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[Zhillsguy]

Can anyone recommend a "decent" 5.1 USB DAC, for say less than $150? It seems there is a big gap for what is available in this price range. Reviews are all over the place for budget 5.1 DAC's.....what have been your experiences, good or bad? I keep coming back to the Creative Soundblaster X-Fi Surround 5.1 SB1095, but man, everyone knows how Creative can be with drivers and software.....
This will be used with a laptop in a portable environment.

Thanks.

[stevemac]

I've just started using an Asus Xonar U7 http://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_U7/  The price was ~ AUD$95.   Whilst it is capable of 7.1 I'm using it for 5.1

From my perspective the sound is much better than the onboard audio I was using.  After about 5 hrs of music listening I've noticed the following

• 2 x 0.5 sec ish silence in the middle of a track.  I'll be playing with the buffering to try & sort it out
• Slight click when sample rates change between tracks in playlists.  I plan to configure MC to upsample everything & see how that goes

I haven't watched a lot of video yet.  At this stage the sync between the monitor (via HDMI) & the DAC (USB) has been OK

cheers,

Steve

[mojave]

I hate going over people's budget, but I would suggest the Behringer FCA610 Firepower for $199.

It packs a lot of features into such a small device:
Firewire connectivity and can receiver power over Firewire.
USB 2.0 connectivity
8 balanced outputs
2 headphone outputs
2 mic inputs with phantom power
Master volume control on device (useful when measuring the room testing/setup)
ASIO drivers

With this you can take multi-channel measurements using Audiolense (measurement feature is free), get exact delay settings for use in JRiver's DSP, and make some EQ corrections by exporting the impulse response and using Room EQ Wizard (REW) to suggest filters for use in JRiver's DSP.

[Jakenz]

Hi there, first time poster.

Does anyone have experience with these cheapy 5.1 eBay processors with USB input?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fanmusic-HF-D1B-AC3-DTS-5-1-DIGIT-DAC-USB-Read-Memo-/180831277325?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1a62510d

More specifically a) does it sound any good and b) can MC direct its channel routing etc?

I've also got my eye on the Steinberg UR824 but wouldn't mind testing the water with something cheaper to begin with. My experience is there are some bargains to be had with cheap and simple Chinese 2-ch dacs built around decent chipsets... Not sure if it is true for this 5 channel one.

Cheers
Jake

[Zhillsguy]

I've just started using an Asus Xonar U7 http://www.asus.com/Sound_Cards_and_DigitaltoAnalog_Converters/Xonar_U7/  The price was ~ AUD$95.   Whilst it is capable of 7.1 I'm using it for 5.1

From my perspective the sound is much better than the onboard audio I was using.  After about 5 hrs of music listening I've noticed the following

• 2 x 0.5 sec ish silence in the middle of a track.  I'll be playing with the buffering to try & sort it out
• Slight click when sample rates change between tracks in playlists.  I plan to configure MC to upsample everything & see how that goes

I haven't watched a lot of video yet.  At this stage the sync between the monitor (via HDMI) & the DAC (USB) has been OK

cheers,

Steve

Thanks Steve.....that looks very interesting, have not seen it before on line. Great specs and reviews. Please keep us posted on your experience.

[Zhillsguy]

I hate going over people's budget, but I would suggest the Behringer FCA610 Firepower for $199.

It packs a lot of features into such a small device:
Firewire connectivity and can receiver power over Firewire.
USB 2.0 connectivity
8 balanced outputs
2 headphone outputs
2 mic inputs with phantom power
Master volume control on device (useful when measuring the room testing/setup)
ASIO drivers

With this you can take multi-channel measurements using Audiolense (measurement feature is free), get exact delay settings for use in JRiver's DSP, and make some EQ corrections by exporting the impulse response and using Room EQ Wizard (REW) to suggest filters for use in JRiver's DSP.

Thanks Mojave....budgets are made to be broken. That unit would be the ticket, I noticed that in another thread here. I will keep my eye on it to see how things develop with other users here..... it sounds like for 5.1 MC would not be difficult to set up, as long as the ASIO driver is proper.

[Zhillsguy]

I hate going over people's budget, but I would suggest the Behringer FCA610 Firepower for $199.

I have been looking a little more at this unit, and its larger sibling the FCA1616 (for rack mounting convenience).

Assuming the ASIO driver is required for this unit, can anyone tell me if the driver allows volume remote control with Gizmo? In my very limited experience with ASIO drivers sometimes it is not possible. Does anyone know if it will fully function in Win 7 without installing the ASIO package?

Also, I assume this is equivalent to a "preamp" thereby the balance outs will adequately drive my ART and QSC pro amps. I would need to run 2.1, with >100Hz going to the ART for mains and <100Hz going to the QSC for subs. I assume this would be relatively easy to set up in MC. Not having remote volume capability or driving the pro amps directly would be a deal breaker.

That being said, I am hesitant to purchase anything Behringer right now since I just had a <2 year old CX2310 crossover power supply go out. That unit was never gigged and was always operated in a temperature controlled non-smoking environment in my home. Behringer would not cover the failure under warranty since I didn't "register" it within 90 days of purchase. Ugh. Speaking with some folks at the suppliers all say the same thing.....Behringer stuff is good when it works, but a lot of their models share a common trait.....weak power supplies that fail prematurely. I have owned a few of the EP amps and they are probably the best thing they ever made. If one of the FCA units are usable I could eliminate the crossover and small Mackie mixer I use to convert pc level output to "pro" level, and well as the occasional microphone use (and a handy volume knob).
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Edit: I received an answer from care@music-group (Behringer) to an email inquiry sent a few days ago, see c&p below:

Question: I am looking at either one of these units [FCA610/FCA1616] for purchase and have a couple of basic questions, since they are not fully covered in the available documentation: My setup is using a laptop to play music with two pro amps, an ART SLA-2 (mains) and a QSC GX5 (subs). I will be using the USB output of the laptop playing music to the FCA unit. Are the FCA units capable of driving the pro amps directly to full volume without an additional preamp?

Answer: Yes, both units can be used as the overall sound card for your computer. This means that you will be able to play music directly from your computer through either one of these units. The outputs of each unit will produce a line level signal that should be more than strong enough to be used with the the amps that you had mentioned.  

Question: Does Windows 7/8 automatically install a usable driver for the units without installing the ASIO package? If so, will I have access to all 8 outputs within Windows?

Answer: Windows 7/8 will not automatically install the drivers for these units. You will need to download and install the specific driver for each unit. The access to each of the outputs for both units is controlled by the audio software being used with the unit. So, for example, if you are using a multi-track recording software, then you will need to setup the specific outputs to be used for each track within the software itself.
-----------------------------
This only leaves the unanswered question about remote volume control with Gizmo. Does anyone know how this particular driver package acts in this regard? I found that the ASIO drivers I used for the Behringer UCA202 and HiFiMeDIY DAC's leave the volume at full.

Thanks......

[glynor]

Use MC's internal volume control, which is probably higher quality anyway.

[Zhillsguy]

Use MC's internal volume control, which is probably higher quality anyway.

Thanks Glynor....that's what I will do. I re-installed the UCA202 ASIO driver and the internal volume worked like a charm. The FCA unit will replace my current USB DAC, Mackie 402-VLZ3, and crossover. Much simpler and cleaner system.

[Zhillsguy]

As an update....I received the FCA1616 today, and I am not pleased so far. I think Behringer needs to work on their drivers, or I just haven't been able to get the settings right between it and JRiver.

I finally got the driver installed and firmware updated, configuring the 2.1 output in JRiver was easy.... but I don't quite get the ASIO thing, or at least Behringer's version of it.

The control panel has adjustable "Synchronisation" and "Settings".

The Synchronisation has various sampling rates available 44.1, 48, 88.2 and 96. It only has a "Manual" selection button that is alway on.....when the sampling rate changes, say from music audio to a 48 Khz video....a few very noticeable pops occur.

The "Settings" option has Stream buffer depth adjustable from 1ms to 16 ms, ASIO buffer depth from 1 ms (132 samples) to 80 ms (3564 samples), and WDM sound buffer depth also from 1 ms to 80 ms.

No matter what adjustments are made in the ASIO control panel (notwithstanding all of the loud pops when doing so) simple music playback is not steady and I get random "surging" of sounds, with sounds similar to dropouts sprinkled in. A very "uneven" sound. If I can't get it straightened out by tomorrow it goes back and I go back to the prior setup.

Edit 3/30: I contacted Behringer and it is a faulty unit. I sent it back to B&H Photo and am getting another for one last chance with this model.

Edit 4/3 I received the new unit and it is a keeper. Took a little getting used to, I definitely like it. Compared to my previous setup (two channel DAC>Mackie 402-VLZ3 mixer>crossover (Behringer or DBX)>power amps) sounds different, almost "sterile". Noise floor is virtually gone. I am sure it is not "audiophile" quality but much better than using all of the analog stuff stacked in-line. Since I am only using it for music/movies playback, I can't comment on any of its other functionality (recording, mixing, etc.).

Pros: Easy setup for multiple channels in JRiver (assuming other software will also); good sound with low noise floor; this is the only DAC unit available in this price range with multiple balanced outputs

Cons: Doesn't have as much volume knob "headroom" (gain) as my other setups, but apparently will reach full amp output, but I now use Adaptive Volume with Volume Leveling (full output not tested yet); knobs feel "cheesy"; major system pops when changing bit rate or digital input (avoided); drivers are the typical Behringer "quality"; when tooling around with it last night it played 2 random songs -garbled- at different times, had to stop/restart playback in MC to correct

I also discovered what appears to be a bug in MC's equalizer, will start a new thread.