Have fun building your digital source! Feel free to PM me if I can help in any way. With the potential impact of EMI and RFI on how digital sounds, I've found that setting up a digital system so that it sounds good can be as complex as getting a turntable setup right. I must be doing something right. As my main audio system is in our bedroom, the changes that sound better to me also seem to result in my wife saying "can you turn that down" or "can you turn that off" much less often.
Well done, a good start. Makes the contributor who took the time to make a point feel like it was worth their time.... ... quite the dichotomy though between the opinions you like vs the ones you don't. (or people).
Well that was all quite useless -- thankfully my dude, Calvin_and_hobbes, actually added value here while the whining wouldn't die down. VinylAddict, you made an analogy to computer hardware; perhaps you thought it was profound, but it was just simply making a point that no one disagrees with: that the entire signal chain in the gear is part of the success of all the other parts. Well, of course. The output stage is at least as important as the DAC itself, and maybe even more so. Cool, moving on, nothing to see here. Nothing particularly instructive or provocative. So, why destroy an otherwise useful thread?
Yeah, that was useful though. Save it, taking sides is just childish. Delete it if you don't want to continue ruining the thread you're so concerned about. Your point is my opinion which you didn't like destroys a thread. Plus, I never argued or debated my original analogy / opinion...just responded and called out personal attacks, disrespectful behavior - many of those posts are gone now I noticed.
Oh, I did just read that you were trying to stay under $1k. The Qutest vs Ares II is a tougher comparison than the Qutest vs the Pontus. The Ares II does sound more natural than the Qutest, but I might go for the Qutest vs the Ares II due to its better resolution. The sound personality of the two are quite different so it might be good to listen to both. One way to do that might be to buy used versions of both so you can sell the one you choose not to keep for about what you paid for it. I'm seeing a lot of used Ares II DACs on the market from folks upgrading to Pontus or Venus DACs. There are also a lot of used Qutest DACs for sale.
The $1k isn't an absolute--just trying to see if I can get to a sweet spot and be frugal at the same time. Just found a sample of the Pontus II online. Really love it. Thanks again--really appreciate you taking the time to write all that out.
I absolutely love my Sparkler S512 DAC. It had a special analog processor to ensure original harmonics and soundstage is present. This works extremely well as this <$1k DAC easily matches my (beloved) $8k analog set up! However, it very specifically works on CD quality only. But then since I use this DAC I don’t have the faintest feeling that I am missing anything.
Sure! I've learned a lot about digital in the past year and a lot of what make sound quality better is not straightforward to figure out. If you are willing to go up in price point to the Pontus II, I would say it is definitely the way to go over both the Ares II and Qutest. If you want an "analog" type of sound with a lack of digital harshness along with the pace and timing and fullness of sound that vinyl typically does better than digital, the Pontus is definitely at a sweet spot balancing cost versus sound quality. FWIW, I listened to a USD $10k Chord Hugo TT/MScaler combo when helping a friend demo amplifiers. Surprisingly, the Chord Hugo TT/MScaler sounded really lacking in pace and timing. I happened to bring my Pontus II DAC in case we needed a source that one of us knew well. We dropped in the Pontus in place of the Hugo TT/MScaler and wow, the improvement in sound quality with the Pontus in the system was amazing. The sound was fuller and the music once again had pace. Tonal quality was also more natural and complex. The emphasis on using math algorithms in Chord DACs seems to simplify the tonal quality of music. At $1700, the Pontus II seems to be a great value for what it provides.
Why would I respond to nothing? Ok, let's try this again: "OMG, your computer analogy was more brilliant than rocket surgery... wow, I never thought that the obvious could be quite so amazingly... obvious". VinylAddict, are you a genius...and the world is just so wrong for thinking you're really just an insecure and argumentative troll. Well, you have a fan for life... shall I kiss thy ring?" Yeah, that.
I think it's due to a lower likelihood of RFI and EMI getting into the signal path with the more direct connection between the source file and the DAC. Streamed files come in through over the Internet, via cable or fiber optic cable, and then through the local network (router, WiFi or Ethernet cable).
Interesting. But if there's no data loss, both sources should provide the same information for the DAC to process. So theoretically the sound should be the same.
This is what I've found on the topic. Bob Stuart, Meridian Audio "Of course digital bits-are-bits and with due care, each of the three interfaces (USB, Toslink, coaxial) can deliver the same data at approximately the same time. But the audio we hear is analog and real-world devices are subject to a variety of interferences including data-induced jitter, other process-induced jitter, (and) common- and differential-mode electromagnetic noise. In the ideal world, the data are clocked in by and buffered in the DAC (asynchronous mode) and then de-jittered before conversion. In my experience this can never be perfect, just made closer and closer to irrelevance." Gordon Rankin (introduced the digital audio world to asynchronous USB transfer) when I transfer a file over USB to an external hard drive it doesn’t make transfer errors – the file at the destination is the same as the source – so why should sending digital audio over USB be any different? Gordon Rankin on why USB audio quality varies | Darko.Audio
See, that above and this are just more trolling. Cable / DAC lovers of a feather.... I know the idea that a DAC is really just a commodity, a chip that cost pennies to make just kills it for you... but those are your demons. You don't have to attack people over it. You seem to be bothered by the analogy - a lot. I've never commented since about it or argued it, but in fact still think it's a good analogy. Works for me, but that should be all that matters. We remain civil if we don't attack and disparage people because we don't like their opinions.
Dude, give it a rest. You are coming off as a know it all who can't handle someone disagreeing with him, and then you keep fighting and acting victimized when in fact you're the one starting it. What do you expect people to do except laugh about it.
Guess you're feeling re-energized now that you and the Gorts deleted many of your trolling posts from before. Wonder who complained? (wasn't me). Ready for trolling round 2, eh?
So it looks like the cause is that erroneous packets aren't identified/resent. Is that your take, too? I wonder why the protocol is designed that way. Speed?
Still trying to take the moral high ground. I know it stings, but consider a little respect for other opinions in the future. If you don't agree that is fine, but don't resort to name calling and character disparagement. (which you did a number of times, mostly deleted). It's what happened. Own it. I've done nothing but call out your behavior, and your cohort, over and over. That's it. Never argued any point with you - all you did was make personal attacks. I've posted here for a while, and know when someone is being disrespectful. Argument and confrontation are fine, as long as it is done constructively without personal attacks. You're still learning, it's fine. If you do it, the communication breaks down and threads get out of hand. You're kidding only yourself.
Dude, your opinion is wrong. CPUs are NOT secondary. I've been doing software development and building computers for decades. I'm not going to get into it with you further. This is ridiculous. And yes, I asked if you're this fun in person. And then deleted it because I figured you would take it personally. I guess I was right.
