Hiface 24/192k USB to spdif converter

[leo]

I've been playing about with one of the Musiland USD 24/192k USB to spdif converters as a cheap way of proving high res spdif to my dacs , anyway I was kindly offered a Hiface to try and compare against the Musiland, these units looked quite promising but seemed hard to get hold of until now, as can be seen in the trade section Purite Audio now stock these in the UK which is great news.
They are available with either BNC or RCA output, more details can be found on their website

Heres a pic of the Musiland USD, Hiface and a standard USB mem stick to give an idea of the size



The Hiface has been powered up since it arrived (16/12/09) so I've been giving it time to run in.
Installing the drivers was straightforward, these came on a mini cd and also available on their website http://www.m2tech.biz/download.html
I currently have it installed on a 32bit Vista OS, next I will try it on 64bit windows7.
The software used is Foobar2000, Hiface KS was recognized in the output options so it was selected

This is just first impressions today

First I compared the Musiland against the Hiface using 16/44.1 material , dacs used was my diy Sabre, an Audial AYAII and the Beresford Caiman.
I have to be honest the Hiface trounced the Musiland to my ears using all three dacs, Musiland has a sharpness around the edges with an added grain in the highs which is noticeable after directly comparing it against the Hiface, the Hiface gives a detailed and wide soundstage having more finesse than the Musiland , the highs are cleaner, cymbals lack the slight splash of the Musiland

I then tried 96k , obviously the higher res ones was mainly used with the newer dac chips used in the Caiman and my diy Sabre, the sound now was a little bigger, more detailed , some added air in the highs and around instruments. funny thing is I found a few 96k tracks to sound sort of fake using both Hiface and Musiland , piano's mainly lacked realism although some recordings did sound very good

I then tried HRX 24/176.4 into the Sabre as this is the only dac I have which can accept higher than 96k , I found these recordings extremely good, with the Hiface sounding the most realistic so far , piano was by far the least electronic sounding, the Musiland also sounded good but still had the slight issue in the highs compared to the Hiface, the Hiface also had more depth, the Musiland sounded slightly flat and lacked some of the realism

Next was 24/192k, I found this similar to 96k,a lot of dynamics, the recordings varied, some sounded very good and a few sounded slightly processed, again the Hiface (IMO) was better

Its nice to see USB has improved lately enabling people a chance to taste the Hi res formats on the cheap, even the standard 16/44.1 formats sound very good using the Hiface feeding three different dacs, the Musiland USD is very cheap but I could only recommend it to the diyers as it needs work to improve the performance , with very simple cheap mods the Musiland can be improved but I feel its still not as good as the Hiface regarding performance.
I'd like to compare them again after I've fully modded the Musiland with better regs and an external psu, this will obviously boost the price up

A quick note to say I'd advise care if plugging the Hiface direct into the USB socket , if a heavy stiff spdif lead is used this could put stress on the Hiface USB plug with the weight causing damage and possible fractures on the plug/socket joints, also if anybody caught the lead it could cause damage, I'd add some form of cable clamp on the pc case to hold the cable in place taking pressure off the USB plug and socket, easier still is to use a short USB extension lead
In most cases it should be fine but just incase

[roob]

I have a Hiface on loan from Purite as well. I am using it on Macbook with aiff files via iTunes into my Chevron Audio Dac. Its early days yet but things are looking promising, I will do some comparisons with the std usb and digi outs over the Xmas break.
I will also try it on my Widows notebook when time allows.

[lovejoy]

I've often wondered about having something like this for dedicated SPDIF out. I've long held a suspicion with the Mac that the mini TOSLINK connector isn't an ideal connection, especially if you're using a good quality optical cable but having to use a standard to mini TOSLINK adapter. I imagine that these adapters are using plastic rather than glass fibre and thus negating some of the good work that a good quality optical cable is doing.

I'd really like to get hold of one of these for a try.

[StanleyB]

I've often wondered about having something like this for dedicated SPDIF out. I've long held a suspicion with the Mac that the mini TOSLINK connector isn't an ideal connection, especially if you're using a good quality optical cable but having to use a standard to mini TOSLINK adapter. I imagine that these adapters are using plastic rather than glass fibre and thus negating some of the good work that a good quality optical cable is doing.

Et tu Brutus? Optical is still superior to USB, and plastic optical cables have been used in Gigahertz network wiring for years.

[lovejoy]

I think I see what you mean Stan. You're going through the USB interface and then converting to optical - hence the worst of both worlds? So how about one of your lovely optical cables with a 3.5mm connector on one end especially for Macs ;-).

[roob]

Lovejoy
Drop Keith at Purite Audio an email I am sure he will send you one to try, I don't think you will be disappointed.

[StanleyB]

I think I see what you mean Stan. You're going through the USB interface and then converting to optical

Nope. In my case I am going from USB chip straight into the receiver IC using the SPDIF protocol. There is no conversion to optical at any stage. It's all plain copper tracks on the PCB.

[Rare Bird]

A quick note to say I'd advise care if plugging the Hiface direct into the USB socket , if a heavy stiff spdif lead is used this could put stress on the Hiface USB plug with the weight causing damage and possible fractures on the plug/socket joints, also if anybody caught the lead it could cause damage, I'd add some form of cable clamp on the pc case to hold the cable in place taking pressure off the USB plug and socket, easier still is to use a short USB extension lead
In most cases it should be fine but just incase

Aye i thought so Leo apart from the white plastic finish what you pointed out was one of the main reasons i refrained from buying it!

[purite audio]

I would be interested if someone could try the 'hiface' with a Bdac customers are successfully using the with Audio Note, Bryston, Lavry's etc.
Keith.

[Themis]

I would be interested if someone could try the 'hiface' with a Bdac customers are successfully using the with Audio Note, Bryston, Lavry's etc.
Keith.

I will, Keith, but I will order one on early January.