Are most DAC's compatible w computers?

I would imagine it will work, BUT my experience has been that the sound of the DAC is extremely dependant on the level of timing jitter coming from the transport, unless the DAC reclocks the data. If your soundcard has low jitter and a good SPDIF interface it could work well. If the soundcard has high data jitter then the DAC alone may offer very little improvement.

Reclocking in DACs under $1000 is a relatively new phenomenon, but you can achieve the same by buying a Monarchy DIP or similar jitter attenuator. They are around $100 used.

So what I'm saying is that you might find that adding the DAC makes surprisingly little difference to the sound quality, but if you were then to add a jitter reducer ala Monarchy DIP between the computer and the DAC then the sound quality will be very much better.

The least expensive reclocking DAC I am aware of is the Benchmark DAC1 at $900. This DAC is said to be quite independant of transport quality.

Straightforward. The only problem can be hum due to ground loops between the computer and DAC ground, but will not happen with all systems.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
manufacturer/modder

The short answer is "yes". If your soundcard has an S/PDIF output then you should be able to hook it up to any DAC with an S/PDIF input and it should work. Sean's points about reclocking are to the point as well. You are using your hard drive as a transport when you use your computer. If the clocking is off when it sends the signal out, and it is not compensated for in the DAC or in some kind of jitter device in between, the effect on the music can be profound. Though it may sound OK (like actual music coming out of your speakers) the potential loss will be in the PRAT aspect of the music. You may find that your foot just ain't tappin' anymore!

Either get a DAC with superb clocking, or, perhaps one of the pro-DAC's with USB option like the Apogee DAC. Rumor is that Benchmark is working on that option as well. USB is a bi-directional interface which allows clocking information to move both ways. In some cases, as I understand it, this can be of tremendous benefit in eliminating jitter. I'm not sure if this is the case with S/PDIF. If you went with a USB DAC you would be bypassing your sound card altogether.

I've been experimenting with the same technology having ripped all my CD's to a 250 gig HD. I'm currently running my laptop to an ESI Waveterminal U24 USB device, digital out via S/PDIF to my Muse Model 2+ DAC. Results are superb. I do believe the Muse does have excellent clocking. I've never tried the DAC in the Waveterminal (it does have that option), but don't imagine it's going to compare well with the Muse. I'm not sure if the Waveterminal does any jitter attenuation at all via the digital throughput - does anyone know?

Marco

I just spoke with Benchmark and they said there is no USB version coming around the corner. They said that it would be much more expensive than using the DAC1 with a simple USB/SPDIF converter like the M Audio Transit ($75), so it's not cost effective. And because the DAC-1 is jitter immune, there is no problem using the Transit with whatever digital cable one might use.

In my experience - and I am a Mac guy, not a Windows guy - it will work.

But this is also a bit like saying cables are cables and tubes are tubes. Meaning that while it will work, it is probably not the best way to get where you want to go.

There are many posts in PC Audio on the subject and also on the Asylum. To summarize, the consensus seems to be:

The computer environment, with its switching power supplies, disks, RAM etc is a nasty environment. Getting the signal out of the box before processing it is universally seen as highly desirable.

There are a number of ways to do this:

- USB out via something like Waveterminal or directly to the DAC is a universally acclaimed solution that seems to work very well for everyone regardless of operating system.

- SLIM (slimdevices.com) can be connected via either WiFi or ethernet, have a DAC built in and also offer SPDIF out

- iTunes/Air Express solutions are working for some where line of sight is practical

In general the consensus is that a wired distribution solution is preferrable to a wireless one

SPDIF is often as big a problem as anything in the chain - for this reason Mac offers optical (Toslink) outs - of course you can find ample contention about the Toslink sound - but not about the Toslink signal....

BTW while much is made of the two way nature of USB, I can't find anything in the technical descriptions that supports the theory that USB does anything about jitter - the two way function is its device communication and control protocol - take a look at wikipedia.com

There is no doubt that the way you rip is critical. Lossless or no compression and error correction are the keys - format preferences vary but Apple Lossless (iTunes) and .wav are the preferred audiophile formats. EAC and iTunes seem to be the top choices.

Jitter is not a problem in ripped material. Jitter is an artifact of the electro-optical-mechanical process called playing the CD - a by product of trying to read data from an imperfectly reflective spinning disc at ever changing speeds in real time with a motor. In contrast all a computer has to do is retrieve relatively small chunks of data relatively slowly.

The fact that they are still having "jitter-like" problems seems to be why a lot of people are starting to think that SPDIF is the weakest link in the chain. This is the appeal of the USB direct to DAC solution.

Finally there not much question as to whether you will more readily achieve a tube sound at the DAC or the preamp - consensus is that the preamp is a better and potentially less expensive place to do this. And how often is something better and cheaper...

That said, you might want to check out the much awaited Scott Nixon TubeDac with USB input due out any week now. If what you want is audio from a hard drive this is probably a better long term investment than the Cal.

Achieving excellent results from a hard drive source requires paying attention to all the usual things - power, cables, placement, room tuning etc.

You will find 100% consensus that properly executed this is an extraordinarily cost effective way to get great playback. Doing this right is equivalent to a major component upgrade.

And it is the only way to manage a large library... simply fabulous from that perspective, SLIM and iTunes are the leaders in that category

Hope this helps