Re: I DAC di John Kenny

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 15:58

grunter ha scritto:Volevo segnalare la prossima recensione da parte di John Darko del mio beneamato jkdac32:
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/index.php/audio-reviews/forthcoming-reviews/item/348-john-kenny-jkdac32-pcm5102-%20-lifepo4

Sono curioso perchè in genere mi ritrovo abbastanza in quello che dice, vediamo come andrà questa volta.

Yes Grunter & a review is also soon to appear in 6Moons & enjoythemusic

Da wasky Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 16:09

grunter ha scritto:Volevo segnalare la prossima recensione da parte di John Darko del mio beneamato jkdac32:
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/index.php/audio-reviews/forthcoming-reviews/item/348-john-kenny-jkdac32-pcm5102-%20-lifepo4

Sono curioso perchè in genere mi ritrovo abbastanza in quello che dice, vediamo come andrà questa volta.

Hai chiesto poi a Yulian quel consiglio che ti ho dato a Roma ?

Il Vecchietto e il piccolino Laughing

for Mr JK. The little old and u Little in my Room of Toys Laughing

I DAC di John Kenny - Pagina 16 419393_309902669063439_2071603684_n

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 16:50

BTW, you might be interested in a new discovery which improves the sound - see here https://sites.google.com/site/hifacemods/home-1/announcements/improvingusb

And see here for some impressions http://jplay.eu/forum/computer-audio/our-administrators-invited-for-opinion-1e-usb-cable-or-150-e/

Da wasky Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 17:55

I use Them Wink

http://www.bitaudioworld.it/forum/content.php?r=177-Recensione-Neutral-Cable-USB-Cable

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 18:07

BTW, on what USB device do you use the fixed connector? What are your impressions of the sound Vs a USB cable?
"The best cable is NO cable" Smile

Da robertopisa Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 18:59

I think the importance of cable length is secondary as long as you stay around 1.5m or less. What can make a difference is that VCC+GND pair is separated from D+/D-. Did you try Lacie USB Flatcable 1.2m? It costs around 5 euros and beats my 20 euros Lindy Gold USB OFC cable 0.5m... the reason is that in Lacie the VCC+GND pair is separated from D+/D-...

-Roberto

jkeny ha scritto: BTW, on what USB device do you use the fixed connector? What are your impressions of the sound Vs a USB cable?
"The best cable is NO cable"

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 19:19

robertopisa ha scritto:I think the importance of cable length is secondary as long as you stay around 1.5m or less. What can make a difference is that VCC+GND pair is separated from D+/D-. Did you try Lacie USB Flatcable 1.2m? It costs around 5 euros and beats my 20 euros Lindy Gold USB OFC cable 0.5m... the reason is that in Lacie the VCC+GND pair is separated from D+/D-...

-Roberto

No, my devices don't use the VBus (+5V) so it doesn't come into the equation. I agree that the primary difference between most USB cables is how well the D+/D- signal wires are shielded from the currents travelling on the +5V & ground wires but if there are no currents then this shielding doesn't matter.

What I'm talking about is the next improvement after this +5V factor has been taken care of. I used to think that USB cables now all sounded the same based on my experiments with various USB cables I tried. Wirerworld Ultraviolet (it's flat) was recommended in a lot of forums but I heard no difference to a stock non-name USB cable. But enough people still told me that the USB cable made a difference to the sound with my USB devices so I experimented with no USB cable i.e USB connectors. Wow, was my impression!

I'm still investigating this but the shortness of the link does seem to be important? Early days to be coming to any conclusions yet Very Happy

Da robertopisa Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 20:07

Not sure, certainly the USB cable should not be so relevant as the other cables. Probably the USB tranceivers are low-cost in our computers.

-Roberto

jkeny ha scritto:
robertopisa ha scritto:I think the importance of cable length is secondary as long as you stay around 1.5m or less. What can make a difference is that VCC+GND pair is separated from D+/D-. Did you try Lacie USB Flatcable 1.2m? It costs around 5 euros and beats my 20 euros Lindy Gold USB OFC cable 0.5m... the reason is that in Lacie the VCC+GND pair is separated from D+/D-...

-Roberto
No, my devices don't use the VBus (+5V) so it doesn't come into the equation. I agree that the primary difference between most USB cables is how well the D+/D- signal wires are shielded from the currents travelling on the +5V & ground wires but if there are no currents then this shielding doesn't matter.

What I'm talking about is the next improvement after this +5V factor has been taken care of. I used to think that USB cables now all sounded the same based on my experiments with various USB cables I tried. Wirerworld Ultraviolet (it's flat) was recommended in a lot of forums but I heard no difference to a stock non-name USB cable. But enough people still told me that the USB cable made a difference to the sound with my USB devices so I experimented with no USB cable i.e USB connectors. Wow, was my impression!

I'm still investigating this but the shortness of the link does seem to be important? Early days to be coming to any conclusions yet

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 20:17

robertopisa ha scritto:Not sure, certainly the USB cable should not be so relevant as the other cables. Probably the USB tranceivers are low-cost in our computers.

-Roberto

I also thought that USB cable shouldn't matter particularly with my USB devices powered from batteries but they do matter & matter just as much as SPDIF cables. But I'm not interested in spending money in a pot luck fashion trying different USB cables to find one that has best "sound" so I bypassed USB cable altogether & others who have also tried it are reporting some interesting results, beating a number of high-priced, well known "audiophile" USB cables - not bad for €10

If you have a USB audio device that is NOT powered from Vbus, then give it a try & report back! Very Happy

Da robertopisa Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 20:46

I'll try it. I added a Hiface inside a BehringerSRC2496, and used its free 16V to produce regulated 5V for the Hiface. So I also disconnected the 5V (actually reading your early posts on the Hiface :-) I will give a try, even though it costs 10 euros, so more than my cable :-)
-Roberto

jkeny ha scritto:
robertopisa ha scritto:Not sure, certainly the USB cable should not be so relevant as the other cables. Probably the USB tranceivers are low-cost in our computers.

-Roberto
I also thought that USB cable shouldn't matter particularly with my USB devices powered from batteries but they do matter & matter just as much as SPDIF cables. But I'm not interested in spending money in a pot luck fashion trying different USB cables to find one that has best "sound" so I bypassed USB cable altogether & others who have also tried it are reporting some interesting results, beating a number of high-priced, well known "audiophile" USB cables - not bad for €10

If you have a USB audio device that is NOT powered from Vbus, then give it a try & report back!

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 20:58

robertopisa ha scritto:I'll try it. I added a Hiface inside a BehringerSRC2496, and used its free 16V to produce regulated 5V for the Hiface. So I also disconnected the 5V (actually reading your early posts on the Hiface :-) I will give a try, even though it costs 10 euros, so more than my cable :-)
-Roberto

Cool! Just a word of warning - can you turn off the ASRC Upsampling) function in the Behringer? In my experience all ASRCs mask the sonic benefits of low jitter devices like the Hiface (when not powered from Vbus Smile

).They are great for high jitter sources like Toslink, etc. & reduce the incoming high jitter on these sources but when fed with a source that has a lower jitter than the ASRC then it adds noise to the source.

Da robertopisa Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 21:10

I loose 24/192 in this way, but I do not care, since I do not have anything serious at that rate.

I agree with you: usually it is better to have internal clock (so tge SRC2494 acts like a master) and upsample, but with the hiface it sounds better to have "dig in", slaving the SRC2496 to the hiface. Even more, the output in the Hiface is impedance balanced, so I internally connected to the AES/EBU instead to the SPIDF, and it gives more texture to the sound (AES/EBU in teh SRC2496 can also decode the SPDIF format).

-Roberto

jkeny ha scritto:
robertopisa ha scritto:I'll try it. I added a Hiface inside a BehringerSRC2496, and used its free 16V to produce regulated 5V for the Hiface. So I also disconnected the 5V (actually reading your early posts on the Hiface :-) I will give a try, even though it costs 10 euros, so more than my cable :-)
-Roberto

Cool! Just a word of warning - can you turn off the ASRC Upsampling) function in the Behringer? In my experience all ASRCs mask the sonic benefits of low jitter devices like the Hiface (when not powered from Vbus ).They are great for high jitter sources like Toslink, etc. & reduce the incoming high jitter on these sources but when fed with a source that has a lower jitter than the ASRC then it adds noise to the source.

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 21:30

Excellent, you have it all under control Very Happy

Look forward to your report on direct USB connection or DUC as it is now being nicknamed.

Da robertopisa Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 21:32

Unfortunately I checked that since I have other cables near the USB socket, I have to use more than one DUCs... do you think is it still worth trying?
-R

jkeny ha scritto:Excellent, you have it all under control Look forward to your report on direct USB connection or DUC as it is now being nicknamed.

Da jkeny Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 21:35

robertopisa ha scritto:Unfortunately I checked that since I have other cables, I have to use more than one DUCs... do you think is it still worth trying?
-R

Yes, & you can use a swivel type if it helps to orientate the PC to the DAC
I DAC di John Kenny - Pagina 16 31uBHKUmh9L._SL500_AA300_

Da robertopisa Mar 27 Mar 2012 - 21:38

Thanks for helping
-Roberto

jkeny ha scritto:
robertopisa ha scritto:Unfortunately I checked that since I have other cables, I have to use more than one DUCs... do you think is it still worth trying?
-R

Yes, & you can use a swivel type if it helps to orientate the PC to the DAC

Da grunter Mer 28 Mar 2012 - 4:24

Thank you John, I'll give the usb adapter a try with my laptop.
Recently, cause I put the dac and other electronics far from my pc, I've replaced my 1.5m generic usb cable with a 3m Lyndy Usb Gold and I haven't noticed sound differences.

Da jkeny Mer 28 Mar 2012 - 10:11

grunter ha scritto:Thank you John, I'll give the usb adapter a try with my laptop.
Recently, cause I put the dac and other electronics far from my pc, I've replaced my 1.5m generic usb cable with a 3m Lyndy Usb Gold and I haven't noticed sound differences.

Yes, because the DAC32 is not powered from Vbus it will be immune to how the +5V wire is isolated from the signal wires in the USb cable, so most USB cables will sound the same. But there is more to it than just the shielding - it would seem. Try the USB adapters (you will need both types) & tell us your results.

Da donluca Mer 28 Mar 2012 - 11:27

I'll give the straight adapter a try too Wink

Da Edmond Dantes Mer 28 Mar 2012 - 12:34

Hi John, have you planned something new related to the new Hi-Face Two?

Regards,

Da jkeny Mer 28 Mar 2012 - 15:46

Edmond Dantes ha scritto:Hi John, have you planned something new related to the new Hi-Face Two?

Regards,

M2tech haven't even started shipping the Hiface 2 yet Laughing

Da Edmond Dantes Mer 28 Mar 2012 - 17:13

Nice humor, John............ Laughing

Well, I will wait for my M2Tech Hi-Face Two and then I'll ask you again........... Hehe

Da jkeny Dom 1 Apr 2012 - 12:43

grunter ha scritto:Volevo segnalare la prossima recensione da parte di John Darko del mio beneamato jkdac32:
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/index.php/audio-reviews/forthcoming-reviews/item/348-john-kenny-jkdac32-pcm5102-%20-lifepo4

Sono curioso perchè in genere mi ritrovo abbastanza in quello che dice, vediamo come andrà questa volta.

This review is not by John Darko but Clive Meakins from EnjoytheMusic

Excerpt:

1st Place: JKDAC32
These three DACs sound so good - a couple of years ago you couldn't have dreamt of achieving the quality we have here with any of these three for less than something like $10,000 or probably rather more. There has to be a winner, it is the JKDAC32. The JKDAC32 sports the now familiar aluminum enclosure with plastic end plates, NanoPhosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, modified 24/192 HiFace async USB to I2S. This time the I2S feeds a Burr Brown PCM5102 32/384 capable DAC. I should mention that with this DAC you may find you need to flick the on-off switch in the front panel to reset the DAC itself if no music pays, the USB connection is fine, it's a foible of the configuration.

Bass is very impressive, the equal of the Halide DAC HD, so it's got a great bass dynamic, it goes deep, it's tight, textured, indeed it's really propulsive. Where the JKDAC32 wins extra points is that the upper-mid and treble are sweeter yet still very detailed. This is no treble cover-up job! The next thing that struck the auditioning panel was the separation between the instruments; this was a step ahead of the best of the other DACs being tested here. Imaging was found to be very three dimensional and we agreed there was an especially strong focus for the central image whilst the expansive nature of the soundstage was maintained.

The best DAC here? The panel was unanimously in favor of the JKDAC32. So much so that the owner of the Rega sold it the next day. He purchased a JKDAC32. So have I.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0412/usb_dac_shootout.htm

Da grunter Dom 1 Apr 2012 - 16:05

Vado a leggere il resto della recensione, ma quanto ho letto non fa che suonarmi molto, molto familiare. Mi ci ritrovo in pieno.
Oki

Da robertopisa Gio 5 Apr 2012 - 17:00

I tried the USB adapter vs a short cable (15cm) that I carefully assembled in 4 hours. I tried to keep the capacity at a minimum: no way, the adapter gives more bass and defined soundstage.

Sad at this point... I want to understand why.... also, using adapters is not practical, we should find an equivalent way...

This also means that USB is not the way to go for high-performance DACs.

-Roberto

jkeny ha scritto:
robertopisa ha scritto:Unfortunately I checked that since I have other cables, I have to use more than one DUCs... do you think is it still worth trying?
-R

Yes, & you can use a swivel type if it helps to orientate the PC to the DAC

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