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MDAC first listen thread

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Just wondering if anyone every pair CDQ/MDAC with XPA-1 or any other power amp that have gain as high as 32db? Will I have problem listening at low level during late night using mainly XLR direct to the XPA1? My speaker are Dali Ms5 which has sensitivity of 89db (2.83v/1m).

Still considering whether to get a pair of XPA-1 during holiday sale....
 
Has anyone discussed sound cards for PC's? At the moment I'm very happy listening via USB , but just wondered how much better optical would be with clock i/o synced
It's unlikely that it would be any better. Right now, asynchronous USB is probably the best digital interface for many purposes because it allows the receiver (DAC) to run its own master clock regardless of the clock characteristics of the sender - this is a luxury that SPDIF does not have. Even if your DAC issues a clock lock signal, the sending device has to lock to it so you are dependent on the quality of that lock to some extent.

Asynchronous USB has the luxury of being (along with Firewire) a flow-controlled digital interface method which allows the receiver's clock to be largely independent of the sender. Don't throw that luxury away by using SPDIF!
 
Hi John and Dominik,

I am in the process of picking up a USB isolator and was wondering if there are any particularly good ones which you can recommend please?

Thanks very much!

John
 
Ok.

However, where is the uncritical bit? It's not as if the designer is a brand newbie with no rep or that the previous two products were not exceptionally well received.

Also, here, as elswhere on any given forum, there is no compulsion to read anything at all.

I really can't understand those who get upset with a thread and then continue to read it. Seems not much more than self flagellation. Why?

Last time I checked this is a discussion forum and as long as you aren't trolling your entitled to your opinion and posting it unless I missed the part in the thread title that says you can only post positively or not at all :confused:
 
FOR SALE MDAC.

Gentlemen sorry to say I'm leaving the fold. A Weiss 202 has become available at a price I cannot refuse. MDAC for sale in classifieds.
 
It's unlikely that it would be any better. Right now, asynchronous USB is probably the best digital interface for many purposes because it allows the receiver (DAC) to run its own master clock regardless of the clock characteristics of the sender - this is a luxury that SPDIF does not have. Even if your DAC issues a clock lock signal, the sending device has to lock to it so you are dependent on the quality of that lock to some extent.

Asynchronous USB has the luxury of being (along with Firewire) a flow-controlled digital interface method which allows the receiver's clock to be largely independent of the sender. Don't throw that luxury away by using SPDIF!

Ok thanks for the details, I have a basic understanding of SPDIF. I'm not throwing away USB by implementing a new sound card, just would like to experiment by trying optical with additional word clock i/o as per Dominik's comments in regards to avoiding 2nd stage jitter and his preferred interface method.

I did post a while ago on the subject , throwing in a few user based facilities/design ideas in respect to the streamer John and Dominik might possibly produce. I'm in no way technical in this area but looking from a users perspective a well designed computer housing with bespoke sound card/digital interface and power supply in a case similar to the M-DAC. Still doing the research at the moment.
 
Last time I checked this is a discussion forum and as long as you aren't trolling your entitled to your opinion and posting it unless I missed the part in the thread title that says you can only post positively or not at all :confused:

Never said it was or wasn't. Negativitie's fine when there's something negative to say otherwise it's just whining.
 
It's unlikely that it would be any better. Right now, asynchronous USB is probably the best digital interface for many purposes because it allows the receiver (DAC) to run its own master clock regardless of the clock characteristics of the sender - this is a luxury that SPDIF does not have. Even if your DAC issues a clock lock signal, the sending device has to lock to it so you are dependent on the quality of that lock to some extent.

Asynchronous USB has the luxury of being (along with Firewire) a flow-controlled digital interface method which allows the receiver's clock to be largely independent of the sender. Don't throw that luxury away by using SPDIF!

Is this correct? Last time I checked, AES3 contained block and frame IDs on every single sample, meaning that a buffered DAC can completely ignore upstream clocks and rebuild the signal as a stack in its own buffer. In fact, according to the manufacturer that's exactly what the DACMagic does. The bit depth of the AES3 block and frame ID slots is enough that it only rolls over in the order of once a day at normal sample rates. For upstream jitter to affect the signal your streamer would need to send a frame more than a day late. If your DAC ignores S/PDIF's built-in sequencing data then that's your DAC's fault. Get a better one and stop blaming the bus or the protocol which your DAC has failed to implement adequately.
 
Is this correct?
Any SPDIF receiver must, in the long term, lock to the incoming clock rate if it's to avoid the need, sooner or later, to roll over. Bear in mind that the long term clock accuracy of some domestic kit is generally not fantastic. A buffer can help you avoid short term issues but if the clock isn't spot on, the tub will eventually overflow or run dry.

the use of a flow-controlled protocol such as asynchronous USB completely absolves the receiver of any issues related to the need to adjust its clock rate to accommodate the sender and this cannot be a bad thing.

In this respect, asynchronous USB is about as close as it gets to a free lunch. While conventional SPDIF can be made to work well, the former has elegance on its side. But all that would come to naught if the MDAC didn't sound bloody good, which it does, compared to my DACMagic.
 
would like to experiment by trying optical with additional word clock i/o as per Dominik's comments in regards to avoiding 2nd stage jitter and his preferred interface method

Just be sure you are not throwing the baby out with the bathwater. You are introducing not only the additional complication of the hardware, but also its drivers. You then need to ensure that the material you are playing back via the sound card's digital output remains locked to the signal on its input. Make sure the card you buy is capable of this.

Remember Occam's Razor or, more familiarly speaking, K.I.S.S!
 
i have asked this question numerous times on several forums but not had a full answer....if anyone knows....i have spoken to one designer but don't want to misquote him on here so,

does an asio driver set up work in a similar way to these asynchronous usb set ups....namely working like a kind of flow control and clock contraption thang!?
 
My understanding is that ASIO or Kernel Streaming simply allows the data to bypass the OS's sound kernel, thus ensuring bit perfect output.
Keith.
 
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