Tír Na HiFi

Diapason wrote:Let me guess, the price of their one is triple the price of yours?

Funnily enough, yes more than twice the price for the two battery version €760. (their pricing is all over the place they say €599 when they mean 599 GBP http://www.human-audio.com/humanaudioeng_tabla.html
But the cost of R&D has to be paid for somehow, I guess?

The one battery version is €379 (299GBP) - they say "We are releasing our second USB Interface for HD Audio at a more affordable price than our previously existing Tabla. Based on the Human Audio philosophy, this device is also purely battery powered with a built-in high grade Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LiFePO4) cell. Its specifications are identical to the original Tabla, the only difference being that the newbie has only one internal battery. "
They are some expensive batteries they're using allowing for about €400 reduction when dropping one battery or maybe there weren't enough suckers buying it at €760?

I have tried out The JKDAC 32 while on it's tour. Bottom line is I have just bought one. It is a musical device. It has a spacious sound stage with great dept and width. It is neutral with no digital harshness. It is very detailed throughout the frequency range . It has a full bass without being overpowering. I must say that this was using jplay which is a significant improvement over the likes of foobar and vlc. On hi-res files the sound quality is in the same league as a good quality turntable. This was a big surprise to me as I had never heard digital sound that was similar to that of vinyl.
I think that this usb dac should be considered in the same way as a phono preamp. It performs a similar function ,for computer music, as a phono preamp does for vinyl. If you only want to get music, off of a computer, in high quality I think this is the best way to do it at a very reasonable cost.
When I got the dac home I had a few problems getting it up and running using the JPlay. My own fault. But John helped me. He spent an hour on the phone with me, helping me to get the system up and running. Customer service taken to a new level!

Thanks Mick, much appreciated :)

mick wrote:This was a big surprise to me as I had never heard digital sound that was similar to that of vinyl.
I think that this usb dac should be considered in the same way as a phono preamp.

I'm happy you have what you have. I know many that even some 5-7 years ago ditched vinyl since digital was to the point where vinyl may have still been better, but it was equal enough that the painstaking labor and room it took up was certainly not worth it or there was nothing exactly captivating about it to keep it around any longer. I know many since computer audio that have ditched vinyl because they too have felt the same way as you in that the sound is as good or even better. I think digital has come a long way, but it is still a night/day difference with vinyl "easily" besting anything digital. But this is a top flight phono stage and setup vs. well, a top flight digital setup. The digital indeed sounds worlds better than it did just years ago, and it is incredibly good sounding that I never find any need or care to have vinyl. But in the past, I couldn't live without vinyl and if I wasn't so lazy, I couldn't be without it today either.

Good listening with your new setup. It's great hearing these success stories because John indeed offers mega bang for the buck sound.

Mick,
Your Vinyl system is no slouch, right?
Correct me if I'm wrong - as I remember it's a Linn LP + Lingo outboard PS + Cartridge + EAR phono amp

Correct John. I have a modded LP12/ Lingo with modded Ittok, Ortfon 2M Black and EAR phono preamp.

mick wrote:Correct John. I have a modded LP12/ Lingo with modded Ittok, Ortfon 2M Black and EAR phono preamp.

Killer setup Mick . Do you have cirkus bearing inside your LP 12 ?

Modest wrote:

mick wrote:Correct John. I have a modded LP12/ Lingo with modded Ittok, Ortfon 2M Black and EAR phono preamp.

Killer setup Mick . Do you have cirkus bearing inside your LP 12 ?

Modest,
I did not get the circus kit upgrade. At the time of it's introduction there were conflicting reports as too the worth of the upgrade. It was observed by some that it changed the nature of the sound of the LP12. I decided not to chance it.

Ah shucks have to recopy lots of cds. I found the correct eac setting. I believed copying the tracks as is would have preserved the order but you need to pick one of the options with a number in the track title. Despite my best intentions I am using the connectors all the time when playing thru my amp. The sound from mister kenny's dac is bloody great. I believe if I had a dedicated laptop for hifi I think the cd player might be making the trek to cloney trade in emporium. My only complaint about the new dac is the colour of the lights. John has moved from blue to green and red. Unlike Fran I prefer blue. And there is no toggle switch! The arrangement is actually better you can charge while playing(red light for charge) Green light for turning on the unit. I would like the charging light to go out when fully charged but that will probably be in the jkdac32X. Since I am on a roll HDTracks.com is getting very good for more contempory releases.There are about 5 talking heads albums + a host of well known stuff. I think prices are still a little steep ($18) for a download of an album that is 30yrs old. Tried some hires files (freebies) classical so they sound very good but I can't ascertain if they are far superior than normal flac stuff as it doesnt really rock my boat.

jplay4.2 just hit the shelfs. Downloaded and trying now.You will need to check with some of our residents with hearing to ascertain if there is an improvement from 4.1. I will put in a bit of an effort over the next while(month) to compare it to cd but not comparing it to 4.1 as life is too short.