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Post by ajani on May 21, 2010 13:42:49 GMT -5
No. The volume control still works as normal. Then it is not a bypass. A bypass means that there is just nothing in the way. Look at the functionality of a real HT bypass. It is just a loop if you like. Hence there is no possibility to take full advantage of the sound quality if you want to use the XDA together with a surround processor in one system. That is somehow unfortunate. A bypass in a HT Processor would be a strange feature... Generally the bypass is on the stereo equipment (Integrated Amp or Preamp); as you wouldn't want your stereo signal to go through the HT gear at all (even just a loop)... So technically what you'd want is a HT Bypass on the XDA-1.... |
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Post by jlafrenz on May 21, 2010 16:50:49 GMT -5
It may not be a "bypass" as you speak of. I was stating that in terms of bypassing any conversion of the signal after it entered the processor and before it was sent to the amp.
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Post by weeman on May 21, 2010 16:54:26 GMT -5
Would it be worthwhile pairing one of these DAC's with the UMC-1 for 2 channel listening?
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Post by Topend on May 21, 2010 16:56:04 GMT -5
Would it be worthwhile pairing one of these DAC's with the UMC-1 for 2 channel listening? This is what I will be doing. |
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Post by ossif on May 22, 2010 8:00:55 GMT -5
Then it is not a bypass. A bypass means that there is just nothing in the way. Look at the functionality of a real HT bypass. It is just a loop if you like. Hence there is no possibility to take full advantage of the sound quality if you want to use the XDA together with a surround processor in one system. That is somehow unfortunate. A bypass in a HT Processor would be a strange feature... Generally the bypass is on the stereo equipment (Integrated Amp or Preamp); as you wouldn't want your stereo signal to go through the HT gear at all (even just a loop)... So technically what you'd want is a HT Bypass on the XDA-1.... Exactly. Well, maybe this is for a XDA-2 that will then have a full digital preamplifier functionality. Right now the XDA is unfortunately a product where only few will be able to get the full potential out of it. Still for 299 or whatever it will cost I am sure it will be a bargain. My point is just that if the product would have been looked at in a wider context of possibilities of integration, the possibility of using the XDA1 as digital preamp should have brought up the question of how to integrate the product in an existing system without having to balance sound quality vs. integration. I however would never have come up with this if it wouldn't have Lonnie saying that in fact the XDA on its own is the way to go if SQ is priority. |
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Post by MikeWI on May 22, 2010 8:33:29 GMT -5
A bypass in a HT Processor would be a strange feature... Generally the bypass is on the stereo equipment (Integrated Amp or Preamp); as you wouldn't want your stereo signal to go through the HT gear at all (even just a loop)... So technically what you'd want is a HT Bypass on the XDA-1.... Exactly. Well, maybe this is for a XDA-2 that will then have a full digital preamplifier functionality. Right now the XDA is unfortunately a product where only few will be able to get the full potential out of it. Still for 299 or whatever it will cost I am sure it will be a bargain. My point is just that if the product would have been looked at in a wider context of possibilities of integration, the possibility of using the XDA1 as digital preamp should have brought up the question of how to integrate the product in an existing system without having to balance sound quality vs. integration. I however would never have come up with this if it wouldn't have Lonnie saying that in fact the XDA on its own is the way to go if SQ is priority. So, can Lonnie or others speculate on which would be better for my situation: Current:Computer -> MS HRT DAC -> USP-1 -> UPA-2 Possible:Computer -> Emotiva XDA-1 DAC -> USP-1 -> UPA-2 Thanks, Mike |
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Post by ajani on May 22, 2010 9:22:11 GMT -5
Exactly. Well, maybe this is for a XDA-2 that will then have a full digital preamplifier functionality. Right now the XDA is unfortunately a product where only few will be able to get the full potential out of it. Still for 299 or whatever it will cost I am sure it will be a bargain. My point is just that if the product would have been looked at in a wider context of possibilities of integration, the possibility of using the XDA1 as digital preamp should have brought up the question of how to integrate the product in an existing system without having to balance sound quality vs. integration. I however would never have come up with this if it wouldn't have Lonnie saying that in fact the XDA on its own is the way to go if SQ is priority. So, can Lonnie or others speculate on which would be better for my situation: Current:Computer -> MS HRT DAC -> USP-1 -> UPA-2 Possible:Computer -> Emotiva XDA-1 DAC -> USP-1 -> UPA-2 Thanks, Mike Note: This is all speculation and not fact, so please regard or disregard accordingly... Does your computer have an optical digital output? If so then I'd suspect the XDA-1 (via optical) would be better than the HRT... If you are comparing HRT via USB to the XDA-1 via USB, then I'm not sure the XDA-1 would be an improvement (it might actually be worse)... The reason is that most DACs include USB as a feature but its quality is subpar compared to the other inputs... HRT is one of the few (if not the only) affordable DACs with proper USB... |
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Post by aarheadc on May 22, 2010 9:45:46 GMT -5
most DACs include USB as a feature but its quality is subpar compared to the other inputs... HRT is one of the few (if not the only) affordable DACs with proper USB... Can you elaborate on how USB is subpar and also on what HRT does differently? |
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Post by MikeWI on May 22, 2010 10:48:31 GMT -5
So, can Lonnie or others speculate on which would be better for my situation: Current:Computer -> MS HRT DAC -> USP-1 -> UPA-2 Possible:Computer -> Emotiva XDA-1 DAC -> USP-1 -> UPA-2 Thanks, Mike Note: This is all speculation and not fact, so please regard or disregard accordingly... Does your computer have an optical digital output? If so then I'd suspect the XDA-1 (via optical) would be better than the HRT... If you are comparing HRT via USB to the XDA-1 via USB, then I'm not sure the XDA-1 would be an improvement (it might actually be worse)... The reason is that most DACs include USB as a feature but its quality is subpar compared to the other inputs... HRT is one of the few (if not the only) affordable DACs with proper USB... Thanks. I have a laptop from work in my office and it is USB out. Mike |
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Post by twilkins on May 22, 2010 11:41:22 GMT -5
Lonnie has stated that the best way to utilize the XDA-1 is to connect it directly to the amp. I'm assuming however that if I'm using the HT bypass feature of the USP-1 I have no choice but to go XDA-1>USP-1. I'm also using a turntable in my system that requires the USP-1. Does this sound correct?
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Post by ajani on May 22, 2010 14:00:30 GMT -5
most DACs include USB as a feature but its quality is subpar compared to the other inputs... HRT is one of the few (if not the only) affordable DACs with proper USB... Can you elaborate on how USB is subpar and also on what HRT does differently? I would suggest reading this article on computer audio from Stereophile: stereophile.com/computeraudio/1008servers/That should give a better explanation of the problems associated with USB than I can... What I will say is that most DAC reviews I've read, the reviewer found the sound of the USB input to be inferior to the other digital inputs. The HRT 2 models use Asynchronous USB which essentially means that the DAC controls the flow of data from the PC (rather than the typical scenario where the PC controls the flow of data to the USB DAC)... PCs are not designed for uninterrupted streaming, so you end up with a lot of jitter in most USB inputs on a DAC, which degrades the sound quality... (hopefully if I've explained poorly then a real expert will correct me)... |
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Post by jlafrenz on May 22, 2010 17:31:46 GMT -5
Lonnie has stated that the best way to utilize the XDA-1 is to connect it directly to the amp. I'm assuming however that if I'm using the HT bypass feature of the USP-1 I have no choice but to go XDA-1>USP-1. I'm also using a turntable in my system that requires the USP-1. Does this sound correct? Yep  |
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Post by MikeWI on May 22, 2010 20:22:44 GMT -5
Can you elaborate on how USB is subpar and also on what HRT does differently? I would suggest reading this article on computer audio from Stereophile: stereophile.com/computeraudio/1008servers/That should give a better explanation of the problems associated with USB than I can... What I will say is that most DAC reviews I've read, the reviewer found the sound of the USB input to be inferior to the other digital inputs. The HRT 2 models use Asynchronous USB which essentially means that the DAC controls the flow of data from the PC (rather than the typical scenario where the PC controls the flow of data to the USB DAC)... PCs are not designed for uninterrupted streaming, so you end up with a lot of jitter in most USB inputs on a DAC, which degrades the sound quality... (hopefully if I've explained poorly then a real expert will correct me)... Here is the link to the High Resolution Technologies Music Streamer (HRT MS) if people are interested: www.highresolutiontechnologies.com/streamer_ii.pdfMike |
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Post by ajani on May 22, 2010 21:10:14 GMT -5
A bypass in a HT Processor would be a strange feature... Generally the bypass is on the stereo equipment (Integrated Amp or Preamp); as you wouldn't want your stereo signal to go through the HT gear at all (even just a loop)... So technically what you'd want is a HT Bypass on the XDA-1.... Exactly. Well, maybe this is for a XDA-2 that will then have a full digital preamplifier functionality. Right now the XDA is unfortunately a product where only few will be able to get the full potential out of it. Still for 299 or whatever it will cost I am sure it will be a bargain. My point is just that if the product would have been looked at in a wider context of possibilities of integration, the possibility of using the XDA1 as digital preamp should have brought up the question of how to integrate the product in an existing system without having to balance sound quality vs. integration. I however would never have come up with this if it wouldn't have Lonnie saying that in fact the XDA on its own is the way to go if SQ is priority. An XDA-2 sounds like a good idea for persons who have more than just digital sources. I get the impression that the original plan was really for the XDA-1 just to be a DAC and not really a DAC/PRE, but that when Lonnie tested it out he found that it worked much better as a PRE than expected. Keep in mind that digital volume control is generally regarded as a bad thing by audiophiles. Interestingly, Emotiva is not the only brand that has achieved good results with digital volume control (despite it being theoretically inferior)... |
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Post by rdaneel on May 25, 2010 9:48:47 GMT -5
Why on earth would you want an XDA-2 or any other DAC with inputs for analog sources? At that point, you want a pre/pro, right?
I'm just confused.
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Post by jannick on May 25, 2010 11:36:26 GMT -5
Lonnie, any chance we can get IR codes to "jump" to a specific volume level directly? Say you are running directly from dac to amp, and have been listening to some loud music. Once you are done listening/when you turn it on next time, it would be so nice if you could just fire off a "jump to volume 20" ir code. Doesn't have to be available from the unit-remote, but just available for universal remotes to use in macros.
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Post by cheetah on May 25, 2010 12:41:56 GMT -5
Why would they sell a DAC/preamp combo when they'll already be selling both a DAC and a preamp?
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Post by DYohn on May 25, 2010 12:47:22 GMT -5
Why would they sell a DAC/preamp combo when they'll already be selling both a DAC and a preamp? The UMC-1 is a DAC/preamp combo. |
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Post by orangeLollies on May 25, 2010 15:56:22 GMT -5
Hey Guys, Just thought I'd point you to a thread I started a while back regarding an HT-bypass for the XDA-1 ... This is somewhat in-line with what some are suggesting here, although my 'want' was a single analogue bypass input, in order to integrate the XDA-1 into an HT system while taking advantage of the XDA-1 attenuation for it's digital inputs....and not to double as a digital+analogue pre-amp, that's what the UMC is for  ...anyway here's the link for those interested: emotivalounge.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=preamps&action=display&thread=11034&page=1 |
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Post by cheetah on May 25, 2010 17:31:42 GMT -5
Why would they sell a DAC/preamp combo when they'll already be selling both a DAC and a preamp? The UMC-1 is a DAC/preamp combo. But that's multi-channel. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to sell a standalone 2 channel DAC, and 2 different 2 channel preamps, and then to sell a DAC/preamp combo. |
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