Life of Pi
-
- Posts: 4185
- Joined: Mon Feb 03, 2014 9:53 am
- Location: The end of the road in Suffolk Coastal.
- Has thanked: 10 times
- Been thanked: 6 times
Re: Life of Pi
Bloody hell that looks awful to me!!!! Still, each to your own...
I'm going to look at a Topping D30 instead. Neat little box that measures right, sounds good by all accounts and it has switching for inputs too.. All for eighty quid.
I'm going to look at a Topping D30 instead. Neat little box that measures right, sounds good by all accounts and it has switching for inputs too.. All for eighty quid.
Hanging on in quiet desperation is the English way...The time has gone, The song is over, Thought I'd something more to say...
- Dr Bunsen Honeydew
- Posts: 30758
- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
- Location: Muppet Labs
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 48 times
-
- Posts: 297
- Joined: Mon Feb 26, 2018 2:18 pm
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 0
Re: Life of Pi
DSJR, it's not a finished product that's just the designers WIP lash up.
My aspirations for digital playback extend a little higher than those mentioned though, higher bit rates, Native DSD, none bit limited digital volume control, remote control, parametric EQ, network streaming, XLR outs and such like. I'm sure both the Topping and the Chinese unit de jour provide adequate playback for those whom they tick all the function boxes.
My aspirations for digital playback extend a little higher than those mentioned though, higher bit rates, Native DSD, none bit limited digital volume control, remote control, parametric EQ, network streaming, XLR outs and such like. I'm sure both the Topping and the Chinese unit de jour provide adequate playback for those whom they tick all the function boxes.
- Dr Bunsen Honeydew
- Posts: 30758
- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
- Location: Muppet Labs
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 48 times
Re: Life of Pi
My box is music not hi-fi bollocks and that is the way these high priced high tech DACs are doing it. It is just the latest bullshit. The best DAC ever made was in 1987 by Sony, it was massive and very heavy as it was almost entirely discreet components. Since then the process has been about encapsulation and simplicity with really good interludes like the QED Digit. Now we are back in the old hi-fi problem people finding ways to bullshit more money from you, with unnecessary complication and finding anything new for the marketing men to spin around.
I will challenge anyone with my £5 Chinese Dac, good cable and good power supply, because that is all a DAC should cost. It is a couple of chips FFS it should only cost a fiver, unless you are a slurper.
I will challenge anyone with my £5 Chinese Dac, good cable and good power supply, because that is all a DAC should cost. It is a couple of chips FFS it should only cost a fiver, unless you are a slurper.
- Fretless
- Posts: 9341
- Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
- Location: Somewhere in Holland
- Has thanked: 1520 times
- Been thanked: 2314 times
Re: Life of Pi
Pride is a bad source of advice and I have been thinking to myself - 'well, I have an expensive DAC and it just has to be way better than Doc's 5 quid Chinese cheapie'.
But is that so?
My latest round of digital acquisition has left me convinced that DAC's are not as essential to the signal chain as one might think. They are roughly equivalent to a Phono stage in a TT system; taking one type of signal input and outputting that to a pre-amp. Good power supplies are important here - as is a good source. In an analogue system a quality cartridge/stylus in a well-set-up TT/arm. For digital this would be an uncompressed music file and Jitter-free data stream.
The Allo DigiOne Signature board is letting me experience how incredibly vital the synchronisation of the datastream is. The isolation from electronic nasties and a solid LPSU driving the clock-board only is a clear improvement. And the DAC, expensive or cheap(er) responds to this improved clarity with a resulting better SQ out of the speakers.
Maybe we should all be looking at budget DAC's and huge power-supplies (with a quality source, of course).
But is that so?
My latest round of digital acquisition has left me convinced that DAC's are not as essential to the signal chain as one might think. They are roughly equivalent to a Phono stage in a TT system; taking one type of signal input and outputting that to a pre-amp. Good power supplies are important here - as is a good source. In an analogue system a quality cartridge/stylus in a well-set-up TT/arm. For digital this would be an uncompressed music file and Jitter-free data stream.
The Allo DigiOne Signature board is letting me experience how incredibly vital the synchronisation of the datastream is. The isolation from electronic nasties and a solid LPSU driving the clock-board only is a clear improvement. And the DAC, expensive or cheap(er) responds to this improved clarity with a resulting better SQ out of the speakers.
Maybe we should all be looking at budget DAC's and huge power-supplies (with a quality source, of course).
Upstairs:
VinylPro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a {x2)
Little Bear MC2 + AQ NightHawk
Downstairs:
VinylLogic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 & PSU - BMUAiyima A07 MAX + Arcam One
HP: Allo DigiOne + Sabaj A10d + AQ NightOwl
Office: Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith 887 + German Maestro GMP 450
- Dr Bunsen Honeydew
- Posts: 30758
- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
- Location: Muppet Labs
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 48 times
-
- Posts: 278
- Joined: Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:35 pm
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 19 times
Re: Life of Pi
Not sure if you've ever had the chance to test this Doc but how would the Chinese cheapy compare to the Sony you mentioned?
what model was the sony by the way?
what model was the sony by the way?
Bedroom Rig
PiCorePlayer Squeezebox clone, Allo Boss Dac, NVA AP10H with Stepped Attenuator upgrade and external PSU, Audioquest Nightowl Cans, NVA mini BMU
Office Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DIGI+, NVA SSP Digital, Arcam AV9. NVA SSC, NVA AP10P, NVA LS5, NVA Cubettes, NVA Mini BMU
Kitchen Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DAC+, NVA SSC, NVA P50, Project AMPBox, Sonance Ceiling Speakers
PiCorePlayer Squeezebox clone, Allo Boss Dac, NVA AP10H with Stepped Attenuator upgrade and external PSU, Audioquest Nightowl Cans, NVA mini BMU
Office Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DIGI+, NVA SSP Digital, Arcam AV9. NVA SSC, NVA AP10P, NVA LS5, NVA Cubettes, NVA Mini BMU
Kitchen Rig
PicorepLayer Squezeebox clone with HifiBerry DAC+, NVA SSC, NVA P50, Project AMPBox, Sonance Ceiling Speakers
- Dr Bunsen Honeydew
- Posts: 30758
- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
- Location: Muppet Labs
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 48 times
Re: Life of Pi
http://www.thevintageknob.org/sony-DAS-R1.html
Yes heard them side by side which is why I sold the Sony for a lot of money, they are like hens teeth. The Sony was better but by such a small amount it was laughable for the money involved, and IMO the fiver job was better in some ways.
Yes heard them side by side which is why I sold the Sony for a lot of money, they are like hens teeth. The Sony was better but by such a small amount it was laughable for the money involved, and IMO the fiver job was better in some ways.
- Dr Bunsen Honeydew
- Posts: 30758
- Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 7:26 pm
- Location: Muppet Labs
- Has thanked: 0
- Been thanked: 48 times
Re: Life of Pi
This is becoming true of so many things in hi-fi, there is a new wave of rip off represented by these DACs and the likes of Kii. Expensive design and construction made over the top and bling has filled the market for the last decade getting worse and worse, it seems it has run its course, as the prices are now just so stooopid as they are up for comment. New way, take crap cheap design and bling it to justify prices and even more profit slurp (without it looking as bad) is the new way for the new companies. WAF speaker design, ClassD amplification, industrial programmable DAC chips blinged up to daft levels and daft prices.
Do you always have to fall for it?????????????? Some of you need to go and look at Ali-express to see what price things can be built for.
https://www.aliexpress.com/af/category/ ... x&jump=afs
I am thinking of listing there instead of ebay.
Do you always have to fall for it?????????????? Some of you need to go and look at Ali-express to see what price things can be built for.
https://www.aliexpress.com/af/category/ ... x&jump=afs
I am thinking of listing there instead of ebay.
- karatestu
- Posts: 5983
- Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
- Location: North Yorkshire
- Has thanked: 1881 times
- Been thanked: 1418 times
Re: Life of Pi
In my experience the power supplies don't have to be massive but it probably helps. I got massive gains from giving the dac chip in my cdp 3 separate psu's including transfomers. Three EI transformer windings of 2.5VA each have given excellent service for the past 3 years.
DIY FREE ZONE