DAC with 2 chips sound any better than a dac with only one chip ?

[Earwax]

Fosi audio DS1 USB-c dac has the same dac chip as the Topping D50 III I`m simply curious would I notice a difference in left and right speakers ?

I just bought the DS1 and very impressed...

Applications used with : A52 cellphone with USB Audio player Pro app to bypass Android garbage.
: Asus Desktop PC USB-C it worked simply plug and play no drivers needed, using Foobar2000 for best sounds Musicbee is interesting.

: Played through Harmon Kardon AVR 140 using CD RCA inputs that allow digital bypass with pure analog in stereo, Tone off. JBL Northridge series N28 speakers.
Seriously impressed played both above setups through AVR 140 I just can imagine it getting much better than this at least not cost wise... Unless 2 chips would make any difference ?

Thank you in advanced for your knowledge and fact sharing much appreciated !

 

[Doodski]

A good sounding DAC does not cost a lot these days. They are a solved problem. Are you using PEQ?

 

[Guddu]

Fosi audio DS1 USB-c dac has the same dac chip as the Topping D50 III I`m simply curious would I notice a difference in left and right speakers ?

I just bought the DS1 and very impressed...

Applications used with : A52 cellphone with USB Audio player Pro app to bypass Android garbage.
: Asus Desktop PC USB-C it worked simply plug and play no drivers needed, using Foobar2000 for best sounds Musicbee is interesting.

: Played through Harmon Kardon AVR 140 using CD RCA inputs that allow digital bypass with pure analog in stereo, Tone off. JBL Northridge series N28 speakers.
Seriously impressed played both above setups through AVR 140 I just can imagine it getting much better than this at least not cost wise... Unless 2 chips would make any difference ?

Thank you in advanced for your knowledge and fact sharing much appreciated !

no, it does not.
1 DAC chip or multiple, as long as DAC is properly designed (which you find from ASR reviews) they will have no “sound” differences.
In fact, DACs shouldn’t “sound” like anything…. as long as they are “transparent”.

 

[Earwax]

A good sounding DAC does not cost a lot these days. They are a solved problem. Are you using PEQ?

I`m not even close to knowing what PEQ means, would you please educate me ?

 

[oleg87]

Paralleling multiple DAC chips could make for better measurements, but it's not going to make any difference to the human ears. You might get a nice jolt of placebo, but nothing you could discern by sound alone.

 

[Doodski]

I`m not even close to knowing what PEQ means, would you please educate me ?

PEQ = Parametric Equalization. It gives excellent tone control and makes it like even better speakers are being used. Are you using Windows or Mac for a PC?

 

[Earwax]

PEQ = Parametric Equalization. It gives excellent tone control and makes it like even better speakers are being used. Are you using Windows or Mac for a PC?

Windows 11

 

[Doodski]

Windows 11

Ahhh IC... Goody because PEQ solutions for Win11 are free to use and are very good tools. If you want PEQ and I highly recommend you do because it is a night and day improvement in sound quality then install the following 2 softwares in the order they are posted here and open the Peace EQ and adjust for your best sound quality. Disable the auto-updates in the Peace options window.

Equalizer APO

Download Equalizer APO for free. A system-wide equalizer for Windows 7 / 8 / 8.1 / 10 / 11. Equalizer APO is a parametric / graphic equalizer for Windows. It is implemented as an Audio Processing Object (APO) for the system effect infrastructure introduced with Windows Vista.

sourceforge.net

Peace Equalizer, interface Equalizer APO

Download Peace Equalizer, interface Equalizer APO for free. System-wide PC Audio Equalizer and Effects app for Windows 7 to 11. Before reading on, note there's scam website called 'peaceequalizer,com'. Only this site here on SourceForge is the actual website by me, Peter Verbeek.

sourceforge.net

Here are other PEQ options but the stuff I recommend for you is the best of the choices for your needs.

EQ Software for Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS/iPadOS and Android.

Any suggestions are welcome. Post suggestions here. I will gather the details and add them. Thanks. :D This will be organized as results come in. @sweetchaos made a guide for PEQ filter data input and operation. For crossover software go here. Windows: AutoEQ four easy steps to make your...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Steven Holt]

I`m not even close to knowing what PEQ means,

Think of the tone controls on your old receiver, the ones you used with your old 'record player'. PEQ is tone controls on steroids.

 

[Earwax]

I`ll be trying those installs as soon as I get time, then the fun learning begins. I have never learned how to use any EQ`s properly and I`m eager to learn.

Many thanks for all the guidance and knowledge.

 

[kemmler3D]

I`ll be trying those installs as soon as I get time, then the fun learning begins. I have never learned how to use any EQ`s properly and I`m eager to learn.

Many thanks for all the guidance and knowledge.

Cool! The rubber really meets the road when you start taking measurements using REW which is also free. You check the sound in your room and it generates PEQ settings to fix the bass in your room automatically. Lots of tutorials around here. Check it out once you're feeling up to speed with Peace / EQAPO.

 

[gvl]

I`ll be trying those installs as soon as I get time, then the fun learning begins. I have never learned how to use any EQ`s properly and I`m eager to learn.

Many thanks for all the guidance and knowledge.

To use EQ properly you’ll need to learn how to take acoustic measurements with a microphone and derive necessary corrections from them. It’s easier for headphones as there’s no room as a variable, you can find reasonable EQ settings suggested by others for what you have that compensate for discovered deficiencies.

 

[Earwax]

To use EQ properly you’ll need to learn how to take acoustic measurements with a microphone and derive necessary corrections from them. It’s easier for headphones as there’s no room as a variable, you can find reasonable EQ settings suggested by others for what you have that compensate for discovered deficiencies.

I only have 2 Headphones are you saying that each headphone my sound better across my mainstream musical Genres ? Or would I have to change it for each song ?

Audio technica ath-m50x wired

House of Marley Riddim EM-JH053

 

[DVDdoug]

I only have 2 Headphones are you saying that each headphone my sound better across my mainstream musical Genres ?

If the headphones (or speakers) are accurate, all music of all genres will sound "right" (as intended). But unlike electronics, you can't get "perfect accuracy" or transparency with headphones or speakers in a room.

Of course, not all recordings are "perfect", and different people have different tastes.

But to complicate things.... headphones are perceived differently than speakers and it turns-out, unlike almost everything else in audio, flat frequency response doesn't "sound right". There is a headphone preference curve which is essentially an average of what sounds right to most listeners.

When Amir tests headphones, he measures the frequency response and then creates EQ adjustments to better match the Harman target curve. The ATH-M50X is reviewed here. You can see how it compares with the target curve, and PEQ adjustments recommended by Amir.

With different EQ, different headphones can be made to sound similar, both close to matching the target curve. (There are limitations, and for example, if the headphone has weak bass, you may not be able to boost the bass to match the curve without distorting the headphone or headphone amp.)

Parametric EQ (PEQ) is more precise than regular graphic EQ so it's better for this purpose, or for fixing a particular problem. But it's harder to "play with" for everyday adjustments. If you like a little extra bass, that can be included in the PEQ, or you can use graphic EQ.

Or would I have to change it for each song ?

For those kind of everyday adjustments regular-old tone controls are the most convenient, physical knobs if you have them.

 

[gvl]

I only have 2 Headphones are you saying that each headphone my sound better across my mainstream musical Genres ? Or would I have to change it for each song ?

Audio technica ath-m50x wired

House of Marley Riddim EM-JH053

You apply a set of specific EQ corrections for each headphones, they will then sound better across all genres/songs. That said, you can of course further fine tune those corrections to your liking for a specific type of music, but the bulk of improvements should come from the main correction.

 

[Earwax]

Straight talk, thanks for keeping it simple very encouraging.

 

[JSmith]

Straight talk, thanks for keeping it simple very encouraging.

That's a pleasant and constructive reply, you're at the right forum and welcome to ASR btw.


JSmith

 

[Earwax]

Fosi audio DS1 USB-c dac has the same dac chip as the Topping D50 III I`m simply curious would I notice a difference in left and right speakers ?

I just bought the DS1 and very impressed...

Applications used with : A52 cellphone with USB Audio player Pro app to bypass Android garbage.
: Asus Desktop PC USB-C it worked simply plug and play no drivers needed, using Foobar2000 for best sounds Musicbee is interesting.

: Played through Harmon Kardon AVR 140 using CD RCA inputs that allow digital bypass with pure analog in stereo, Tone off. JBL Northridge series N28 speakers.
Seriously impressed played both above setups through AVR 140 I just can imagine it getting much better than this at least not cost wise... Unless 2 chips would make any difference ?

Thank you in advanced for your knowledge and fact sharing much appreciated !

I did type in i just CAN`T imagine it getting much better...

With that said after room tuning using Parametric EQ I might eat that statement :]

I`ll be posting another thread for technical details about my AVR 140 and how it bypasses the digital as that combined with that very affordable usb dac and the App that bypasses android sound system just killed everything I ever heard before. So naturally I`m very curious about my Harmon Kardon.

Obviously I`m no Audiophile so don`t be to hard on me.

 

[SuicideSquid]

Obviously I`m no Audiophile so don`t be to hard on me.

Few around here will describe themselves that way. We're hobbyists or enthusiasts.

No one's going to be hard on you for asking honest questions. People usually only get their backs up if you really dig your heels in on something that's been shown to be BS over and over and over again (like that DACs that measure transparent have a "sound", for example).

 

[Earwax]

I post my question about my Harmon Kardon AVR 140 Pure Direct Mode ( Digital Bypass to Pure Analog ) in the Audio Electronic & Hardware category figured people in that arena would have the raw core functionality understanding... ?