Thread: MP3car Authorized Group Buy!!! Audiophile Sound Solution- The HIPPOhi-fi Bloat DAC!!

Originally Posted by Ces///M3

deleted - answered my question in original post - thanks again

No worries man! I thought it was up there somewhere... Anyways get yours ordered ASAP because it is first come first serve. These are all built by hand and tested so the people that order later rather than sooner may be waiting a little longer. I'm sure Brent will be making sure these get out to us as fast as he can- the man has great customer service!

Originally Posted by amapro704

You still end up with really good sound using onboard inputs and this as your output. I only use inputs for HD radio and that is still radio so the quality is sacrificed a bit anyway... Or an ipod in...

so you can use the inputs on the onboard sound card with this card?

Originally Posted by Sonicxtacy02

so you can use the inputs on the onboard sound card with this card?

This just takes whatever audio your computer is producing and converts it from digital to analog. Technically its not a soundcard and it doesn't need any software- thats why its so cool. If your mobo has inputs on it and you input sound, it will be channelled to the usb and this will convert it to analog to be sent to your amps. This thing is basically detected by your computer as a USB speaker and send all audio to it, even from an onboard input!

see now that just sounds tasty.. i'll have to make a buy here soon.

How Many Rca outputs Does This Have?

One stereo pair. They can be split into several to feed multiple amps..

Cool Thanks

I use the Bloat on my setup. The sound quality is outstanding, I have not heard better from a carPC. The thing literally is the size of a deck of cards, so it's nice and small. I've got all the upgrades that are listed here and on the Hippo Hi-Fi website.

I tried two different internal cards (Audigy II, and X-Fi), and three different external units (Audigy Extigy, M-Audio Firewire, Silverstone DAC) before I finally found this, and let me tell you, none of those even come close to how good the Bloat is. The M-Audio firewire was the best, but even that paled in comparison to the sound quality of the bloat.

As for external inputs, it is true that there are none, but most motherboards have onboard sound, which includes a line and mic input. I use the line input on my motherboard for the sound from mu XM adapter (via StreetDeck), which then reroutes the sound back out through the USB to the Bloat, and it works perfectly fine. Certainly, it is not quite as good as having an input directly on the Bloat, but it is close, and definitely worth the tradeoff for the sound quality of the Bloat.

Finally, as was mentioned, Brent is an active carPC user and will quickly answer any questions posed on his website, or via email to him.

Did I mention the great sound quality?

Thanks Caelric! I was beggining to feel too much like a salesman and wasn't sure if people believed me! lol

EDIT: *beginning* lol