2. pc-audio
  3. 1088427969

Audiophile USB to PCM

I have an excellent upsampler and dac (dCS Purcell/Delius) and am looking for the very best USB to PCM conversion. So far, I've tried SlimDevices Squeezebox, and Xitel Pro Hi-Fi link.

Both are very good, but I was wondering if there are any other options I should be considering. Both the Sutherland USB Preamp and the Wavelength USB Dac convert to analog. I'd like something of similar quality that stops short of the digital to analog conversion so that I can let the dCS gear do that.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

harry
hbrandt
rsbeck
887 posts
 
There are lots of ways to solve that problem -- the technology already exists.

There's nothing stopping you from having a laptop right in front of you, with which you can control volume, select songs, etc.

If your hard drive is part of a home theater, you can use something like a Mac Mini, plug it ito your video display and use a remote mouse to control the volume and select songs from your video display.
rsbeck
887 posts
 
And there are still others.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Kfreichen - to answer your question, I now offer two products, the Off-Ramp Turbo and the Freeway that are modified Transit boards with external power supplies. I also offer a battery power supply for them. They both convert USB to digital coax, but the Off-Ramp has a Superclock3 as master clock. These are very low jitter sources that can pass 24/96 data upsampled by Foobar.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
Manufacturer/modder
adidadi
31 posts
 
I just installed my u24 and run itunes with Apple lossless into my Meridian 861 v4 and can say it is on par with my 800 v4 reference dvd player/transport. This is mind blowingly convenient and sounds phenomenal.
dshea_32665
28 posts
 
I use the u24 and run itunes with Apple lossless as well, and run it into an Apogee Mini DAC. Incredible combination.
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