USB Nervosa Thread Decrapifiers, pro interfaces, and bears oh my

I've also a RME HDSP 9632. Lynx is said to have a bit better SQ overall (by a very thin hair) for AES use, but RME has indeed more features as it's not only digital. It's also cheaper, and driver support is first class (as in Lynx's case btw).

Ali

 

Oh good news. So it was busted, after all? Explains a lot; good to hear that you're up and running again.

I paid for the upgrade for my Gungnir Multibit too, it is definitely money well spent. Simple, effective and great value- surprising how decent it is.

 

Cards of the level of Lynx and RNE, I really recommend at least trying the analog out. Of course, if one has a DAC to which one is attached financially/emotionally/sonically, it is unlikely to be go unused, but... try!

my RME card was my DAC and DAC for a few years. I was happy. Now I have actually use a Juli@, rated highly at a low price. But the part of the chain that now prevents me saying more is... ears.

I'm interested in what those with better hearing can tell. The card may or may not be better than a person's favoured external DAC... but that one cannot get good sound straight out of the box is just audio dogma.

 

Fully agree.

The reason I'm looking into it is not so much sounds - I'm a hammer & anvil blacksmith, Gungnir Multibit gen 5 is likely already more than my ears deserve - but:

1) no more relying on usb, as while gen5 fixes any issues related to the dac's usb, with an all purpose machine, several game controllers, head motion trackers, eye trackers, and other sundry accessories it's not unheard of for USB as a whole to freak the f**k out.
2) stave off any nervosa forever, as I'm well aware of my limits. This may well be the most important part, actually.
3) stave off the "what will I do for a dac if the Gungnir Multibit goes in for an upgrade" paranoia, it would certainly be different in character but more than good enough otherwise. Yes, this is the sort of crap my brain presents me with when I lie down.

 

As my Lynx AES16 feeds my Yggdrasil, the RME 9632 is now my main soundcard on the other PC...and sound from it is better than the cheapo HifimeDIY 9018 USB I had before.

Ali

 

When I first put an RME card in my PC, in the early 2000s, it was better than my not-so-cheapo Cyrus CD player (and thus, as I may have mentioned a couple of hundred times before, began my use of the PC as a serious sound source). Thanks! But I think these cards can rival better stuff!

Hmmm... I guess this is straying from the topic, except under the you don't have to use USB heading.

 

I've owned an RME 9632 for feeding the Gungnir Multibit. Gen 5 USB is superior, although I did not compare directly.

Went from USB with power filter to glass optical SPDIF out from a Xonar Essence STX II to coax SPDIF out from an RME 9632 to SPDIF out from an M-Audio Audiophile 192, then back to USB with Gen 5. Gen 5 USB beats them all.

I switched from the RME 9632 because it is a pain in the neck to use with Linux.

 

Shame. RME used to be linux friendly.

 

It was easy enough to get it up and running, there is an open-source driver and GUI for Linux. The problem was having to manually switch speed modes when wanting to playback files bit perfect at their defined sample rates. The RME 9632 has three different speed modes (I assume clock multipliers). Single speed mode is 44.1kHz and 48kHz, double speed mode is 88.2 and 96kHz, quad speed mode is 176.4kHz and 192kHz. For example, playing a 96kHz in single speed mode either didn't work or played back at the wrong speed (can't remember which now). It was just inconvenient to use, rather than it not working. I wanted something that is setup and forget, and just control through my custom ALSA config.

 

I don't have a Lynx or RME but I do have the Digigram vx222e. I've owned it for about 2 years and for some reason never tried the analog outs. I got curious last week and I was very very surprised at how good it was. I have it feeding my headphone am right now and the Yggdrasil handling speakers.

 

I know it's been talked to to death, but the Eitr completely blew me away.
I had been using SU-1 on my Master 7 / Yggdrasil for about 8 months. I switched to Eitr on both after I bought one to test.

I also have a lynx aes16e, although since it's on my gaming desktop I only use it for comparing.
Maybe I'll build a dedicated rig for it, but that's another topic.

Point being, is that Eitr is quite close to what my lynx is doing, while SU-1 wasn't even close.

Subjectively for me, Yggdrasil gen3 usb is 1/10, su-1 is 6/10, Eitr is 9/10, lynx is 10/10.
I figured Yggdrasil could scale past su-1 with ease, based on my previous lynx testing. What I was gobsmacked at was how crazy the m7 scaled changing from su-1 to Eitr. It's almost not even the same DAC anymore, completely new level. Specifically m7 just oozes resolution now, I didn't ever think it could produce this level of detail like my Yggdrasil had been doing.

At Eitr's price point it makes anything anything else meaningless except for pci(e) cards or the rare instance where a DAC doesn't have rca digital in. Been said before tho, just thought I'd crush on it.

 

Wonder if you would find a difference/improvement with the Gen 5 card in Yggdrasil, vs using Eitr. I notice a difference in my system with Gungnir Multibit Gen 5 vs. Eitr (I have both). Eitr I find slightly softer / more rounded than direct Gen 5 input (fed from MicroRendu and UltraRendu).

 

Was really interested in the Schiit Eitr for the gen5 but I have a bit of a weird need. I have a pair of powered monitors for desk speakers which take spdif/optical and a DAC for headphone usage which takes spdif/coax (lavry da10).

I really want to take advantage of schiit's gen5, but what would be the preferred way to get two signals out, one for coax + one for optical?

I don't want to go down the shiny new box syndrome but I've been eyeing a couple options like these:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/578752-REG/RDL_HR_UDC1_HR_UDC1_Universal_Digital.html

https://www.mutec-net.com/product_mc-3-plus-usb.php

 

Just an update. (no body seems to have paid any attention to this product).

I have been using my 3R for some time now and i must say i am enjoying my music like never before.

It has gotten a very positive review on absolute sound

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/ideon-audio-3r-usb-renaissance-usb-hub/

 

It is not recommended to have another reclocker after the Eitr (such as the mutec) because this will compromise the output from the Eitr.

The RDL looks like it will achieve your requirements but I have no experience of it.

Maybe you could consider using the DA10 to feed some different speakers that have analogue input rather than your current speakers, which I assume are digital only? By the way, what are your speakers?

 

Most of us have lost interest in USB reclockers.

The majority of us use DACs with S/PDIF input, and the Schiit Eitr is generally a better option than a USB ->USB device.

The price on the Ideon also gives pause. It's an unknown company providing a product that already exists (UpTone) for a higher price. It's hard to penetrate the market, even if it's the superior product.

If you know the folks there, maybe they'd be willing to organize a tour to get the word out.


Computer Audiophile is probably the better target market for the device in any case, as many people there are USB gadget obsessed.

 

If everyone has lost interest then maybe the thread should be closed,

Lest I get stoned I doubt the Eitr is the be all and end all that many believe.

Unknown companies come onto the scene from time to time. Swenson did not have a company that produced a $1000 dac prior to building his fixer uppers as far as I know. And Geek Out was hardly around when the no name Pro Audio companies like Violectric and Mutec were selling their wares.

Price, how a $212 item gives pause to folks who spend a fair amount on NOS dacs and things like a Mutec 3+ is hard to understand.

Please, let's not put down a member that brings a product to our attention that is relevant in this thread. If the majority of SBAF truly believes this topic is dead, "shut the thread down"

Or maybe that is the direction this "club" is headed, at times it seems that way. A group of all agreeing slap on back members of the herd who torch dissenters. EDIT- Ok, flame suit on and nothing personal Luckbad, oops that was personal, sorry, but for all of us sometimes it is better to sit back and observe rather than comment on everything that is posted.

 

Strange, I saw 289€ with a 249€ introductory price on my phone, but see it for $249 on my PC. The pause was because I thought it was ~$350.

Also, saying that most of have lost interest in USB reclockers was an answer to why nobody seems to have taken notice of the Ideon 3R, it wasn't meant to be dismissive of the device.

The Eitr is not the be all, end all device. It sounds great and is a "stonking bargain" to steal an expression from the likes of Torq. I still prefer the Lynx AES16e to it, no question, which means I'd also prefer the Focusrite Rednet.

There's also a non-zero chance that I'd prefer the Mutec MC-3+USB, but I haven't heard them next to one another.

Anyway, back to the price. $350 for the 3R + $180 for an Eitr (more for another USB->S/PDIF converter) would probably get you an excellent USB -> S/PDIF setup (assuming the 3R is good), but that's not inexpensive (you could have a used Lynx for the price). At closer to $200, it might actually make sense.

I would personally be curious how it performs in comparison to the UpTone Regen Iso with the LH Labs GO2A Infinity.

 

I doubt this is true, even here. my guess would be 10% of SBAFers are doing some sort of SPDIF conversion (the vocal ones). The majority probably use the USB built into their DACs, the rest use a reclocker. Many have also upgraded to Gen 5, or will.

The vast majority of people probably could not tell the difference between any of these interfaces (unless there is a problem with one) in a blind test. But that is also true of most audiophile stuff. we hear what we want to hear. Blind testing is too hard.

 

Reclocking USB audio is completely and utterly pointless. Rather than calling you rude names, I'd invite you to use the search function for a detailed explanation why it makes no sense at all, and can't help at all. Snakeoil of the worst kind.

Also, I miss @Torq.