New JKDAC32 USB DAC

[jkeny]

all interesting stuff.

A few questions:

A driver change mentioned above gives improved sound quality. If so, what where the "deficiencies" on the older Hiface driver? From a technical point of view what does the young dac driver do that the hiface doesnt?

Dave, sometimes you don't know you have "deficiencies" until something better comes along which sounds better. Differences are as I, Ken & Pearse said above.

Does the JKDAC come into its own with Hi Rez files or is it at least comparable if not better than other dacs/CDPs that deal with normal 16bit CD quality?

Is there ANY way to evaluate this DAC using an existing CDP as a transport? (one with an spdif output only).

I would say it's better than most CDP/DAC combinations at 16/44. It surpasses them at higher res. I think Fran is referring to some comparisons that we did with a previous DAC to this one, the results of which were posted on this forum. We compared it to Ivor's Lector CDP & Brian's Wadia CDP & found little between them. But it has advanced in every area since then & I would contend a rematch might return a different result
It's USB input only!

[Fran]

Ah yes, it was the previous one. Sorry 'bout that.


I think what DaveF is getting at wrt the "deficiencies" in the USB driver is more what technical changes have they made in the background that makes different USB drivers sound different. Must be something to do with the way the information is handled and passed on?

Just shows you - not only does the playback software make a difference, the driver does too. It all matters!

[DaveF]

..sometimes you don't know you have "deficiencies" until something better comes along which sounds better. Differences are as I, Ken & Pearse said above.

I realise that but it's just the nerd in me wondering how these differences are coming about. :-)
As I understand it, the driver is controlling the USB stream of data to the DAC and managing the flow. So any improvements suggests a change in the data or the management of the USB protocol or something along those lines anyway. I dont know the details of the whole architecture...Im just thinking out loud.
As great as the DAC sounds already, the above findings with the driver suggest that even more performance can be had from this setup and its full potential is still to be realised. That's pretty good going!

I would say it's better than most CDP/DAC combinations at 16/44. It surpasses them at higher res. I think Fran is referring to some comparisons that we did with a previous DAC to this one, the results of which were posted on this forum. We compared it to Ivor's Lector CDP & Brian's Wadia CDP & found little between them. But it has advanced in every area since then & I would contend a rematch might return a different result

Can it knock out the mighty dCS? ;-)

It's USB input only!

Darn! Im on the look out for a new DAC at the moment but with my classical music, sorting out the computer end of things would be a pain.

[jkeny]

..sometimes you don't know you have "deficiencies" until something better comes along which sounds better. Differences are as I, Ken & Pearse said above.

I realise that but it's just the nerd in me wondering how these differences are coming about. :-)
As I understand it, the driver is controlling the USB stream of data to the DAC and managing the flow. So any improvements suggests a change in the data or the management of the USB protocol or something along those lines anyway. I dont know the details of the whole architecture...Im just thinking out loud.
As great as the DAC sounds already, the above findings with the driver suggest that even more performance can be had from this setup and its full potential is still to be realised. That's pretty good going!

This is a proprietary USB driver & I don't know anything about it's inner workings. Hell, I don't know anything about the open source drivers used in Linux. It takes quiet a lot of very specific technical system level knowledge to write or understand the workings of these drivers. If you have this level of knowledge I know a project that is looking for such a developer :)

I would concur with Fran, that everything matters & I would not limit to two the possible reasons why a change in USB driver brings a change in sound. There is a thread on computeraudiophile about changing thread priorities & it's effect on the sound :)

Can it knock out the mighty dCS? ;-)

I have been trying to organise just such a test with Ciaran, & he has suggested that I bring my DAC setup over to his system this weekend. Will report back on it's outcome

[DaveF]

- not only does the playback software make a difference, the driver does too. It all matters!

There must be angle there somewhere for the likes of Lars to peddle about!

[DaveF]

It takes quiet a lot of very specific technical system level knowledge to write or understand the workings of these drivers. If you have this level of knowledge I know a project that is looking for such a developer :)

FPGAs/ASICs and some embedded SW is my specialty but the further away from the hardware the SW gets, the less comfortable I am.

[Sligolad]

Pearse, the JKDAC32 certainly sounds tempting, maybe Santa Claus might do something. The combination of JK and Jplay is certainly cutting edge stuff. Maybe you've tried it already, but I see you're working in FLAC and I could never detect any difference between FLAC and WAV until I used Jplay. I suggest you convert a couple of your favourite tracks in FLAC to WAV and compare.

Ken the new JKDAC and Jplay both are the ultimate combination for me, such a leap forward from where i was at with the Young, 2 major revalations in one year...Santa Claus certainly came early this year.

You can use Foobar to convert or download http://www.nch.com.au/switch/index.html ... 4Qodw1c_mg

I have Audio Transcoder but the sound is so amazing from my system now i am keeping WAV in my back pocket as a possible bonus. I listened to a FLAC rip from CD on Sunday that blew me away, the CD was Craig Armstrong "Piano Works" an album i thought i knew well but it was like listening to it for the first time...superlatives ran out some time ago!!

Jplay say their player unpacks FLAC before playing as WAV but they concede that a straight WAV is better.

Thanks for some of your recent wisdom by the way, its been a real bonus to me.

KM

[Ken Moreland]

I see you've gone global , Pearse!!
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/in ... vs-jkdac32
Good pictures to show the relative sizes.

KM

[jkeny]

I see you've gone global , Pearse!!
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/in ... vs-jkdac32
Good pictures to show the relative sizes.

KM

He's now big down under, so to speak :)

[Sligolad]

I see you've gone global , Pearse!!
http://www.digitalaudioreview.net.au/in ... vs-jkdac32
Good pictures to show the relative sizes.

KM

He's now big down under, so to speak :)

Leave the "operation" out of it John, tuns out i now like small packages.....Yes its the JKDAC32 i'm talking about!