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Recommend me a good DAC for my Windows PC

Zek said:
@Mike_Trueman You didn't mention which PC you have and whether it has an SPDIF output on the motherboard.
Most do and you can connect those SPDIF connectors to the SPDIF bracket and connect the PC and amplifier directly with an optical cable.
This bypasses the audio DAC on the motherboard.
Click to expand...
I allready have it connected this way but i want to use the USB to bypass the onboard realtek soundcard. Seems that DDC is the way to go.
 
But what is it supposed to improve vs. the simple solution?
 
respice finem said:
But what is it supposed to improve vs. the simple solution?
Click to expand...
Well thats what i like to test. There is even a newer version out i see. (PO100 2024)

1753560849637.png


PO100 2024

Foshan ShuangMuSanLin electronics Co., LTD. founded in 2009 which located in Shenzhen, China. And our branch company VMV Technology(HK) Company Limited registered in HK in 2013. Our company is specialized in the audio DAC, stereo headphone amplifier, power amplifier, and with own R&D...
www.smsl-audio.com
 
For testing, OK, I see.
 
DVDdoug said:
Your computer (or soundcard?) has Toslink? You ARE bypassing the soundcard's DAC, so you are essentially bypassing the "soundcard"/
Click to expand...
That's actually the ideal scenario, because you're bypassing the soundcard's DAC, but not the soundcard itself in terms of software and handling. That's convenient because handling stays the same including its control panel, unlike with an external DAC that will act as another soundcard logically and use its own software.
 
Mike_Trueman said:
True but Toslink is not bypassing my onboard soundcard.
Click to expand...
Well if it comes out of your sound card - then technically not.

But

1 - It doesn't use the DAC on your sound-card.
2 - The Toslink out from your soundcard will be identical to any other form of Toslink, including a USB DDC with toslink out. Effectively your sound card is just acting as a DDC.
 
voodooless said:
No need to test. Your Realtek toslink output should be transparent. There is nothing to improve.
Click to expand...
Are you sure it is transparent? If i remove the Realtek ALC4080 drivers the SPDIF stops working. The PO100 2024 is plug and play without drivers.
I am off to bed now. Maybe i think to much. :)
 
Mike_Trueman said:
The PO100 2024 is plug and play without drivers.
Click to expand...
It isnt - it is just that the drivers for the USB output are built into the windows USB stack.

Not the case with your sound card. The OS needs an interface (the drivers) to use to send the digital data to the toslink output.


The data will be the same in each case.
 
I'm way out of date with PCs now, but as my mobo had connections for digital out, I bought one of these to connect to it -


Worked fine for me when the SU1 was in that rig, although now with the SU2, I use a spare USB 3 port.
 
Mike_Trueman said:
...Maybe i think to much. :)
Click to expand...
This "overthinking" is very common. The cause is believing to hear everything that can be measured (and as some believe, even more), which is never the case, because physiologically, it can't be. Younger listeners will hear better than older ones, but nobody is perfect.
 
respice finem said:
This "overthinking" is very common. The cause is believing to hear everything that can be measured (and as some believe, even more), which is never the case, because physiologically, it can't be. Younger listeners will hear better than older ones, but nobody is perfect.
Click to expand...
When i stream Tidal or Spotify from my PC to my amplifier with the optical connection and if i then instant switch with the same song to the amps build-in streamer with bluOS then the music has more detail, extension and a darker background, i can hear the small difference every time.
So windows is not the best streaming platform then and i can not make it better?

So for watching videos, Youtube, browsing, ... i use the PC SPDIF connection and for the best music quality i use the amp's build-in streamer. The problem is if i stream from the amp i can not use the optical connection for my PC at the same time but yeah it is not a big problem.
 
Probably one is only so slightly louder ("better") than the other.

ahofer

'A list of Audiophile Fallacies'

I posted this in another thread, but I thought it might be useful to open source some more ideas in a separate thread.


“To be a genius is to be misunderstood. But to be misunderstood is not to be a genius”. - Neil DeGrasse Tyson
..nor is being hard to understand - me.

Ad Vinum
Audio is like wine, which inevitably involves incorrect assertions about the chemical make-up of wine (e.g. they allege that identical wines taste different) and blind testing (usually they are wrong about what sommeliers can and can’t do). For instance, the different tastes of different varietals...
  • Like
 
Mike_Trueman said:
When i stream Tidal or Spotify from my PC to my amplifier with the optical connection and if i then instant switch with the same song to the amps build-in streamer with bluOS then the music has more detail, extension and a darker background, i can hear the small difference every time.
So windows is not the best streaming platform then and i can not make it better?
Click to expand...
This is likely due to either small volume differences or imagination.
 
Mike_Trueman said:
When i stream Tidal or Spotify from my PC to my amplifier with the optical connection and if i then instant switch with the same song to the amps build-in streamer with bluOS then the music has more detail, extension and a darker background, i can hear the small difference every time.
So windows is not the best streaming platform then and i can not make it better?

So for watching videos, Youtube, browsing, ... i use the PC SPDIF connection and for the best music quality i use the amp's build-in streamer. The problem is if i stream from the amp i can not use the optical connection for my PC at the same time but yeah it is not a big problem.
Click to expand...
When you can still hear a difference with the two sources accurately level matched (with a DVM) and blind (so you don't know which is playing) This might be worth further discussion.

It would also be necessary to ensure neither device is doing any DSP on the signal. Although if one of them is - it could explain the difference you are hearing. But then it has nothing to do with the device - only how it is set up.
 
Yeah maybe it is something else then changing the sound. Even at lower DB the streamer sounds better.
 
Mike_Trueman said:
Even at lower DB the streamer sounds better.
Click to expand...
Can still be perceptive bias. Uncontrolled listening comparisons don't tell you anything scientifically useful. The brain is too good at changing your perception of the sound.
 
antcollinet said:
Can still be perceptive bias. Uncontrolled listening comparisons don't tell you anything scientifically useful. The brain is too good at changing your perception of the sound.
Click to expand...
Could be, i will let my son or my wife do a blind test for me then when i have the time. :) (I love to test stuff)

So these 2 devices would sound 100% the same with matching volume?
  • Windows PC connected with SPDIF to a NAD amplifier (Windows fixed sample rate/bitrate)
  • NAD amp with build-in streamer running on linux with no extra connection needed (matching sample rate/bitrate with every song)
 
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