Schiit Eitr Preview Thread

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Rotijon, Jul 17, 2017.

  1. winterfog

    winterfog Facebook Friend

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    Asked this in the general advice thread a few days ago and didn't get any bites, so reposting here. Has anyone noticed their Eitr switching sample rates or bit depth during startup of a Windows 10 computer? Trying to figure out if mine is temporarily sending my DAC a signal it can't handle (something other than 16/24 bit or 44.1/48 khz), and if there's some way to address that other than physically unplugging Eitr during startup.

     
  2. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    If both windows and your playback sw are set to output 24/44.1 or 48, I can't think of why that would happen, especially if it worked fine with the same settings previously. Can't imagine how eitr could do that though, barring an actual fault.
     
  3. Pharmaboy

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    Or as my brother once opined, "It really helps to be smarter than the tool."
     
  4. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    Does anyone know if a data only cable can work with the Eitr? I have an old one but it doesn't seem to be working and i have no other device to test it with. I did some changes in my desk and my old cable doesn't have enough lenght.
     
  5. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Eitr draws some USB power. Like 100mA or something. Was confirmed by Jason back earlier in the thread.
     
    Last edited: Aug 3, 2019
  6. Walderstorn

    Walderstorn Friend

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    I missed that. Thanks for the info that explains a lot.
     
  7. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    Has anyone tried swapping out the RCA for a BNC output? And, would that be as simple as it sounds? Just remove the RCA and replace with a BNC of the same form factor? Warranty is already void since mine arrived with an SMD capacitor loose which I impatiently soldered back on myself (I waited months for my Eitr to ship).
     
  8. trung225

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    From my experience, SPDIF with BNC coaxial cable sounds much more focus and less smearing than with the same cable with RCA terminated. So, if you can swap them, do it. But I must warn you that BNC and RCA female socket can have different pin dimensions, and BNC socket is bigger than RCA socket, so it is not too easy to replace it. You may need to modify the chassis of Eitr to do that.
     
  9. ohshitgorillas

    ohshitgorillas Friend

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    Thanks, I'll have to be careful about the size of the BNC connector. Might be easier to just finally get an RPi hat with BNC output... but my phone (LG V40) as a source via Eitr is just so damned convenient, what with Tidal and Plex apps.

    I do wonder how a connector which, by its physical nature, cannot possibly match the spec of the interface became the industry standard. Seems the inability of RCA to be 75 ohm does add quite a bit of jitter. Why are so many manufacturers opting into making their gear not sound as good as it could?
     
  10. trung225

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    It is the matter of marketing and economic things. When digital came out, most manufactures thought that the best way to convince the customer to switch from analog to digital is let them continue to use familiar components rather than force them to use/buy entire new ones. So RCA socket/cable was used instead of BNC, even though it is inferior technically.
     
  11. klyrish

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    I just got an Eitr and have hooked it up. I honestly didn't think I'd notice much, if any difference, at all, but WOW. Bass especially seems to be much, MUCH better (heavier, hits harder, is clearer) through the Amethyst. I'm also hearing better clarity in some background layers of a few songs. I'm honestly in shock that going from optical to coaxial made this much of a difference.

    EDIT: wow, using my reference track, "Somewhat Damaged" by NIN, the layer separation is insane. I'm a believer. The sound is somehow smoother while being more detailed. I cannot believe how harsh treble was through optical. Ragnarok was sometimes painful but even with the volume cranked, I'm not getting any of that. And the layer separation is close to what I was hearing on the ZDT. Just turned that on to warm up a bit so I can hear how the RDAC -> ZDT sounds with coaxial.
     
    Last edited: Sep 25, 2019
  12. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Then try with Gungnir Multibit and do a final compare of the 3 DACs with the same input? (assuming you still have it)
     
  13. klyrish

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    Already have it warming up.
     
  14. Renekton

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    To keep it short, after 1.5 years of owning eitr, I still have very high USB nervosa. While I have not spent that much more time investigating asio4all vs wasapi, etc, I am positive that different buffer lengths on asio4all audibly, consistently change sound and so does adding a varying number of wyrds before the eitr. And so does playing with the exact layout of power strips feeding the wyrds. My guesstimation is that it's not just absolute jitter - it's a damn jitter spectrum that gets affected. I envy those of you who can easily write this off as placebo - I know it's not and that keeps me up at nights. Yes, even the power strips thing. It's horrid. I am looking forward to Unison USB being put in a lower cost product.
    {EDIT: Some setups have mushy bass, some have hazy highs, some have zappy highs, some have smeared everything... Hence my different-jitter-spectrum-profiles idea}
     
  15. E_Schaaf

    E_Schaaf MOT: E.T.A Headphones

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    Dude, are you ok?
     
  16. haywood

    haywood Friend

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    X2. Maybe look into getting away from usb altogether if it’s keeping you up at night. There are two really good pi based spdif solutions: allo digione signature and pi2design’s pi2aes. They have the side benefit of offloading music server duty from your computer and use very little power in comparison so you can run them 24/7 and not feel too guilty about it.
     
  17. Pharmaboy

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    ...on your what, exactly?
     
  18. tangled

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    Ever since the product introduction I planned to eventually buy the Eitr, but got sidetracked with work. Somehow months became years and today I couldn't find the Eitr on Schiit's website. It seems to have been discontinued due to poor sales. Luckily, there still seems to be a few left at Schiit Europe (230v). Should I grab one right away, or do you think Schiit is planning to release a superior product soon? I would appreciate any help. Cheers!
     
  19. Mindbender

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    I see 13 Eitr's in stock under their US Closeout page. I assume they're 120V?

    https://www.schiit.com/b-stocks

    (Edit: Sorry, it's now 12 in stock. Just picked one up when I realized "Wait... this is the last of the Eitr's")
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2020
  20. tangled

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    Haha, yes I saw them Mindbenber, but I need a 230V one, for use in Europe.

    So, there is no announcement of a Unison based converter in the works at Schiit? Eitr is still the best budget option USB to SPDIF converter like 2-3 years ago?
     

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