What I want in a DAC

[xcortes]

That just sounds wrong, a computer for my stereo.  Well, I can change.

I thought the same way. Not anymore though. Now my all analog, all BH system has a non-BH computer and non-BH DAC.

[porcupunctis]

Might as well go for USB 3.0 now.  That seems to be the latest.

My preference, though, would be fiber-optic.  I use a TOSLINK from my Squeezebox Touch to my DACMagic.  I like the DAC in the DACmagic better but the sueezebox touch is just plain awesome as a way to serve music off of your PC.  You can even control everything from an iPhone app.

[glennn111]

Yes! Toslink.

[Doc B.]

You guys know TOSLINK can't do 192K, yes? I'm not agin' it, it's what I'm using at the moment. But it will hold you back if you want to buy some 192K files.

[Grainger49]

Dan,

Didn't you post some of the proposed specs here somewhere?  Could you link that in this thread?

Thanks!

[Chris]

I am waiting for Doc also, and i agree with everybody about price , something TOP drawer etc. and it sounds like Doc understands the whole very difficult, ever changing dac tech world... I dont envy him with this mammoth project.. though I have great faith in him and Paul, the only thing I also want like everyone  (including Doc and Paul) is that the final product has reasonable upgrade ability... future proof is impossible of course, but it would be nice if it doesnt go into obsolescence in a year or so....thats why i think THIS project is worth the wait and so very important, it is worth getting it "right",,, due to the inherent flexible nature of DIY and the possibility of designing and building a dac that could be competing with dacs costing MUCH more on the commercial market and this one having more flexibility.... This one should be a "must have"...... so i agree... putting out "cheapie Dac" ONLY (important for some customers however) would be a waste of time.....

[Grainger49]

IIRC, the software work is being done by John Swenson. 

The first DAC I bought guaranteed upgradability.  It was an Audio Alchemy DDE (Digital Decoding Engine) V1.0.  It had an I²S port that was that upgrade path... then the DDE V2.0 came out and the I²S port was never used.  Moral of the story, there is no future proof DAC.

[xcortes]

I'm lost now as to how the clocking will be done. IIRC the original idea was to reclock the sound card with the DACs clock but that changed, right? What's the current plan ?

Thanks,

[Chris]

Grainger, perfectly said... it is absurd for a company to talk about "future proof" unless they have ABSOLUTE control of the entire industry, technology and market... and even then, corruption would rear its ugly head and they would ensure that we STILL have to chip and change our gear often enough to garner them substantial profits..... I went through 2 in a row of the very best AV amplifier/processors that Denon had to offer and quite expensive (for me) also i might add.. and they were said to have "future proof" ability, and though they still, to this day, have some of the latest stuff within and can play extremely well cinematically.... However, they dont and CANNOT have the "latest" technology in them anymore...They should just say "future proof for 2 years" ..... The funny thing about Audio Alchemy (unlike Denon) is they might think the product was future proof, however they didnt stop to think that maybe the COMPANY wasnt future proof...........

[porcupunctis]

Dialogue between marketing and engineers:

Marketing:  "We're going to sell this by calling it 'future proof'".
Engineers:  "You can't say that!  You have no idea what will happen in the future."
Marketing:  "True, but we can always say things developed beyond our control and we did our best"
Engineers:  "Then you are simply lying!"
Marketing:  "No, we'll sell more units and can pay for you to develop the next 'future proof' product".
Engineers:  "I don't like this."
Marketing:  "But it pays well."

Douglas Adams said that the Marketing Managers at the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation were the first against the wall when the revolution came.

[Doc B.]

I think this is all very funny. We make a decent living selling vacuum tube amplifiers and reel to reel tapes. I used to buy both by the gross for pennies on the dollar because they were not future proof. Then they both were "rediscovered". The thing that is not future proof is a person's attention span.

[Chris]

Well, there it is...   TRUER words have never been spoken....and that ends our "future proof" comedy with an exclamation point! It is just nice to know, we can be smarter than the mass market industry.... And there are people like Doc and Paul etc. that are willing to provide a "way out" of the "corporate audio" mess that I, at least , had no choice but to have lived in before....  Thank you guys!

[VoltSecond]

I'd like a DAC that also functions as a simple preamp (say three analog inputs -Tuner, Phono, normal CD player ) and a volume control.

[mrarroyo]

I want a DAC that can double as an indoor grill to cook t-bones medium rare w/o burning the edges. It must also be good to the environment by drawing less than 100 mA to help reduce its carbon footprint!

[Chris]

Sounds like you are just wishing for a bigger DAC!....