[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FauDrei /img/forum/go_quote.gif @tosehee: Since my setup is pretty much the same as yours - can you describe more in detail the perceived audio differences between Monitor 01 USD and M2tech converters? I am, at the moment, using Monitor 01 USD (XP with latest 1.0.5.0 drivers, BNC output) connected through externally powered USB hub and I'm very pleased with it. But if this M2tech "dongle" is so much better... Thanks

I don't have the Musiland to compare. It was done by slim.a. I have compared it directly to the optical output from the Mac Pro and BNC from M2tech. And to me, m2tech was definitely an upgrade path. To Musiland USD01? I have no clue. You can read up on the Slim.a, but then our DACs do the reclocking, so the differences would be marginal at best. But then again, at this point in game, how much are we spending to get that 'last' juice out of it to hear the 'magic' sound?

So, it's really up to you. If you can sell musiland USD, I'd buy m2tech and do a honest comparison. Whichever you don't like, you can always sell it back. I chose m2tech mostly due to:

1. Easier communication
2. No need for extra USB Cable.
3. BNC Option
4. Two very stable oscillators for jitter management.
5. Forth-coming Mac Driver (10 days or so now).

 

[EphemeralHope]

i've been seeing a lot of mention that a usb isn't needed - can anyone explain breifly why? I musta missed something -_-

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EphemeralHope /img/forum/go_quote.gif i've been seeing a lot of mention that a usb isn't needed - can anyone explain breifly why? I musta missed something -_-

M2Tech

It connects directly to your USB hub.

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tosehee /img/forum/go_quote.gif You basically send an email and they send out the paypal to your email address. Once confirmed with payment, they ship it after it's built. It's not an online purchase per se like amazon, but you do not send your CC # either.

Ah, OK. That would work. Not as protected as ordering with a Credit card, but the Hiface isn't really overly expensive, either.

I was going to get the Musicland M01, but didn't want to deal with paying extra for a special non-crippled driver.

-Ed

 

[hawkhead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edwood /img/forum/go_quote.gif Ah, OK. That would work. Not as protected as ordering with a Credit card, but the Hiface isn't really overly expensive, either. I was going to get the Musicland M01, but didn't want to deal with paying extra for a special non-crippled driver. -Ed

Paying by Paypal you can use your credit card.

There is no paid for driver or even different featured versions for the Musiland

 

[Edwood]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hawkhead /img/forum/go_quote.gif Paying by Paypal you can use your credit card. There is no paid for driver or even different featured versions for the Musiland

Paying be Credit Card via PayPal is still not as protected as paying directly by Credit Card, unless you are OK with waiting for PayPal to resolve, or let your Credit Card company do a chargeback and have PayPal lock your account.

Anyways, I read about there being a License Key required for the better driver for the Musicland. Is it free and requires a License Key? That's a little weird. Normally a License Key is for paid for apps.

-Ed

 

[hawkhead]

There is NO better driver

for version 1.0.5.0 a license key is required and is free

 

[MikeW]

mac book pro jitter has been mesured at 1600ps, so saying it's better then that is not saying much.

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW /img/forum/go_quote.gif mac book pro jitter has been mesured at 1600ps, so saying it's better then that is not saying much.

where is this from? And is this directed at me? I am using Mac Pro, not Macbook Pro.

edit:
i asked the availability if the osx driver and here is the response.

Quote:

We're still on the way. I just can tell you that we're working on a kernel extension driver to avoid going thru the audio core which, as you probably know, implies two format conversions (integer-float and float-integer) and other processing which disrupt samples' integrity. More news ASAP.

 

[wuwhere]

I'm interested in this product as well. I would like to use it with my D10 (the D10 has a coax input). I'm thinking of BNC (M2Tech) to a BNC-coax adapter to my D10.

I'm looking forward to more reviews/comparisons.

 

[MikeW]

Gordon rankin of wavelength audio took these measurements

TAS1020 USB Adaptive Mode -- 2838ps
TI PCM2706/7 I2S output -- 3433ps
S/PDIF from Prism dScope III analyzer (really low output jitter!) -- 629ps
S/PDIF from Mac Book Toslink -- 1607ps
S/PDIF from Apple Airport Express Toslink -- 2418ps
TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode -- 78.2ps

 

[tosehee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW /img/forum/go_quote.gif Gordon rankin of wavelength audio took these measurements TAS1020 USB Adaptive Mode -- 2838ps TI PCM2706/7 I2S output -- 3433ps S/PDIF from Prism dScope III analyzer (really low output jitter!) -- 629ps S/PDIF from Mac Book Toslink -- 1607ps S/PDIF from Apple Airport Express Toslink -- 2418ps TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode -- 78.2ps

TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode -- 78.2ps

what product is this/

 

[rmask]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tosehee /img/forum/go_quote.gif TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode -- 78.2ps what product is this/

... "gordon"..."wavelength"...

PS. I'm a bit skeptical about the these spdif devices (sure 100eur is fine, but the expensive ones are IMHO true SXXXX OXX), as I did not hear much differences with my mid-range gear (I've compared x-meridian spdif, musiland o1 usd spdif, belcanto usblink bnc>spdif). I've also had the chance to listen to the empirical off-ramp (the m-audio transit mod) vs original 60eur transit and was completely unimpressed as most of the difference came from the empirical supplied SRC (FREE) upsampling plugin. As long as they were in bit perfect mode, they sounded pretty much the same to my ears...

 

[slim.a]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MikeW /img/forum/go_quote.gif Gordon rankin of wavelength audio took these measurements TAS1020 USB Adaptive Mode -- 2838ps TI PCM2706/7 I2S output -- 3433ps S/PDIF from Prism dScope III analyzer (really low output jitter!) -- 629ps S/PDIF from Mac Book Toslink -- 1607ps S/PDIF from Apple Airport Express Toslink -- 2418ps TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode -- 78.2ps

S/PDIF from Prism dScope III analyzer (really low output jitter!) -- 629ps
TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode -- 78.2ps

I find it weird that the TAS1020 USB is so much better than a professional analyzer.
It is a little bit misleading to compare the spdif out of the Prism and whatever jitter measurement of the TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode.
Also, I am curious to know which device was used to measure the jitter of the TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode since most equipement cannot get below 500ps at the spdif (stereophile, ...)

Anyway, it seems that both units that are using the TAS1020 USB Asynchronous Mode are good at jitter measurements :
Stereophile: Ayre Acoustics QB-9 USB DAC
Stereophile: Wavelength Cosecant v3 USB digital/analog converter

 

[gevorg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rmask /img/forum/go_quote.gif ... "gordon"..."wavelength"... PS. I'm a bit skeptical about the these spdif devices (sure 100eur is fine, but the expensive ones are IMHO true SXXXX OXX), as I did not hear much differences with my mid-range gear (I've compared x-meridian spdif, musiland o1 usd spdif, belcanto usblink bnc>spdif). I've also had the chance to listen to the empirical off-ramp (the m-audio transit mod) vs original 60eur transit and was completely unimpressed as most of the difference came from the empirical supplied SRC (FREE) upsampling plugin. As long as they were in bit perfect mode, they sounded pretty much the same to my ears...

This is completely normal, don't be surprised if you won't tell the difference in a DBT. Just because something has better jitter ratings, doesn't mean it will sound better over something that already sounds good.

Stuff like off-ramp and wavelength are to squeeze the last 1% of sound quality, and only a top high end system will make these differences worthwhile. Nowadays, its not that hard to get a good digital output for 90+% of hifi systems. Of course there still be systems that demand the latest and greatest.