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My First USB DAC Sounds Dull, Please Help

Greatings from Tanzania,

I finally jumped into the PC audio arena with the purchase of a Mhdt Paradisea+. However the PC/DAC combo came out very disappointing! The sound was dull and contrived. Even my wife gave it a thumb down.

This is my first try on a system with a tube stage, but don't think it should sound so lucking of high frequency signals. I switched between foobar and Windows MP11, tried a different laptop, and even connected the DAC direct to the Amp (by-passed the preamp), but to no avail.

The rest of my system is comprised of Martin Logan SL3, Bag-End Aragon 8008 BB, Aragon Aurum preamp, and Kimber cables.

I am I doing something wrong. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

I remain a believer of PC audio.
planckscale
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
DAC's vary a lot in their sound and quality. Dont believe everything you read on the forums.

One thing that is probably a big limiter here is the USB interface, which I believe is based on one of the TI PCM270X chips. These have given USB audio a bad name, but it's just the chip at fault. This is wrong chip to use for high-end audio.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
ejlif's avatar
ejlif
1,377 posts
 
I own this dac and it is not dull in the high frequencies I can guarantee that. Something else is wrong. Maybe the tube is bad?
peter_s
1,348 posts
 
I agree with Ejlif - this is a nice sounding DAC. Not the uptmost in high frequency extension, but not by any means dull and uninivolving.

Is there a transport you could use to plug into the DAC and test whether it is the USB part of the circuit or the DAC itself?
jwmazur
191 posts
 
Have you checked to see what their return policy is if you can't resolve this? I am sure they would want your complete satisfaction.
mglik
913 posts
 
I am a dealer and carry the Benchmark. Assuming you have a good DAC, for a PC you must also use a piece of software called an ASIO driver. This is the only way to bypass the operating system of the PC. You are now listening to the internal DAC of the PC and getting BAD sound because of that.
Michael
www.luckymanmediagreoup.com
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