USB-SPDIF converters thread

[Naturelover]

arj, please do let us have your impressions.
Thanks

I went ahead and got myself a Yellowtec PUC lite.

 

[Naturelover]

manniraj, matbhuvi, please do let us have your impressions.
Thnaks

I got a XMOS based DAC through ebay in December called "Gustard U12".

Pleased with Gustard U12.

 

[manniraj]

manniraj, matbhuvi, please do let us have your impressions.
Thnaks

Rajiv, I had it for couple of weeks or so and was using it exclusively with coaxial out to my audio-gd and was impressed with the sound. But I felt like it was on par with my audio-gd and did not improve much hence sold it off. I think its major advantage is the I2S output which should give a better quality at this price point. It has a I2S output via a HDMI interface and most of the users online use U12 for this capability. I think @matbhuvi might have more review comments as he is currently using.

 

[rikhav]

In comparision to a usb to spidif converter how would you rate a hifiberry digi board which has a coxial spidif out which is galvanized

So essentially i can directly connect to dacs coaxial input
the digi board is directly connected to rpi cpu by i2s

I am new to computer audio so not sure what works better
do usb to spidif converter have better quality clocks which makes them superior to direct coax output from a source?

 

[arj]

arj, please do let us have your impressions.
Thanks

I really like it. I now have the Audiocadabra USB (very well made) connected to the Yellowtec. i have a XLR to RCA converter with a RCA digital cable connected to my DAC. Am playing Audirvana 2 (just bought a licensed copy) and an old iMac

Its surprisingly organic compared to the M-Audio Firewire I was using in the past. will try a different power supply option later.

Considering the above the resolution is really good and once can easily make out the difference between a HD recording ( depite my Dac being limited to 48 KHz and 24 bit) and a regular as well as good and bad pressings. although the difference s are a lot more starker in the sense not so great pressings

I still prefer the LP for most recordings that I already have on them..but the HD do give it a good run for the money

do usb to spidif converter have better quality clocks which makes them superior to direct coax output from a source?

Rikhav, my limited experience but there are too many differences even between Converters. Some only take it driven by the Computers clock and convert it as is but at the other extreme others pull the data using their own clock , use a different power source and then convert it.

Coax outputs from would be compromised in some way due to the power supply and EMI/RFI inside a computer...But a Good compute transport is till a good option as long as you have discs

The yellowtec that I use has an option for separate power but it uses a bulk mode to pull the data and then buffers and send it out (I think).But I presume even a USB dac has one of these standard converters built in anyway

 

[Naturelover]

Thanks arj. Which USB cable are you using? Single head or dual?
I was once told that XLR/RCA converters should not be used due to difference in impedance. Have you done a comparison between XLR/RCA and RCA/RCA?

It would be great if you and matbhuvi could do a comparison between the Yellowtec and the Gustard :licklips:.

I really like it. I now have the Audiocadabra USB (very well made) connected to the Yellowtec. i have a XLR to RCA converter with a RCA digital cable connected to my DAC.

Pleased with Gustard U12.

 

[arj]

Thanks arj. Which USB cable are you using? Single head or dual?
I was once told that XLR/RCA converters should not be used due to difference in impedance. Have you done a comparison between XLR/RCA and RCA/RCA?

It would be great if you and matbhuvi could do a comparison between the Yellowtec and the Gustard :licklips:.

I know ..unfortunately the Yellowtec only has XLR ( its pro audio !) and i dont have an XLR cable handy to try that out.
I use the Double headed cable. i tried out with a DIY double headed it it does make a difference in the clarity

 

[rikhav]

But a Good compute transport is till a good option as long as you have discs

Hi Arjun
I did not understand this part

 

[arj]

with due reason...because in my Hurry i got it wrong
i meant a good CD transport

 

[rikhav]

with due reason...because in my Hurry i got it wrong
i meant a good CD transport

I have Arcam DIVA CD192 cd player

Itsnot a dedicated transport but should be better then mass market dvd and blu ray players and yes I do have quiet a lot of audio cds

 

[arj]

Yes..the transport section of the Arcam is good

 

[kratu]

I have gone through the is thread thoroughly. Although the OP has asked about converters other than M2Tech, I see the conversation has been dominated by this brand. I have no issues with that btw. More options could be helpful, especially if they are available locally.

As a Mac user, I might have an issue as it might not work well with the new OS X. Is that still the case? Also, if someone wants to offload their converters, please pm.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Recently I've been looking at different USB to spdif converters. I need one so I started hunting in several forums looking for reviews. I received some valuable suggestions from my audiophile friends as well.

At a budget of $200 or less I found some good vfm products ..
1. M2tech hiface two
2. Musical Fidelity V-LINK
3. Musiland Monitor 01 USD
4. Gustard U12

Is there anyone having first hand experience on comprehensive comparison among these?
I am open for suggestions.

 

[regeHA]

Lots of good discussion in this thread... been reading it completely the past 2 hours. Too bad folks stopped posting/updating.

Recently I've been looking at different USB to spdif converters. I need one so I started hunting in several forums looking for reviews. I received some valuable suggestions from my audiophile friends as well.

At a budget of $200 or less I found some good vfm products ..
1. M2tech hiface two
2. Musical Fidelity V-LINK
3. Musiland Monitor 01 USD
4. Gustard U12

Is there anyone having first hand experience on comprehensive comparison among these?
I am open for suggestions.

The $35 Chromecast Audio should do a world of good. At the very least it fixes the problem of electrical interference by isolating it, or in this case I should say taking it completely out of the computer and its on-board electronics.

I have been using it to play music off a NAS and feeding it to an external DAC. I personally feel it has done a world of good, but then I have only mid-fi equipment so there's that.

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Lots of good discussion in this thread... been reading it completely the past 2 hours. Too bad folks stopped posting/updating.



The $35 Chromecast Audio should do a world of good. At the very least it fixes the problem of electrical interference by isolating it, or in this case I should say taking it completely out of the computer and its on-board electronics.

I have been using it to play music off a NAS and feeding it to an external DAC. I personally feel it has done a world of good, but then I have only mid-fi equipment so there's that.

Chromecast could be one of the best options available. But it has its limitations though.

However I am planning to use raspberry pi + hifiberry digi+ as transport. This hat board has galvanic isolation as well. As my dac has some issues with tosslink, I am limited to optical co-axial for best possible output.

After searching several USB to spdif converters, I found that i2s to spdif should be better (in this case I can bypass USB to i2s conversation - less convertion less complications) in my case. Running rune Audio and playing via android tab/phone

 

[arj]

Chromecast could be one of the best options available. But it has its limitations though.



However I am planning to use raspberry pi + hifiberry digi+ as transport. This hat board has galvanic isolation as well. As my dac has some issues with tosslink, I am limited to optical co-axial for best possible output.



After searching several USB to spdif converters, I found that i2s to spdif should be better (in this case I can bypass USB to i2s conversation - less convertion less complications) in my case. Running rune Audio and playing via android tab/phone

1 issue with I2S is that it was never meant as a transmission format hence length of run and interference can degrade the sound .. Not that spdif is the best either but is more resilient

 

[saikatbiswas82]

I was going through these threads lately:

http://googleweblight.com/?lite_url...800035&sig=ALL1Aj66LAMg9tVpIJ2IZG1fAMeHrb5Vog

https://volumio.org/forum/rpi-and-usb-dac-i2s-t1567.html

As I am planning to use raspberry (or some powerful SBC in future) as transport, I found people are more happy with i2s.

Someone even compared hiface with digi+ and found later more appealing to him.

However I'd really be interested to know what are the sonic differences between i2s-coax and USB-coax converter. As I have limited resources, I won't be able to compare them side by side.

1 issue with I2S is that it was never meant as a transmission format hence length of run and interference can degrade the sound .. Not that spdif is the best either but is more resilient

Could you please elaborate it with example? Any useful link would also be appreciated.

 

[rikhav]

Hi saikat and arjun

I have been using the discussed hifiberry digi+ board since a week now

@arjun, connecting this adddon board which enables rpi to have coax audio output does not involve cable. The rpi has GPIO pins on the board and this board gets directly connected to the pins. I will post some pictures later in the day

I find audio from coax to be much better then usb out i was using all this while. But this can differ from dac to dac depending upon implementations and also maybe usb from a desktop pc can be better then rpi usb implentation as its built on budget. Same for usb to spidif converters
not done any real comparision but i like what i hear. Sound is resolving. There is surely lesser noise then usb

 

[saikatbiswas82]

Hi saikat and arjun

I have been using the discussed hifiberry digi+ board since a week now

@arjun, connecting this adddon board which enables rpi to have coax audio output does not involve cable. The rpi has GPIO pins on the board and this board gets directly connected to the pins. I will post some pictures later in the day

I find audio from coax to be much better then usb out i was using all this while. But this can differ from dac to dac depending upon implementations and also maybe usb from a desktop pc can be better then rpi usb implentation as its built on budget. Same for usb to spidif converters
not done any real comparision but i like what i hear. Sound is resolving. There is surely lesser noise then usb

Dear Rishav,

Great to know that there are digi+ users in hfv and satisfied with it. Looking forward to see the photos and more information. Btw, are you using the transformer version? Which dac do you use?

 

[rikhav]

Dear Rishav,

Great to know that there are digi+ users in hfv and satisfied with it. Looking forward to see the photos and more information. Btw, are you using the transformer version? Which dac do you use?

Yes, i use the galvanized i.e. transformer version. Dac is burson conductor