mcryderman Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I am just in the process of purchasing my new 2 channel stereo. The room dimensions will be 12ft wide x 24 ft with an angled vaulted ceiling. I listen to rock and roll, pop, folk and some classical. When alone I do enjoy some loud music time for sure. I have all my CD's ripped in WAVE or Apple Lossless. I will get into some high rez stuff in the future. I wil be using a PC laptop or Mac Mini. I like JRiver but I may go with ITunes and Pure Music? I will be using Golden Ear Triton 2's or 3's (haven't decided yet) My amp/pream/dac options are as follows: 1. Rotel 1552mk11 (120 x 2 Class A/B) with Rotel RDD-1580 Dac and Rotel RC-1550 (Preamp)-This will cost around (2200-2400) I have a local store, I can demo product, I've had Rotel in the past 2. NAD C-390DD (tota different than Rotel, all digital, all in one solution (DAC, amp,PRE) (150 x 2) I can get a great discount. Normally 2600 and I can get it for 2150. I hear about USB to USB not being that great with the NAD and that the SPDIF s much better. Not sure. I don't want to feel compelled to spend hundreds more on a USB to SPDIF converter but if that will really make a difference. Any thoughts, insights would be greatly appreciated. I recognize these two stereo setups are quite different but similar price. Thanks in advance, Mark Link to comment
wwaldmanfan Posted March 16, 2014 Share Posted March 16, 2014 I hear about USB to USB not being that great with the NAD and that the SPDIF s much better. Not sure. I don't want to feel compelled to spend hundreds more on a USB to SPDIF converter but if that will really make a difference. Mark Where'd you hear that? I owned a well-regarded, mid-priced USB-S/PDIF converter and a good coax cable, with which I compared the S/PDIF input on my NAD M51 DAC/digital preamp to the USB input. To my ear, the S/PDIF method sounded thin and dry compared to the USB input. I sold the converter, and have not looked back. Link to comment
mcryderman Posted March 16, 2014 Author Share Posted March 16, 2014 Where'd you hear that? I owned a well-regarded, mid-priced USB-S/PDIF converter and a good coax cable, with which I compared the S/PDIF input on my NAD M51 DAC/digital preamp to the USB input. To my ear, the S/PDIF method sounded thin and dry compared to the USB input. I sold the converter, and have not looked back. Thanks for your feedback. I know the C390DD is a less expensive NAD product but hopefully I would have the same success with USB. I read about jitter, galvonized isolation, etc and I don't really care I just want it to sound good for what ifI was going to pay 200-500 on a special adapter I want to know it will make sonic difference. Cheers, Mark Link to comment
Kelly Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I use the M51 but have a bit different opinion than the previous response. I use a converter and I found it to be a very big improvement. I think the built in USB performance will depend largely on the computer you plug into it. It sounds better with my desktop than with the mini computer I built to use as a music server. I tried a USB power conditioner and found that was a pretty good improvement, but then I tried a few good converters and they took the DAC to a much higher level. Not only did virtually all areas of playback improve but it also make me unable to distinguish between my desktop and media computer. hence I think your mileage may vary with the built in USB interface. However, most people I have talked to that use the M51 agree that a good converter improves things substantially. Of course this info is only useful assuming the C390DD has a similar interface as the M51. I don't know how safe that assumption is though because the M51 will do 192khz through the USB interface but the C390DD will only do 96khz. If you want to do 176 or 192khz you would still need a converter. I am just in the process of purchasing my new 2 channel stereo. The room dimensions will be 12ft wide x 24 ft with an angled vaulted ceiling. I listen to rock and roll, pop, folk and some classical. When alone I do enjoy some loud music time for sure. I have all my CD's ripped in WAVE or Apple Lossless. I will get into some high rez stuff in the future. I wil be using a PC laptop or Mac Mini. I like JRiver but I may go with ITunes and Pure Music? I will be using Golden Ear Triton 2's or 3's (haven't decided yet) My amp/pream/dac options are as follows: 1. Rotel 1552mk11 (120 x 2 Class A/B) with Rotel RDD-1580 Dac and Rotel RC-1550 (Preamp)-This will cost around (2200-2400) I have a local store, I can demo product, I've had Rotel in the past 2. NAD C-390DD (tota different than Rotel, all digital, all in one solution (DAC, amp,PRE) (150 x 2) I can get a great discount. Normally 2600 and I can get it for 2150. I hear about USB to USB not being that great with the NAD and that the SPDIF s much better. Not sure. I don't want to feel compelled to spend hundreds more on a USB to SPDIF converter but if that will really make a difference. Any thoughts, insights would be greatly appreciated. I recognize these two stereo setups are quite different but similar price. Thanks in advance, Mark Roon ->UltraRendu + CI Audio 7v LPS-> Kii Control -> Kii Three Roon->BMC UltraDAC->Mr Speakers Aeon Flow Open Link to comment
pooger Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I'd also recommend you try the toslink output from the mini. It's limited to 24/96, and I know that the implementation varies from DAC to DAC, but I was very pleased with the SQ while waiting for a USB board for my DAC. One absolute advantage is the complete electrical isolation. Try out all the software players, they all (to my knowledge) have trial periods. Many Mac users here really like Audirvana. your room dimensions are going to be very problematic. Especially for louder music--the 1:2 ratio will probably play havoc with reinforced frequencies. I'd put aside some money for either room treatments or digital correction. Link to comment
DanRubin Posted March 17, 2014 Share Posted March 17, 2014 I would not count on getting the best sound out of the 390DD's USB input unless and until they produce a new USB module. The current one is just not very good in my experience. I'd go with Toslink or get a converter and do coax SPDIF. Mac Mini 5,1 [i5, 2.3 GHz, 8GB, Mavericks] w/ Roon -> Ethernet -> TP Link fiber conversion segment -> microRendu w/ LPS-1 -> Schiit Yggdrasil Link to comment
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