Ways to improve DAC performance???

If you are ripping CD's, then use XLD rather than iTunes.

Players like Audirvana, Amarra and Pure Music will improve the playback quality over iTunes.

The biggest improvement you can make is to use either a reclocker from your MacBook or even better, use a good USB converter with separate power supply. This locates the MASTER CLOCK outside of the computer and with a good clock and power supply. Buying a more expensive DAC and still driving it directly from a MacBook will not make a big difference. Fix the digital source jitter first. BTW, I use a 2009 Mac Mini with external Hynes supply as my reference at home and at shows.

Also, you will need good USB cable, such as Audioquest Coffee or even better Diamond and you will need a good digital coax, such as my $250 BNC-BNC with adapters. Unbeaten so far.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Cerrot - Okay, tell us which USB converters you have auditioned in your system.

Ive heard your soundcard.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Linc - There are a lot of USB converters in the $200-300 range that are all mediocre. The best of these is probably the iFi or the dragonfly.

If you want sound quality that challenges the best CD players and even vinyl, you need to spend a lot more. The upgrade power supply alone for my Off-Ramp 5 converter costs $700, and I have a long waiting list for those.

Remember, the master clock and USB interface is the most important piece of the system. It makes no sense to spend $2K on a DAC and $300 on a USB converter. This is like buying the $2K turntable and $100 cartridge. Not great. You are better off to buy the $500 turntable and put a $2K cartridge on it.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Cerrot - you still didn't answer my question. If you tried one of mine, which one? And what player software and platform did you use? All of this matters.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

""The SOF packet consisting of an 11-bit frame number is sent by the host every 1ms ± 500ns on a full speed bus or every 125 µs ± 0.0625 µs on a high speed bus". If the timing of this shifts or is variable, this could elicit a different & variable reaction from the USB receiver & translate into a different & varying jitter or noise spectrum."

Certainly possible, but this does not matter. The data is reclocked externally with a free-running clock, eliminating all of the jitter from the USB receiver.

USB and networked interfaces can be virtually identical in performance. They both have buffered packetized data that is slaved from the source computer. They both have a free-running clock that retimes the data. Either one is the optimum way to do audio interfaces.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Cerrot - you still don't get it. The data is reclocked, so it does not matter.

I don't know what show you heard my gear in but it must have been 5 years ago or more and not representative of my current products. The last 3 or 4 shows I have gotten best of shows:

2010:
http://www.avguide.com/blog/tas-rmaf-steven-stone-digital-and-new-technologies?page=2

2011:
http://www.avguide.com/blog/rmaf-2011-report-digital?page=2

2012:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/empirical-audio

2013:
http://www.stereophile.com/content/another-opening-another-show

There is no hoax. USB done right is simply better, as is networked audio. I would have never gotten the awards and best of shows if this was not the case. This is not a single recognition, it is a series of them from different reviewers over a long period of time.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

"A packeted signal via USB (which mother boards do a horrible job of implementing, by the way)which needs to go trough a usb to spdif converter (okay, reclocked!) that THEN goes into a DAC is simply better than a good sound card right into a dac?"

Yes. Better than all of the soundcards I have tried, even Lynx and RME. Even reclocked with my own reclocker.

Maybe one of these days you will actually try one of my converters. They have money-back, less shipping you know.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Linc - the most important thing in any digital playback system is the master clock, not the DAC. This resides in the CD Transport, USB converter, WiFi converter or reclocker. Spending a reasonable amount of money on this is critical.

You can still have your $200 DAC, but make sure to drive it with a low-jitter source, like your Macbook driving a Synchro-Mesh reclocker powered by a Dynamo power supply. The Synchro-Mesh is $599.

http://www.empiricalaudio.com/products/synchro-mesh

Steve N.
Empirical Audio

Linc - 30-day money-back less shipping. Read the customer feedback reviews on Audiocircle:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=40.0

Thanks,
Steve N.
Empirical Audio