USB DACs with 24/192 via USB

Jim,

There are two problems in posting a link to the TAS article on USB DACs. First, the article appears in the current issue of TAS, and the magazine's website does not include content from its current issue. Second, I believe TAS posts only reviews of specific products, not surveys or articles of general interest, so I'm not sure if the article will ever be available on the website.

If you e-mail me off-line with your address, I'll send you copies of this article and the same author's review of the Bel Canto USB Link.

To all: Sorry for the typo in my previous post. Wavelength may be innovative, but it still designs DACs, not DADs.

I think you might be able to buy the issue as a .pdf online.

I'll encapsulate what the issue has to say via two reviewers, FWIW: USB is an inferior interface, even using the better USB>SPDIF converters (which in the one reviewers estimation amounted to the Bel Canto Link, per Johnnyb53 above). Reading the issue would probably have most folks here avoiding a USB DAC or converter and seeking out Firewire, or Wireless Network solutions (which were not really addressed in that issue, but IMO also clearly superior to USB). There are quite a large number of options out there to choose from in USB DAC's and accessories. The TAS issue only touched on a very small sampling. I also wonder how the introduction of a good dejitter device in the mix may have changed things. I find it interesting that Rankin refused to include Wavelength gear - didn't he used to write for one of the rags? Has he commented over on AA as to why he declined? Did anyone read Gilbert Yeung's response to Steven Stones article?

Jax2, interesting summary of the article. You've definitely got my interest and I will download a PDF copy. I'm not married to USB and would consider other options. I believe Opticis makes a 30 meter fiber optic Firewire cable that I could run from PC to DAC. The Weiss dacs look interesting for this.

I just noticed the Berkeley dac may have an HDMI interface in the future. This is cool (for me at least) for a few reasons: 1) I already have a 30m HDMI cable run, and 2) if the jitter is OK, then HDMI would be "perfect" because HDMI supports 24/192, DSD, and Blu-Ray (I can sense the eye rolls; Blu-Ray trickling in guys; just listened to my Neal Young box set last night on the Blu-Ray player).

Marco (Jax2), the TAS article has indeed been controversial, and Gordon did answer why he withdrew his DACs from the review (questioning the competency of the reviewer). See the following threads for some more information:

Audioasylum: Did I miss the discussion re: the latest TAS article on USB DACs ...

Audioasylum: An Open Letter To Robert Harley

Audiogon: Absolute Sound Article on USB and Firewire

Hey Rene - thanks for the links. I'll check them out when I get home. I'm just getting out of a Cowboy Junkies concert! I can guess what the gist of the content of those threads might be. I won't go any further than that here, but to suggest, as I hinted at before, read some of the responses and get more information before making any knee jerk judgments and rule things out. And as always, ultimately you're the one listening - use your own ears, your own music, your own system and your own room. Take everything you read with a bag of salt, and keep in mind we're all human (and everything that goes with that). I'll ping you off the thread, Rene, and will check out your links soon.