A well-designed, safe-to-handle DAC?

[tccalvin]

Hi everyone. First-time poster here.
Since my latest hyper-fixation is reading audio equipment measurements I decided to make an account here on ASR.

For years I’ve been using my trusty Behringer UM2 USB audio interface for my DAC/Amp needs. This thing boasts a whopping (!) 16bits/48kHz resolution and state-of-the-art unbalanced RCA and 6,3mm headphone jack outputs of unknown specifications.
No, the strength of the UM2 is not its audio performance, but its great compatibility. It works on PC, Mac, game consoles… basically whatever you throw at it, without requiring a driver.

Lately I’m feeling it’s time to upgrade, so I’ve been looking for something that would provide the same functions (a small, USB-powered box with driverless compatibility), but with some better specs (maybe 24bits instead of 16) and an optical input to plug in my consoles or TV.

The issue I have is that while there are plenty of such devices (some of which have impressive technical performance for a very low price), they’re mainly Chinese devices that are designed to put audio performance and/or look-and-feel over everything else, including safety.

I was about to pull the trigger on some SMSL box when I read about their devices not having ground connection. Yes, even though most of their products have 3-prong plugs, the ground pin isn’t connected to anything. That rubbed me the wrong way, so I looked into it some more and it turns out even products like Topping’s DAC/Amps can have issues where if they’re not plugged via USB into a grounded source (like a desktop) users can feel light shocks (!) when touching their devices.

I am fairly ignorant about electrical safety, but as far as I understand it an electrical device (especially one handling higher voltages and power) should either be properly grounded or provide multiple layers of insulation to be safe to handle.

I don’t like the approach that most of these Chinese products are designed with. Coming from the electric guitar world, I’d much rather my amplifiers have a bit of ground noise at times than be perfectly transparent but with the risk of potentially zapping me (!) through the guitar’s strings.

Granted, we are talking about much lower voltages and power in the hi-fi world, but I’d still like to feel safe when I touch the metal chassis of my DAC to adjust the volume knob.

So, since I don’t have enough knowledge to judge how well-designed or well-built an audio device really is, I thought I’d ask you guys to point me towards a product that can maybe satisfy my needs for both performance and safety.

To recap, what I’m looking for is something like the aforementioned UM2 or the Schiit Fulla E (a box with USB and optical in that can do at least 24bits/48kHz). I should also specify that I live in Europe.
I’d be willing to forgo things like the microphone input or the headphone out if it means I can be sure of the box’s build quality. To be clear, by “build quality” I don’t mean one made with premium-feeling materials like anodized aluminum etc., I just need it to be functional and safe without weird quirks like the SMSL amps cutting audio when you get up too fast from a chair.

Thank you for your patience and hopefully this thread can also be useful to other people who share my concerns.

 

[Joe Smith]

My go-to's are the Schiit Modi (USB or plug-in power; optical, coax and USB inputs, RCA out) or the JDS Labs Atom+/Atom 2 (has a larger wall wart for power, not powered from USB; NO COAX input, just optical and USB). Both are good, simple, unobtrusive DACs that get you up to 24/192 (I think the JDS Atom also gets you to 36/192, I don't have it plugged in at the moment). Neither has a display, which is fine for me, as I don't really care seeing the sample rate displayed. Also, no volume control, again not important to me as I handle volume control downstream from the DAC, either for headphones or speakers. Happy hunting!

 

[DSJR]

Others are far better able to answer the questions directly, but I should say my SMSL SU1 has never had a 'tingling' case however it was powered (wall-wart and also the PC via USB) and neither does the dinky Fosi DS2 I now use in the same situation.

It's also been said that higher bit rates and sampling frequencies are mainly beneficial for pros, who do loads of tweaks and editing in the digital domain. Maybe thirty odd years ago, the extra bit depth helped a dac to 'do' the red book sixteen bit definitions better, but of course things have changed for the better now. A dac can be bought more on looks and facilities offered more than anything else, but if your issues are troubling you, I hope advice here can lead you to a good dac which satisfies your requirements.

P.s. Audio *gear* and measurements thereof don't really justify a 'hyper fixation' as 'there be dragons' if you follow that route too far down You buy the gear as a tool to listen to the music, right? - and your current old dac does that for you as it is?

 

[DVDdoug]

No, the strength of the UM2 is not its audio performance, but its great compatibility. It works on PC, Mac, game consoles… basically whatever you throw at it, without requiring a driver.

It's Class Compliant which means it uses the drivers that come with your operating system.

Optical doesn't need a driver because it's just sending audio data. It's a little less "flexible" because, for example, most stand-alone DACs can't decode Dolby. With USB (from a computer) you can "play anything" because the software and drivers can decode any format.

I am fairly ignorant about electrical safety, but as far as I understand it an electrical device (especially one handling higher voltages and power) should either be properly grounded or provide multiple layers of insulation to be safe to handle.

Products from major manufacturers will be CE or UL certified.

If there is a separate power supply, the power supply is usually certified and there are no dangerous voltages coming-out of the power supply into the actual device. That makes it easier on the manufacturer because they can introduce a new product and by using an already-approved power supply the product doesn't have to go-through the certification process. Or a small manufacture can buy a certified power supply and skip the approval process altogether.

I wouldn't necessarily trust random stuff from AliExpress.

Note that if you get a quick "zap" and maybe a spark when you touch a device, that's a static discharge from high-voltage built-up in your body. The voltage isn't coming from the equipment.

I don’t like the approach that most of these Chinese products are designed with. Coming from the electric guitar world, I’d much rather my amplifiers have a bit of ground noise at times than be perfectly transparent but with the risk of potentially zapping me (!) through the guitar’s strings.

I'm sure that's not a problem with modern guitar amps. There were some old tube amps (and radios & TVs) that would put AC on the chassis ("ground") if it was plugged-in wrong but nothing is made that way anymore. I don't know when the standards were changed.

Live touring setups might be more dangerous. With temporary wiring and generators, the whole stage could be wired wrong. The worst possible scenario would be AC on what's supposed to be ground. The equipment could be fine but if the stage is wired wrong it could be deadly!

 

[AnalogSteph]

Products from major manufacturers will be CE or UL certified.

You can get a UL or TÜV (or...) certification, but stamping on the CE mark merely is a declaration of conformity. The importer will be in big doo-doo if the product should be found to be noncompliant anyway, but it's not a certification per se.

 

[tccalvin]

My go-to's are the Schiit Modi (USB or plug-in power; optical, coax and USB inputs, RCA out) or the JDS Labs Atom+/Atom 2…

Thank you for the recommendations @Joe Smith , I will look into those.

It's also been said that higher bit rates and sampling frequencies are mainly beneficial for pros…

I agree @DSJR . I mainly value 24bits for 24bits sources, so that the DAC doesn’t have to re-quantize audio, potentially introducing quantization distortion. For sample rate during playback I would gladly cap at 48kHz with a good filter so that speakers and headphones don’t have to reproduce frequencies I can’t even hear with the risk of producing intermodulation distortion.

Products from major manufacturers will be CE or UL certified.

As @AnalogSteph correctly pointed out, CE is unfortunately not a certification. Some devices have to be reviewed by experts, while others don’t. It’s also up to the manufacturer to pay for EU reviewers, so I’d imagine that companies would like to avoid that cost if possible (source: EU website).
I have also had no luck locating Class I and Class II symbols on any of the Chinese devices. The symbols would confirm the devices are properly grounded or insulated respectively. These devices might be perfectly safe design-wise, but from the perspective of an end user that doesn’t know any better I am forced to rely on anecdotal evidence and that’s not great in my opinion…

I'm sure that's not a problem with modern guitar amps.

Fortunately that’s true, as far as major amp brands are concerned. I was thinking of setups that use two guitar amps in a stereo configuration. There are some people online advising to “lift the ground” on one of the amps to eliminate the noise caused by the double ground connection, which is terrible advice and it’s something no one should ever do because it will k*ll you if anything goes wrong. (In the 60s amps used to have no ground safety, and sure enough, people did d*e because of this.)

Live touring setups might be more dangerous.

Definitely. I’ve worked in the field for a short while and I’m aware of how many corners can be cut in order to save time and have “functioning” equipment ready to go without too much of a hassle.