Topic: High-quality 8-channel analog output (Read 57988 times)

Matt · « **Reply #50 on:** April 27, 2012, 12:53:22 am »

I've been trying to contact many of the manufacturers listed here.

I don't think there's a great resource for picking this hardware, and I think JRiver could help a little.

If things work out, I'll try to slowly post reviews and start owner threads for various pieces of popular hardware.

If any manufacturer happens to stumble onto this thread (or if you have good contacts at a manufacturer), please contact me at matt at jriver dot com.

Thanks.

ccclapp · « **Reply #51 on:** May 01, 2012, 04:16:10 pm »

There is also the very viable DIY high-end 8-ch DAC option by using these together. Ive just built one:

http://www.exadevices.com/Home.aspx
http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/digital/buffalo.aspx

Here are forums:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/twisted-pear/188941-buffalo-iii-flexibility-without-compromise.html

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/exadevices/200285-exau2i-32bit-384khz-multi-channel-asynchronous-usb-i2s-interface.html

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/exadevices/183374-exau2i-multi-channel-asynchronous-usb-i2s-interface.html

http://www.twistedpearaudio.com/forum/yaf_topics19_Buffalo-DAC.aspx

Have fun

fooze · « **Reply #52 on:** May 14, 2012, 05:30:08 am »

My setup:

Saffire Pro 24 (only 6 analogue outputs)
http://www.focusrite.com/products/audio_interfaces/saffire_pro_24/

AU$330

Behringer A500 (for mains)
http://www.behringer.com/en/Products/A500.aspx
AU$330

Behringer EPX2800 (for the sub)
AU$530
http://www.behringer.com/en/Products/EPX2800.aspx

All balanced interconnects, so no noise problems, and can run interconnects as long as I like. I've tried using straight power amps, but didn't like it due to the problem described with overpowering them, and also I prefer to feed the preamps with as hot a signal as possible and match levels with the knobs on the amps.

Don't bother looking too hard for sonic differences between audio interfaces, my experience is I can't tell the difference between anything modern in blind testing. I just prefer the form factor and ruggedness of the pro gear.

natehansen66 · « **Reply #53 on:** May 14, 2012, 07:42:19 pm »

I just got an Echo AudioFire 12 today, and so far I'm quite happy with it. Time will tell. Sound quality is quite good, though my only comparison is to the D/As in the 2x4 miniDSP and some Chinese stuff a while back.....I won't mention my PC's onboard sound

.

Subjectively (and it's been a while since I heard the mini's) I'd say it's better. Build quality looks top notch, and the software is super easy to use. I had my 4-way active speakers playing music in a half hour from opening the box. Initially, it didn't sound right, almost harsh. For whatever reason it always takes me a couple minutes to adjust to new gear/speakers. That, and I was getting used to my hazy sounding mobo outs. Much more defined detail now, and a smoother presentation. That's about as far as I go with audiophile descriptions

I was considering higher end soundcards like the Asus ST + H6 and the Omega Claro stuff, but couldn't get past having the analog section in the PC. That, and eventually I'll need more than 8 channels. Figured I'd just bite the bullet now and hopefully not have to upgrade for a few years (yeah right!).

fooze · « **Reply #54 on:** May 15, 2012, 12:32:29 am »

Nate, that interface looks pretty awesome. And for US$600 that's $50 per output! At 24/192 that seems excellent value.

It also has a beefy DSP. Could Media Center take advantage of the DSP's included in many of the audio interfaces on the market?

natehansen66 · « **Reply #55 on:** May 15, 2012, 05:54:26 pm »

DSP, yeah........but it's basically just a digital mixer. AFAIK it can't do any onboard processing other than routing and mixing channels. Some of their other models might.

I think a computer is a much more powerful platform for DSP than an interface though.....I'm half tempted to build a PC just for audio processing! It doesn't seem that J River could really work with the onboard DSP of any of these devices, they all use different software for configuration and JR would probably have to work with the manufacturers individually as none of this stuff is open source AFAIK.

Gotta say I'm liking this thing even more today!

Baldy · « **Reply #56 on:** May 29, 2012, 04:16:42 pm »

Im using Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe connected to my Arcam AVR 280 Receiver through the DVD-A/SACD analog inputs. So far no problems! I resample everything in JRiver to 192kHz/24bit.
I use the included Xonar software for subwoofer and speaker-level settings and have no problems listening to music or watching blueray movies, its awesome soundquality!

HiFiTubes · « **Reply #57 on:** May 29, 2012, 04:18:54 pm »

I think the new Mytek's will even do multi-channel DSD.

Quote from: Matt on April 02, 2012, 08:29:00 pm

I'm bumping this because I'm curious if there have been any hardware developments in the last couple years to improve the state of 8-channel (or more) analog output from a computer.

I'm reasonable happy with my X-Fi Fata1ty, although I would give the driver a B-. The control panel is overly complicated (I feel sorry for a new user trying to get channel routing right), and it loses its settings sometimes if the machine doesn't reboot gracefully.

Does anyone have first hand experience between an X-Fi and something like the Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe? Has Asus gotten it together with their drivers, or are the alternate drivers really solid?

Are there any audiophile-grade USB DACs that do 8 channels? I keep asking Gordon Rankin for this, but I think audiophile business must be predominately in the 2-channel camp.

Any other hardware worth checking out?

Thanks.

bassmann · « **Reply #58 on:** August 11, 2012, 05:12:08 am »

Hi Matt,

The threads a little dated but i just read it so hope my prespective helps.

I use a M-Audio Profire 610 which has 8 analog outs and 2 digital. It also has 2 mic pramps with phantom power which is great if you want to measure your speakers with say REW. The outs are balanced and 1/4 inch phono (TRS) so you can DIY HQ cables for direct connection to a mulitchannel poweramp. This is a firewire device so you need a MOBO with firewire or card to support. You can pick these up for $200, sometimes $150 off ebay so is great value. Unit also has a master volume control.

They perform great and audio is crystal clear. The response is extremely flat (i've calibrated my card), work great with JR with ASIO drivers with fastactic DAC's and dynamic range doing 10 channels at 24/196 if required. The only downside is (IMO) M-audio DACs are a bit on the sterile side, but accurate (compared to more expensive pro audio devices which can be warmer (i.e. presonus). Unless you are doing pro audio,for a HTPC they are great.

In terms of poweramp pop on boot, get an amp with 12v dc triggers (moves the problem away from the audio card).

Thanks,

bassmann

Fred1 · « **Reply #59 on:** August 12, 2012, 01:51:15 am »

Did you consider the RME Fireface family, professional "sounndcards"?

SpeedD408 · « **Reply #60 on:** September 17, 2012, 12:56:08 pm »

I have the Echo AudioFire 12 and really like it.

John.

SpeedD408 · « **Reply #61 on:** September 17, 2012, 03:51:26 pm »

Quote from: hulkss on April 02, 2012, 10:51:02 pm

I'm using the 16 channel model and it works great. It uses Lynx Studio Technology’s proprietary SynchroLock™ technology to virtually eliminate USB bus jitter when slaving the Aurora to USB. It sound's fantastic (meaning I don't hear it at all) with plenty of output voltage to drive power amps directly.

http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=2
http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=58

Nice piece of gear. Have you compared it to the Echo AudioFire 12? just looking at the spec sheets and other than the 4 additional channels and 113db vs 117 db S/N, I'm not sure I see $2K worth of differences. Not that it isn't there, it just isn't obvious to me.

thanks,

hulkss · « **Reply #62 on:** September 17, 2012, 11:51:25 pm »

That echo unit looks good. I was not aware of it. I could have bought two of those as I need 16 channels for my set-up. I did buy the Aurora model with variable analog gain on all channels which is nice to match gain of different speakers.

natehansen66 · « **Reply #63 on:** September 18, 2012, 07:52:32 pm »

Quote from: speedd408 on September 17, 2012, 03:51:26 pm

Nice piece of gear. Have you compared it to the Echo AudioFire 12? just looking at the spec sheets and other than the 4 additional channels and 113db vs 117 db S/N, I'm not sure I see $2K worth of differences. Not that it isn't there, it just isn't obvious to me.

thanks,

There's more to it than just the spec sheet. You could have the latest, greatest, most expensive DAC chips but if the analog implementation of the conversion is crap then it doesn't really matter. Power supplies are a biggie too. The quality/tolerance of the components used can make a huge difference as well. That extra $2k can mean a lot if it's actually done with quality in mind and not dollar signs.......

Glad you like your Echo! I've had mine for about 4 months now and it's solid. No problems whatever and the sq is excellent.

SpeedD408 · « **Reply #64 on:** September 19, 2012, 03:08:04 pm »

Nate,

I wasn't trying to diss anything. I was just curious. I know there is more to it than just the spec sheet, thus why I asked the question. When I was looking at the Echo, I also considered the MOTU HD192. Both 12 ports, both 192/24 capable. I went with the Echo due to cost (ease of getting into this type setup). However, in a couple years when my Echo stops working for some reason (I bought it used), then I'll reconsider MOTU, Lynx and others (I wasn't aware of Lynx before this thread).

Thanks,

Mitchco · « **Reply #65 on:** January 04, 2013, 12:29:51 pm »

Quote from: hulkss on April 02, 2012, 10:51:02 pm

I'm using the 16 channel model and it works great. It uses Lynx Studio Technology’s proprietary SynchroLock™ technology to virtually eliminate USB bus jitter when slaving the Aurora to USB. It sound's fantastic (meaning I don't hear it at all) with plenty of output voltage to drive power amps directly.

http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=2
http://www.lynxstudio.com/product_detail.asp?i=58

+1 on the Lynx. While I don't do multi-channel, I have used Lynx Aurora products for multi-channel recording in the studio and at home I use the Lynx Hilo. Lynx is one of the best sounding AD/DA's you can purchase today, but a bit pricier than most internal sound cards.

Another audiophile grade 8 channel solution is from Exasound here in Canada: http://www.exasound.com/e18DAC/e18DACOverview.aspx

Cheers,

Mitch

Matt · « **Reply #66 on:** January 20, 2013, 11:54:35 am »

I'm cross-linking in this Lynx vs Steinberg vs Creative comparison since it directly addresses the topic of this thread:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=77508.0

Datman · « **Reply #67 on:** January 20, 2013, 06:25:57 pm »

Quote from: Baldy on May 29, 2012, 04:16:42 pm

Im using Xonar HDAV1.3 Deluxe connected to my Arcam AVR 280 Receiver through the DVD-A/SACD analog inputs. So far no problems! I resample everything in JRiver to 192kHz/24bit.
I use the included Xonar software for subwoofer and speaker-level settings and have no problems listening to music or watching blueray movies, its awesome soundquality!

I have been using the Xonar 1.3 deluxe for about 2 years. I love it. Before that and still being used for other recording an Echo Mona it had 6 analog outputs and sounded great. I had to send the Mona in for service and demoed the Echo Firewire model and it did not integrate well with my older laptop I already had a Behringer Adatthat gave me a total of 12 24/48 channels for recording. I was happy when Echo was able to repair my Mona and returned the firewire model.

Comparing both each had things I liked. The Mona sounds better for music playback and the Xonar was better for playback of movies. It is spec-ed to pass 24/192 audio to the analogs and will decode DTHD and DTSMA. The drivers work for me but could be better. They need a channel delay and they would be A- in rating. Echo on the other hand has been great about driver updates. For my Mona their last W7/W8 update was 12/19/11 not to bad. I’m still waiting for the Asus updates. Go on the Asus forum and see how happy they are.

If it were me, and I only know of these two manufactures I would try to see if Echo would work their customer service is much better.

I don’t know if my comments are too late but it was kind of nice to see I not the only one using analog inputs still.

mykillk · « **Reply #68 on:** January 22, 2013, 01:21:49 am »

Just throwing this out there, but back a few years ago when I was really into music production, all the technicans I talked to raved about RME cards. Impeccable sound quality and some of the lowest latencies around.

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_index.php

Matt · « **Reply #69 on:** January 22, 2013, 07:30:21 pm »

Quote from: mykillk on January 22, 2013, 01:21:49 am

Just throwing this out there, but back a few years ago when I was really into music production, all the technicans I talked to raved about RME cards. Impeccable sound quality and some of the lowest latencies around.

http://www.rme-audio.de/en_index.php

I've communicated with the owner of RME a few times. He's a nice guy.

I was trying to see if he would be interested in marketing a little more to the home audio crowd. I was also hoping they would like to participate in a hardware review.

But last we spoke, they weren't too interested in either. Someday I might try them again.

luckyaua · « **Reply #70 on:** March 22, 2013, 08:07:57 am »

Quote from: Matt on January 20, 2013, 11:54:35 am

I'm cross-linking in this Lynx vs Steinberg vs Creative comparison since it directly addresses the topic of this thread:
http://yabb.jriver.com/interact/index.php?topic=77508.0

Good review..pls...have you controlled if these interfaces makes loud pops during the auto change of sample rate during playing of audio tracks?

Thx.

pschelbert · « **Reply #71 on:** March 23, 2013, 02:35:42 pm »

I am using with MC18 a RME Fireface UFX on USB with ASIO. Computer: Win7 64-Bit
Changing sample rate, you hear a slight click, nothing bad but its not silent.

Otherwise the audio-quality is great.

You get 12 analog out.

Peter

luckyaua · « **Reply #72 on:** March 25, 2013, 10:28:55 am »

ok....thx

and with other your interface motu 828 Mk3 Hybrid? you've never tried for problem on auto change sample rate or you've tried on other software like foobar?

INTERACT FORUM

Author Topic: High-quality 8-channel analog output (Read 57988 times)