Interest check - Dante (AoIP) Tour

bornfi

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I have been in the hobby of HiFi for several years now and if someone asks me as to what some of my experiences are that came to me as startling revelation, I would probably list two of them.

1. Transportation of digital data to DAC
2. A fine preamp can change your experience radically

Since this thread is intended for item 1, I will not talk about item 2 here.

So, when I was introduced to Dante by someone on headfi.org, I thought it to be just another stuff like Audiophilleo, Mutec etc and just ignored. Then there was a period when my system remained constant, I thought, why not give Dante a try and I did. And when I did, the first thing occurred to me was that every other player in the market thought what they were doing was best but in reality they did not know what they were doing. I mean, this was my thought; do not take it literally.

I can go on and on praising Dante but the intent here is that I am so much impressed with this, I would like my fellows here (in India) to get a taste of it. With that what I was thinking, why not do a interest check and if we get sufficient number, I could send the unit to India and then it is round-robinned and finally sent back to me in US.

Now, if we really get a good amount of candidates, question is, how will my investment ($300 - $400) be protected?

Let us see if folks are interested and how high this idea flies. What I can assure is that in most of the cases, you will get surprised to find potential of your computer and phones/tablet (iOS, Android) as a digital source. Moreover, this will make you realize how beautifully these tracks have been recorded.
 
I would be surely interested in trying the Dante , basically any kind of VOIP
About protection of the unit , I agree you have to be concerned as you are taking a risk to basically enlighten others
I can speak for myself that I would take utnost care but then if some other member is irresponsible or some damange happens in transit from point A to B then I guess we have to decide before hand what should be done about it
 
Great idea sir but would be better if someone else takes the plunge in India and passes it around for a small fee within india. Not only do everyone get to audition Dante, the owner may recover 30-40 percent of his investment. Also shipping fees to and from the us would be expensive. I don't mind ordering one if I can recover part of my cost but I need to read about it first.
 
Great idea sir but would be better if someone else takes the plunge in India and passes it around for a small fee within india. Not only do everyone get to audition Dante, the owner may recover 30-40 percent of his investment. Also shipping fees to and from the us would be expensive. I don't mind ordering one if I can recover part of my cost but I need to read about it first.
This can be done too but the other reason why I proposed me sending this because this is not a buy-and-use kind of solution; it requires some settings to be made. As for courier charges, I was planning to send it with someone who is traveling to India so, one way is done. India to USA shipping should not be much of load if more folks involved. Who knows, by the time it is ready to be sent back, I might find someone traveling back.

Depending on where you are located, we can explore the option of you doing the initial investment in which we (two) will get together and I will let you know what all items need to be bought, do the required settings and send with someone traveling to your location. We avoid hassle of customs this way.
 
Like I said, I had not read about it earlier and now your suggestion makes a lot of sense because I am a big zero technologically... So I would be interested in auditioning it sir and knowing more about it...
 
I was introduced to Dante by someone on headfi.org, I thought it to be just another stuff like Audiophilleo, Mutec etc and just ignored. Then there was a period when my system remained constant, I thought, why not give Dante a try and I did. And when I did, the first thing occurred to me was that every other player in the market thought what they were doing was best but in reality they did not know what they were doing. I mean, this was my thought; do not take it literally.
For the uninitiated like me, what's Dante!
 
For the uninitiated like me, what's Dante!
I remember an earlier thread on Dante.
It is a standard of audio transmission over ethernet and I think it needs to be built into the hardware.

Maybe the OP can explain it better and on what is he proposing to send to test
 
For the uninitiated like me, what's Dante!

Dante is an audio format designed/developed by the company Audinate, Australia. It is a method of transporting digital audio data over Ethernet cable.

As for what I am proposing to test/try, I will send something that will act USB to AES/Coax converter for your DAC. So, at one end you will be hooking up either a computer or a phone (iOS/Android) and the other end will go into your DAC. Behind the scene, this multi-device arrangement will convert digital data to Dante format and then finally, Dante format to AES.

Any additional question will be answered happily.
 
Will the sound quality be better than a USB cable going into the DAC directly? Apologies for the silly but that is how I use my DAC currently and wanted to know if Dante would improve the SQ
 
Will the sound quality be better than a USB cable going into the DAC directly? Apologies for the silly but that is how I use my DAC currently and wanted to know if Dante would improve the SQ

A very solid YES based on my experience with following DACs.

Schiit Yggdrasil
Prism Sound Callia
Benchmark DAC2
PBD Merlot
Mytek DSD
 
Where is the ethernet protocol in this chain (USB to DAC) as Dante medium I guess only works over ethernet

It will be connected as follows -

Computer to USB to Dante Converter box (A) -> Ethernet Cable -> Dante to AES/Coax Converter box (B) -> DAC

Alternatively, boxes A and B can be connected to Ethernet switch(es) too in the same network using Ethernet cable.
 
Just trying to understand: My PS Audio Lanrover does exactly this. Computer USB out to Box A. Then Ethernet to Box B. Then USB from Box B to Dac. Similar, except that I don't get AES into my DAC. I will be happy to compare Dante with PS Audio if there is a bunch of people wanting to try out.

Thanks
 
Great idea sir but would be better if someone else takes the plunge in India and passes it around for a small fee within india. Not only do everyone get to audition Dante, the owner may recover 30-40 percent of his investment. Also shipping fees to and from the us would be expensive. I don't mind ordering one if I can recover part of my cost but I need to read about it first.

Ok, so I spent some more time on this and here is what I found. While I wait to find someone travelling to India, meanwhile if someone in India can take lead who is also willing to make the investment, here all what need to be bought.

1547316296222.png

Also, something like this to power above devices.

https://www.amazon.in/D-Link-1008P-...TF8&qid=1547316345&sr=1-5&keywords=poe+switch

Then one will have to go to audinate.com to download the free software Dante Controller using which these two devices can be mapped.

And, of course, some Ethernet cables will be needed too.
 
Ok, so, I have someone going to India in beginning of July to Bangalore and then returning to USA from Delhi by end of Aug. With that I wanted to reignite this topic and check if we have some enthusiastic folks who would like to to try this?

The money involved is INR20K and the only way I can think of this can begin is, that whoever takes it at Bangalore, makes the original deposit and takes his money from the next person willing to try. This continues until equipment reach to last person in the chain, who gets his/her money back from me after handing it over to the person returning from Delhi.

I may be sounding pushy but this has had such a startling revelation on my system, I would like my fellow members to give this a try.
 
It will be connected as follows -

Computer to USB to Dante Converter box (A) -> Ethernet Cable -> Dante to AES/Coax Converter box (B) -> DAC

Alternatively, boxes A and B can be connected to Ethernet switch(es) too in the same network using Ethernet cable.

Instead of a simple usb cable, there are 2 boxes and an ethernet cable that are introduced into the system. Any idea why that sounds better ? Any technical explanations for this ?

This is what wiki has to say :

Dante is a combination of software, hardware, and network protocols that deliver uncompressed, multi-channel, low-latency digital audio over a standard Ethernet network using Layer 3 IP packets.[5] Developed in 2006 by a Sydney-based company named Audinate, Dante builds and improves on previous audio over Ethernet technologies, such as CobraNet and EtherSound.
Like most other audio over Ethernet technologies, Dante is primarily for professional, commercial applications. Most often, it is used in applications where a large number of audio channels must be transmitted over relatively long distances or to multiple locations.


Btw, there are dacs that accept ethernet nowadays if you have music on your network.
 
Instead of a simple usb cable, there are 2 boxes and an ethernet cable that are introduced into the system. Any idea why that sounds better ? Any technical explanations for this ?

This is what wiki has to say :

Dante is a combination of software, hardware, and network protocols that deliver uncompressed, multi-channel, low-latency digital audio over a standard Ethernet network using Layer 3 IP packets.[5] Developed in 2006 by a Sydney-based company named Audinate, Dante builds and improves on previous audio over Ethernet technologies, such as CobraNet and EtherSound.
Like most other audio over Ethernet technologies, Dante is primarily for professional, commercial applications. Most often, it is used in applications where a large number of audio channels must be transmitted over relatively long distances or to multiple locations.

That is another interesting incident - when I read about usage of associated hardwares, they still say ‘for Skype audio and conference rooms etc..’ and too deterred me for a few months getting into this. But when I tried, never looked back.

Btw, there are dacs that accept ethernet nowadays if you have music on your network.

It is not just about Ethernet cable, more to do with conversion to Dante format.
 
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