Three New DSD-Capable DACs

[mauidan]

Steven Stone reviews the Mytek Stereo192-DSD-DAC, Benchmark DAC2 HGC, and Lynx Hilo Reference A/D D/A Converter

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/art...sletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=email-166

 

[mojave]

The Lynx Hilo has a pair of 1/4 TRS outputs instead of single-ended RCA as mentioned in Prices & Specs section of the article. It uses the same DAC chips for the XLR and the TRS outputs and you can configure it as a 4 channel DAC. This increases its value, IMO, and allows one to add subwoofers as single mono, dual mono, or dual stereo if using software such as JRiver Media Center.

With the Mytek Stereo129-DSD's ASIO you can add up to two more of the same DAC's to your computer. Their ASIO driver will amalgamate them so that they show up as either a 4.0 or 5.1 channel audio device. A friend uses two with the second Mytek for his dual subwoofers. Ted_B here at WBF uses 3 for multi-channel DSD.

 

[cpp]

er.

With the Mytek Stereo129-DSD's ASIO you can add up to two more of the same DAC's to your computer. Their ASIO driver will amalgamate them so that they show up as either a 4.0 or 5.1 channel audio device. A friend uses two with the second Mytek for his dual subwoofers. Ted_B here at WBF uses 3 for multi-channel DSD.

or just try out a exaSound e28 8 Channel DSD DAC: review here http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content/539-exasound-e28-multichannel-usb-dac-review/

 

[wisnon]

http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/09/29/dsd-lampizator/

DSD only.

 

[mep]

It would be great if the major record labels got behind releasing true DSD files (not upsampled PCM). It would give them one more chance to resell their catalogs and possibly give us the best sound of the recordings that we all love (not that we love all of the same recordings, but you know what I mean). If I was in the market for a DAC, I wouldn't buy one that couldn't decode DSD. For a diehard analog lover, if I had to move to the proverbial desert Island and all I could bring was my hard drive of DSD files and my Mytek Stereo 192 DAC, I would be OK with that. I wouldn't say the same with any of the PCM formats.

 

[michael123]

It would be great if the major record labels got behind releasing true DSD files (not upsampled PCM). It would give them one more chance to resell their catalogs and possibly give us the best sound of the recordings that we all love (not that we love all of the same recordings, but you know what I mean). If I was in the market for a DAC, I wouldn't buy one that couldn't decode DSD. For a diehard analog lover, if I had to move to the proverbial desert Island and all I could bring was my hard drive of DSD files and my Mytek Stereo 192 DAC, I would be OK with that. I wouldn't say the same with any of the PCM formats.

You're the victim of the ... that audiostream feeds the readers.
Majority of the recordings are originated in PCM today (including vinyl), DSD has nothing to offer.
If you need best of the best, go with the best PCM DAC you can afford.

http://www.weiss-highend.ch/computerplayback/white-paper-on-DSD-en.pdf

 

[wisnon]

Believe your ears!

I warned Daniel last year tooffer DSD or be clobbered in the marketplace. Well, he is being clobbered.

Choice is good.

 

[michael123]

Weiss supports now DSD in their DAC and streamer.
Yet, I referred to his experience in the Pro area (well, Bruce may challenge that )

The fact is that DSD dac might be excellent with DSD, but less so with PCM (given my expierence).. which is is 99% of what we have today.
Moreover, the internal studio format is PCM or DXD, which is PCM again, so I really don't see any future for DSD.

 

[microstrip]

Weiss supports now DSD in their DAC and streamer.
Yet, I referred to his experience in the Pro area (well, Bruce may challenge that )

The fact is that DSD dac might be excellent with DSD, but less so with PCM (given my expierence).. which is is 99% of what we have today.
Moreover, the internal studio format is PCM or DXD, which is PCM again, so I really don't see any future for DSD.

You are raising a very interesting point - whether the DSD preference is due to the implementation. I have no experience with top DSD players, but we see a faint pattern in WBF - some people owning converters such as the Playback or Mytek preferring the DSD by a wide margin, and very positive reviews of reasonable cost units such as the Marantz becoming enthusiastic when they go in the DSD mode. Whether this preference still holds in the top machines, such as the DCS Vivaldi is an open question. My only experience was carried with a standard Korg MR2000s and, within the limitations in this unit, I preferred the DSD mode over any PCM, although CDs played in my serious DAC (that lacks DSD) sound much better.

 

[wisnon]

I agree about implementation. Pure DSD via filtering without lots of DSP sounds great:

http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2013/09/29/dsd-lampizator/

 

[michael123]

I've listened to Playback and EMM top units, to EMM quite in extent.
Both upsample/process PCM to DSD128, and while the result sounds good, it does not give the last drop of juice out of the best 192/24 (e.g. when comparing to my Metronome for example); moreover, both redbook and high-rez PCM are very close.

Why shall I favor DSD, when almost everything is in PCM?

[ well, there are few DACs where they really have two separate converters inside ]

There is another point to consider - all DSP algorithms and filters require PCM domain.
Room correction, parametric EQ - once you activate this, the stream will be converted to PCM by software or firmware.

 

[wisnon]

Michael,

I have a Lampi DSD only Dac and another Lampi PCM only Dac. Its possible to get both in the same box, where the DSD module is in a shielded container and still uses only 3-level filtration (SS and Tube)...NO DAC CHIP/NO DSP.