[Jon L]

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/empirical/offramp.html

The single most impressive review on the subject of PC audio IMHO.  Congratulations, Steve!

[audioengr]

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/empirical/offramp.html

The single most impressive review on the subject of PC audio IMHO.  Congratulations, Steve!

Thanks Jon.  It's been a long road, but the timing on this one, just before CES is great.  It was my Christmas present this year.  I would not have gotten this review except for networking with dealers at CES.

Steve N.

[Joules]

Way to go Steve !!!
but you and I knew this all along ... 
(modded DEQX with OFFRAMP installed)

[mfsoa]

I'd be pretty bummed if I spent $3-4K on a digital front-end and it had drop-outs once or twice per song.

Apparently this can be cured, although not by this reviewer even after extensive communication with the mfgr.

Is this the price we have to pay for outstanding quality PC playback?

[Joules]

I'd be pretty bummed if I spent $3-4K on a digital front-end and it had drop-outs once or twice per song.

Hmmm ... To this day I still haven't had one click or pop or drop-out
                Honestly, I don't know what everybody is talking about ?
                 And I didn't do anything special, but turn it on and go ???

[slwiser]

I have had drop-outs using the M-Audio Transient.  I had the HagUSB and it never gave me any problems.  Now I again have a M-Audio product, the USB Audiophile and it only gives me a drop-out when the microwave door opens or closes.  I am on UPSs but they don't deal with whatever is causing this.  I sold my HagUSB last year and when I got a Jul@.  It was rock solid on the PCI bus but my computer died so now I am with a new computer and working with its USB output.  Maybe Firewire would actually be better interface but I have not attempted to get a M-Audio Firewire external yet.  Any USB interface is going to have the same issues due to the inferior interface design for streaming information.  Sending info to a disk when it can be interrupted is very different from real time streaming.  Maybe this is why all the manufacturer's including M-Audio are doing mostly Firewire on their higher end products. 

Steve probably should think about a Firewire interface for his new DAC rather than USB.  Stability may kill him if he does not solve this issue with his 6000 dollar DAC.  Maybe he would consider putting both interfaces into that DAC just to make sure that anyone having USB issues could fail back to the Firewire interface.

Maybe the next person who starts modifying DACs will redesign Steve's DAC for the Firewire interface.  Would this not be irony?

[boead]

… it only gives me a drop-out when the microwave door opens or closes.  I am on UPSs but they don't deal with whatever is causing this. 

Hummmm, I’d have that Microwave checked out or replaced.



I’ve been listening to music on my PC for many years. The first Multimedia PC I built was an AMD K6-II 500MHz with 128MB of RAM and a 1.6GB hard drive.

[PLMONROE]

Yup, the cheaper and smaller ones are under $100.  Seems like a pretty cost effective fix!

[srclose]

I've had the Off-Ramp Turbo and now the Off-Ramp Turbo 2, for a combined year and a half or so.  I had drop-outs until increasing the priority of Foobar, initially, on an older computer.  Currently using a 4.2Mhz AMD, and I can rip with EAC and play songs with Foobar at the same time with no problem.

SRC

[Brucemck]

I got Foobar fine, but only without upsampling, on a two year old "micro" dell laptop.

I get zero dropouts with a new 1.6 Core 2 laptop, even when surfing net at same time.

[boead]

I've had the Off-Ramp Turbo and now the Off-Ramp Turbo 2, for a combined year and a half or so.  I had drop-outs until increasing the priority of Foobar, initially, on an older computer.  Currently using a 4.2Mhz AMD, and I can rip with EAC and play songs with Foobar at the same time with no problem.

SRC

4.2Mhz? You can’t even mean 4.2GHz because AMD doesn’t make a 4.2, not even close. Maybe you meant 2.4GHz. I don’t know, just wondering.

[TomS]

That's probably the Athlon 64 - 4200