Active crossover design consideration

[mike7877]

I saw that Topping has, for ~$599 USD, a well-spec'd 8 channel DAC - it's definitely unique and interesting. From what I've seen on the market (multi-channel DAC market), unless you want to buy some preeetty expensive studio gear, you're not able to get 8 whole channels of state of the art digital to analog conversion in a single package for anywhere near $599.

Although it's affordable for what it is - $150 per 2 channels of -120, my project only requires 4 channels. If there was an identically spec'd 4 channel DAC for $299, I'd probably be all over it. Unfortunately, there's not! (if there is, please tell me lol)

Since I already have another DAC from Topping, one spec'd nearly as well and that's much more affordable, I've been eyeing getting another one. Since they're just $100 USD, I might be able to do what I'd like with a second DX1.

Since all USB audio devices have latency, and different DACs have different amounts of latency, I'm thinking two of the same USB audio devices with the same latency should be close enough to not cause timing issues.

Has anyone tried this? Or worked on getting two separate DACs to work in sync? Is worrying about this even necessary? (ie. is the software available capable of adjusting the timing of the signal to each DAC from a microphone? I've never used anything but some foobar plugins long in the past, so I don't know)

I hope this is a viable way to move forward... Tonight, my tweeter amp arrives!

 

[voodooless]

I'm thinking two of the same USB audio devices with the same latency should be close enough to not cause timing issues.

Has anyone tried this? Or worked on getting two separate DACs to work in sync? Is worrying about this even necessary?

This is problematic even with two of the same devices. Clocks inevitably will drift, and after a few minutes you’ll already notice.

The solution to the problem is to resample one of the two to match the other.

In MacOS you can do this automatically with an aggregate audio device. I think for Windows there are also ways to do this with some additional software. In Linux CamillaDSP could do it.

 

[ppataki]

I could not manage it under Windows (with software only)

See here:

Multichannel Full Digital Amp (FDA) solution

I thought I would share my experience and learning here; hopefully it will inspire others too. I have been fascinated by the concept of a Full Digital Amp (FDA) ever since early models started to appear; I even had a pair of active monitors using FDAs (Nubert nuPro A-300) But I have always...

www.audiosciencereview.com

There is random clock drift all the time, even with the same sample rate and even if time-corrected based on measurements

Please let us know if you succeed

 

[Salt]

1 Dac -> 1 DSP -> 8 outputs (something like Mini-DSP) .....

 

[Davide]

Motu M4 if you can control the volume upstream.

 

[MAB]

I saw that Topping has, for ~$599 USD, a well-spec'd 8 channel DAC - it's definitely unique and interesting. From what I've seen on the market (multi-channel DAC market), unless you want to buy some preeetty expensive studio gear, you're not able to get 8 whole channels of state of the art digital to analog conversion in a single package for anywhere near $599.

Actually $549:

miniDSP Flex Eight

miniDSP Flex Eight, 400MHz Sharc DSP audio processor, toolbox for subwoofer or multiway speaker tuning, Optional Dirac Live license for room correction, Bluetooth LDAC/APTX/AAC streaming.

www.minidsp.com

Your idea to apply DSP over a series of devices drifting around with unsynchronized clocks is technically challenged, like running a relay race with multiple unsynchronized clocks keeping time.

 

[ppataki]

The Topping DM7 is now on sale:

TOPPING DM7 8 CH Multi-Channel USE ESS Flagship DACBlack

Buy TOPPING DM7 8 CH Multi-Channel USE ESS Flagship DAC Free shipping on HiFiGo, you can enjoy a year warranty and the best after-sales service.

hifigo.com

475 EUR

 

[dfuller]

Better off using a MiniDSP Flex or DBX DriveRack 260 instead, IMO.