[kgturner]

Sold on eBay

I bought the wrong DAC. I needed one that is powered by a wall wart and not by the USB. My mistake. Figured I'd give it a go here before I put it back on eBay. These sell for ~$25 on eBay shipped from China. I'm right here in the USA. The photos below are of the actual unit I received today. Here are the specs/info below are cut and pasted from the eBay seller:

Muse PCM 2704 Mini Digital Sound Card Audio Adapter HIFI USB to Coaxial S/PDIF Converter Optical Coaxial Decoder Analogue Signal USB DAC Chipset with USB Cable

 Product Features
 
· Full-featured, with analog output, coaxial / optical digital output, headphone output, you can output to the headphones, directly as a USB sound card to use
· Digital output signal isolation transformers fever DV709 digital filter, the other a more pure sound
· Coaxial and fiber optic signal IC for high-speed data through the plastic, the output signal is more stable, pure.
· With fever world acclaimed USB chip PCM 2704
· Compact, portable, includes input and output sockets
· Comes with a headphone output for private audio listening.
· Powered by USB cable, so there is no need to install on wall or batteries to worry about.
· Uses it standard or build right into your DAC. Operation and setup is plug-and-plug, no drivers to install.
· Use of safe and reliable USB B type port, to send high-quality USB cable, without power, plug and play.
· The surface of the expensive laser engraving fonts, never fade.
· Enable you to output to the amplifier, an integrated sound card as a computer upgrade products, can be connected to the decoder, will be sent back to the best level of sound quality.
· Compatible with both Windows XP and Mac OS-X. For best playback in Windows
· Provides the easiest way to convert your PC into a hi-end music server. Join the hundreds who have already upgraded. Once you get used to playing CDs from your computer, you'll never want to go back to a traditional transport.
 
Specification:
 
Voltage: 5V
Distortion: THD+N: 0.006% (RL > 10 kΩ)
SNR: 98 dB
Output Power: 12 mW (RL = 32 Ω)
Sampling Rate: 16Bit 32k, 44.1k, 48k
 
Package:
 
1 x Main Unit
1 x USB Cable

[asliarun]

On a side note, it looks like this is powered by a wall wart. The coax and optical inputs  would definitely need a power source.

[kgturner]

There's no place for a wall wart. The ad copy implies that it's powered by USB. I already packed it back up after taking the pictures. I might pull it out later just to test it out and see if the USB really does power the optical input.

Kevin T

[srb]

On a side note, it looks like this is powered by a wall wart. The coax and optical inputs  would definitely need a power source.

The coax and optical jacks are outputs, not inputs.  This would also allow it to be used as a USB to S/PDIF converter.

Steve

[kgturner]

Hell....then this thing was all wrong for what I wanted to do.

[Doublej]

What are you trying to do? Muse has a few different models.

[kgturner]

What are you trying to do? Muse has a few different models.

Run optical out from my music server housed in a theater closet to a DAC connected in my main stereo rack. I'm searching for my final DAC (leaning towards Line Magnetic), but I just need something cheap and easy to make due until then.

Kevin T

[thunderbrick]

The coax and optical jacks are outputs, not inputs.  This would also allow it to be used as a USB to S/PDIF converter.

Steve

If those are outputs, why are the RCAs labeled "audio out?"   

[barbarous]

Presumably the device passes a digital signal through the coax and optical jacks (ie not audio signal) and line-out through the headphone and RCA jacks (audio signal). Again presumably the audio output volume would be controlled on the computer.

[srb]

Presumably the device passes a digital signal through the coax and optical jacks (ie not audio signal) and line-out through the headphone and RCA jacks (audio signal).

They're all audio signals.  The RCA line-out and headphone jacks output DAC-converted analog audio signals and the optical and coaxial jacks output S/PDIF digital audio signals.

Steve

[charmerci]

Run optical out from my music server housed in a theater closet to a DAC connected in my main stereo rack. I'm searching for my final DAC (leaning towards Line Magnetic), but I just need something cheap and easy to make due until then.

Kevin T

I'm fairly certain that the USB, Optical and single yellow coax connectors on that one side are all inputs. (But I have been known to be wrong before!  )

[srb]

I'm fairly certain that the USB, Optical and single yellow coax connectors on that one side are all inputs. (But I have been known to be wrong before!  )

I also have been known to be wrong before, but according to the listing:

Muse PCM 2704 Mini Digital Sound Card Audio Adapter HIFI USB to Coaxial S/PDIF Converter Optical Coaxial Decoder Analogue Signal USB DAC Chipset with USB Cable

· Full-featured, with analog output, coaxial / optical digital output, headphone output, you can output to the headphones, directly as a USB sound card to use

Sure sounds like digital outputs to me, unless there's some kind of software to toggle between input and output function.

Steve

[kgturner]

Sold on eBay