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[sawdin]

Which USB DAC is best for my system?  Why do you think so?  Each DAC is listed below along with a few specs and questions.  I have not included the Devilsound DAC ($399) as I do not want to spend that much.  I'll be using Media Center 14, listening to lots of streaming audio at 256kbps or 192kbps, plus CD's played from my computer's drives and ripped CD's when I get around to ripping them.  Have Senn HD 650's + Perreaux Silhouette SXVH1 amp, running Win 7 x64 on new system. 

TIA for any suggestions and comments, as I'm pretty new to to pc audio world.

Musiland Monitor O2 US ($190)
"Continuing the superior USB performance of the Musiland Monitor 01 US, the Musiland Monitor 02 provides the same 192K USB capability but with the addition of SPDIF conversion, separate power supply and high/low impedance headphone output."
Drivers???  Seems like I've read of numerous issues w/ drivers and compatibility issues concerning Musiland.
Pacific Valve & Electric Company Pacific Valve Musiland Monitor 02 US

NuForce uDAC ($99)
USB native bit rate: 32-48kHz, 16-bit.  Has S/PDIF out.  Has headphone amp, but I've already got one that should be better.
Nuforce.com | Icon uDAC

Musicstreamer II ($149)
24/96 capability, great reviews, seems user-friendly.  No S/PDIF output.  Made in USA (all things being equal, I'd rather buy products being made here.)
CryoParts HRT Music Streamer+

--------------
* Dell XPS 8100 (i7 860 (2.8GHz), 8 GB ram, running Windows 7 x64), Realtek HD Audio SC w/ Tru Studio PC software (Creative/THX), Swann D1080 Mk II speakers
* Senn HD 650, Perreaux Sihoutte SXH1 amp
* Denon AVR 3806, Denon DVD 1920, Revel Concerta F12 speakers
* Monster HTS 3500 Mk II and various cables.

[Matt]

We've had good luck with Gordon Rankin's USB DACs, so you might take a look at those as well.  I currently have my Senn's strapped straight to a USB Proton.  Before that I used a headphone amp hooked to an M-Audio card which also sounded great.

If you're interested in internal soundcards, I recently worked through a pile of sound cards looking for the best analog output for my home theater.  I was biased towards other brands, but in the end a Creative X-Fi delivered the cleanest analog output.

Speaking of Sennheisers, I recently opened mine up to clean a cat hair out that was causing a buzz at resonant frequencies.  In the process, I snapped one of the two hair-sized wires going into the driver.  After crying for a day, I took a shot at soldering it back together and it actually worked.

[sawdin]

Thank you for the reply.  I was looking at soundcards (e.g., M-Audio Audiophile 192 and the Xonar Essence STX), but as the soundcard is completely bypassed when using a Squeezebox product, I decided to upgrade via an external DAC.  Interesting that you chose the Creative as they tend to get hammered on the 'audiophile' sites.  (Not that I'm an 'audiophile', as you can probably tell from my equipment.)  Rankin seems to be very generous in terms of providing information to users via various forums.  I know he contributes some wonderful information over at the Computer Audiophile site (which gave a huge thumbs-up to MC 14, and is the reason I've decided to go w/ MC14 over Foobar).  However, Rankin's DAC's are out of my price range.  Interestingly, the Musicstreamer +  matched up well w/ Rankin's Cosecant DAC ($3,500) in a review in Stereophile.  I believe the MusicStreamer tested was not even one of the newer models which have been upgraded:
http://www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/hrt_music_streamer_usb_da_converter/

Listening
Speaking of incongruities, one might also blush at the thought of comparing any budget product with one that costs 12 times as much. For better or worse, that's what happened when I pitted HRT's Music Streamer+ ($299) against the Wavelength Cosecant USB D/A converter ($3500). The motorist whose first car was a Ferrari can be forgiven a certain perspective; happily, the Music Streamer+ proved to be more Mazda Miata than Dodge Neon.

I'm not saying the Musicstreamer is as good as the Cosecant (and further on in the article, differences were noted, though not all in favor of the Cosecant), but I do believe given my ears, equipment and wallet, I can't justify the purchase of a Wavelength DAC.

Thanks again for the reply and glad to hear you successfully saved your Senn's!

PS...I'm leaning towards a Musicstreamer over the other two choices, but wanted to get some other opinions before deciding.  Here's another review in which a Musicstreamer matched up well against more expensive offerings:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/streamer/streamer+_2.html

[ajowers]

From what I have learned, a driver that utilizes Asynchronous communication and clock timing in the DAC (not the PC) will produce superior quality with less jitter.  However this is only part of the equation so its never that simple but I chose the Monitor 02 because of price/performance and it uses Asynchronous.

[sawdin]

Have you had any problems w/ drivers for the Musiland?  Have you compared it to anything else?  Do you like it?

All of the new Musicstreamers are asynchronous.  I'm not sure how they handle jitter in regards to clocking, but the designer (Halverson) discusses various options in this interview:
http://www.avguide.com/review/tas-194-budget-usb-dac-survey?page=4

I'm also looking at two other DAC's: There has been a lot of fanfare regarding the Matrix-Mini i 24/192 Balanced DAC + HP amp ($335). Also, the CyroParts Pop Pulse 1796 DAC ($260) looks interesting (better S/R and Dynamic Range specs vs Musiland, but that doesn't mean it sounds better, plus it's more expensive).  Then again, I might just purchase the new Squeezebox Touch  ($299, DAC's are supposedly quite good) and see if it sounds good enough by itself.


Matrix mini-i 24/192 Balanced DAC + Headphone Amp:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Matrix-mini-i-24-192-Balanced-DAC-Headphone-Amp-/350235725907
Digital Input:
- Optical: toslink, 32-192kHz
- Coaxial: 75 ohm RCA/BNC, 32-192kHz
- USB: USB-B, 44.1-48kHz
- AES/EBU: Standard XLR balanced, 32-192kHz
# Digital Output:
- Coaxial RCA
- 32-192kHz
- Support AC3/DTS Pass Through
Analog Interface:
- RCA/XLR
- Frequency Response: 20-20kHz
- Signal to Noise Ratio: 105dB
- Dynamic Range: 108dB
- Distortion 0.0002% (1kHz)



CryoParts Pop Pulse 1796 DAC:
http://www.cryo-parts.com/pop_pulse_1796_dac.html
Digital coaxial input level: 0.5vp-p
Input impedance: 75ohm
Digital optical input level: -15dBm
Digital encoder: 24 bit / 192 KHz
D/A converter: 24 bit / 192 KHz
Audio output: 2.0v (1kHz, 0dB)
USB Terminal input: USB 2.0 Standard
S/N: 116dB
Dynamic range: 118dB
THD: .0015%
Frequency response: 18Hz-20kHz
Power supply: AC 230v/115v (+/- 10%) 50/60Hz

[ajowers]

I use Windows 7 home Premium.  I am using the latest firmware on my Monitor 02 US and the latest drivers.  Under J River I configured it to use ASIO using the supplied Musiland driver.  I am not experiencing any problems.  The only time I hear a click or pop is when there is some corruption in the FLAC (that I may have downloaded ).

I really like it.  The only thing I have compared it to is my Audio Refinement CD player.  so, no I have not compared to other DACS but I have built a complete system with the Monitor 02 US for our local Audiophile "stereo shop" and he says it compares to some $1,000 CD players (not sure what brands but I can find out).  Overall my local audio dealer after listening for a week gave it a thumbs up but he could beat it with a high end CD player.

The question is how much you are willing to spend.  I build a complete fanless music server, computer, DAC, windows, remote and all for $500 using the Zotac Atom based main board.

I am very pleased with it so far. 

[sawdin]

I'm interested in finding out more about your music server set-up.  I was thinking of getting a new Squeezebox Touch, but if a server can do the same things, I might go that route.  Although at $299, the Touch seems reasonably priced as they've upgraded the DAC's and they can now handle 24/96.  Anyway, questions I have about your server:

1)  What is it connected to?  Is it connected to a home audio system or just to your home computer?  Also, how is it connected?

2)  Where is it located?  Is it next to your main system or hidden?

3) How do you control it?  For example, in my case I would want it connected to my home audio system (which will be in a different room than my pc) and thus need some type of interface to select tracks, albums, streaming services like Pandora or MOG and internet radio.

TIA

[ajowers]

Hi,

I built a dedicated pc in a small chassis.  This very small pc however still contains a 3.5" hard drive and 5.25" DVDRW (for ripping and burning).

I have a stereo cabinet with my audio Refinement system and the HTPC plus my totem speakers and PSB sub woofer.  I have the computer and DAC in the cabinet, integrated with the stereo system like any other component.

Next to the computer is the Musiland DAC.  I have an interconnect cable run from the analogue output of the Musiland Monitor 02 US into the AUX input of my integrated amp. I am using the Analogue outputs, not the digital outputs of the DAC.

I upgraded my home theater set up with a 52" Sony LCD TV and retired my old 46" plasma TV into my "music room".  I run the DVI video output into the 46" TV, so it is my monitor but I have also use an inexpensive 19" wide screen LCD computer monitor it works just fine but is a little harder for the visually challenged at 15 feet.

This set up is Stereo not a surround sound.  My goal is high end music server, although I can watch videos.

I bought a media center remote and there is a small Ir reciever sitting on top of the computer.  I use the remote to turn the computer on and off (suspend and wake up)

The System I built:

Zotac IONITX Mainboard with Atom 330 Single Core 1.6 Ghz processor
1 GB RAm
650GB Western Digital SATA drive (internal)
Sony DVDRW optical drive
Windows 7 Home Premiuim
MC 14
Musiland Monitor 02 US
Belkin Wireless USB

Note: I do not have a keyboard or mouse connected and normally never need one.  In  the event I do want to do some tweaking on MC14 or windows, I simply connect via UltraVNC (free) which allows me to use my main home computer over the home network to remote control the HTPC.  At the time I connect Is see the HTPC video output and my mouse and keyboard are my way to interact.

Keep in mind that although I am not using it the mainboard of the computer has an HDMI output should I want to connect for HD 1080P output.

I have created an "appliance".  The cost was not astronomical and it sounds VERY close to my Audio Refinement CD player (YBA) so I am pleased.  In fact the total cost was less than the price of the CD Player in my main system !

I really enjoy it.  I can build you one if you like or reccomend the parts if you like building computers.

Thanks.
Anthony

[Pjotr]

I am using the Musiland USD-01 USB --> S/PDIF converter (€58 incl. postage) which has basically the same Xilinx USB chipset as the 02 US.

It works flawless at all sample rates with ASIO, Direct sound and Kernel streaming on a XP system and MC15. Have no experience with Wasapi up to now.

Apart from the M2Tech this one is one of the rare USB devices that uses true a-synchronous USB2 data transport. This is the only way to guarantee low jitter through USB.

[HiFiTubes]

Bear in mind, the Matrix may be coming out in a 96kHz via USB capable model soon. I have this DAC running next to my primary DAC and it sounds amazing for the price.

I like the Maverick D1 too which I use at work.

Nice feature about the Proton is analog volume control via the PC; very slick and Gordon's stuff is top notch. The Musiland sounded good when I used it for a project and it's cheap. Don't forget the EMU stuff too.

[HiFiTubes]

Similar system here. Just replacing my Jetway mini-Itx buld with a Zotac ION 330 in an M10 case. No optical drive in order to make room for a Lynx AES16-E via a 1X flexible riser.

I have noticed a lot more lag scrolling through album covers at 1920x1080P but have tweaked directshow filters to get 30-40% cpu load when playing 1080P w/o a hitch. Need the dual function of video even though it is a dedicated 2.0 hifi system feeding external DACs.

Wireless N in the mini-PCI-E slot is pulling from the master PC in the hall and so far no dropouts with 100P or 24/96 audio material.

MC is really functional in this regard with Tremote and the new WebRemote/WebPlay features which I have yet to utilize fully. I may still use Rivermote on the iPhone for now.

Hi,

I built a dedicated pc in a small chassis.  This very small pc however still contains a 3.5" hard drive and 5.25" DVDRW (for ripping and burning).

I have a stereo cabinet with my audio Refinement system and the HTPC plus my totem speakers and PSB sub woofer.  I have the computer and DAC in the cabinet, integrated with the stereo system like any other component.

Next to the computer is the Musiland DAC.  I have an interconnect cable run from the analogue output of the Musiland Monitor 02 US into the AUX input of my integrated amp. I am using the Analogue outputs, not the digital outputs of the DAC.

I upgraded my home theater set up with a 52" Sony LCD TV and retired my old 46" plasma TV into my "music room".  I run the DVI video output into the 46" TV, so it is my monitor but I have also use an inexpensive 19" wide screen LCD computer monitor it works just fine but is a little harder for the visually challenged at 15 feet.

This set up is Stereo not a surround sound.  My goal is high end music server, although I can watch videos.

I bought a media center remote and there is a small Ir reciever sitting on top of the computer.  I use the remote to turn the computer on and off (suspend and wake up)

The System I built:

Zotac IONITX Mainboard with Atom 330 Single Core 1.6 Ghz processor
1 GB RAm
650GB Western Digital SATA drive (internal)
Sony DVDRW optical drive
Windows 7 Home Premiuim
MC 14
Musiland Monitor 02 US
Belkin Wireless USB

Note: I do not have a keyboard or mouse connected and normally never need one.  In  the event I do want to do some tweaking on MC14 or windows, I simply connect via UltraVNC (free) which allows me to use my main home computer over the home network to remote control the HTPC.  At the time I connect Is see the HTPC video output and my mouse and keyboard are my way to interact.

Keep in mind that although I am not using it the mainboard of the computer has an HDMI output should I want to connect for HD 1080P output.

I have created an "appliance".  The cost was not astronomical and it sounds VERY close to my Audio Refinement CD player (YBA) so I am pleased.  In fact the total cost was less than the price of the CD Player in my main system !

I really enjoy it.  I can build you one if you like or reccomend the parts if you like building computers.

Thanks.
Anthony