable volumes.
The essence one was fantastic but too big to have out I was terrified of damaging it on my cluttered desk.
Glad it all arrived ok can't wait to here your thoughts
In all I've ran them all for a good few hours at reasonable volumes.
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Associate
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Any more thoughts on the STU or Silverstone stuff?
Associate
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Sweet. I'll definitely be interested in your impressions.
On a side note, I'm very interested in what the big boys like Asus (and Creative) have to bring to the audio enthusiast market. The STU is going to face some pretty stiff competition at it's price point (Matrix Mini-i Pro anyone?).
On a side note, I'm very interested in what the big boys like Asus (and Creative) have to bring to the audio enthusiast market. The STU is going to face some pretty stiff competition at it's price point (Matrix Mini-i Pro anyone?).
Yes ninja pirate you're right.
whilst my experience is lacking in this field at the moment it's getting better. I couldn't really tell anyone why they should spend 299.99 instead of the 169.99 on the EPH-O2Di
Apart from it supporting ASIO properly
I really liked the finish of the STU and found the safety mechanism to stop you changing the gain with headphones plugged in nice.
I think with the Silverstone it's just important to get it out there they've come from zero audio background they have only the fact they make damned good cases and power supplies on their side. but when it's a combined price of £320 for the set people don't just jump in although I have sold a pair now. Sales are picking up and i'm aiming to maintain a steady growth that might be encouraged by these Audio PRO ADDON speakers I'll be listing before christmas.
Obviously for these guys it's a chance to test some kit for free always nice to get some perspective.
whilst my experience is lacking in this field at the moment it's getting better. I couldn't really tell anyone why they should spend 299.99 instead of the 169.99 on the EPH-O2Di
Apart from it supporting ASIO properly
I really liked the finish of the STU and found the safety mechanism to stop you changing the gain with headphones plugged in nice.
I think with the Silverstone it's just important to get it out there they've come from zero audio background they have only the fact they make damned good cases and power supplies on their side. but when it's a combined price of £320 for the set people don't just jump in although I have sold a pair now.
Sales are picking up and i'm aiming to maintain a steady growth that might be encouraged by these Audio PRO ADDON speakers I'll be listing before christmas. Obviously for these guys it's a chance to test some kit for free always nice to get some perspective.
Associate
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I'm sure with a deep wallet and an understanding partner you'll get plenty of experience in the personal audio world 
I think the only real advantage the likes of Asus and Silverstone have is that they are already well known brands in the PC market. As you said Silverstone makes some fantastic cases (I miss my old FT02...) and PC enthusiasts looking to get a decent audio setup without much knowledge/experience in the matter, may end up trusting the brands they know rather than ones they don't. The likes of Schiit and the many O2/ODAC derivatives are gaining in popularity (Schiit in particular is becoming a fairly well recognised brand thanks to their entry level products and excellent marketing), this is very easily seen on reddits /r/battlestations.
I feel like Silverstone will be competing against the likes of Asus and Creative rather than the more traditional/established audio companies purely because as you said, they are untested in the personal audio market. Asus on the other hand is competing against the audio companies since they are already fairly well established.
I guess time will tell how successful they are.
I think the only real advantage the likes of Asus and Silverstone have is that they are already well known brands in the PC market. As you said Silverstone makes some fantastic cases (I miss my old FT02...) and PC enthusiasts looking to get a decent audio setup without much knowledge/experience in the matter, may end up trusting the brands they know rather than ones they don't. The likes of Schiit and the many O2/ODAC derivatives are gaining in popularity (Schiit in particular is becoming a fairly well recognised brand thanks to their entry level products and excellent marketing), this is very easily seen on reddits /r/battlestations.
I feel like Silverstone will be competing against the likes of Asus and Creative rather than the more traditional/established audio companies purely because as you said, they are untested in the personal audio market. Asus on the other hand is competing against the audio companies since they are already fairly well established.
I guess time will tell how successful they are.
Caporegime
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I have the muses edition and wow it's built like a tank. I was curious and took the paper work it comes with out the wrapper which has some test information and certificate etc and struggled to get it back into the wrapper.
Beware rids and Ryan it's very tight and you don't want to end up tearing it I would just leave it tbh, was just graphs of how well it performs.
I'll start testing how good it sounds now. Initial thoughts are it's very well packaged and build quality looks amazing.
Beware rids and Ryan it's very tight and you don't want to end up tearing it I would just leave it tbh, was just graphs of how well it performs.
I'll start testing how good it sounds now. Initial thoughts are it's very well packaged and build quality looks amazing.
Yes ninja pirate you're right.
I think with the Silverstone it's just important to get it out there they've come from zero audio background they have only the fact they make damned good cases and power supplies on their side. but when it's a combined price of £320 for the set people don't just jump in although I have sold a pair now.
This must be that pair, I didn't realize I belonged to such an exclusive group!
Have them connected to Sennheiser HD200s and M-Audio Bx8 carbons, really enjoying the sound!
I'm far from an audiophile (just a headbanger at heart!:
) but to my ear the DAC is a vast improvement over my previous Creative X-FI soundcard (especially at handling stereo music) it's quite neutral sounding but slightly on the warm side maybe, seems to be a good match to the EB03 and Senn's. I noticed Rids mentioned Rush earlier in the thread, a band I've listened to a lot over the years, I've always been aware of the detail in their music but I'm hearing more now which is forcing me to drag out all of those old CD's I've got stashed all over the place. (still can't find 2112 though.
) Remastered versions of Queensryche's first 3 albums sound amazing too. Unfortunately I can't make any comparisons to other USB Dacs as this is my first foray away from Asus/creative sound cards as far as PC audio goes, I've had plenty of standalone hi-fi kit over the years (nothing massively high end though), my stereo CD listening until this kit arrived was mainly through my media PC (Xonar D2x sound card) or PS3 which are both hooked up to an Onkyo 875 home cinema amp and JBL-E100 floor standing speakers, assisted by a BK monolith sub!
very powerful but I definitely prefer the sound/detailing of the Silverstone/Sennheiser combination which surprises me a bit (I must be getting old!.
)Pants....missed out on this one....but going to keep an eye on the thread to see what everyone is thinking of the bits.
Currently have the original Xoner Essence STX in my computer with a pair of Senny HD555 for my normal listening
Currently have the original Xoner Essence STX in my computer with a pair of Senny HD555 for my normal listening