Newbie Question | Audirvana Plus & Rega DAC: Unable to get to 192K

[Tricone]

I wasn't sure if this should be posted in the DAC subforum, or here in Software. Obviously, I started with the latter. Here goes . .

 

I'm very new to CA, having just downloaded Audirvana Plus last night. I also purchased a few hi-res files from HDTracks. My current system is a work in progress, and consists of:

 

Late-2013 iMac i7 --> Rega DAC (via USB) --> Linear Technology Incline speakers (via Rega's analog output)

 

My first "audition" with a few FLACs that I had was eye-opening. I decided to purchase a couple of hi-res 192K music albums and see what they sound like. When I loaded a particular song into Audirvana's Playlist, I was expecting my Rega DAC to "recognize" that the song was at a higher resolution. However, the indicator light on the Rega's front panel remained at 44.1-48K. (I was expecting it to change to 192K). There is no selector on the Rega where one can manually change toggle the resolution. I then opened Audirvana's manual, along with the Preferences. In Preferences, I found that my Preferred Audio Device was "USB Audio DAC", and under Active Audio Device -> USB Audio DAC, only 44.1 and 48 where lit green, with the other higher res bit rates grayed-out. Surprisingly, when I toggled the Preferred Audio Device to "Built-In Output", then everything from 44.1 to 96 turned green!

 

Sooo . . how do I "tell" the software that my hardware DAC is capable of a 192K resolution?

[phatoldsun]

I wasn't sure if this should be posted in the DAC subforum, or here in Software. Obviously, I started with the latter. Here goes . .

 

I'm very new to CA, having just downloaded Audirvana Plus last night. I also purchased a few hi-res files from HDTracks. My current system is a work in progress, and consists of:

 

Late-2013 iMac i7 --> Rega DAC (via USB) --> Linear Technology Incline speakers (via Rega's analog output)

 

My first "audition" with a few FLACs that I had was eye-opening. I decided to purchase a couple of hi-res 192K music albums and see what they sound like. When I loaded a particular song into Audirvana's Playlist, I was expecting my Rega DAC to "recognize" that the song was at a higher resolution. However, the indicator light on the Rega's front panel remained at 44.1-48K. (I was expecting it to change to 192K). There is no selector on the Rega where one can manually change toggle the resolution. I then opened Audirvana's manual, along with the Preferences. In Preferences, I found that my Preferred Audio Device was "USB Audio DAC", and under Active Audio Device -> USB Audio DAC, only 44.1 and 48 where lit green, with the other higher res bit rates grayed-out. Surprisingly, when I toggled the Preferred Audio Device to "Built-In Output", then everything from 44.1 to 96 turned green!

 

Sooo . . how do I "tell" the software that my hardware DAC is capable of a 192K resolution?

 

Welcome to CA. I'm pretty sure your Rega is limited to 48k on the USB. You need to connect via spdif to get 192/24. Consider getting a USB to spdif converter. I use a Musical Fidelity 192 Vlink that is awesome.

[Musicophile]

I think the issue is that your Rega DAC is capable of 24/192, but it's USB entry isn't if I'm not mistaken, I think it is limited to 16/44 and 16/48.

 

An interim solution could be to use the optical connection from your Mac, this would get you to 24/96.

 

For 24/192 you'd need an external USB SPDIF converter like the Belcanto mlink (which I use), or the recently discontinued Musical Fidelity vlink 192, which you should still be able to find in retail.

 

it is very likely that this additional converter will significantly improve your sound quality as the USB implementation of the Rega isn't great (while the rest of the DAC is really good).

[Musicophile]

Welcome to CA. I'm pretty sure your Rega is limited to 48k on the USB. You need to connect via spdif to get 192/24. Consider getting a USB to spdif converter. I use a Musical Fidelity 192 Vlink that is awesome.

You were faster :-)

[Tricone]

Thanks to both of you on your replies. Right before I read them, I did reread a review of the Rega DAC, and did notice the limitations to its USB input. I took both of your suggestions, and went on the internet, reading about both the Musical Fidelity V-Link and the Bel Canto m-Link and u-Link converters. It looks like the Musical Fidelity V-Link still can be had on Amazon. The Bel Canto m-Link is on sale at another site for the same price as the MF V-Link.

 

Now, how to choose one over the other? I notice that the outputs are different . . . the MF output has a balanced XLR? and coaxial terminated with RCA, while the m-Link has a coax output with BNC connector (but ships with a BNC/RCA adapter). I'm much more familiar with digital coax RCA-terminated cables, but haven't seen any BNC-terminated ones. I assume the latter is easy to find.

 

Besides the output cable terminations, are there any differences in the units? Both seem to get good reviews.

[Musicophile]

I'm not aware of any head to head comparisons of the Belcanto vs the vlink192. The Belcanto is the morerecent design and originally was twice as expensive than the MF. Is this enough to establish it is better? Probably not. But still, at the for sale price, you are getting a really goo deal.

 

BNC is technically the better implementation of SPDIF coax, due to its 75 ohm standard. The belcanto ships with an adapter anyhow. Nevertheless, BNC cables are less easy to find than RCA terminated ones. I got the Atlas Ascent and am very happy with it, but didn't do any comparisons.

 

I'm personally a big fan of my Belcanto, but I'm pretty sure the MF will do a good job.

 

For what it's worth, here's a review of the Belcanto:

 

Bel Canto mLink, uLink, and REF Link USB Converters | The Absolute Sound

[phatoldsun]

I don't recall comparisons between the Bel Canto and the VLink. My thought is you would be please with either. I just went with the 192 VLink because I liked the older 96k version, the 192 was universally reviewed as a good performer for the $$, no special drivers needed for Mac, it was in my budget and on Amazon. If I would do it again, I'd look at the Bel Canto and maybe the Wyred4Sound uLink in additional to the V Link. Really, if you get any (192/24) converter that is in your budget it will do what you want.

Chris has a review of the MF VLink on this site.

[Tricone]

Thanks for the education and suggestions. I ended up purchasing the Bel Canto mLink, which happened to be on sale. Also purchased a set of Black Cat Silverstar! cables (USB and coax) to pair with. Happy to say it's working fine and dandy, but now I'm already looking to upgrade my DAC! DSD, eh? It's a slippery slope . . .

[Musicophile]

Thanks for the education and suggestions. I ended up purchasing the Bel Canto mLink, which happened to be on sale. Also purchased a set of Black Cat Silverstar! cables (USB and coax) to pair with. Happy to say it's working fine and dandy, but now I'm already looking to upgrade my DAC! DSD, eh? It's a slippery slope . . .

Happy that you like the mlink, i think it is a great little box. I just think you should hold off a bit before upgrading the DAC, unless you're willing to spend much more you may not necessarily gain anything beyond DSD capability. So check first how many DSD albums that you want to listen to are really out there.