Taking orders :)

[Doc B.]

We are using a PCM DAC chip, no native DSD.

Looks like I have sussed out our power supply issue. Gonna hook the DAC board back up to it and give it a spin after lunch.

[tdogzthmn]

Audirvana is a great program I've been using to play music from my iTunes library.  One of it's features is the ability to play DSD files natively or convert them to PCM.  It also plays FLAC which most OSX programs don't allow.  I've grown to like it much more than Amarra for its features and sound quality.   

[xcortes]

Ready....

[Doc B.]

One nice thing about these programs is that one can download free demos and test drive them in their own system.

[dw]

I've been using AudioGate for converting DSD files to PCM/96Khz.
These sound quite good in my system, though its hard to tell if its the format or the
mastering or recording quality that makes it sound so good. I also have some
ripped CDs at 44.1khz that sound very good and a lot of ripped CDs that sound pretty
bad - very compressed.

Thanks for the tip on Audirvana.

I guess we need something that will conver DSD or DXD to 24/192 PCM for the
Bottlehead DAC.

-Dave

[Doc B.]

It's working and sounding very nice. I think I'm picking up better resolution with this DAC than the one we have been using the last couple years. Need to play it some more and break in the caps, but it's working well. Hopefully we can get the next (and hopefully final) version running soon...

[denti alligator]

Hopefully we can get the next (and hopefully final) version running soon...

Holy shit! This is actually happening ...?  I predict it will be ready by Xmas, which would be great!

[grufti]

Any device with this level of complexity benefits from a beta test of sorts. It doesn't matter what label gets attached to the "real life encounter phase" it's always going to happen and the machine will typically end up better because of it. Right around Christmas is a good goal at this point, sorry, summer! I wonder, if the final version will retain the software/firmware update capability. The final I/V and the tube output stage should be able to handle any changes that happen further upstream, if and when they happen.

[BNAL]

I wonder if the new USB willwork with the SB Touch and EDO? I know that John Swenson has played with the SB products and would like to get his feedback on what source will work with the new USB input.

[johnsonad]

As I'm new to DAC's for the most part a question for ya.  Will I be able to have a computer plugged in via USB and a transport via something else at the same time?  If so do you need to switch between them or will the DAC recognize where the signal is coming from?

Thanks,

Aaron

[Doc B.]

There will be a switch to allow choosing USB or SPDIF input.

[John Swenson]

Yes it will work with the SBT and EDO. The new USB is going to be UAC2, which means it can go up to 24/192. What Doc doesn't even know yet is that it is going to be multi-channel, so some time in the future we can offer a board that plugs into the extension port and connects multiple DAC boxes so you can get up to 8 channels over the one USB connection.

The downside of UAC2 is that it will not work out of the box with Windows, it will take a UAC2 driver, just like all the other UAC2 DACs out there now. It will work out of the box with Mac and Linux.

There are going to be three inputs, S/PDIF coaxial on a 75 ohm BNC, S/PDIF optical (TOSLINK) and USB (UAC2). There will be a switch to select between them. I don't have any plans to do autodetect, it is really difficult. Most sources don't actually turn off the carrier when not playing, so it becomes a task of detecting "silence", it's not so easy to do reliably without unintentional source switches.

John S.

[BNAL]

John,

Thank you for the information. I have been thinking of dropping the Touch and getting either a Mac Mini or building a Linux based computer, but think I will keep the Touch and power supply I built based on your design and use it with the Bottlehead DAC via the USB out.

[debk]

John,
Thanks for the information.  I am excited for the DAC, I am sure it will be awesome!
Deb

[denti alligator]

John,
will 24/192 be available over S/PDIF?