Do you mean it wouldn't be beneficial or that type of interconnect is not commercially available? I suspect the former, as the company you recommended a few postings ago make one.
Do you or anyone have any idea why it wouldn't be beneficial? Thanks.
MDAC first listen (part III)
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Do you mean it wouldn't be beneficial or that type of interconnect is not commercially available? I suspect the former, as the company you recommended a few postings ago make one.
Do you or anyone have any idea why it wouldn't be beneficial? Thanks.
why would it be beneficial?
I read on another website regarding this question: "If the DAC actually works in balanced mode then that output should be superior; but if extra circuitry has had to be incorporated to generate the balanced output, then the phono output is quite likely superior." That is why I thought it might be worth asking about here; plus the fact that XLR-RCA interconnects are available at reasonable prices.
It will be superior ...... into a balanced input.
It's a complete balanced interconnected system that makes it superior.
It would all depend on the detailed circuit implementation but Balanced out to unbalanced in is very likely to either
- leave 1 half of the balanced output unused - so it's still an unbalanced connection
- or short out 1 half of the balanced output (not good)
I'd expect that any connectors you've found will do the former
It's possible to conceive of a particular interconnection that may give an element of a balanced signal but it would probably rely on floating chassis earths and in practice would probably result in the 2nd of the options above
so overall
- if you have a choice use the output that matches your input
not worth the hassle any other way
Thanks.
LittleToast
pfm Member
Maverick came over to my place yesterday. We both have the MDAC.
My source is a laptop with J river media player 16 and my files are all in wav ripped from CD.
Then Maverick suggested we try playing via his iPad direct into the mdac.
And it sounded much better than my laptop for the same song. So I asked him what is his audio format and he said 320k mp3 and I nearly fell off my chair.
So a laptop running on bat with wifi switched off is still a far cry from the quality from the iPad..... I feel both happy and sad at the same time. All my efforts to convert 100s of my CDs in wav...
Anyway Maverick tried streaming audio via iPad to the mdac and he tested it to be bit perfect. Not bad at all. Anyone else tried?
My source is a laptop with J river media player 16 and my files are all in wav ripped from CD.
Then Maverick suggested we try playing via his iPad direct into the mdac.
And it sounded much better than my laptop for the same song. So I asked him what is his audio format and he said 320k mp3 and I nearly fell off my chair.
So a laptop running on bat with wifi switched off is still a far cry from the quality from the iPad..... I feel both happy and sad at the same time. All my efforts to convert 100s of my CDs in wav...
Anyway Maverick tried streaming audio via iPad to the mdac and he tested it to be bit perfect. Not bad at all. Anyone else tried?
PhilCTTE
Senior mumbler
is that via camera adaptor ? interesting findings . Perhaps the track was a poor recording and it was exposed via usb laptop and masked by Ipad. What were the differences heard?
LittleToast
pfm Member
Yes, it is via the camera adapter. The usb output from the laptop seems to be noisier. The output from the ipad sounds quiet with very good highs and the energy of the song is not lost. It actually sounds pretty analog.
Anyone in my shoes who is using the computer as a source should compare that with playing through an ipad.
Our test wasn't 100% reliable as we did not use the same cd to rip the music. It is just the same song from different. Our original discs are from different countries. I just borrowed a camera adapter and later when I get home I will test on my iPad using the same piece of music. And also try streaming.
LittleToast
pfm Member
Even if I use an ipad do I then need to buy a second ipad so I can the use second ipad it while the first one is connect to my hifi?
2 ideas come to mind. A iphone/ipad dock with spdif out or an apple tv. But I am not sure how they would compare with my laptop. Has anyone tried such a solution?
2 ideas come to mind. A iphone/ipad dock with spdif out or an apple tv. But I am not sure how they would compare with my laptop. Has anyone tried such a solution?
JohnW
pfm member
Hi Tom,
Yes no problem, connect your Active monitors via XLR - and try connecting the sub via the RCA output.
Its not recommended to use both the XLR and RCA outputs at the same time, but no harm will be done (depending upon your system, it might slightly degrade the SQ of the XLR outputs) - but no harm in trying.
fusion5
on the dark side of hifi...
Since both solutions connect via spdif you don't have the benefits of the async usb connection. In my eyes the only real alternative would be a mac mini (running mac os).
My M-DAC hasn't arrived yet so i don't have any first hand experience. But I was planning on using a laptop (running win7) to feed the mdac. Do you have access to a second laptop/pc to verify your results from the laptop-ipad comparison?
Michael
JohnW
pfm member
Not a silly question, and one that has been asked before.
I'd considered it, but it would degrade the MDAC as a system.
Ideally you would want to isolated any coupling of RF interference from the SBT to the MDAC / audio system. The best way to do this is to Galvanically isolate the SBT from the MDAC using the optical output (no Electrical connection).
The M-PAX could have an isolated output, but RF currents from the SBT would still find there way into the MDAC supply connections via internal capacitive coupling (via Chassis and transformer interwinding capacitance etc).
Once my the container arrives from China (30th Jan) with contents of my Lab, I'll be able to take some jitter measurements of the SBT with standard and a "Low Noise" PSU... (ATM I can measure the Jitter but have no PSU!!!)
I propose the best solution is to add our ClockLock update to the SBT. Even without being used clock-locked to the MDAC, the Jitter on the SPDIF / Optical outputs should be reduced close to 100 times less - if my early measurements are correct.
PhilCTTE
Senior mumbler
I found on my laptop it really benefits from a usb isolator (Olimex), to stop any noise from PC.
PhilCTTE
Senior mumbler
Hi John (badgering again sorry),
Regards the CD Transport USB to Spdif convertor unit.
How far down the line are you in the final design for it?
Would there be options to include or exclude the cd side of things?
Would there be any chance of providing an over sized case for all this , so I could fit an mini-itx motherboard inside and SSD with internal usb connection to your "wotnots" (see I am technical) ?.
The reason is that with MDAC MPAX cd-transport (MTRANS) PC etc ... a lot of us will be running out of room on our racks. Plus I'm sure you would be able to sell this be the lorry load .... asking to much ? or not financially viable for yourselves?
Regards the CD Transport USB to Spdif convertor unit.
How far down the line are you in the final design for it?
Would there be options to include or exclude the cd side of things?
Would there be any chance of providing an over sized case for all this , so I could fit an mini-itx motherboard inside and SSD with internal usb connection to your "wotnots" (see I am technical) ?.
The reason is that with MDAC MPAX cd-transport (MTRANS) PC etc ... a lot of us will be running out of room on our racks. Plus I'm sure you would be able to sell this be the lorry load .... asking to much ? or not financially viable for yourselves?
Keith - I'm not saying there isn't some superb >96kHz stuff out there, but in the grand scheme of things it's, sadly, insignificant.
If there really is any one necessary mission to the music industry, it's persuading that industry to continue releasing in 16/44 and not allow MP3 to become a 'formal' standard!
Hi John, I imagine the answer is no, but is it possible to add HDCD compatibility to the MDAC? I can work around it for streamed music by pre-converting the files, but it would be nice to be able to play the discs too when your transport comes along. Not a biggy though - I probably only have about 20 HDCD discs!
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