USB DAC

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pre65
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#1 USB DAC

Post by pre65 »

If I had a DAC with a USB input, would that mean my music files on the computer would not go through my soundcard ?

And would a USB connection allow quality sound ?
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Nick
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#2

Post by Nick »

1. Yes thats correct.
2. Its entirly possible.
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#3

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brig001
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#4

Post by brig001 »

I have a USB DAC and a soundcard and can get music out of either - this can be awkward since one is a Skype phone. Assuming Windows, set one to be the primary sound device (I chose the soundcard) - all Windows sounds etc. will come out of this. In you favourite media player, you should be able to set which sound device is used for that.

For example, in VLC, go to Tools - Preferences, Show all settings, Audio - DirectX - Output Device. Then you can choose.

HTH, Brian.
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ed
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#5 currently available boards

Post by ed »

forgive this if it's been flogged before.....

does anybody know of curretnly available usb dac board that will genuinely support 24/192.........there are a few boards that have been shown to support 24/192 but when using the usb i/f they are limited.....

not sure of the discrepencies but usb 2.0 is well up to the task

I've been searching, but all the boards I've found now contain the disclaimer that usb i/f renders them as '16/44 high end sound cards'

drivers for these?
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#6 Re: currently available boards

Post by The Stratmangler »

ed wrote:forgive this if it's been flogged before.....

does anybody know of curretnly available usb dac board that will genuinely support 24/192.........there are a few boards that have been shown to support 24/192 but when using the usb i/f they are limited.....

not sure of the discrepencies but usb 2.0 is well up to the task

I've been searching, but all the boards I've found now contain the disclaimer that usb i/f renders them as '16/44 high end sound cards'

drivers for these?
The EMU0202 USB ADC/DAC can support 24/192 on Windows based systems.
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#7

Post by ed »

thanks Chris

not really what I'm looking for though...the emphasis is on 'board'

it's for testing streaming to an arm board, so windows is not a lot of help at this stage....

diet: here's an example of the confusing discrepancy

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Assembled-CS8 ... 3369b5c866
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#8

Post by Mike H »

This any help?

http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/USB_DAC.htm

Click on 'couple of models' (2 off) for example specs.

Seems you need USB 2.0. Also your computer USB internals (bus?) have to be 2.0 compatible as well else won't do the speed.

Also it says Windows cannot do > 96 kHz, regardless of all else apparently.
 
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#9

Post by Mike H »

 
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Ray P
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#10

Post by Ray P »

Mike H wrote:Also it says Windows cannot do > 96 kHz, regardless of all else apparently.
tis not true, there are USB boards that will output at 24bit/192KHz, this one for example;

http://sotm-audio.com/sotm/products/tX-USB.htm

and the ESI Juli@ sound card that I'll be using in my new music computer will output at 24/192 via SPDIF.

There are others too.

Ray
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#11

Post by Ray P »

Ed, instead of looking for a USB DAC, try a search for a USB input board that you can plug into a DAC that might otherwise handle the hi-res data. I had a quick look and came across this which, being hackable, might be up your street?

http://www.qnktc.com/ab_11/

Ray
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#12

Post by Mike H »

Ray P wrote:tis not true, there are USB boards that will output at 24bit/192KHz, this one for example
Ah yeah but no but that's a plug-in PCI bus USB host card isn't it? Not the machine's own "standard" USB. Which is what I was reading about. :wink:

Microsoft haven't produced anything yet (according to that article) to run native USB class 2 at max. speed, hence the advice to get a third party driver. That's what was meant by "Windows can't do 192 kHz." :D
 
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#13

Post by Nick »

I worked on this at length last year. The problem is to get above 16/44 you meed USB2 audio. And windows does not have native USB2 drivers at the moment. I gave up.

This will do it

http://www.xmos.com/products/development-kits/usbaudio2

I should have one around here somewhere. Should update the firmware and see how it goes now. Interesting processor, direct descendent of the transputer.
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#14

Post by ed »

Ray P wrote:Ed, instead of looking for a USB DAC, try a search for a USB input board that you can plug into a DAC that might otherwise handle the hi-res data. I had a quick look and came across this which, being hackable, might be up your street?

http://www.qnktc.com/ab_11/

Ray
thanks Ray, I can't get my head around exactly what's on offer there, or how it might fit with my test set up......on the suface it seems to add another module into my planned audio path, but I may have misunderstood. In addition, I was hoping to put the whole client hardware together for less that that i2s/usb board. I will read it again, I may get enlightenment.
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#15

Post by Ray P »

ed wrote:
Ray P wrote:Ed, instead of looking for a USB DAC, try a search for a USB input board that you can plug into a DAC that might otherwise handle the hi-res data. I had a quick look and came across this which, being hackable, might be up your street?

http://www.qnktc.com/ab_11/

Ray
thanks Ray, I can't get my head around exactly what's on offer there, or how it might fit with my test set up......on the suface it seems to add another module into my planned audio path, but I may have misunderstood. In addition, I was hoping to put the whole client hardware together for less that that i2s/usb board. I will read it again, I may get enlightenment.
Ed, the $138 appears to buy you a DAC in a reasonable case with a hi-res usb input board - that's how I read it anyway.

Ray
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