Music PC and CA DACMagic
- Thread starter Vue2AStill
- Start date
reignofchaos
Well-Known Member
Squeezebox doesn't run linux. The others do run linux but are no great shakes as far as audio is concerned. The reason why good drivers don't exist have already been put forward by gobble. The unfortunate truth is most hardware vendors treat linux as some sort of a hopeless step child :sad:.
moserw
New Member
@Vue2AStill - Could you review the DacMagic and your experience with it especially with regard to playing FLAC/WAV/MP3 content off a PC. I'm planning on either DacMagic or a Beresford soon and would welcome your thoughts and impressions especially with regard to improvement in SQ.
Hey MoserW
I don't think it makes financial sense to buy a DAC @21K when you can run a music pc with the Asus Xonar card @24/192khz @8K.
Plus you can run DVDs as well on the htpc.
I'm curious as to why you are even considering such a move?
Regards
moserw
New Member
@gobble - I already have the Asus Xonar Essence STX on the PC. Still awaiting delivery of my AVM ADM9.1 speakers though.
Coming to the DAC, well I have quite a good number of MP3s and just cannot let go of them since I need them for my car. Just want to explore a DAC to improve their SQ or else it will mean the additional headache of re-ripping them all in FLAC for the PC and then keeping the MP3s for the car which is very cumbersome.
I'm actually planning on the Beresford (around 8K) unless the DacMagic proves worth the additional cost, but a DAC will be handy to have with so many sources like PC, multiple DVDPs and a CDP, HT System, PS3 (at last count).
Finally of course guess the audiophile bug has bitten me and I too am in search of ultimate audio nirvana (which does seem never ending).
MoserW
Apart from portability and connectivity option reasons (leaving them aside) - Why can't you play mp3s on the Xonar upscaled to 24/192? Is upsampling a 16/44.1khz flac also not possible ( Do you need files already encoded at 24/192 to benfit from the Xonar)? Or is the s/w lacking?
This is really funny - Its only because I've been reading your thread on htpc for so long, I just began seriously contemplating building a dedicated 2nd htpc today morning ( it was my main muse since 6am while I jogged and excercised) and I login to see the chief protagonist of the htpc story take a turn :lol:
Cheers
Apart from portability and connectivity option reasons (leaving them aside) - Why can't you play mp3s on the Xonar upscaled to 24/192? Is upsampling a 16/44.1khz flac also not possible ( Do you need files already encoded at 24/192 to benfit from the Xonar)? Or is the s/w lacking?
This is really funny - Its only because I've been reading your thread on htpc for so long, I just began seriously contemplating building a dedicated 2nd htpc today morning ( it was my main muse since 6am while I jogged and excercised) and I login to see the chief protagonist of the htpc story take a turn :lol:
Cheers
Hi guys,
I am one of the early users of linux, started using it in 1994 (Slackware distribution) and since then as a hobby has installed at least 50 different distributions in my desktops and laptops and others' also. While as an OS, I like it much much better than anything that Bill Gates has had on offer, it is quite weak in multimedia integration. Almost nothing works initially, and after a lot search on the net, reading multitudes of discussion, a few things work. Even simple things like printer drivers with duplex support are missing.
That's why on my last laptop purchase, I went for Apple Mac. The OS is based on pure Unix, but the interface is extremely user-friendly. If you want to use unix commands, you can do that on a usual Mac terminal or X-window, or if you want to just use your mouse for all work, that also you can do. Integration of all applications is top-class. Since I use it mostly for my professional work, I have not fully tapped its potential for multimedia, but reportedly it's very good. And guys, no virus, no worms etc. The only downside is its price, on the higher side.
On Dacmagic and Beresford USB dacs, I have not heard the Beresford, but I have heard the Dacmagic with a Cayin 50T tube CDP as transport. I did not like it at all. I have mentioned it elsewhere. The sound was not open at all, as if some veil was put on the speakers. The accompanying equipments were all reasonable, so cannot blame it on them. They were Quad 99 pre and 909 power amps, Epos M12.2 speakers, XLO interconnects and coaxial cable, Ecosse speaker cables. I have already said that the CD transport was very reasonable too.
Of course, the above is my personal view. May be that particular unit had some problem or was not broken in properly, whatever. But, moser, if you want to buy it, please audition it seriously before you make your decision. On the basis of my audition, I would not buy it for 20K or more.
There is a news that Musical Fidelity has come out with a DAC called V-DAC for USD 299. Initial impressions are very good. See the site The Little DAC That Could | AV Guide and also follow the discussion at the end of the report. People are mentioning yet another cheaper DAC from PS Audio (Perfectwave DAC).
I am one of the early users of linux, started using it in 1994 (Slackware distribution) and since then as a hobby has installed at least 50 different distributions in my desktops and laptops and others' also. While as an OS, I like it much much better than anything that Bill Gates has had on offer, it is quite weak in multimedia integration. Almost nothing works initially, and after a lot search on the net, reading multitudes of discussion, a few things work. Even simple things like printer drivers with duplex support are missing.
That's why on my last laptop purchase, I went for Apple Mac. The OS is based on pure Unix, but the interface is extremely user-friendly. If you want to use unix commands, you can do that on a usual Mac terminal or X-window, or if you want to just use your mouse for all work, that also you can do. Integration of all applications is top-class. Since I use it mostly for my professional work, I have not fully tapped its potential for multimedia, but reportedly it's very good. And guys, no virus, no worms etc. The only downside is its price, on the higher side.
On Dacmagic and Beresford USB dacs, I have not heard the Beresford, but I have heard the Dacmagic with a Cayin 50T tube CDP as transport. I did not like it at all. I have mentioned it elsewhere. The sound was not open at all, as if some veil was put on the speakers. The accompanying equipments were all reasonable, so cannot blame it on them. They were Quad 99 pre and 909 power amps, Epos M12.2 speakers, XLO interconnects and coaxial cable, Ecosse speaker cables. I have already said that the CD transport was very reasonable too.
Of course, the above is my personal view. May be that particular unit had some problem or was not broken in properly, whatever. But, moser, if you want to buy it, please audition it seriously before you make your decision. On the basis of my audition, I would not buy it for 20K or more.
There is a news that Musical Fidelity has come out with a DAC called V-DAC for USD 299. Initial impressions are very good. See the site The Little DAC That Could | AV Guide and also follow the discussion at the end of the report. People are mentioning yet another cheaper DAC from PS Audio (Perfectwave DAC).
gopi
New Member
Asit,
I have listened to both DACMagic and Beresford at home. They both sound different. Beresford definitely has more excitement that DacMagic. I would say for a Cayin or Quad setup Beresford would have been a better match. By the way I listened both the DAC's through Quad 12L Actives. However the bass in Beresford is bumped slightly and its not clear. DacMagic seems to be more on the neutral side of things. So, if the amp and speaker is on the harsher side Dacmagic will smooth things out.
MF V Dac is more like Beresford from reading and other MF products I have listened to.
By the way PerfectWav Dac is not cheap. Its anything but cheap
Its one of the costliest expected to be above 2000 dollars
I have listened to both DACMagic and Beresford at home. They both sound different. Beresford definitely has more excitement that DacMagic. I would say for a Cayin or Quad setup Beresford would have been a better match. By the way I listened both the DAC's through Quad 12L Actives. However the bass in Beresford is bumped slightly and its not clear. DacMagic seems to be more on the neutral side of things. So, if the amp and speaker is on the harsher side Dacmagic will smooth things out.
MF V Dac is more like Beresford from reading and other MF products I have listened to.
By the way PerfectWav Dac is not cheap. Its anything but cheap
Its one of the costliest expected to be above 2000 dollars
Thanks Gopi, for pointing out that the PS audio DAC is anything but cheap. In the discussion I mention above, it has been mentioned and since everything else discussed there were in the budget domain, I presumed it.
But any way, the V-DAC from MF appears quite promising. In Chennai, Raghu, I think deals with MF, or am I wrong? You can find out easily from him about its availability in India and the possible price. Should not be more expensive than the Dacmagic.
Added later: Realized that you are not from Chennai, but the chennai people can find out.
But any way, the V-DAC from MF appears quite promising. In Chennai, Raghu, I think deals with MF, or am I wrong? You can find out easily from him about its availability in India and the possible price. Should not be more expensive than the Dacmagic.
Added later: Realized that you are not from Chennai, but the chennai people can find out.
Last edited:
gopi
New Member
Asit,
I am not looking for a DAC as I have settled for Peachtree Audio Nova. V-Dac is dealt by Audiopeople and not Raghu. MF is typically charges quite high in India and it wouldnt be a surpirse if it costs more than DacMagic in India.
By the way PerfectWAV Dac is kinda treated as the holy grail by many for what it promises. It will eliminate the impact of source to the DAC totally by reading into its own memory and buffering it before conversion. Looks like above $3000 is the estimated price.
I am not looking for a DAC as I have settled for Peachtree Audio Nova. V-Dac is dealt by Audiopeople and not Raghu. MF is typically charges quite high in India and it wouldnt be a surpirse if it costs more than DacMagic in India.
By the way PerfectWAV Dac is kinda treated as the holy grail by many for what it promises. It will eliminate the impact of source to the DAC totally by reading into its own memory and buffering it before conversion. Looks like above $3000 is the estimated price.
Hi Gopi,
Wow, that's a news. You already got the peachtree nova or are going to get it through ARN. If you already got it, why haven't you put up a review? And, if you do not have it and are going to get it, please post in detail about the nova, what it can do (because many of us are not familiar with such products) and then a detailed report on the audio quality.
Wow, that's a news. You already got the peachtree nova or are going to get it through ARN. If you already got it, why haven't you put up a review? And, if you do not have it and are going to get it, please post in detail about the nova, what it can do (because many of us are not familiar with such products) and then a detailed report on the audio quality.
gopi
New Member
Asit,
i am yet to get Nova and its through ARN only.
Anyway, here is my thought process behind Nova:
Signal Path International - Era Speakers & Peachtree Audio - Introducing Nova
It is a DAC + Tube Pre + Power + Class A Headphone Amp
Can be used in the following ways:
DAC alone
DAC + Pre
Pre + Power
So, a very convenient piece of equipment.
Now to the details of DAC , it employs ESS Sabre 9006. The ESS Sabre is the latest chip in the block and supposedly the best specs than any other chipset out there. I am not 100% sure of that, but thats what I read at other places. I am not a believer of specs alone. But neverthless, it doesn't hurt to have great specs. The Peachtree folks claim that this should compare to 3 to 4k US dollar DAC's and initial reports are very promising. Mostly, the DAC will be the strength of Peach tree. The tube pre (a single tube) seems to be making the DAC's output even more better. The power amp of the previous model Decco was not well received as the DAC and the pre. But, Nova is said to have made it better and it puts out 80W. Not to forget the Class A headphone out and Remote and a compartment to hide Sonos if you want to. Plus a +5db Bass boost if somebody is running small monitors. All this put in a very attractive box for $1200 seems a very attractive deal. Now, lets see how much of these are what it is when I get it. I am hoping that if not being floored atleast won't be let down by this piece. Will need a month more to get it in my hand and will definitely write up something on it.
Regarding Beresford, DacMagic and MF V Dac etc; I think recently I have learnt a few things around these. I know many would have said this but the most important thing is Synergy and what you want. I found DacMagic a more neutral and also more detailed DAC than Beresford. However, Beresford had some extra excitement that I liked and my system sounded better with that. I am sure at another setup and for some other type of music and for some other person DACMagic will definitely be a better choice. Thats what exactly makes this hobby a nightmare or a sweet journey rather than a destination.
So, giving a recommendation to somebody wether the Beresford will be better or DacMagic will be better is almost not possibe.
Not deviating too much from the main topic, I would request folks looking for any setup to first decide what they like in music. Fix that and see which equipment does that. There will be a general consensus if some equipment is warm or not. But there won't be a consensus whether one is better than the other.
i am yet to get Nova and its through ARN only.
Anyway, here is my thought process behind Nova:
Signal Path International - Era Speakers & Peachtree Audio - Introducing Nova
It is a DAC + Tube Pre + Power + Class A Headphone Amp
Can be used in the following ways:
DAC alone
DAC + Pre
Pre + Power
So, a very convenient piece of equipment.
Now to the details of DAC , it employs ESS Sabre 9006. The ESS Sabre is the latest chip in the block and supposedly the best specs than any other chipset out there. I am not 100% sure of that, but thats what I read at other places. I am not a believer of specs alone. But neverthless, it doesn't hurt to have great specs. The Peachtree folks claim that this should compare to 3 to 4k US dollar DAC's and initial reports are very promising. Mostly, the DAC will be the strength of Peach tree. The tube pre (a single tube) seems to be making the DAC's output even more better. The power amp of the previous model Decco was not well received as the DAC and the pre. But, Nova is said to have made it better and it puts out 80W. Not to forget the Class A headphone out and Remote and a compartment to hide Sonos if you want to. Plus a +5db Bass boost if somebody is running small monitors. All this put in a very attractive box for $1200 seems a very attractive deal. Now, lets see how much of these are what it is when I get it. I am hoping that if not being floored atleast won't be let down by this piece. Will need a month more to get it in my hand and will definitely write up something on it.
Regarding Beresford, DacMagic and MF V Dac etc; I think recently I have learnt a few things around these. I know many would have said this but the most important thing is Synergy and what you want. I found DacMagic a more neutral and also more detailed DAC than Beresford. However, Beresford had some extra excitement that I liked and my system sounded better with that. I am sure at another setup and for some other type of music and for some other person DACMagic will definitely be a better choice. Thats what exactly makes this hobby a nightmare or a sweet journey rather than a destination.
So, giving a recommendation to somebody wether the Beresford will be better or DacMagic will be better is almost not possibe.
Not deviating too much from the main topic, I would request folks looking for any setup to first decide what they like in music. Fix that and see which equipment does that. There will be a general consensus if some equipment is warm or not. But there won't be a consensus whether one is better than the other.
moserw
New Member
@gobble - I wrote a long reply on why the DacMagic was right and why I was getting it, but when I tried to post the message I got "database error" from HiFiVision. Well since I had typed a really long message and not saved it/could not retrieve it I left it at that and went for a shower. On returning I saw Asit's post.
@Asit - Thanks a lot for your pointers/comments/thoughts. I will definitely take them into consideration and think long and hard and also audition a lot before going for the DacMagic or any other DAC.
@gobble - Back to you buddy. Please don't think twice about going for a HTPC or a PC based music/movies unit. For music it makes all the sense in the world. The HDD storage space makes it practically unlimited in terms of how much music you want to store and have available at all times, and the PC plays all formats and with the right soundcard gives you divine sounding music.
Finally, gobble/Asit combo thanks for correcting me here. I guess the specs of the Asus Xonar and AVI ADM9.1 itself are enough for all the music I need (hopefully for a while at least before the next h/w acquisition bug bites me)...
Heu MoserW
As long you take care to rip CDs in 24/192, you can get some extra benefit off the Xonar. I don't think we have upsampling softare for Win32/Linux yet.
I've decided to wait for the NVIDIA ION board to become available with an Intel Moblin port before I build mine.
Cheers
As long you take care to rip CDs in 24/192, you can get some extra benefit off the Xonar. I don't think we have upsampling softare for Win32/Linux yet.
I've decided to wait for the NVIDIA ION board to become available with an Intel Moblin port before I build mine.
Cheers
anm
Well-Known Member
gobble, I am waiting as well till you are waiting.
Slurp! Drool! AnandTech: Zotac's Ion: The World's First mini-ITX Ion Board :licklips:
Now to import it or will we get it locally?
Regards
Now to import it or will we get it locally?
Regards
anm
Well-Known Member
great!
thanks for sharing.
however, the performance evaluation is NOT done with on board hd audio decoding - and it is not mentioned (but sure can be found out) whether it can send bit stream audio to external decoders.
thanks for sharing.
however, the performance evaluation is NOT done with on board hd audio decoding - and it is not mentioned (but sure can be found out) whether it can send bit stream audio to external decoders.
is it for music or movies. It will play blueray and dvds through nvdia hw acceleration but no software decoding - it will falter let alone dvd or blueray rips.
Better wait till they come out with faster atoms later/next year - we might have something here.
I intend to find a board with a pci-x 1x slot and plug in a Asus Xonar card for Hifi and play all my FLACs. Hopefully I will be able to rip my CDs in 24/192 with cdparnoia.
Waiting for Moblin port - boots in 2 secs flat. :licklips:
Cheers
Waiting for Moblin port - boots in 2 secs flat. :licklips:
Cheers
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