AudioCircle
Industry Circles => NuPrime Audio => Topic started by: Randy Myers on 26 Aug 2016, 01:14 am
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Hello everyone...
I just received a new DAC-10H earlier today. I am replacing a pre-amplifier and dac. I wanted to combine the two to simplify and make things a bit more straight forward. I also like the idea of getting a good headphone amplifier. I will probably start looking into some decent balanced headphone in the near future.
A little bit about myself. I was into high end audio back in the day (25-30 years ago), but with career and family I fell out of it. About a year ago I got back into this wonderful hobby and have been changing out gear and relearning this whole world again. I was happy with how my system is coming along except I wanted to simply the control aspect (pre/dac). The DAC-10H looked pretty nice... so here we are.
So far it seems nice. The only issue I am encountering so far is with Redbook CDs. My music server plays great through USB and displays all resolutions fine, going through a W4S Recovery unit. SA-CDs play great through L1 also. I have the coax output from the Marantz SA8005 hooked to a W4S Remedy and on to the NuPrime. It plays fine, but, the Remedy up scales to 96kHz, but it only displays 44.1 on the front display. Shouldn't it display 96 like my previous DAC?
Thanks,
Randy
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No one has any idea on this? I know the Remedy is sending out 96 kHz, so is the DAC-10H reading that it is a Redbook and setting itself to 44.1?
EDIT:
I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Jason from NuPrime e-mailed me today addressing my concerns. It is very much appreciated!
I believe from his e-mail that this is not an issue.
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Would love to hear your feedback on how the Dac-10 performs as a preamp. Which amp you are using it with?
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shahed
The DAC-10 preamp section is first rate. I have used it with multiple amps. It now sits in front of the ST-10.
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I have mine hooked up as the control center for my system. It is the pre-amplifer, DAC, and headphone amplifier. I have the balanced outputs going to a SST Son of Ampzilla II, the RCA outputs are feeding a REL subwoofer. The Ampzilla is powering MC speakers. For sources I use a highly modified Falcon Northwest Tiki computer as a dedicated Roon headless server. I use a Surface Pro 3 as a Roon controller. I also have a Marantz SA8005 and a Yamaha BD-S677 spinners. I can listen to Redbook CDs, SA-CDs, DVD audio, HDCD, and Blu-Ray music disks. I use Sennheiser HD 800 S headphones with a balanced cable off the DAC-10H. I also use a Wyred 4 Sound Remedy and Recovery reclocker units!
So far the NuPrime seems to be a very nice pre-amplifier. It certainly fulfills my needs!
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Wonderful feedback!
JackD, which other preamps you have used in your system?
Do you guys notice any difference in sound quality through balanced out vs single ended output of the dac?
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shahed
I have used as many preamps over the last decade as you have fingers on both hands. Currently in use along with the DAC-10 is the W4S STP-SE and the Modwright LS-100. The preamp section of the DAC-10 can hold it's own with either one of the others. All different flavors but all excellent.
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I have not compared the RCA outputs with the XLR going to the amplifier since I use both. The RCA feed the subwoofer. In previous setups there was a noticeable improvement.
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JackD, I used to own a MW LS100. Thats a big endorsement that DAC 10 can hold its own.
Randy, When you say there was a noticeable improvement in the previous setup, do you mean improvement from going to single ended to balanced?
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Yes :)
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Which means, I have to get some balanced interconnect if I end up getting this dac. :(
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You do not have to, it is just a nice improvement :)... At this point I would not even consider a pre-amplifier that does not have balanced outputs. Headphone outputs included :P...
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shahed
The DAC-10 preamp section is first rate. I have used it with multiple amps. It now sits in front of the ST-10.
I've used many good preamps and DACS as well, often costing 2x or more the price of the DAC10H. I can say the Dac10 is as clean and transparent as the best of them, and the features are perfect for my needs. I only wished they added a balanced AES/EBU digital input, but that's not a deal breaker by any means.
It is an amazing bargain.
I can't say how it compares to the 5 figure competition, but it sounds great on its own terms, even better with the mods.
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I have a large collection of cds, mostly the best mastering I could find on cd of my favorite albums.
What does upsampling redbook to DSD do to the sound?
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I have a large collection of cds, mostly the best mastering I could find on cd of my favorite albums.
What does upsampling redbook to DSD do to the sound?
I would love to know this as well. These days I upsample everything to DSD through HQPlayer. How is the DSD 256 performance?
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I have a large collection of cds, mostly the best mastering I could find on cd of my favorite albums.
What does upsampling redbook to DSD do to the sound?
On my previous DAC I up-sampled everything to DSD, including my flac downloads. With the DAC-10H I no longer up sample the flac files. The NuPrime seems to play flac files better than my previous DAC did even though they used the same ESS chip. On Redbook CDs I do run them through the Wyred 4 Sound Remedy which not only re-clocks but it up samples to 96KHz. Jason asked me to compare with and without the Remedy after I got the DAC-10H. The Remedy made a nice difference, but the NuPrime DAC-10H implementation of the DAC seems absolutely outstanding to me!
I do look for my favorite albums in SA-CD and DSD downloads however (and then the highest level of PCM download I can find). They definitely sound better this way. And then when nothing else is available Redbooks through the Remedy. Obviously I have quite a few Redbooks :)...
The DSD performance on the DAC-10H is outstanding, but the PCM is also so good that I no longer require up sampling everything.
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hi Jason
what is the function of this AKM in dac 10 ?
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=152949)
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hi Jason
what is the function of this AKM in dac 10 ?
The AK4113 is a 24-bit stereo digital audio receiver that supports sampling rates up to 216kHz. http://www.akm.com/akm/en/product/datasheet1/?partno=AK4113VF (http://www.akm.com/akm/en/product/datasheet1/?partno=AK4113VF)
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but what is the function that the dac 10?
since the signals are processed by Sabre
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I get it :green:
The AK4113 is a 24-bit stereo digital audio receiver that supports sampling rates up to 216kHz. The channel status bits decoder supports both consumer and professional modes. The AK4113 automatically detects non-PCM bit streams such as Dolby Digital, MPEG etc. When combined with the multi channel codec (AK4626 or AK4628), the two chips provide a system solution for Dolby Digital applications. Control of AK4113 is achieved though a µP or pin strapping (parallel mode). It is packaged in a space-saving 30-pin VSOP.
* Dolby Digital is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
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I have no idea, and I don't want to make a habit of people asking us to explain what is going on inside the product.
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Question about DAC 10h... why every time I turn it on volume scale goes up till 50? Is there some kind of way to adjust that or....?!
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When you turn it on it should go back to the input and volume setting you had selected when you turned it off. Try going through every input and turning them all to zero then turn the unit off and back on and see what you get.
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I did and still the same problem... don't understand?! :?
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Are you turning it on and off via the switch in the back or the front?
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Are you turning it on and off via the switch in the back or the front?
Yup. Turning off via the switch on the back resets to the behavior Starboard pointed out. If you turn off via the remote control (ie. put it in standby mode), then it retains the last settings you had (input, volume).
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I am turning it off by faceplate button or remote and everytime volume goes up on scale till 50. I don't understand why is that so? Is it because my DAC-10h is broken or I am doing something wrong? It only remember last setting when the unit is on and I am switching between inputs, but if I turn the unit off/on it goes till 50 on volume scale witch is very loud and unpleasent...
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Try unplugging it for a bit and see if it will reset itself. If not and you are inside 30 days then send it back for one that works properly and that is not it.
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One more thing is it doesn't even stay on selected input or gain setting. Always went beck on USB input and LL gain mode with volume on 50 either on stand by or completly shut down.
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One more thing is it doesn't even stay on selected input or gain setting. Always went beck on USB input and LL gain mode with volume on 50 either on stand by or completly shut down.
I have 2 DAC10H. Both work fine and don't display any of these misbehaviors. They save settings, inputs, volume, etc. just fine. Yours has a problem; perhaps a bad EPROM chip. Send it back for repairs.
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I think it must be set to home theatre pass through, try to unset it. The home theatre pass through is useless and when it is set, it affects all the inputs. Since it has independent volume memory retention for every input, the HT pass through is not needed.
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Rusty, how am I gonna do that?
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Well, I did that by pressing both volume buttons for 3 sec, but it was already on stereo mode not on HT.
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You should contact support@nuprimeaudio.com after the New Year. I don't know all the details.
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Any idea why after headphones are plugged in DAC-10H I can still hear sound true speakers? How to make it work only over HP?
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DAC-10H has multiple headphones output, especially XLR, so it is not designed to turn off the line out when headphone is inserted.
Recording studio would not like this feature.
You can use power strip with remote control to turn off the amps.
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Thnx Rusty, helpfull as always...!