Using an aftermarket DAC like ADS or Nakamichi

**8675309** · 10-12-2006, 03:05 PM

Has anyone used anything like a computer to ADS or Nakamichi DAC

I was thinking of using a digital out on the PC to the digital in on the DAC.

I know that the Nakamichi and ADS DAC's are just night and day difference from anything you may have heard. I had an old ADS dac back in the day and it was awesome. Now my old DenFord 8250 had a nice DAC setup and was clean.

I still believe in the old analog clean signal setup. I just dont think the PC card is going to do what I want.

I really dont want to add a Soundblaster external card.

Thanks

**scott_fx** · 10-12-2006, 04:02 PM

i'm gonna guess you didn't search

we've discussed usb dac's...has anyone used other dacs?

this is down on the same page as this thread! I guess in all reality the alpine pxa-h701 is a dac. it allows you to get digital out from your computer and into the pxa. then it has a bunch of other nifty features. Downside of this is that you need the rux controller to control the volume and access features.

I think i have finally made my descision on using the zapco DAII-sl dac because it has balanced outputs (which is important to me, but may not make a difference to most people that don't have balanced inputs on thier amps), has the highest output voltage of all the dac's i've researched, has an external volume control pot, and can be phantom powered by my zapco sub amp.

another choice out there are usb dacs. This is a great choice because you don't need any drivers and some are fully customizable. I have the douglas dac right here that i used for listening to music with my beyerdynamic headphones and i'm very pleased with it.
check out this link:
DACs

**durwood** · 10-12-2006, 05:50 PM

scott_fx-

Since you actully have used a USB DAC how would you compare it to the creative labs usb external soundcards? I have a USB 24bit Live which gives me good results into my PXA-H701, but it hogs my CPU and I cannot play DVDs smoothly. How is the USB DAC on CPU usage and how would you say it compares to a external sound card...in your opinion?

**scott_fx** · 10-12-2006, 05:55 PM

durwood, i would not know. i have never used an external soundcard. one question...why are you using a soundcard when you have a m10000 and an alpine pxa-h701. just get the drivers installed and a coax to optical converter and you'll have amazing sound.

**durwood** · 10-12-2006, 07:07 PM

Originally Posted by scott_fx

durwood, i would not know. i have never used an external soundcard. one question...why are you using a soundcard when you have a m10000 and an alpine pxa-h701. just get the drivers installed and a coax to optical converter and you'll have amazing sound.

I must admit ...pure laziness. I had the sound card already and it was late when I installed it and I REALLY NEEDED tunes. I haven't had time to change it and did't feel like buying a coax to optical converter. I noticed the DVD problem a few weeks ago and the Alpine unit is only a few months old. I have noticed that on compressd music though I can hear a difference between the onboard SPDIF and the Creative SPDIF in my home setup. It sounds a tad garbled. Just my opinion though.

I guess I'll stop being lazy and switch out and see how I like it.