the entech is entry level at best I think, but what I could do is put it distribution list and send it out for our membership to demo, especially if they have no dealings with a DAC.

elroy

Enter the dummy.

So if I plug my laptop into a DAC instead of directly into the amp, it would sound better? Or is that the wrong application?

Correction.

Would it sound different?

not without a digital output and a digital cable. the standard out on a soundcard is analog so it wont work with a DAC (Digitat to Audio Converter).

a DAC takes a digital signal (typically from a cd player) and converts it to analog for output to a preamp, integrated amp or receiver. stand alone DAC's are usually better at converting the digital signal than the built in DAC's of cdp's, soundcards, etc. and the sound is improved as a result.

the Entech is a good place to start with an entry level DAC. an inexpensive but solid performer.

In the last couple of months as I have been looking around at Dac's, I think, correct me if I am wrong, there are dacs, specifically made for mps's and computers and there are dac's made for converting digital music to analog. well I dont know, but what I do know is that with the entech, it sounded better than the $39 panasonic cd/dvd player by a long way.

elroy

Nowadays there's a lot USB DACs and even USB Turntables with good audio quality out there. Here's one at a good price: http://www.audio-magus.com/DAC707_Super_Pro_p/dac707.htm

What that means is that the audio signal from your computer is sent via a USB port in pure digital form, bypassing any soundcard you may have. It is converted to an analog audio signal using the external DAC, isolated from all the electrical noise inside the computer.

The inside of a computer is electrically a very noisy place, and the power supplies are full of digital noise from the processor, disk drives, and other computer components. Sound cards can transfer that noise into their audio output. Many people also experience "hum" from ground loop problems when connecting their sound card to their stereo.

Anyone who has been seriously looking at the performance of sound cards can tell you that what comes out of the S/PDIF output is probably not a very "clean" copy of the original. Many of the most popular soundcards perform all of their internal "processing" at a 48 kHz sampling rate, which is not the rate that most music (MP3's & CDs, for example) are recorded at. This means the music undergoes a sample rate conversion, which introduces a significant amount of distortion.

Also, when you use coaxial SPDIF, you are connecting the computer's ground to your stereo system - not a terribly good idea. Almost every USB DACs incorporate isolation circuitry to keep the computer ground separate from the analog output.

Anyway, Itlldue if want a good coaxial/optical/SPDIF DAC on a budget the Behringer ULTRAMATCH PRO SRC2496 is imho the answer: http://www.behringer.com/SRC2496/index.cfm

Btw, Elroy's Zhaolu 3,0 can be plugged to a comp via TG-Link high-speed buffer input.

will the beringer work on any system?

Yes.
It has optical, coaxial and SPDIF inputs.

I should get it Friday, then leave for las vegas for a week on Sunday. so I will only have a couple days with my new gem.

elroy

Vegas- bidness, or pleasure?

Union business, I wasnt planning on going, but I didnt want to stick our president with a management insider. its at the RIO. never been there, I do have a couple old airforce friends that live there that I plan on getting together with, that will be fun.


elroy

The Rio was built on a budget- with "leftovers" (industrial gaudy Vegas style carpet that didn't sell, ect) but on a good note it has two of the largest buffets- and also pretty affordable to boot. In the Vegas books it lists it as the best and largest affordable buffet to go to.

It's off the strip, and far from old vegas, but if you get a chance to play, check out both the strip, for it's pure gaudiness, and the old section of Vegas, for cheaper eats, cheaper gambling, ant naughtier entertainment (whereas the Vegas strip has "Showgirls" and "Merkins", the other end has "Strippers" and... well, no "merkins").

I enjoy the Imperial Palace, though it's dated compared to many others. Treasure Island has a Disney-esque pirate show for free, the Mirage the free water fountain show, one of the places used to feed metro-sexual trainers to the white tigers, ect.

The Luxor is pretty neat, designed after a pyramid. Many a Japanese tourist avoids it do to superstition about gambling in a dead-folk's house (or tomb or pyramid)...




Have a great time!

we are staying at the luxor, but convention is at the rio. will carpool or cab, or walk, not sure how far it is. will find out when we get there.

Elroy