Something to compete with the Essence XT

[thevortex]

However, Magma, I have heard and read from many that the sound from ALSA drivers in Linux is divine compared to whatever we get out of Windows even with ASIO.

Sadly not many of the options we are talking about are supported in Linux. If only there were a very good sound card/DAC option that were supported in Linux as well, that would make my day.

 

[magma]

i would hardly conmsider PD dac or a stello a cheap chinese dac
stello for one one of the most reputed mid budget dacs!
anyway thats a differnt story

the 404 would be a great upgrade though, i can see why you would consider it over chinese dacs
but if you listen to entire cd albums at one go i would still prefer a dac like the ones stated above rather than analogue out from any soundcard

whats your current Sc source?

hmm maybe i shud wait till you get your emu then ask you about thedrivers and get mine after your input! hehe

 

[thevortex]

Magma right now I wonder, worry and wrack my brain as to whether the DAC or Sound card solution I am looking at would be better than my current sound card - the Xonar D2X. And if better, by what margin?

I am basically looking at pairing this possibly with a valve amp - either with the NAD being used as power amp or with the valve amp going solo, so to speak.

I solicit all our members' help and opinions on this. I will need to order a solution this week to coincide with the arrival of somebody from the US.

Are the E-MU 0404 USB or the 1212M good enough to jump up above the Xonar D2X in stereo sound quality? Or would that job be better done by external DACs such as Devilsound, KECES, Gigalab, Valab etc? And in the event that people recommend usage of DACs should I be thinking of taking a digital out from the Xonar and pass it on to the DACs or should I still be using the analog outs from the sound card?

Sorry Magma to intrude upon your thread. I thought we both might be looking for quite similar things here. If you would like it I can branch this off as a separate thread. Please let me know.

 

[magma]

Magma right now I wonder, worry and wrack my brain as to whether the DAC or Sound card solution I am looking at would be better than my current sound card - the Xonar D2X. And if better, by what margin?

I am basically looking at pairing this possibly with a valve amp - either with the NAD being used as power amp or with the valve amp going solo, so to speak.

I solicit all our members' help and opinions on this. I will need to order a solution this week to coincide with the arrival of somebody from the US.

Are the E-MU 0404 USB or the 1212M good enough to jump up above the Xonar D2X in stereo sound quality? Or would that job be better done by external DACs such as Devilsound, KECES, Gigalab, Valab etc? And in the event that people recommend usage of DACs should I be thinking of taking a digital out from the Xonar and pass it on to the DACs or should I still be using the analog outs from the sound card?

Sorry Magma to intrude upon your thread. I thought we both might be looking for quite similar things here. If you would like it I can branch this off as a separate thread. Please let me know.

vortex

cmon
ofcourse you should be taking the digital out of your xonar and give it to the dac
(if youre buying the dac that is)

as for dac and SC well
thats your preference but since you already have a digital op(i.e your oldercard) buying a dac would not be sensless either!

now is see why you want that emu 404!

 

[thevortex]

vortex

cmon
ofcourse you should be taking the digital out of your xonar and give it to the dac
(if youre buying the dac that is)

as for dac and SC well
thats your preference but since you already have a digital op(i.e your oldercard) buying a dac would not be sensless either!

now is see why you want that emu 404!

Yes, well, I cant seem to make up my mind between the Chinese NOS DAC's like the Valab or the EMU's or simply and safely go with the Xonar Essence.

Any word on how the Devilsound DAC sounds? Is it any competition?

 

[magma]

nope not heard too much about devilsound

whats your dac budget?

if you can solder, the peter daniel dac should kill all DACs under 500$-600$ easily

the kit cost 320$.you gotta solder yourself
its quite easy

if youve got a 200$ budget then the emu or xonar is the way to go unless youre willing to buy a used keces,or ultralink

the valab,or pico or for that matter the devilsound dacs i feel are only useful for guys who will use a cdp/dvdp for transport or you are a headphone guy
because for a computer transport the above mentioned SC makes more sense in the 200$ range.

think about it]
we generally have entry level/mid fi setups
youre hardly (actaully i beleive NEVER) gonna hear the jitter/sound interference caused by using internal SC's in these basic setups

 

[thevortex]

My DAC budget, Magma, is somewhere around the $300 mark. And my strict consideration is for solutions which better the Xonar Essence STX. If at all that is possible.

Any thoughts anybody?

I have had so many good words said about NOS DACs and they are available at well under $300. Would those make sense over the Xonar?

Also bear in mind that I am currently using a Xonar D2X. If for around $300 I am not going to be able to improve my source significantly, I might even drop the idea of upgrading my source.

 

[magma]

My DAC budget, Magma, is somewhere around the $300 mark. And my strict consideration is for solutions which better the Xonar Essence STX. If at all that is possible.

Any thoughts anybody?

I have had so many good words said about NOS DACs and they are available at well under $300. Would those make sense over the Xonar?

Also bear in mind that I am currently using a Xonar D2X. If for around $300 I am not going to be able to improve my source significantly, I might even drop the idea of upgrading my source.

the peter daniel dac will be better than the essence
the original Audiosector comleted dac sells for 800$-1000$ !

get the kit for 300 and your set to better the essence
unforunately my budget isint 325$ otherwise i wouldnt be looking at a SC either!

 

[rikhav]

Hey Vortex & Ali
i follow this thread very closely because anyone having a budget audio system always thinks of having a PC as a source.
Do network music players like Squeezebox can can be compared to sound cards like Asus Essence XT or the dac Ali has mentioned in his last post
I know the TRANSPORTER would be too costly but the CLASSIC?
I am not sure about the exact price but official site says 239 euros

Also i had one query of my own, but i dont think i need to start a separate thread for this
Sorry Ali for hijacking your thread

I sometimes use my PC as a source. But with any player i use the sound output varies when changed in sound control panel (Master volume & WAV volume) even when i use ASIO
This is unlike cd players where ideally there is no gain control.
So my question at what do you set the master and wav volume or keep it max?

 

[thevortex]

the peter daniel dac will be better than the essence
the original Audiosector comleted dac sells for 800$-1000$ !

get the kit for 300 and your set to better the essence
unforunately my budget isint 325$ otherwise i wouldnt be looking at a SC either!

Magma - I did do my under graduation in Physics and so am not a stranger to soldering. But that was then and this is now. I am certainly not in any mood to stake $300 or so on my rusty soldering skills (which was to start with pretty flaky).

So, no DAC kit for me. Any other options, pray?

And Rikhav - people often use the Essence to better the sound quality of the squeezebox. So, the squeezebox is not better sounding than the Essence. And as for your volume question, just have your control panel/Windows sound at max. You can control your volume through the corresponding controls in your media/audio player.

 

[spirovious]

I can say D2X is not best for music,It may be due to bad drivers.:sad:
Essence XT is highly recommended for music & I may even consider saling it for better option in future.

It is best for mov though.

 

[venkatcr]

Magma - I did do my under graduation in Physics and so am not a stranger to soldering. But that was then and this is now. I am certainly not in any mood to stake $300 or so on my rusty soldering skills (which was to start with pretty flaky).

If the Peter Daniel DAC is really great, we can get it professionally soldered here in Chennai. That will be the least of your problems.

Cheers.

 

[thevortex]

I can say D2X is not best for music,It may be due to bad drivers.:sad:
Essence XT is highly recommended for music & I may even consider saling it for better option in future.

It is best for mov though.

Just wanted to hasten and add that the D2X does a fabulous job for me in music as well as movies. I hardly play with the Dolby/DTS settings nowadays. Even movies are heard through PCM - 192 Khz!.

Spiro - the drivers that come with the package are, lets just say, a little underwhelming. I dont know how drivers can make a difference, but in this case they seem to. Please see my PM in this regard.

My objective is to just try and see if this sound can be bettered - thats it. At a nominal cost, if I might add.

 

[thevortex]

If the Peter Daniel DAC is really great, we can get it professionally soldered here in Chennai. That will be the least of your problems.

Cheers.

Venkat - Now you are tempting me.

Magma could you give me any links on the Peter Daniel DAC. I have seen offhand references to this DAC and another one like this (named after a person). Initially I sort of figured these are names of liquor brands (Jack Daniel, anybody?). Then after a second read I actually realized they might be names of sound cards....but I cant seem to locate that link right now. Blame it on my tiredness at this hour.

Anyway would be thankful for any information on this DAC and also for any comparison with other known devils (DACs).

 

[magma]

Venkat - Now you are tempting me.

Magma could you give me any links on the Peter Daniel DAC. I have seen offhand references to this DAC and another one like this (named after a person). Initially I sort of figured these are names of liquor brands (Jack Daniel, anybody?). Then after a second read I actually realized they might be names of sound cards....but I cant seem to locate that link right now. Blame it on my tiredness at this hour.

Anyway would be thankful for any information on this DAC and also for any comparison with other known devils (DACs).

the other dac you have probably heard of by name is the Scott Nixon Chibbi
dac which is also a decent dac in the Valab class

the peter daniel dac is in another class
its a canadian guy using Black gate caps and lovely components
the PCB is procured from europe too
He has his own company and the dacs are more famous alled the Audiosector dac
google audiosector and youll know how expensice the dacs are ( almost1000$)
the peter daniel dac is nothing but a DIY version of the Audiosector dac
hoowever he doesnt advsertise this DIY dac too much for obvious reasons

its onlt that he sells this DIY dac as a tribute to all who helped him develop this dac in his forum
(say something like if i were you to develp something and go commercial we would kind of maybe offer out old forum members here something extra!)

check of audiocircle ( a forum)
there is a 100 pg thread on his DIY dac
quite hush hush and not advertised on other forums too

Ask George and ROC on our forum who own this dac and theyll tell you it will better the essence anyday

 

[grubyhalo]

If the Peter Daniel DAC is really great, we can get it professionally soldered here in Chennai. That will be the least of your problems.

Cheers.

Hi guys,
If you guys are planning a GB on this, I'd be interested in it as well.

Venkat,
Could you please let me know if your source would be willing to take up a couple of other projects? Also, I posted in another thread, could you let me know if you have a source in Chennai who would be willing to help me with a pair of speaker cabs? Thanks!

 

[venkatcr]

Venkat,
Could you please let me know if your source would be willing to take up a couple of other projects? Also, I posted in another thread, could you let me know if you have a source in Chennai who would be willing to help me with a pair of speaker cabs? Thanks!

He does not take up any woodwork. All he does is electronics servicing. For non-regular projects I really have to check with him.

Cheers

 

[grubyhalo]

He does not take up any woodwork. All he does is electronics servicing. For non-regular projects I really have to check with him.

Cheers

Would appreciate if you could check with him. Also, would you know any speaker/cabinet makers in the city?

 

[grubyhalo]

He does not take up any woodwork. All he does is electronics servicing. For non-regular projects I really have to check with him.

Cheers

Would appreciate if you could check with him. Also, would you know any other speaker/cabinet makers in the city?

 

[Rem]

Venkat - Now you are tempting me.

Magma could you give me any links on the Peter Daniel DAC. I have seen offhand references to this DAC and another one like this (named after a person). Initially I sort of figured these are names of liquor brands (Jack Daniel, anybody?). Then after a second read I actually realized they might be names of sound cards....but I cant seem to locate that link right now. Blame it on my tiredness at this hour.

Anyway would be thankful for any information on this DAC and also for any comparison with other known devils (DACs).

Thevo,

Here are some links about the DAC Magma has mentioned

6moons audio reviews: AudioZone DAC Follow-Up


I guess its called Audio zone.

Also checkout this blog of a DIY'er


Alvin's Blog: July 2008