2. pc-audio
  3. 1088427969

Audiophile USB to PCM

I have an excellent upsampler and dac (dCS Purcell/Delius) and am looking for the very best USB to PCM conversion. So far, I've tried SlimDevices Squeezebox, and Xitel Pro Hi-Fi link.

Both are very good, but I was wondering if there are any other options I should be considering. Both the Sutherland USB Preamp and the Wavelength USB Dac convert to analog. I'd like something of similar quality that stops short of the digital to analog conversion so that I can let the dCS gear do that.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

harry
128x128hbrandt
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Gonglee wrote:
"How is transit stock? Pretty good quality?"

Not really. Only has Toslink output.

Why is the mod necessary and how do we do it?

To eliminate the Toslink output and improve the power and clock. Really difficult mod unless you are a professional reworker.

Also, can you explain how to upsample in foobar or itune?

This is explained on my website on the "Computer Audio" webpage: http://www.empiricalaudio.com . All of the links are there. If you need ASIO for Foobar2000, just send me an email and I will send it to you.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer/modder
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Kfreichen - the modded Transit is a product that I sell. It has a modified Superclock3, improved power, including Black Gates and the Toslink is replaced with coax output. I chose the Transit because it has some of the best drivers, does not require switching to do 24/96 and passes most all formats, including MP3 and AC3. more info is at:
http://www.empiricalaudio.com

I'm not the only modder using the Transit. My mods are the most technical though. Several manufacturers use this as their reference source.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Edsilva - I found the Edirol UA-25 to be fairly good, but great after I modded it. I only used the Edirol in "advanced" mode to output 24/96, which uses a custom driver on the PC rather than the windows driver, which is terrible.

If the Waveterminal passes 44.1, then this would make sense. It must use a custom driver.

The driver makes the biggest difference in sound, but it is also important to bypass windows Kmixer with ASIO plug-in for Foobar2000. If you dont have ASIO plug-in for Foobar2000 just email me and I will send it to you. You can tell if you are going through Kmixer by bringing up the windows volume controls and see if any of the sliders affect the volume while you are playing music. If they do, then you are still going through Kmixer. You need ASIO.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer/modder
nugent@empiricalaudio.com
edesilva
768 posts
 
I double checked, I am using the ASIO with foobar... The waveterminal does not upsample, however.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Edsilva - have you had much trouble with pops and ticks with ASIO and Foobar?

Is it the ASIO .dll or ASIO4ALL?
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