Asynchronous USB DAC "accessories"

[chrisr]

Looking for forum advice to avoid going down an audiophile rabbit hole.

It is my understanding that asynchronous USB DACs, such as the Playback Designs DAC, are agnostic as to the type of signal they receive and to upstream equipment (such as cables, transport, USB clocking etc.) because they do something at the DAC side that eliminates or essentially eliminates jitter in the signal on the DAC side.

I've been reading lately about audiophile USB cards (JCAT) and external 5v battery power supplies (Bakoon BPS-02) that are supposed to improve the USB signal by avoiding the power supply in the PC. In my case, the battery power supply would only power the USB card and not the DAC itself.

Just wondering whether anyone has tried these audiophile USB cards and/or battery power supplies in combination with an asynchronous USB DAC with improved results. Thanks!

 

[edorr]

Looking for forum advice to avoid going down an audiophile rabbit hole.

It is my understanding that asynchronous USB DACs, such as the Playback Designs DAC, are agnostic as to the type of signal they receive and to upstream equipment (such as cables, transport, USB clocking etc.) because they do something at the DAC side that eliminates or essentially eliminates jitter in the signal on the DAC side.

I've been reading lately about audiophile USB cards (JCAT) and external 5v battery power supplies (Bakoon BPS-02) that are supposed to improve the USB signal by avoiding the power supply in the PC. In my case, the battery power supply would only power the USB card and not the DAC itself.

Just wondering whether anyone has tried these audiophile USB cards and/or battery power supplies in combination with an asynchronous USB DAC with improved results. Thanks!

Not sure about the accessories, but two observations. First, pretty much all USB DACs are asynchronous, to the real question is are USB inputs on DACs sensitive to upstream digital source. The answer is emphatically yes.

 

[slowGEEZR]

I think that if the USB DAC has it's own power supply for the USB and doesn't use the power coming from the computer, then adding an external power supply will not make a difference. I was curious about the same thing, since noise from the computer would be in the power to the USB, but luckily, my QB-9 DSD does this with an AC powered supply. I don't think the older QB-9 (non-DSD) did this. I don't know which other USB DACS do this.

 

[amirm]

If a DAC is sensitive to such things, you need a new DAC .

That said, it is on my todo list to measure the effect of such things as USB cables and such. Besides jitter, they can pick up/transmit noise and hum to the DAC.

 

[mauidan]

Schiit Wyrd USB Decrapifier for just $99.:
http://schiit.com/news/news/wyrd-usb-decrapifier-launches

 

[amirm]

Schiit Wyrd USB Decrapifier for just $99.:
http://schiit.com/news/news/wyrd-usb-decrapifier-launches

My son bought one of their DACs and performance was awful. It certainly lived up to its name and then some! So not sure I trust anything they make anymore.

 

[Audioseduction]

Lol!

 

[cpp]

it is on my todo list to measure the effect of such things as USB cables and such. .

measuring USB cables, now that would be pretty cool info.

 

[amirm]

Expanding on the DAC, here is its measured performance:

That jitter component is 30-40 db higher than any other DAC I have tested.

Here is its performance with Windows Media Player using USB input:

And this is the same USB interface, same test signal, but this time using Media Player Classic:

The reason for the difference was system activity. If you let WMP get past its start-up tasks, its performance then becomes the same as Media Player Classic.

In these DAC with such high sensitivity to source noise, then cables and such may make some difference. I wish I could have kept that DAC for further experimentation but at $400 and with my son's money, I thought he should return it and get his money back.

 

[Joe Whip]

My son bought one of their DACs and performance was awful. It certainly lived up to its name and then some! So not sure I trust anything they make anymore.

Sorry Amir, but I have their Gungnir DAC and it sounds superb. The audiophiles who have heard it in my system have been shocked that you can get this quality of sound for $850.00.

 

[garylkoh]

Amir, sounds like your son bought the Bifrost. Since they have a money-back guarantee, would you buy a Gungnir and do the same tests? I'm curious as I've also heard that the Gungnir DAC is good value for money at $849.

 

[amirm]

Amir, sounds like your son bought the Bifrost. Since they have a money-back guarantee, would you buy a Gungnir and do the same tests? I'm curious as I've also heard that the Gungnir DAC is good value for money at $849.

That is the one he had. I bought him a peachtree DAC already after he returned that so it is too late to buy something else.

As an aside, he also bought their headphone amp and the short fancy interconnects to go with it. While we were testing things one channel cut out. Traced it to this 6 inch interconnect. I open it up and it was the shoddiest work I had seen. They had soldered the center pin and put in no strain relief whatsoever. So after a couple of plug and unplugs, the center connection broke.

 

[amirm]

If someone wants to loan me the Gungnir I would be happy to measure it and then return the box.