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I'm willing to buy a Buffalo 2 kit as soon as it's available. What should I choose to interface it with my system? My idea is to assemble a system to listen to music without going into my Onkyo HT receiver. So I am thinking of a preamp with a simple selection switch and a Lightspeed style attenuator feeding a power amp. Should the Ivy III or Legato be my best choice? I am not planning on balanced interface really. Edited by user Sunday, November 14, 2010 4:52:04 AM(UTC)
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Use the Volumite & Mux units for the preamp functionality. The IVY and Legato both also have SE out, so that's fine for now. I'd go for balanced out however. If you use an UCD based power amp IME you'll have a VERY potent combination.
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LeonvB wrote:Use the Volumite & Mux units for the preamp functionality. If I am not wrong, this Volumite & Mux would work with digital sources only, like the Buffalo. I want a transparent volume control that I can use with analog sources too, with no A/D conversion. Quote:The IVY and Legato both also have SE out, so that's fine for now. I'd go for balanced out however. My power amp and all my other signals are not balanced, neither is my preamp. I do not see the point in using balanced interface on short distance connections. What should I pick: Ivy or Legato? Quote:If you use an UCD based power amp IME you'll have a VERY potent combination. I intend to try several power amps, some all bipolar, some using mosfets. Why should I pick UCD power amps? I don't think Class D power amps provide high quality audio. In fact I don't think switching supplies and high quality audio are on the same page altogether. One of the reasons I want a Buffalo is to be able to escape from switching supplies inside all DVD/BD players.
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Of course they only work with digital inputs. The volumite is one of the easiest ways to attenuate the volume on the BII board, and offers a very high quality combined with a very low price. For your analog side you'll have to use another solution.
Balanced offers you twice the slew rate. Also, the DAC chip is balanced by it's very nature. Using it as such for as long as possible to transfer your signal is easier and eventually beneficial for the performance. Also the UCD modules are balanced, connecting them to the BII is straightforward and in most cases cheaper than using good RCA connectors. A simple case of 1+1=3.
And I propably can't change what you think, but you should realize that things do tend to change over time: fi. SMPS PSUs are now much better than they were in the past, and there is a BIG difference between low end and high end implementations. And an UCD amp isn't anything like the early class D amps. The UCD modules are very high performance units, easy to use and well documented. They have a very high efficiency, and are used by several brands in high end equipment. Not considering them because you don't like the switching PSU in some piece of equipment is IMO a mistake.
Last saturday I was at a demo of the Tannoy Kingdom Royal speakers driven from a set of McIntosh MCD500, C2300 and MC450. My system is at about the same level. The UCD amp is at the same level as the McIntosh MC450. I have the impression the BII DAC clearly is a better source than the MCD500, but the Tannoy speakers were better than mine even though the Tannoys had less high/mid/low balance.
Earlier someone else auditioned my DAC+amp against some Linn equipment, and it was a clear win for the DIY camp. So don't aim too low if you want to try a few amps: a well built DIY set will perform at a very high level.
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LeonvB wrote:Of course they only work with digital inputs. The volumite is one of the easiest ways to attenuate the volume on the BII board, and offers a very high quality combined with a very low price. For your analog side you'll have to use another solution. The Lightspeed type attenuator might be the one. It's more transparent than a DACT type. Quote:Balanced offers you twice the slew rate. I think you are wrong. Balanced offers twice the voltage output. S/R shouldn't be affected by it, for more or less. Quote: Also, the DAC chip is balanced by it's very nature. Using it as such for as long as possible to transfer your signal is easier and eventually beneficial for the performance.
Not necessarily. If you don't need the extra volts output, because your input is sensitive enough, there shouldn't be an audible or performance difference between them. Only long distance interconnections are benefited by differential interface. Differential does correct eventual grounding issues, but not audio quality ones. I am a professional sound engineer, dealing with location audio pick up, so I currently deal with balanced pro equipment, and I should know what I am talking about. Quote:
Also the UCD modules are balanced, connecting them to the BII is straightforward and in most cases cheaper than using good RCA connectors. A simple case of 1+1=3.
Once again: I will not be dealing with just the BII as a source. Quote:
And I propably can't change what you think, but you should realize that things do tend to change over time: fi. SMPS PSUs are now much better than they were in the past, and there is a BIG difference between low end and high end implementations. And an UCD amp isn't anything like the early class D amps. The UCD modules are very high performance units, easy to use and well documented. They have a very high efficiency, and are used by several brands in high end equipment. Not considering them because you don't like the switching PSU in some piece of equipment is IMO a mistake.
I rarely discard any equipment out of prejudice. Every thing has an application. SMPS supplies are the most efficient, but I haven't yet listened to D amps I did like. Let me rephrase this: when I listen to something I like I try to find out more about it. There were some studio D amps I went by, but nothing worth recalling. Quote:
Last saturday I was at a demo of the Tannoy Kingdom Royal speakers driven from a set of McIntosh MCD500, C2300 and MC450. My system is at about the same level. The UCD amp is at the same level as the McIntosh MC450. I have the impression the BII DAC clearly is a better source than the MCD500, but the Tannoy speakers were better than mine even though the Tannoys had less high/mid/low balance.
Tannoy speakers are serious stuff. Maybe because they are made by people that really listen to them, and not just measure them. Quote:
Earlier someone else auditioned my DAC+amp against some Linn equipment, and it was a clear win for the DIY camp. So don't aim too low if you want to try a few amps: a well built DIY set will perform at a very high level.
My aim is at high quality DIY amps, probably Borbely designs or some similar quality types.
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Quote:I think you are wrong. Balanced offers twice the voltage output. S/R shouldn't be affected by it, for more or less. Balanced doesn't offer twice the voltage output. It offers +, - and gnd. That's something different, and a fellow engineer should have known that. Let me ask it like this: if I use an circuit with a given rate of 1V/ms, and I use 2 of them in a balanced configuration, what will the rate from + to - be then?
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It's twice the voltage swing.
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