M2Tech HiFace 24/192 USB->S/PDIF penstyle interface

coops · « **Reply #40 on:** 8 Dec 2009, 10:23 pm »

That is an interesting cable , btw the full mac drivers for the hiface have been released.
Keith.

enjoythemusic · « **Reply #41 on:** 11 Dec 2009, 05:46 pm »

Quote from: mgalusha on 29 Nov 2009, 01:16 am

We tried a few cables I had on hand and the one made from Belden 1505 seemed the best of the three, more analog like. Even with the supposed low jitter of the HiFace and the low jitter sensitivity of the Sabre chip the cable still made a difference. In this case the more expensive cable using Belden 1695A with foamed Teflon was not as pleasing as the lower priced part. Not sure why but we both came to the same conclusion.

As a side note, when designing the Max Rochlin Memorial Cable years ago ( www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/viewpoint/0807/max_rochlin_memorial_cable.htm ) my buddy at Belden sent me various cables and i had ordered/received a plethora of RCA and BNC end connectors. Like you, i came to the same conclusion that the 1505 was the better SOUNDING cable, more analog-like. Also considered that many DIYers might want a cable that does not overly highlight the uppermost frequencies, which causes added 'detail' at the expense of a more natural and non-fatiguing sound.

Note to self: change the RCA connectors in the article to Eichmann bullet plug, sounds better.

dburna · « **Reply #42 on:** 11 Dec 2009, 06:37 pm »

Quote from: coops on 8 Dec 2009, 10:23 pm

That is an interesting cable , btw the full mac drivers for the hiface have been released.
Keith.

Has anyone had difficulty with using the HiFace with Leopard (OSX 10.5)? I got one last night and was unable to get my MacBook to recognize the device. I have a call into Marco, and his developer is looking into the issue. I mention it only because someone on Head-Fi mentioned that they were able to get it to work with 10.6 but not 10.5. I'm going home tonight to use this on a PC just to make sure it isn't a DOA unit, but I was hoping someone here might be able to shed light on the issue.

Thanks, -dB

SamL · « **Reply #43 on:** 21 Dec 2009, 11:23 am »

Quote from: mgalusha on 29 Nov 2009, 01:16 am

PC is a little Powerspec V50 Nettop, Intel Atom 230, 2G of ram with Windows 7. I picked up a small wireless keyboard that has a track pad, looks like a laptop keyboard but without a display. Seems to work great. I did try using remote desktop to control the music PC from a laptop but it would cut out every now and than. Likely the overhead of the remote access caused it to interrupt the stream. No glitches at all using the wireless KB/mouse. Foobar in kernel streaming mode, 32 bit.

Hi Mike,

Are you using external HDD on the nettop and is it USB HDD? Just wonder if large USB HDD will interfere with HiFace for system resource.

mgalusha · « **Reply #44 on:** 21 Dec 2009, 01:45 pm »

Quote from: SamL on 21 Dec 2009, 11:23 am

Are you using external HDD on the nettop and is it USB HDD? Just wonder if large USB HDD will interfere with HiFace for system resource.

No, I have all the music stored on a PC acting as a NAS under the basement stairs. I have been using a modified Squeezebox for quite a long time and it's the same machine that acts as the squeeze server. The nettop does have an 2.5" internal disc but it's only to hold the OS and ideally would be a SSD though I can't hear it and don't see a need to change it.

I pointed foobar at the drive mapped to the share and it indexed my existing collection without a problem. The server still feeds the SB3 that is in our living room and both my wife and I access the same share to play music when sitting in our office.

mike

HAL · « **Reply #45 on:** 21 Dec 2009, 08:46 pm »

I am using an external 250GB USB drive with my ASUS Netbook. This drives the HiFace to my external DAC. With MediaMonkey I have no problems with HiRez audio up to what I can test at 24bit/176.4KHz files. See no reason that 24bit/192KHz will not work.

I do run the laptop off an AC supply, not batteries, as I found the Netbook tries to stop the drive alot running on battery mode. Was getting intermittent audio loss. This stops on AC power.

pardales · « **Reply #46 on:** 24 Dec 2009, 04:02 am »

Any updates from MAC users on how this converter is working out? Also, any comparisons to other converters of the sort?

coops · « **Reply #47 on:** 24 Dec 2009, 04:48 pm »

I have been using it on my macbook,( Snow Leopard ) it has worked perfectly ,waiting for the Weiss INT202's to arrive to effect a comparison, I hope the Weiss interface will be better!
Keith.

Housteau · « **Reply #48 on:** 27 Dec 2009, 09:41 pm »

Has anyone compared the sound of the M2Tech with the built in USB of the Benchmark series of DAC1's? I know that the Benchmark is limited to 24/96, but I was wondering if there was a positive difference in sound up to that 24/96?

Housteau · « **Reply #49 on:** 27 Dec 2009, 09:53 pm »

Quote from: coops on 24 Dec 2009, 04:48 pm

I have been using it on my macbook,( Snow Leopard ) it has worked perfectly ,waiting for the Weiss INT202's to arrive to effect a comparison, I hope the Weiss interface will be better!
Keith.

I hope it will not, assuming it sounds really good that is, but for strictly selfish reasons

. It would be nice to actually run into a true giant killer to revolutionize thinking about cost vs performance. It is like the Weiss Minerva vs the Weiss DAC2. One is twice the price of the other, yet the internals are the same. The Minerva just has a better audiophile looking case.

The M2Tech is reported to work well with Amarra and I am considering trying it with my new Mac Mini to see if it is better than the standard USB on my Benchmark DAC1.

coops · « **Reply #50 on:** 30 Dec 2009, 09:45 pm »

I use my m2 tech with Amarra and it is good. Weiss have now remedied that ridiculous situation with a completely redesigned 'Minerva' the DAC202, which looks extremely promising.

Bear Heath · « **Reply #51 on:** 3 Jan 2010, 12:32 am »

Quote from: Housteau on 27 Dec 2009, 09:41 pm

Has anyone compared the sound of the M2Tech with the built in USB of the Benchmark series of DAC1's? I know that the Benchmark is limited to 24/96, but I was wondering if there was a positive difference in sound up to that 24/96?

Housteau,
Did you mean the DAC1 is limited on the USB input to 24/96 or the entire DAC1? The DAC1 will accept 24/196 on its non-USB inputs, according to the manual. By the way my wife loved your Hans Solo art work in your gallery pics.

Sean

Housteau · « **Reply #52 on:** 3 Jan 2010, 01:24 am »

Quote from: Bear Heath on 3 Jan 2010, 12:32 am

Did you mean the DAC1 is limited on the USB input to 24/96 or the entire DAC1? The DAC1 will accept 24/196 on its non-USB inputs, according to the manual. By the way my wife loved your Hans Solo art work in your gallery pics.

Yes, only the USB on the DAC1 is limited to 24/96.

That sculpture was part of a friends exhibit at the end of grad school. All of his work was sciencefiction based and fully life sized. His shows were pretty wild. He has gone more mainstream now working in bronze.

firedog · « **Reply #53 on:** 3 Jan 2010, 12:41 pm »

Mike or others-

Can you explain to me the significance of the "32 bit" setting in Foobar? Or why 32 bit if your files are max 24/192?

Has anyone compared the HiFace to other solutions like the Tascam144 or the Empirical Audio OffRamp?

Thanks

coops · « **Reply #54 on:** 8 Jan 2010, 04:42 pm »

Looks as if the 'clicking' problem may be cured, there is a new post on 'computer audiophile', might be worth a glance if you suffer from the same problem.

Lizard_King · « **Reply #55 on:** 21 Jan 2010, 09:35 pm »

I use the Hi-face with BNC in my system hook up to my laptop and is is wonderful.

BPT · « **Reply #56 on:** 29 Jan 2010, 06:58 pm »

Mike G:
Nice job on the review for Enjoy the Music. Any more you can share about your "hacked" version? Did you consider mounting one inside your Sabre DAC?
Chris H.

pardales · « **Reply #57 on:** 29 Jan 2010, 07:18 pm »

I have borrowed a friends HiFace converter to try with my older Macbook Pro, using 10.5.8 and there is an almost constant stream of pops. I have heard that with Snow Leopard it does not have this problem but I cannot upgrade yet until I get a little more RAM.

I also don't like how the unit barely stays in the USB port. I have to prop it up otherwise it hangs out of the port at an awkward angle and almost falls out. I don't think this product was ready for prime time yet.

mgalusha · « **Reply #58 on:** 29 Jan 2010, 07:35 pm »

Quote from: BPT on 29 Jan 2010, 06:58 pm

Mike G:
Nice job on the review for Enjoy the Music. Any more you can share about your "hacked" version? Did you consider mounting one inside your Sabre DAC?
Chris H.

Thanks Chris. Yes, the one I hacked apart is now built into the DAC using I2S for the connection and has a very clean 5V power supply in place of pulling power from the USB bus. jkeny (I think that's right) has done this as well and has been experimenting with using batteries for the clock supplies and reports that is a very nice improvement. It's on my list..

Quote from: pardales on 29 Jan 2010, 07:18 pm

I also don't like how the unit barely stays in the USB port. I have to prop it up otherwise it hangs out of the port at an awkward angle and almost falls out. I don't think this product was ready for prime time yet.

Just get a short A-A extension cable, works just fine and eliminates that problem. To make them have less of a tendency to fall out would mean making it even smaller, which would be difficult as the board is already very dense. The addition of a heavy and/or stiff cable on the end almost ensures it will be stressed. That is something I should have put in the review but didn't think of at the time.

I use both of mine every day and have zero problems with them but not on a Mac, so I can't say how ready for prime time they are on that platform.

mike

hometheaterdoc · « **Reply #59 on:** 29 Jan 2010, 08:17 pm »

I just ordered one of these to give it a whirl... curious how it stacks up against the Lynx pro sound card outputing AES/EBU via custom JPS Labs dongle.

If nothing else, I may do like you Mike and tear it apart to do the I2S inside the modded Buffalo32 I've got here.... need to get back going on all the mods I've got planned for it. It's already practically unrecognizable from the original...