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Dac Questions from an Analogue guy :

As you can see from my Forum name I am a vinyl enthusiast at heart but do from time to time have digital needs so to speak. Upon learning that my DAC on my old CAL LABS ICON MKII Cd player seems to be dead as there is no audio out of the RCA's I figured I would use the digital coax O/P utilizing a friends PS audio NUWAVE DAC since I have never used the digital coax out before. I figured the player was not totally dead because of the fact that when a CD was inserted into the transport all the of the CD info appeared on the player. So I gave it a shot and voila it worked with very nice results. Simple, done. My curiosity furthered me into the other connections on the unit being the USB and the optical. I gather the Optical acts as a link such as the digital coax from my CD player but the USB connection puzzled me a bit. Having looking at the specs of the DAC, it of course is capable of 16/44 audio but can also do 24/96 and 24/192. Of the 2 latter formats, how are these utilized? Through the USB say using a computer or note pad device? I did not do any research as you can see, so these questions I know are rather rudimentary. Do correct me if I am wrong, is the 24/96, DVD audio? ANyways, my whole curiosity of this is how one utilizes the USB connections and all the higher resolution audio features of this DAC. How is the overall Audio quality of these formats? What are my options if I want to delve further into this? yeah I looked on the Net and saw a huge plethera of products which confused me even more so you can say I am a bit brain lazy when it comes to this whole digital format.
I do have an Ipod with MP3's mostly for my car but I can't see that being the end to be all to be utilized with the Dac since I personally find that this overlly compressed format to be inferior. Anyways, any answers starting from 0 would be greatly appreciated.
vinylmad814
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
The best configuration is a Oct 2009 Mac Mini with a firewire external drive for the library. Only use one USB port, the one next to the one in the middle of the chassis. Ports matter. Best to replace the HDD with a SSD from otherworldcomputing.com. More details:

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/recommended-systems

USB 3 will not make any difference. The thing that makes the difference is the USB DAC or USB converter that you choose. You get what you pay for. The performance of these runs the gamut.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
orpheus10
8,668 posts
 

Vinylmad, in regard to 24/96 and 16/94, there is a big difference, but only in regard to HD downloads. 44.1 KHZ is the standard sampling rate for CD's, 96 KHZ is what you want from a HD download. That would read 24/96 for a high resolution down load, and it's better than a regular CD; as a matter of fact, it's better than "my" analog rig, although it may not be better than yours. You will have to try down loading and then play it back through your DAC to find out when you compare it to analog.

Enjoy the music.
devilboy
1,176 posts
 
Steve, I have an October 2009 Mini. I'm currently leaving the Mini via USB. Which of the five outputs do you recommend?
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
If the USB port next to the edge of the machine is #1, then you should be using #4.

BTW, I have a Hynes supply that I'm using for my 2009 Mini. Huge improvement. Its a big one, about $850-900, but the dynamics are killer good. I'll be importing them soon.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
vinylmad814 OP
62 posts
 
hello again,

So I am looking at buying a very entry level DAC no more than $500 tops. Like I said, I prefer listening to my Lp's and have invested quite a bit of money on my TT rig and Line stage but I do want to play some Cd's since I do have an older Cal Labs Cd player with a working Digital Coax. I also would like to try out some of the 24/192 music that is out there. Oh yeah and another thing,the CALABS inboard DAC has packed it in.I have seen a couple of units on EBAY that have caught my attention. One for around $400.00, the TEAC UD-H01 and a VALAB Dual WM8471 24/192 for around $340.00. Yeah I know, cheap ass units but that is what I want to spend, period. Brand wise TEAC is probably the unit that will most likely stand out the most of the 2. The Valab being an Asian offshore product will most likely raise a few red flags for most. Mind you the specs that were listed and from what I have seen by viewing the photos of the unit on EBAY, the configuration of the circuitry and the general esthetics of the Valab, makes it look quite attractive. Both units have balanced outputs which is what I need since my Preamp is a BAT tube unit. ANy thoughts on these 2 units?
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