What is USB DDC?

Yes, my Yamaha amp has both coaxial and optical inputs.



But my PC does not have a digital out.

upgrade ur motherboard then
i think ur night and day diff u said earlier comparing with the PC speaker is bcoz of ur TDL speaker.
based on my exp, DAC didnt really give night and day diff, the biggest diff being the speakers/headphone/earphones and the amplifier used.

You are absolutely right.

I was missing the bass from the puny Edifier R401 speaker system, even though it has a separate subwoofer.

TDL speakers are famous for tight bass and very low bass extension.

I found that I didn't need a separate subwoofer for my AV system when I was using the TDL speakers.

I am getting the 'feel' of the bass now



From wiki.....

A transmission line loudspeaker is a loudspeaker enclosure design (topology) that uses an acoustic transmission line within the cabinet, compared to the simpler enclosures used by sealed (closed) or ported (bass reflex) designs. Instead of reverberating in a fairly simple damped enclosure, sound from the back of the bass speaker is directed into a long (generally folded) damped pathway within the speaker enclosure, which allows far greater control and use of speaker energy, and the resulting sound.

Inside a transmission line (TL) loudspeaker, is a (usually folded) pathway into which the sound is directed. The pathway is often covered with varying types and depths of absorbent material, and it may vary in size or taper, and may be open or closed at its far end. Used correctly, such a design ensures that undesired resonances and energies, which would otherwise cause undesirable auditory effects, are instead selectively absorbed or reduced ("damped") due to the effects of the duct, or alternatively only emerge from the open end in phase with the sound radiated from the front of the driver, enhancing the output level ("sensitivity") at low frequencies. The transmission line acts as an acoustic waveguide, and the padding both reduces reflection and resonance, and also slows the speed of sound within the cabinet to allow for better tuning.

Transmission line loudspeakers designs are more complex to implement, making mass production difficult, but their advantages have led to acclaim for a number of manufacturers such as IMF, TDL, PMC, KVART & BØLGE[2] and the like. As a rule, transmission line speakers tend to have exceptionally high fidelity low frequency response far below that of a typical speaker or subwoofer, reaching into the infrasonic range (British company TDL's studio monitor range from the 1990s quoted their frequency responses as starting from as low as 17 Hz depending upon model with a sensitivity of 87 dB for 1 W @ 1 metre), without the need for a separate enclosure or driver.

http://m.ebay.com/itm/USB-to-SPDIF-Convert...1%257Ciid%253A1

Other cheaper option without change motherboard or install internal sound card,
try (RM35) USB External Sound card with optical/digital out like this:

http://www.lazada.com.my/usb-4-channel-51-...ok-8175028.html

or ASUS Xonar USB with optical out:

http://www.lazada.com.my/asus-xonar-u3-dol...d-11856522.html

This post has been edited by azuradaniel: Feb 21 2017, 06:00 PM

The difference between the RM2,500 TDL RTL2 speakers and the RM149 Edifier R401 speaker system is night and day.

The Yamaha DSP-A3090 AV amp cost me RM4,600.

Those were 1990s prices.

A total value of RM7,100 premium audio gear replaced the RM149 Edifier system. It better be night and day.

I think the difference between an external USB DAC and my integrated audio codec is 11am and 12 noon.

Those suggestions are for converting USB to SPDIF, so you can use your Yamaha DAC. It would be good and cheap to try.

A full-blown USB DAC with SPDIF coaxial out is much cheaper than your USB-to-SPDIF converter.

The X-HDA1 PCM/DSD DAC is available from AliExpress for only USD76.

I will most probably buy this.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/X-HDA1-SA92...2698979038.html

Made in China, no worry?

A little bit worry, but no risk no gain.

I worry later u heart attack or regret, China product very very risky, the price actually not cheap, better you bought something from local store, which provide testing, this one no testing, not worth oh, if product with reputation ok la

Yeah, I think I better get something that is available locally with warranty. No need state-of-the-art.

Frankly true DSD format not much, most music still CD 44.1 16bit, listenable and billions of source available

I already got one DSD album - Pink Floyd's Animals.

I see, that's great, as long as you like it, try download cd version and compare it, but first you need a decent DAC and headphone

To playback DSD audio files, we need to install a foobar2000 DSDIFF Decoder plugin.

Otherwise it won't recognize the DFF file format.

What DAC you currently using?

The DAC on the integrated audio codec (IDT 92HD65C) on the motherboard.

Like the Realtek top-of-the-line ALC1150 audio codec, the IDT 92HD65C can decode 24bit/192kHz without a breaking a sweat.

It also has dual capless headphone amplifiers.

I am really surprised that onboard audio has come this far.

You should install SACD component and asio. Dsddif is just merely converting your DSD into PCM