[ted_b]

By the way, speaking of the eXD DAC...I still, to this day, put it in my favorite under-$1500 DACs I've ever heard, DSD or PCM.  It is amazing, and per Barrows points, does some things that are very high-end (i.e one bit processing, great USB board, etc).

Looks like Jesus (Sonore US) is trying to get rid of some of his stock, and is accepting offers!  Go for it.
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=118734.msg1248161#msg1248161

[this_is_vv]

any idea of this dac??

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/ami2/2.html


V

[k6davis]

K6Davis,

Also, upsampled DSD128 works fine, but as I noted a couple days ago I am not using that function realtime, but instead I had JRiver convert some favorite PCM to DSD128 offline.  If your server has enough horsepower, go for on-the-fly, but be aware the PCM-to-DSD128 process is VERY cpu intensive.  In a single pc setup (where JRiver and the dac driver are on the same machine) I'm not sure what kind of sonics you'd get with a cpu working so hard.

Stay tuned.

I'm just starting to look into the world of Audio PC optimization.

My impression of the Dual PC concept is that the installation on the Audio PC is ultra light (something like OS & JPlay), while the Control PC is a more typical OS installation, running your playback software and (perhaps several) other things. My question is: How can the Audio PC improve upon what is the presumably dirtier signal coming from the Control PC?

It seems like the weakest link in the chain (the least optimized of the two PC's) would determine the effectiveness of the whole Dual PC setup. If that's the case, it would seem to make more sense to run just one machine and optimize that.

I'm hoping there's something about this that I don't understand, because I'd love to have my Control PC upsampling to DSD128 in JRiver, while still reaping the benefits of low resource optimization in the Audio PC.

Is that really possible?

How is two better than one?

[zybar]

I get my AuraLic Vega DSD DAC on Friday.   

I will definitely be setting up JRiver to upsample to DSD.

George

[shadowlight]

I will definitely be setting up JRiver to upsample to DSD.

I have seen this mentioned multiple times.  Do you upsample everything to DSD one song at a time or can you set it up for everything?  If everything where in JRiver do you setup?

TIA

[jtwrace]

I have seen this mentioned multiple times.  Do you upsample everything to DSD one song at a time or can you set it up for everything?  If everything where in JRiver do you setup?

TIA

It's a setting in JRiver that will do it for all (if you want).


See here

[shadowlight]

It's a setting in JRiver that will do it for all (if you want).


See here

Thanks Jason.

[ted_b]

I'm just starting to look into the world of Audio PC optimization.

My impression of the Dual PC concept is that the installation on the Audio PC is ultra light (something like OS & JPlay), while the Control PC is a more typical OS installation, running your playback software and (perhaps several) other things. My question is: How can the Audio PC improve upon what is the presumably dirtier signal coming from the Control PC?

It seems like the weakest link in the chain (the least optimized of the two PC's) would determine the effectiveness of the whole Dual PC setup. If that's the case, it would seem to make more sense to run just one machine and optimize that.

I'm hoping there's something about this that I don't understand, because I'd love to have my Control PC upsampling to DSD128 in JRiver, while still reaping the benefits of low resource optimization in the Audio PC.

Is that really possible?

How is two better than one?

The idea is not really any different than any other client-server or component-ized setup...i.e...isolating and optimizing one machine to do one thing well.  In this case, most who use JPlay in a streamer (aka dual pc) setup optimize BOTH controlpc and audiopc.  The audiopc is set up to do nothing but playback music, and contains only the dac driver, jplay service and an optimized minimalist OS setup.  The audiopc gets music data streamed to it via ethernet (set up to be a private network) from the controlpc, and therefore relives it, the audiopc, of any data/music retrieval, any display issues, any DSP cpu-intensive stuff, etc.   In fact, it is set to hibernate during playback, turning off all other processes unnecessary for playback.  Yes, the controlpc could be a multi-purpose box but most of us use it dedicated running Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8 and optimize it as well. 

So, regardless of controlpc "dirtiness" the audiopc concept is dedicated to playback only, and that in and of itself is a big win.  All this being said, if you took those financial resources and poured them into a single pc and optimized it, maybe you'd get close, yes.  Dual pc allows for evolving improvement and not a "all your eggs in one basket" commitment.

[dminches]

I would think that any PC with an i5 core processor would have way more than enough processing power to do everything. I think this is only an issue with much lesser processors. Am I overstating this?

 I am running Logitech media server on my Synology NAS which has a pretty weak processor. I never have an issue with streaming.

[ted_b]

You are streaming jplay?  I'm specifically talking Jplay, as that is what k6davis asked about..my dual pc setup.  Jplay takes some cpu cycles and my recommendations are an i7 or Xeon equivalent as a single pc or as an audiopc; the controlpc can be smaller (but my Caps V2+ is too small for DSP, upsampling, etc) but again, if you are asking it to do multiple things including DSP I'd get an i5 or bigger.  If you are talking generic streaming, then of course an i5 is plenty...hell, I streamed on a tiny Atom processor in my Alix Linux box.  But the sonics are NOWHERE near what I am getting with my duyal pc Jplay setup.  YMMV.

[dminches]

Thanks Ted.  I need to read up on the dual PC setup since I have been on LMS for years now.

[holzohr]

Thanks Ted for explaining. I was wondering about this Audio PC/Control PC solution. I am not up to date anymore with jriver, jplay and so on.

Actually, I didn`t want to have a computer anymore in my music/living room but with a fanless pc and a SSD built-in. Why not? I wrote here http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=119364.msg1272893#msg1272893 about Daphile http://www.daphile.com/#overview So I guess, the Daphile Box is the Audio PC and a Tablet is the Control PC (via browser or Squeezebox app) in my case. Apart of upsampling to DSD128 it offers everything I need at the moment.

Many ways lead to Rome 

[Syrah]

This is interesting.  I have a Caps Zuma that I'm using with JRiver with a Synology NAS.  If I wanted to try the ControlPC/AudioPC set up, how would I do that?

I have been thinking about getting a Microsoft Surface to use as a JRiver remote and to otherwise use as a PC while listening to music.

[k6davis]

You are streaming jplay?  I'm specifically talking Jplay, as that is what k6davis asked about..my dual pc setup.  Jplay takes some cpu cycles and my recommendations are an i7 or Xeon equivalent as a single pc or as an audiopc; the controlpc can be smaller (but my Caps V2+ is too small for DSP, upsampling, etc) but again, if you are asking it to do multiple things including DSP I'd get an i5 or bigger.  If you are talking generic streaming, then of course an i5 is plenty...hell, I streamed on a tiny Atom processor in my Alix Linux box.  But the sonics are NOWHERE near what I am getting with my duyal pc Jplay setup.  YMMV.

Thanks for your thoughtful response.

In addition to your comment, I read elsewhere that a more powerful processor in the audiopc was beneficial, which I find surprising. I would have thought that the audiopc could be a lower performance machine. It basically hibernates, it runs as few processes & services as possible, it isn't manipulating the data it's receiving (correct?). By design, it isn't doing much. Used in that manner, I would have guessed that a Core i7 would yield no benefit over a Core i3.

Anyway, I would really like to know/read more about how it works and how you use it.

It sounds as though the audiopc *only* has the OS & JPlay. Is that correct? Once it's configured, do you just turn it on and run it headless, with no mouse/keyboard/screen?

[ted_b]

Yes, audiopc is headless, has no access to the internet and I access it through the controlpc via remote desktop.  It runs jplay, the Os and the DAC driver.  It is connected to the controlpc via Ethernet cable (controlpc needs two Ethernet connections so one is mobo and one is NIC card) and has an audiophile grade USB card for the DAC..I use Paul Pangs version one card, separately powered via linear.

I may start a separate thread about all this.  We are getting a little off topic.   

[this_is_vv]

Yes, audiopc is headless, has no access to the internet and I access it through the controlpc via remote desktop.  It runs jplay, the Os and the DAC driver.  It is connected to the controlpc via Ethernet cable (controlpc needs two Ethernet connections so one is mobo and one is NIC card) and has an audiophile grade USB card for the DAC..I use Paul Pangs version one card, separately powered via linear.

I may start a separate thread about all this.  We are getting a little off topic.   

i am interested to know about it...please start a topic

[k6davis]

i am interested to know about it...please start a topic

+1

[Deribas]

Benchmark DAC2 as a preamp for stereo digital sources and HT pass-through mode for mch

There has been a lot of discussions about ESS Sabre-based DACs, including Benchmark DAC2 and even Oppo 105, as a potential DAC+preamp solution, if only the volume control was comparable in quality to a good analogue preamp.  For my needs, an additional requirement is an analogue unity-gain pass through, aka HT bypass feature, because I listen to a lot of multichannel sources which undergo d/a conversion in an Onkyo processor with Audyssey multEq XT32. I would like not to send hires stereo music (PCM up to 24/192 and DSD) through Onkyo at all, but instead directly from my Squeezebox Touch to (not yet purchased) benchmark DAC2 via USB. Multichannel front L and R analogue outputs from Onkyo would then go to the DAC2's HT bypass analogue inputs.  DAC2 has a complicated-sounding "hybrid" analogue and digital volume control, which allows it to function as a preamp for both kinds of sources.

I experimented with a similar setup earlier using Peachtree grand Integrated x1 as a DAC/preamp, feeding into the two channels of my Bryston mch amplifier. With digital stereo sources, it sounded superb, but HT bypass was somehow noisy (compared to onkyo directly into Bryston amp).

Has anyone used Benchmark DAC2 in this fashion, and what were your conclusions? Can anybody also comment on the volume control of Dac2 acting as a preamp?

Thanks for reading.

[sts9fan]

I switched from using a Pass X1 pre to just a the DAC2. I think it's fantastic.   

[poseidonsvoice]

Here is a nice list:

http://www.audiostream.com/content/dsd-ready-dacs-short-list

Best,
Anand