Hiface 24/192k USB to spdif converter

[lovejoy]

Thanks for the heads up roob, and thank you Keith for your kind offer. I'll be sure to give you a thorough review.

[purite audio]

Thanks guys, it may not make the slightest improvement, but I would be interested to hear your thoughts, have a great Christmas and a peaceful and prosperous New Year
Keith.

[leo]

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!

Using a small USB extension lead would sort it out no probs

[leo]

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.

Bdac, if you mean the Beresford I can assure it works bob on with it

I've since tried one of the Trends UD-10.1's USB to spdif converters http://www.trendsaudio.com/index.php...d=40&Itemid=28 , obviously could only compare below 96k seeing as though the Trends is limited, the Hiface was superior imo

[jkeny]

Guys,
I've modded my HiFace for I2S out & PS replacement. These changes make a significant improvement to it
- supplied clean 5V supply to DIT
- supplied clean 3.3V to clocks
- supplied clean 3.3V to CPLD

Pics & details here: http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digit...ml#post2035822

I had previously modded my Musiland 01US & will have a chance to compare it to the HiFace over the next week.

[lovejoy]

Well, I've lived with one of these going into my Beresford for about a week now. I too am running it via a short USB extension cable as I didn't like the thought of it being sat directly onto the USB socket of my Macbook.

All I can say is that I couldn't go back to the optical port on the Macbook now. There is not one single area where the HiFace doesn't sound better, but mostly it's at the extreme ends of the frequency spectrum. Bass control like I've never heard before, and super sweet and natural treble. It's got me going through my entire collection again.

Anyone thinking of spending money on fancy optical or USB cables would be far better off spending it on one of these.

[roob]

I agree but this is still the best digital front end I have used to date.
http://www.chevronaudio.co.uk/html/untitled24.htm

[jkeny]

I agree Rich & the clock PS mod raises the SQ bar significantly to the level of very good (expensive) analogue - so this is the sound of low jitter

Yes, Roob, I would love to hear one but can you live with the interface?

[roob]

jkeny
Yes its a bit of a pain in the arse esp re ripping cds to sd cards as mine are ripped in AIFF on the mac but at the end of the day we go to extreme lengths to get the best sq, its quite easy to navigate through your library with the supplied remote.
As you are probably aware it can be modified further to take i2s output direct to dac although Colin at Chevron hasn't got around to this yet but its in the pipeline.

[lovejoy]

I agree Rich & the clock PS mod raises the SQ bar significantly to the level of very good (expensive) analogue - so this is the sound of low jitter

Yes, Roob, I would love to hear one but can you live with the interface?

I had a look at your mods jkeny. Fascinating stuff. They look a little intricate for my unsteady soldering hand unfortunately, so I don't think I'd like to attempt it myself. I was thinking along the lines of some less invasive surgery - taking a USB lead, cutting out the supply from the computer and putting in my own stable 5V. I wasn't sure how you'd go about the wiring though as I imagine that if you completely isolate the HiFace from the power coming from pins 1 and 4 on the USB port, then the computer won't actually see a device there...