AudioNervosa
Systemic Development => Digital Audio Devices => Topic started by: jimbones on February 03, 2013, 07:02:56 PM
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I tried using (albeit a cheap) USB cable from laptop to Burson 160D. I get all kinds of jitter and skipping. I was told even if I spent a boatload of money on a good USB I am better off spending it on a good SPDIF adapter. I use the M2Hiface and it is pretty decent. But I want better. I am considering the John Kenny adapter. So the question is Cable or adapter?
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USB audio is probably one of the only areas of the audiophile world that is moving pretty fast. Asynchronous USB for audio was just popping into the scene a few years ago and since then has made very good strides in it's implementation. The most useful aspect of async usb is that for the first time in a long time the analogue bit stream goes away. All the data is packetized, CRC checked, and buffered so the idea of jitter almost become irrelevant. Then take into consideration that you can easily put galvanic isolation onto the USB adapter and you are able to completely eliminate any noise that might find it's way from the source (say a PC) to the DAC.
The USB cable become less important when you move to asynchronous USB with galvanic isolation. So I would say go for a good async USB to S/PDIF converter.
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Thanks, I heard the John Kenny is very good. I exchanged emails with him and a "new" version should be available for order this week.
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I'd definitely try a good USB cable, Furutech's offering has separate shields for signal and power wires and isn't too much money, I plan to pick one up eventually.
The Burson gets good reviews but can't do high res via USB, which makes me think the USB implementation is not up to modern standards. I'd either replace it with a DAC that features an asynch USB module that can handle 24/192 or get a good SPDIF converter so you can run the Burson with a coax cable. You might want to contact Burson and see if they plan on offering an upgrade to the USB implementation anytime soon as it seems strange to offer USB that is so behind the times... my $400 Schiit DAC can do 24/192 asynch.
Either way, it's likely a good USB cable will offer some improvement so I'd start there....
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If your on a PC I think you have to download drivers for the USB, no? Id check that first. It shouldnt skip at all. Try another computer or USB connection too.
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If your on a PC I think you have to download drivers for the USB, no? Id check that first. It shouldnt skip at all. Try another computer or USB connection too.
It's a laptop
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Yeah, you will need drivers. Windows7 shipped not being USB Audio compliant so you need to install drivers, MAC and Linux the OS is USB Audio compliant so no drivers are needed. Hopefully Win8 and beyond MS gets their act together and gets that fixed.
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Hey Jim,
Check it out:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/best-usb-spdif-converter-12904/ (http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/best-usb-spdif-converter-12904/)
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Man you all got me thinking now. I was just using the HA Info USB to SPDIF converter
HA INFO USB to Coaxial (S/PDIF) Converter External Sound Card from (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWK42reCfVg#ws)
My thought process was by using this I could use a decent USB cable and then use my better Digital Coax cables before feeding my system. Sorry I'm not a believer in big dollar USB cables yet. Now from looking at the specs HA Info may be lacking.
Description
It's a extra small sized USB to S/PDIF (Coaxial) Audio Converter.
Plug and Play without additional driver.
Compatible with Windows 2000, XP, Viata, Mac OS X and major Linux distributions.
USB input and digital audio output. Can be used on a PC/Mac as an external sound card to drive your DAC/MD/receivers.
USB Powered
Output waveform is very nice and neat!
Note: This converter doesn't support multi-channel format such as 4.1, 5.1 and 7.1.
Specification
Audio codec chip: Burr-Brown PCM2902E
Sample Rate: 16bit / 32K, 44.1K 48K
Input: USB-B (Square)
Output: S/PDIF Coaxial (Stereo)
Color: Black / Blue (Please specify)
Dimension: 80mm x 25mm x 25mm
If you are going to sell that M2Hiface adapter let me know.
Also what kinds of USB cable are you using? The quality of Tripp Lite, Belkin and even Dynex USB cables surprised me. Could it maybe be an issue with the USB connection on the laptop too?
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The Resonnence Concero is also a good USB-SpDif Converter, equal to the Audiophilleo2. (From Six Moons Review)
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Hey Jim,
Check it out:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/best-usb-spdif-converter-12904/ (http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/best-usb-spdif-converter-12904/)
Very good comparison of adapters.
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Yeah, you will need drivers. Windows7 shipped not being USB Audio compliant so you need to install drivers, MAC and Linux the OS is USB Audio compliant so no drivers are needed. Hopefully Win8 and beyond MS gets their act together and gets that fixed.
My Laptop is Win 7. I must have installed drivers 2 yrs ago because I am currently using the HiFace and it is working.
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The answer according to the designers of the Berkley DAC say absolutely yes. Keeping the conversion outside the box yields wondrous results.
charles
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Update: I am using the JKenny Cuinas converter. As you say Charles it is wonderful. Huge performance gains in my system.
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Update: I am using the JKenny Cuinas converter. As you say Charles it is wonderful. Huge performance gains in my system.
Enjoy man !
charles