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painted_klown

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  1. Awesome! Thanks for the input and explanation guys! I will admit that I am not well versed in electronic engineering and things, that's why I was asking the question. Even the stuff you are explaining is going over my head a bit.
  2. Here is a link to the review that ultimately convinced me to purchase them. Emotiva XPA-1 Monoblock Power Amplifier - Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity I do not regret that purchase at all.
  3. I currently own Emotiva XPA-1 mono block amplifiers. The ones here XPA-1 | 500W Mono | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifie I know that there is a lot of debate about weather or not a fully balanced system makes any "real word" (ie, you can identify it in a double blind A/B/X test) difference, but the supposed benefit is a lower noise floor (that translates into a better signal to noise ratio), and better control over your speakers (the drivers). Since I already own the amplifiers for a fully balanced system, then I would like to put a fully balanced signal path in front of them. To be honest, my main reason is "just to do it" Would I be able to hear a difference in a blind test? Probably not, but this is audio we're talking here. Sometimes "logic" goes out the window (so to speak) for the sake of "mental satisfaction". I feel that I spent quite a bit of money (to me 2 grand for a couple of amps is a lot of money) and I am not even really utilizing their design. I could have bought different (non-balanced) amplifers and saved some cash, but I just wanted to see how they sounded (amazing, BTW) so now that I have had them a while, I want to use them "properly". So, I suppose the quick answer comes down to that I am trying to accomplish "mental satisfaction". I hope that makes sense, in an audio geek kind of way.
  4. As the title suggests, I have a question about a true balanced setup. In order to have a fully balanced setup, at what point does everything in the signal path need to be balanced? For example. If I buy an Oppo BPD-95 and use the stereo XLR outs, into a true balanced preamp, and then run that out (via the balanced XLR analog outputs) into a dual differential amplifier, then I know 100% that my signal is a true balanced signal through the entire signal path. For example B, lets say I have the Sony PS3, and run an optical (toslink) cable to an Emotiva XDA-1 fully balanced DAC, and then from the balanced XLR outs into a balanced amp. Would example B still be considered a true balanced signal path since when it gets converted to analog, it is done with a true balanced DAC? Example C. Say I buy a Musical Fidelity V-Link, and run a USB cable to the V-Link, then I run the V-Link into the Emotiva XDA-1 (via either toslink or digital coax), and then the XDA-1 balanced out into a fully balanced amplifier. Would example C (similar to example B, but with a different source of signal origination) be considered a true balanced signal path all the way through? I guess my question comes down to this: In order to have a true differential balanced signal chain from bits (of information) to amplifier, does the source (if digital) need to be "designed from the ground up" to be considered fully balanced, or does that only matter after the conversion from digital to analog? I hope what I am asking makes sense. I am really curious about how this works, and what constitutes a 100% true balanced signal for the ENTIRE length of the signal chain. Thanks.
  5. For those wondering what I am talking about. Here is a link to the official product page. Musical Fidelity | V-LINKII USB/SPDIF Conv.
  6. Thanks for your input everyone. I finally found the device I was looking for. It is a Musical Fidelity V-Link. I do see that it is on the second (MKII) version now, but Stereophile reviewed the original version and found that it performs admirably. Thanks again for all of your input everyone, I appreciate your efforts.
  7. Sorry for the double post here, but I do not see an edit button for my other post. I just wanted to clarify what I am looking for, and why, I think I need such a device. The reason I wanted something as a digital to digital converter is so that I would not have to buy a new DAC or new amp every time I wanted to try different combos. For example, if I can get a digital coax signal from my comp, I could run it to the DAC of my choice, but have a couple different amps to swap out, to mate up with whatever 'phones I am using at the time. Conversely, If I found a killer amp, that I just loved with every set of 'phones I own, I could then swap DACs to find the one that best suits my needs vs. having to buy a new dac/amp combo every time I wanted to try something new/different, or just experiment with various combos. I hope that what I am trying to accomplish makes sense here...
  8. It's funny you mention the XDA-1. I am a huge Emotiva fan, and I am currently awaiting the arrival of the XDA-2 as we speak. I have dual XPA-1 monoblocks, the XPA-5, dual Ultra Sub 12s, and I used to have dual UPA-1 monoblocks, and their USP-1. I am painted_klown on their forum as well, and that is actually how I heard about this site. Anyway, I just need a way to convert the signal from either USB, or HDMI to digital coax so that I can run it into any DAC I may end up with in the future. Does such a device exist? I would really like to avoid optical (toslink) if possible as I am concerned about the conversions needed for this type of signal transfer, and (of course) the introduction of jitter. Thanks for your help.
  9. I never thought I would be saying (or wanting) to do this, but I have become keen to the idea of building a bit of a hi-fi (headphone) listening station using my laptop as the source. I have an Asus model X54C that I recently purchased. It is running Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit for the operating system. Right now it is completely stock, and has a Realtek High Definition audio card built in. For connectivity, it has one USB 2.0, and one USB 3.0 slot. It also has an HDMI output, and of course the analog input and output of the Realtek HD audio card. I am thinking that optical (toslink), or digital coax out would be my preferred choices, with digital coax being my number one preference, to help reduce jitter, if that's even applicable in this situation. I am just looking for a devise that can pull a bit perfect digital signal from my computer, with no re-sampling, or digital conversions of any kind. I use Media Monkey and itunes software for playback, but I only use itunes to sync my ipods, so I actually don't really use it to listen, if that makes sense. Media Monkey is my main listening software. Almost all of my music has been ripped to my drive using Windows Media Player as WMA lossless files. Some are MP3s though, or even lossy WMA files, that I was too lazy to re-rip to my drive after I decided to go lossless (I used to not know there was such a big difference in the sound quality). What I would like to do with this is send a bit for bit digital signal to an external DAC, and from there to a headphone amplifier. I figure doing this would give me the most flexibility in the long run, in case I want to try different amps or DACs in the future. Portability or size is not a concern for me at all. My number one goal is sound quality. I do not have a large amount of funds to work with, but I am willing to save up (within reason) and buy a great product, rather than buy the lowest cost option on the market and suffer from (build or sound) quality issues. I assume that if you can send a true bit for bit digital signal out of the computer of some way, then cost doesn't have such a large impact (if any) on the sound quality. If my line of thinking is correct, I would think the DAC and amplifier I choose to connect to (whatever it is I need) will ultimately determine the sound quality of the setup. Please educate me if I am mistaken. Any and all input will be greatly appreciated. I posted a similar thread on an audio forum and I was directed to this forum. Thanks.
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