Hi Jeff,
Thanks Barry,
Yikes, I have been looking at it for the last several hours. I am not against learning something new, but... Some questions:
How do you get usb into it? USB/ SPDIF converter?
In all sincerity, why would you want to?
I am not aware of anyone who set out to design the highest quality converters they possibly could, who deliberately chose USB over other means of moving digital audio signals. In my opinion, USB DACs are an opportunity for commerce (most computers have USB ports), not for the best sound possible.
Recall that USB was designed to connect a keyboard or mouse, where Firewire was designed from the start to handle multiple channels of audio and video.
***
EDIT: In reading this again, I realize I made the assumption your computer has a working Firewire (or Thunderbolt) port. It occurs to me you might be on a PC instead of a Mac, in which case there may be no option for anything other than USB. (Doesn't change how I feel about USB for audio - just realizing the options you have at the time may be different. Here as always, it depends on what you seek.)
Then again, I should mention that Metric Halo's products are designed for use with Macs. There are no Windows drivers. The hardware *can* be used standalone but I'm not aware of any MH user that isn't on a Mac, taking full advantage of what the hardware and software can do.
Should have mentioned this in my initial post. Sorry for the oversight.
***
I now go direct to my amps and they only take rca spdif not aes. ???
See
http://www.markertek.com/Audio-Equipment/Audio-Interface/Impedance-Matching-Transformer/Neutrik-USA-Inc/NADITBNC-F.xhtmlYou would need to add one of their BNC to RCA adapters. (I have a similar setup to go from the S/PDIF output of my DVD player into one of the AES inputs on the ULN-8.
Does the Lio have pre amp built in? Remote volume control?
You can use it with Apple's remote and yes, it has a digitally controlled *analog* volume control. It can even do quite superb RIAA decoding if you want to feed it the output of a phono cartridge.
Custom cables? I guess I need them due to connector config on rear of Lio???...
Some folks go to a company like Redco to make their cables. I wanted to use my own cables (from Nordost) so I custom made my own adapters, a couple of which can be seen at these links:
http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com/zadapter1.jpghttp://www.barrydiamentaudio.com/zadapter2.jpgMetric Halo support is top notch too and they have their own forum where you can ask questions -- often getting answers directly from the designer himself.
Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.comwww.soundkeeperrecordings.wordpress.comwww.barrydiamentaudio.com