Digital alien needs basic help with DAC

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

Thanks Kal. That looks like a great solution if I didn't already have a preamp and amps that I love. Just looking for digital player/DAC without the integrated amp built in.

Don't use them. Use the line outputs.

[doggiehowser]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

Good question and I refer you to the title of this thread! That is, I'm pretty ignorant about all things digital.



All I know is that I want something to play my collection of physical CDs and SACDs, as well as the music stored on that external hard drive. The Oppo requires an HDMI connection to the DAC to pass on the higher resolution formats. So I think I will still need a player as well as a DAC.

Yes the Oppo can output DSD from SACDs over HDMI.

In the past, that would require an AV receiver/processor which usually don’t sound as good as a dedicated DAC to me.

So the Bryston is a really neat product.

[cmarin]

You can also use GeerFab Audio’s Digital Breakout Box (DBOB) to “extract the DSD signal from your SACDs and high-res PCM data from your Blu-ray, DVD-A, DAD, or DVD discs. It accepts the HDMI digital output from a universal player (e.g., OPPO) and outputs DSD64 via the DoP protocol and PCM up to 24-bit/192Hz through S/PDIF coax (and up to 24-bit/176kHz through S/PDIF Toslink outputs) to your external DAC”

It’s sold by Music Direct for $999.

I play concert BDs on my OPPO 203 by sending the digital HDMI signal into the DBOB and out as S/PDIF to my TotalDac d1-12 MkII. Highly recommended.

[daveneumann]

Originally Posted by cmarin

You can also use GeerFab Audio’s Digital Breakout Box (DBOB) to “extract the DSD signal from your SACDs and high-res PCM data from your Blu-ray, DVD-A, DAD, or DVD discs. It accepts the HDMI digital output from a universal player (e.g., OPPO) and outputs DSD64 via the DoP protocol and PCM up to 24-bit/192Hz through S/PDIF coax (and up to 24-bit/176kHz through S/PDIF Toslink outputs) to your external DAC”

It’s sold by Music Direct for $999.

I play concert BDs on my OPPO 203 by sending the digital HDMI signal into the DBOB and out as S/PDIF to my TotalDac d1-12 MkII. Highly recommended.

So you are not using the DBOB as a stand alone DAC, you are passing a signal through it to another DAC? I don't have a DAC and am hoping for a one box solution.

[Masterlu]

Dave, you have a PM.

[Kal Rubinson]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

So you are not using the DBOB as a stand alone DAC, you are passing a signal through it to another DAC? I don't have a DAC and am hoping for a one box solution.

The D-BOB is not a DAC.

[cmarin]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

So you are not using the DBOB as a stand alone DAC, you are passing a signal through it to another DAC? I don't have a DAC and am hoping for a one box solution.

Correct. You still need a DAC. But it does allow you to fully utilize the HDMI digital output of a universal player (like the oppo 203) to become a universal transport, for a fraction of the cost of a universal transport, without limiting yourself to DACs that have an HDMI digital input.

[Puma Cat]

You don't want to use HDMI as a protocol for streaming music files to a DAC.

It is too noisy and inherently laden with problems. This is exactly why Arcam, for many years, did not support audio output via HDMI with its excellent AVRs.

It's fine for video, but it is suboptimal for high-end audio, especially high-res files.

[cmarin]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

You don't want to use HDMI as a protocol for streaming music files to a DAC.

It is too noisy and inherently laden with problems. This is exactly why Arcam, for many years, did not support audio output via HDMI with its excellent AVRs.

It's fine for video, but it is suboptimal for high-end audio, especially high-res files.

I find physical transports to be superior sounding compared to servers or streaming at least in my system. And I have a reasonably good server in my system (Sound Galleries Monaco EVO).

I’m currently using a Kalista Dreamplayer as a CD transport to feed a TotalDac d1-12 MkII, and it sounds pretty amazing to my ears

Unfortunately, it is my understanding that the Kalista transport manufacturer has no plans to make a universal transport anytime in the near future. And if they did, I’m sure it would be pretty expensive.

The D-BOB provides me with a fairly inexpensive way to transform an inexpensive Oppo player into a fairly decent universal transport that feeds a very upscale R2R DAC (TotalDac d1-12 MkII) that allows me to play concert DVDs and SACDs that sound really good to my ears, at least in my system.

The TotalDac d1-12 is a three box-unit with a reclocker and two mono DACs. Perhaps the resulting sound quality from even the humble Oppo’s hdmi digital output may have to do with the TotalDac’s ability to reduce the incoming jitter.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by cmarin

I find physical transports to be superior sounding compared to servers or streaming at least in my system. And I have a reasonably good server in my system (Sound Galleries Monaco EVO).

I’m currently using a Kalista Dreamplayer as a CD transport to feed a TotalDac d1-12 MkII, and it sounds pretty amazing to my ears

Unfortunately, it is my understanding that the Kalista transport manufacturer has no plans to make a universal transport anytime in the near future. And if they did, I’m sure it would be pretty expensive.

The D-BOB provides me with a fairly inexpensive way to transform an inexpensive Oppo player into a fairly decent universal transport that feeds a very upscale R2R DAC (TotalDac d1-12 MkII) that allows me to play concert DVDs and SACDs that sound really good to my ears, at least in my system.

The TotalDac d1-12 is a three box-unit with a reclocker and two mono DACs. Perhaps the resulting sound quality from even the humble Oppo’s hdmi digital output may have to do with the TotalDac’s ability to reduce the incoming jitter.

Ya think? LOL.

Yeah, that’s a pretty safe bet...

The TotalDAC is one of the finest DACs in the world, at any price.

As good as the TotalDAC is, the problems with using HDMI as a protocol for audio is not specifically jitter; it’s other forms of noise.

All of which can result in increased jitter.

But, I would not rule out increased phase noise, either.

Enjoy that bad boy!