XXHighEnd - The Ultra HighEnd Audio Player
March 29, 2024, 12:11:36 pm *
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
Did you miss your activation email?

Login with username, password and session length
News: August 6, 2017 : Phasure Webshop open ! Go to the Shop
Search current board structure only !!  
   Home   Help Search Login Register  
Pages: [1]
  Print  
Author Topic: Interesting read about PC/USB/BitPerfection/Benchmark DAC1  (Read 19456 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
soundcheck
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 43


View Profile
« on: October 15, 2007, 06:35:08 pm »

Hi folks.

I just ordered a Benchmark DAC1 for testing purposes.
During internet research around this DAC I came across this thread:

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=225363&page=2

Some of you might know the tread. I did not.

It's very long  - still I presume it'll keep you awake Wink - I guess you'll like the
discussion because it is also very much related to bitperfection, PC asf..

Let's conclude upon it later on. I am looking forward to it.

Have fun.
\Klaus
Logged
Gerner
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 128



View Profile
« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2007, 07:10:14 pm »

Cheers Klaus

Oh...interesting stuff, except for the Benchmark it self.

Had it runnig here. Sorry it didn't stay for long. (Few hours)

Gerner
Logged

Vista-Ultimate PC  -> XX version very old  -> USB -> CrazyT..soon NOS1
Troubleless playback.
soundcheck
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 43


View Profile
« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2007, 07:34:11 pm »


I'd really like to hear if the TAS1020 and the DAC prevents from audible jitter effects.
Would be fun to hear XX and other players playing equally bitperfect. (as they claim)

Beside that I'll test the active monitors (K&H 100 and Adam P11A) in fully balanced  with the DAC1

Of course I also give the DAC1 a chance to beat my DDDAC.

Finally I'll give some Linn 24/96 classic material a try.

Reasons enough to have this little piece at home for 30days.

One thing for sure this bloody PCM27XX series ( used in DDDAC and a lot of other DIY NONOS DACS as USB2I2S interface) is when it comes to jitter sensivity
extremely poor.
It can just get better- jitterwise. I hope. Soundwise -  let's see.

\Klaus
Logged
Gerner
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 128



View Profile
« Reply #3 on: October 15, 2007, 07:41:49 pm »

Fair play Klaus...

Keep us up-dated.

Gerner
Logged

Vista-Ultimate PC  -> XX version very old  -> USB -> CrazyT..soon NOS1
Troubleless playback.
soundcheck
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 43


View Profile
« Reply #4 on: October 16, 2007, 10:33:04 pm »

Hi folks.

First off all the good news.

We were not wrong.
These folks from Benchmark and similar might do measure bit-perfect streams.
Somehow they are still things they can't measure - as it seems.
XX-XP engine 1 sounds already clearly better then JRiver with KS. 
According to Benchmark there shouldn't be a difference assuming Windows is correctly configured.
I assume I managed this. Wink So - Peter keep going.

Second I tested the small Klein&Hummel 0100 against the Adam P11A. 
The P11A IMO is much better. It plays crystal clean lots of ambience.
The bass is much better. Stage is deeper and better structured. Less distorted.
Timbre is much better. Asf.
There is a PWM-amp inside the PA11 which makes of course a huge difference
compared to traditional AB-amps as they used it in the K&H.
Of course it's also hard to challenge the ADAM ART ribbon tweeter. It's really nice.

For my desk though they are a bit big. Anyhow they are smaller then the Emes
Black I had here for testing over the last two weeks.

If I compare them I'd say. The Emes is also performing quite well. The coax in the nearfield
delivers a much better soundstage then the Adam and it plays somehow more coherent .
Of course highs and timbre are much  better with the P11A.
So - I'll give the P11 some days to break in. It might improve on the cohrerence.

The Benchmark does have issues. It seems to play with the original usbaudio.sys only.
The asio.de driver doesn't recognise the DAC and under Unix I also have an issue to get
it working. The TAS1020 is not really a standard interface chip.
SO XX is the only option for the time being to get quality sound out of this DAC.
Soundwise the DAC delivers real nice sound in my particular office setup.
It sounds just neutral.

During the next weekend I'll  compare my DDDAC to the Benchmark.

That'll be it for now.

Cheers
Klaus 








 



 
Logged
PeterSt
Administrator
High Grade Audiophile
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 16827



View Profile Email
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2007, 04:19:35 am »

Hi Klaus,

I'm on page 11 in that thread and tend to believe nothing more is coming of "our" importance in the next 40 pages ?
heat
Logged

For the Stealth III LPS PC :
W10-14393.0 - July 17, 2021 (2.11)
XXHighEnd Mach III Stealth LPS PC -> Xeon Scalable 14/28 core with Hyperthreading On (set to 14/28 cores in BIOS and set to 10/20 cores via Boot Menu) @~660MHz, 48GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 14393.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/0/0/*1*/ Q1Factor = *4* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = *10ms* / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *10.13*  (max 10.13) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / Stop Desktop, Remaining, WASAPI and W10 services / Use Remote Desktop / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD Off (!) / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *62* / Nervous Rate = *1* / Cool when Idle = n.a / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable / Custom Filtering *Low* (16x) / Always Clear Proxy before Playback = On -> USB3 from MoBo -> Lush^3
A: W-Y-R-G, B: *W-G* USB 1m00 -> Phisolator 24/768 Phasure NOS1a/G3 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (16ms) -> B'ASS Current Amplifier -> Blaxius*^2.5* A:B-G, B:B-G Interlink -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers. ET^2 Ethernet from Mach III to Music Server PC (RDC Control).
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere (also from the PC).

For a general PC :
W10-10586.0 - May 2016 (2.05+)
*XXHighEnd PC -> I7 3930k with Hyperthreading On (12 cores)* @~500MHz, 16GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 10586.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/1/1/1 / Q1Factor = 1 / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 1ms / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = 0.10  (max 60) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / All Services Off / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD On / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *43* / Nervous Rate = 1 / Cool when Idle = 1 / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = *Optimal* / Time Stability = *Stable* / Custom Filter *Low* 705600 / -> USB3 *from MoBo* -> Clairixa USB 15cm -> Intona Isolator -> Clairixa USB 1m80 -> 24/768 Phasure NOS1a 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (4ms) -> Blaxius BNC interlink *-> B'ASS Current Amplifier /w Level4 -> Blaxius Interlink* -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers.
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere.

Global Moderator
xp9433
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 83


View Profile Email
« Reply #6 on: October 26, 2007, 09:48:28 pm »

You were going to compare with the DDDAC

Were you saying in your intial impressions that the Benchmark would not be a match for XXHighEnd engine #3?

Thanks
Frank
Logged
soundcheck
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 43


View Profile
« Reply #7 on: October 28, 2007, 10:55:29 pm »

Hi.

Today I challenged my DDDAC.

I tweaked the Benchmark DAC1 quite a bit.
- MainsFilter
- PowerCord
- 0db setting
- 3A silver fuses (!!!)
- Shaktis on the DACs
( Still far less then I tweaked my DDDAC Wink )

It was a bit tricky to integrate the DAC into my fully integrated system.

I think the DAC1 is doing a great job. It shows slightly more details then my DDDAC.
But lacks a bit of transient response and depth in the soundstage.
(I guess these issues have been improved by Empirical Audio mods)
On complex pieces you hear the typical "mains" effect. I havn't heard a system
driven by mains-power delivering the natural softness and relaxing atmosphere
of a battery-driven DAC. You can listen to it for hours. 
The seperation with the DDDAC is also clearly better.

Bottom Line:
The DAC1 is a real good device especially when looking at the pricetag for a commercial product and the features
it delivers.
If tweaked a bit more, driven in balanced mode and a  battery,  I'd expect a real tough game for my DDDAC.
For the time being the DDDAC stays in the chain.
I guess a standard DDDAC ( and also other DACs out of the 154x  NONOS family) would have a hard time
to beat this device.

I tested the USB-DACs on XP-XX-Engine 1 and Linux-Brutus with my Thinkpad T60P - Voodoo IC Cables - Monster Ultimate USB

Cheers
\Klaus
 



 
Logged
SeVeReD
Audio Enthusiast
**
Offline Offline

Posts: 599


View Profile WWW Email
« Reply #8 on: October 28, 2007, 11:22:05 pm »

- Shaktis on the DACs

Not commenting on the review, which I'm sure you have a good handle on.  I've had 3 of those shaktis stones hanging around for a while now, but I've never found them to do anything but mess up my system, (well I had them on some bass amps where I couldn't really tell if I liked em or not, I thought I did maybe,,,, but I see they're not even there any more).  Y ou tried the dac without I'm guessing?  Anyway, be careful what you throw them on.  I'm still waiting for the component they might help. heh
edit
Only reason I say be careful with those shaktis is because I wasn't.  I put em on a cdp, and two amp transformers and let em sit there for a couple months before I really evaluated what they were doing.  I have to be careful because I can like music coming out of just about anything, and it's not until I go back and forth (which I pretty much don't like to do) that I find one is better than the other.  When I was using em, especially on smaller equipment like dacs, I found them to make the sound uneven,,, messing with dynamics, squelching here, spilling there.
Logged

0.9z-8-3a WAV/CUE files on HDDs via MB FW400>; Win7 pro ttp://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=352.msg4021#msg4021); [XXHighEnd player  Qs 7, 0, 0, 0, 0; eng 4; adaptive; scheme#3; player priority low; thread priority realtime; clock res 5ms: SFS 420 Wink dac is 24/192 w/32bits; Play Unattended; Stop Services ticked; Wallpaper & Show Back ticked - Mirror Image unticked; Start Engine unticked;garbage collect ticked; copy files to XX-drive; *quad arc prediction upsampling*: straight contiguous:>PCI FW800 card>Fireface 800 DAC [latency 2048 samples for 176.4]; usb/ethernet/mb audio shut off @ MB
JohanZ
Audio Enthusiast
**
Offline Offline

Posts: 579


View Profile Email
« Reply #9 on: October 28, 2007, 11:25:40 pm »

Hi Klaus,


Quote
Today I challenged my DDDAC.

Which version of the DDDAC1543 do you use? How many TDA1543 chips did you use in your DDDAC configuration?

Regards,

Johan
Logged

XXHE Ver: 209/MSI Z87M, i7 4770K Hyperthreading On (8 cores) @ 1,2 GHz, 32GB, Windows 10-14393.0 from RAM / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = *30*/-/1/1/1 Q1Factor = *40* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 15 / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *20.19* (max 120) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = *Core3-5* / Not Switch Processors during Playback / UnAttended (Just Start) / All Services Off / WallPaper On/ No OSD / No Running Time / Minimize OS / XTweaks : *Use Settings* - *43,1, 1, 1, 1* / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable/ Octo Arc Prediction Upsampling / -> USB3 -> Clairixa-Itona-Clairixa ->24/768 PHASURE NOS1a-75B-G3 , Driver v1.0.4b (*16ms*) -> Blaxius BNC interconnects ->Audion Silver Knight 300B-> Speakers CornScala
soundcheck
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 43


View Profile
« Reply #10 on: October 29, 2007, 09:51:20 am »

Hi Klaus,


Quote
Today I challenged my DDDAC.

Which version of the DDDAC1543 do you use? How many TDA1543 chips did you use in your DDDAC configuration?

Regards,

Johan

Johan.
The USB interface is not the latest. The DAC-Towers are the latest. I run 24Chips, Tent Clock, BG non-polars, Northstar NSB 90 Battery, precision resistors, no outputcap, Riken resistors on the output, .....


@ Severed

 Just to mention it: I built the whole chain by myself , I developed my own PC (Linux) setup and player --- AND STILL --- I am using Shakti-Onlines at several places in the chain!!! I do not intend to discuss Shaktis here.  Cool

Cheers
\Klaus




Logged
vojin
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 2


View Profile Email
« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2007, 03:24:52 pm »

Hi,

I am the owner of the DAC1 that Gerner tried. I like the little machine very much, but I am considering going to battery PS. Haven't found anything on that topic on the Internet. Has anyone tried it? Does anyone intend to convert to battery? etc...

Regards to all ,

Vojin
Logged
Gerner
Audio Loudspeaker
*
Offline Offline

Posts: 128



View Profile
« Reply #12 on: November 05, 2007, 05:05:38 pm »

Hi,

I am the owner of the DAC1 that Gerner tried. I like the little machine very much, but I am considering going to battery PS. Haven't found anything on that topic on the Internet. Has anyone tried it? Does anyone intend to convert to battery? etc...

Regards to all ,

Vojin

Hi Vojin

I do not know anyone who tried this, but I can tell you that there might be a call for different voltages in the HW parts inside the cudy DAC. That means a lot of redesign and a complex battery feeder....I think.

Look at the TD+ which is operated with four individual batteries each dedicated for each their task.

Come over for a coffee...hehehe prankster


Gerner  unsure
Logged

Vista-Ultimate PC  -> XX version very old  -> USB -> CrazyT..soon NOS1
Troubleless playback.
Pages: [1]
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by MySQL Powered by PHP Powered by SMF 1.1 RC2 | SMF © 2001-2005, Lewis Media Valid XHTML 1.0! Valid CSS!
Page created in 0.03 seconds with 19 queries.