Anyone interested in hearing my DAC?

jkeny · Jun 29, 2012

With the permission of the site owners, I have cleared this thread with them!

I had one of my DACs sent to BruceB after it was reviewed in 6moons recently by Paul Candy.
Now that Bruce is nearly finished with it I thought that some members might be interested in hearing it in their home system for a short time (maybe a week)?

It is a 32bit/192 USB only input DAC with standard 2V analogue outputs suitable for connecting to a preamp or amplifier's analogue in.
It is powered from it's internal batteries & is small in size - fits in the hand.

Bruce is in the US (Washington area) so I thought initially that this should be for US members & those that are active on the forum.

If anyone is interested, just post here & I will give more details!

jkeny · Jun 30, 2012

Just to fill in some details of this DAC - here's what Bruce B had to say & remember he is talking about a €500 DAC http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...-High-Rez-Hype&p=116867&viewfull=1#post116867

The first cut I listened to was the Oscar Peterson "We Get Requests" that we mastered for FIM. The DAC was very coherent from top to bottom. Nothing sticks out to me in a bad way. The hardest part of a DAC is to recreate the soft parts. I can sense the size of the venue and reverb tails go out all the way without falling off into the black.

The bass is nice and tight. Imaging on upright basses are spot on. They have good definition and body. Nothing bloated or unnatural. Snare hits are fast. I can hear the body of the snare for 1-2sec. It doesn't fall off like other converters. Piano is strong throughout the whole range. Voices are very natural and brass doesn't make my ears bleed.. especially muted trumpet. The only thing I found lacking are tiny cymbal hits. We mastered the Sheffield Track and Drum album for FIM as well and the quiet cymbal hits aren't quite there. I can hear the initial transient, then it falls off too quickly into the noise. If I turned the volume up, I could hear the decay though. I really had to nit pick to find anything wrong with this converter. Remember, right behind me was the best of the best, so I knew what it had to do to impress me.

All in all.. I'd say it's the best inexpensive converter I've heard yet. I'd put it up against anything under $5k. We'll be getting the Mytek 192/DSD DAC in here again and would love to directly compare the 2 head to head. From what I remember, the Mytek has its work cut out for it! Great job John!!

zermatt · Jul 1, 2012

Yes I would interested!

arthurs · Jul 1, 2012

I would definitely be interested!

jkeny · Jul 2, 2012

Thanks for the interest, guys.
I have sent PMs to those who have posted.
I will try & organise a short list in some sort of order that makes sense to me (it may not be strictly in the order of posted interest).
At the moment the DAC is with Bruce who is hoping to get a Mytek & do a compare against it
So far I have the following order for touring
- Peter Breuninger, ?
- Flez007, Mexico
- Zermatt, DC
- Arthurs, TX

I reckon a week of auditioning in your home system should be long enough for everybody & you would be responsible for posting it securely onto the next person.

Just so that all are clear about this DAC - it is a USB only input (no SPDIF or Toslink, etc) & RCA analogue output. It works on PC or MAC (no Linix, Unix, etc). It requires a driver to be installed. It handles 24/192 or 32/192 high-resolution files.

Also, because this is computer audio there are a couple of parameters that need to be attended to for best results. Just dropping it into an existing system & playing music will more than likely not give an optimal result. Here are my recommendations for achieving the best from this (or any other USB DAC) - they are given in the user guidelines found here

- The best source to use is a laptop rather than a PC. A laptop seems to have better controlled EMI radiation & you can also run it from its battery (see next)

- It is best to not ground the laptop i.e if you notice a better sound when you run it from its internal battery then you have a grounded laptop charger.

If the sound has a haze (& slight hum) in the background when the laptop charger is plugged in but not when running off battery then you should do the following:
- You should disconnect the ground of your laptop charger if you want to be able to use it with your charger plugged in & not suffer any noise issues as above. The best way to do this is to get an adapter socket that can be opened up & take out the ground connection. Be sure to mark this adapter as one that has no ground so that you only use it with the laptop.

- The recommended connection to USB for best sound is with a direct USB connector i.e no USB cable. You will find these connectors here. You may prefer a swivel type adapter for better ergonomics. You will also need a commonly found USB A male to A female adapater which will give some more distance between the PC & DAC32 for interconnect cable connection & also to make the DAC32 orientate the right way up, otherwise it would be upside down. See here

- On the PC, I recommend the playback software, JPlay as easily the best sounding playback software I have heard. A demo version of this software is available for download here. Be under no illusion, the use of this software makes a significant difference to any playback. (Try it out before first on your existing systems)

- Kernel Streaming (KS) is the recommended streaming method. (Use DPlatency to check your computer's optimisation for audio use i.e low latency if you require!)

- If copying a CD to the computer (ripping), it should be done with Exact Audio Copy or dbPoweramp. This ensures a perfect copy even if the CD is scratched. For best quality, I also recommend to rip your CDs using a laptop running off batteries only & using Fidelizer to turn off all unnecessary process running in your computer

- I recommend trying the M2tech Young DAC driver as an alternative to the Hiface driver – not only will it give you 32/192 instead of 24/192 operation but it is also preferred by most – see here

Further user instructions for normal use are found in the user guidelines here

jkeny · Jul 3, 2012

BTW, I have just been contacted by a customer in Canada for whom I'm changing his JKSPDIF to a JKDAC32 & rather than have him send it back to me I wondered if there would be an interest in this device also doing a tour? Not necessarily the same tour although there's no problem if they both travel together.

So this is a USB only device that handles 24/192 or 32/192 files & outputs SPDIF via a BNC connector. It will give you an idea of how an external USB to SPDIF device works with any DAC that you have which can take an SPDIF input.

Included with the device is a RF attenuator which I find improves the SPDIF signal & might be of interest for people to try. This is also one of the latest versions so unlike the DAC32 below, this has a USB cable that can be plugged into a spare USB port & the batteries charged in this way - i'e. it doesn't require an external PS to charge the batteries.

I'll write to Bruce & see if he is interested in it?

Tunedin · Jul 16, 2012

jkeny said:
BTW, I have just been contacted by a customer in Canada for whom I'm changing his JKSPDIF to a JKDAC32 & rather than have him send it back to me I wondered if there would be an interest in this device also doing a tour? Not necessarily the same tour although there's no problem if they both travel together.

So this is a USB only device that handles 24/192 or 32/192 files & outputs SPDIF via a BNC connector. It will give you an idea of how an external USB to SPDIF device works with any DAC that you have which can take an SPDIF input.

Included with the device is a RF attenuator which I find improves the SPDIF signal & might be of interest for people to try. This is also one of the latest versions so unlike the DAC32 below, this has a USB cable that can be plugged into a spare USB port & the batteries charged in this way - i'e. it doesn't require an external PS to charge the batteries.

I'll write to Bruce & see if he is interested in it?

I'd be extremely interested in hearing both the DAC 32 and the JKSPDIF in my system.

I'm currently using a highly modified Valab NOS DAC (8 paralleled TDA1543) with a high quality external linear power supply along with an M2Tech USB to SPDIF device modified by Mapleshade.

Thanks!

jkeny · Jul 16, 2012

Tunedin said:
I'd be extremely interested in hearing both the DAC 32 and the JKSPDIF in my system.

I'm currently using a highly modified Valab NOS DAC (8 paralleled TDA1543) with a high quality external linear power supply along with an M2Tech USB to SPDIF device modified by Mapleshade.

Thanks!

I see that you have only just joined & this is your first post. I have to be careful.! By all means contact me & we can arrange something, I'm sure.
The DAc is with Peter & there was no interest in the SPDIF unit so that has moved on.

Tunedin · Jul 18, 2012

jkeny said:
I see that you have only just joined & this is your first post. I have to be careful.! By all means contact me & we can arrange something, I'm sure.
The DAc is with Peter & there was no interest in the SPDIF unit so that has moved on.

I certainly understand your caution.

Friends of mine (in distant parts of the country) have purchased your units in the past (and highly recommend them). But I've never had a chance to audition any of your units at their homes in their systems (which are top rank).

When I saw this opportunity to audition one in my own system, I just had to immediately register (hence the single post

I'll send you a personal message at your web site.

Thanks!

jkeny · Sep 1, 2012

Peter breuninger - your PM box is full - I can't send you a message -can you email me instead of PMs?

NorthStar · Sep 1, 2012

jkeny said:
Peter breuninger - your PM box is full - I can't send you a message -can you email me instead of PMs?

------That is why (only one of several reasons) in the past (couple times or more) I asked to extend our PM boxes' capacity.
{Emailing is the best route still.} :b

Anyway, for that reason, I don't like to use my [Private Messages] option; I prefer the open [Visitor Messages] option instead; as I don't see any limitation for total capacity.
But the only thing here is that you are restricted to 1,000 characters per 'message' I believe (I am certain).

Hey, I'm just mentioning that's all; no more no less.

__________________

Private Messaging; it has a different meaning for as many people as there are on our planet. :b
And for some (many perhaps), the privacy equation is already gone the way of the dodo.
That's the most funny part; it just ain't private at all.

jkeny · Sep 20, 2012

DAC on the way to Zermatt - he was the first to PM me with his address.
It's being sent today from Peter Breuninger in the US so should be with Zermatt early next week, I guess.
Please confirm when you have received it

jkeny · Sep 30, 2012

Hopefully, Peter can post his impressions of the DAC when he gets a chance?

jkeny · Oct 9, 2012

OK, anybody else in the US interested in hearing this DAC before I close off it's tour?

NorthStar · Oct 9, 2012

---Is Canada part of the global environment?

jkeny · Oct 9, 2012

NorthStar said:
---Is Canada part of the global environment?

Sure but to avoid it criss-crossing borders back & forth (I have Flez007 on the list, who is in mexico), I wanted to finish with the US tour first. Tour is a bit of an overstatement as only 3 people have auditioned it; Bruce B, Peter Breuninger & Zermatt

.

If you PM me your full name & address I will put it on the list.

NorthStar · Oct 9, 2012

---It's OK John, I trust these three individuals above to influence me on the right side of the audio equation. :b

jkeny · Oct 9, 2012

NorthStar said:
---It's OK John, I trust these three individuals above to influence me on the right side of the audio equation. :b

OK, so you don't need to be put on the list

NorthStar · Oct 10, 2012

---That's right.

flez007 · Oct 10, 2012

John, your inbox is full. (I can send via Paypal the shipping charges to Mexico)

Anyone interested in hearing my DAC?

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