[ALRAINBOW]

Does anyone know of a release date and what improvements besides the dsd will the dac have..

[audioengr]

Does anyone know of a release date and what improvements besides the dsd will the dac have..

Al - there is no release date yet.  It will hopefully be in 2014.  The plan is to make the DAC simpler than the Overdrive, with no XLR outs, no volume control and all in one chassis.  It will probably have S/PDIF coax and USB inputs. It should be DSD capable.

Steve N.

[DaveBSC]

Presumably this means that the current OD will continue on for those with balanced systems or who want to run without a linestage? Will we see something in the near future with a USB input comparable to the OR6, or is that a ways off?

[audioengr]

Presumably this means that the current OD will continue on for those with balanced systems or who want to run without a linestage? Will we see something in the near future with a USB input comparable to the OR6, or is that a ways off?

You are correct, Overdrive will live on.  Both Overdrive and Off-Ramp will transition to the new USB interface.

Steve N.

[paul79]

Would converting DSD files to High Resolution PCM, and using a high end PCM Dac not be as good as DSD? If done properly of course...

I only ask this because I have tried a couple DSD Dac's, and while they do DSD great, playing PCM was less than satisfying with them at best... In fact, high resolution PCM through my front end was just as good as the DSD stuff I tried, if not better.

The only benefit, IMO, in going with the DSD Dac's I tried, was that for allot less money, I could get close to my front end performance, playing DSD only through them, of course... Then you are limited on what music you can buy...

I'd like to try a DAC that does both well, and while there are some I have not tried that do both, I tend to believe the outcome will be similar...?? Or, try converting DSD files to high resolution PCM and see what happens, making a DSD Dac pointless??  Anybody tried this yet?

[audioengr]

Would converting DSD files to High Resolution PCM, and using a high end PCM Dac not be as good as DSD? If done properly of course...

IMO yes.  It might even be better due to the lack of spectral noise in the DSD.

Steve N.

[paul79]

Pure Music and J-River can do it real time, but I wonder if there is an economical, Mac compatible, file based software that converts the files, so I can use my current favorite music player that does not convert...?

[ketcham]

"Presumably this means that the current OD will continue on for those with balanced systems or who want to run without a linestage? Will we see something in the near future with a USB input comparable to the OR6, or is that a ways off?

You are correct, Overdrive will live on.  Both Overdrive and Off-Ramp will transition to the new USB interface."

Steve. Tell us about this new USB interface.  Would this make the or6 unnecessary with the overdrive SE dac?

[audioengr]

"Presumably this means that the current OD will continue on for those with balanced systems or who want to run without a linestage? Will we see something in the near future with a USB input comparable to the OR6, or is that a ways off?

You are correct, Overdrive will live on.  Both Overdrive and Off-Ramp will transition to the new USB interface."

Steve. Tell us about this new USB interface.  Would this make the or6 unnecessary with the overdrive SE dac?

Necessary is a bit strong.   The new USB interface will likely be improved over OR5 type interface, but it will probably always be a bit better to have the USB interface separate from the DAC.

Every time I try to achieve this, I seem to come up short. The dedicated Dynamo power supply makes all the difference.  The USB interface shares power with other things inside the DAC.

Steve N.

[toddc2]

Pure Music and J-River can do it real time, but I wonder if there is an economical, Mac compatible, file based software that converts the files, so I can use my current favorite music player that does not convert...?

Hi Paul, I am looking to do the same thing (convert my DSD to PCM to play with Amarra Symphony). I saw a post in CA that mentioned Korg Audiogate as a free solution that has an OSX version. I didn't download it yet because Korg requires you to have an active Twitter account to activate the SW.

Todd

[paul79]

Give it a shot and tell me what you think.     I may try this also...

[jMelvin]

Korg Audiogate works well. The software automatically sends out a tweet stating what you're converting .. a small price IMO.