Four Devices Tested: From $2000 Down To $2 - What Does It Take To Turn The PC Into A Hi-Fi Audio Platform?
Page 1:Turning The PC Into A True Hi-Fi Audio Platform
Page 2:Four Devices Tested: From $2000 Down To $2
Page 3:Benchmark DAC2 HGC
Page 4:JDS Labs O2+ODAC Combo
Page 5:Asus Xonar Essence STX
Page 6:Realtek ALC889
Page 7:Test Setup: Sennheiser HD 800 And AKG K 550 Headphones
Page 8:Test Setup: Volume Matching And Testing The Listener
Page 9:Test Setup: Cables, Software, And Tracks
Page 10:Test Setup: The Blind Testing Process
Page 11:Results: Dragonborn / Jeremy Soule
Page 12:Results: Soothe My Soul / Depeche Mode
Page 13:Results: Through The Fire And Flames / DragonForce
Page 14:Results: Get Lucky / Daft Punk
Page 15:Results: Symphonic Dances / Andante Con Moto / Rachmaninoff
Page 16:Bonus Test: DSD Versus PCM; Billie Jean / Michael Jackson's Thriller
Page 17:Why We Need To Test Low-Impedance Headphones Soon
Page 18:Why Audio Formats Above 16-Bit/44.1 kHz Don't Matter
Page 19:Anything Above $2 Buys More Features, Not Better Quality
Four Devices Tested: From $2000 Down To $2
All of our tests were run on a PC with Windows 7 x64. For the most part, the machine's specs aren't really relevant, except for the fact that the motherboard hosting our Realtek ALC889 codec is Asus' Rampage III Formula.
The following devices are included, covering price points from $2000 down to $2.
Foobar2000 sources, with the WASAPI sources circled in red
Benchmark Media DAC2 HGCJDSLabs O2+ODACAsus Xonar Essence STXRealtek ALC889Price~$2000~$290 (including AC adapter)$190~$2 (OEM in volume)FormatExternal USB DeviceExternal USB DeviceInternal PCIe cardOn-board codecDriver version1.61Native USB Audio7.12.8.17946.0.1.7023DSP ChipCustom FPGAN/AAsus AV100(C-Media CMI8788)Realtek ALC889DAC ChipESS SABRE32 ES9018ESS SABRE32 ES9023TI PCM1792ARealtek ALC889I/V conversion 2 x TI LME49860/LME45622 x JRC NJM4556AD2 x TI LME49860/LME4562 (1)Realtek ALC889BufferTI LME49600TSCustom 4 x NJM4556D stageTI TPA6120A2Realtek ALC889PCM audio supportUp to 176.4/192 kHz samplingUp to 24-bit word lengthUp to 96 kHz sampling (2)Up to 24-bit word length Up to 192 kHz sampling (3)Up to 24-bit word lengthUp to 176.4/192 kHz sampling (4)Up to 24-bit word lengthDSD audio supportNatively supported via DoPNot supportedNot supported (5)Formally supported, but couldn't get it to work
The STX has swappable socketed op-amps. We replaced the native 2 x JRC2114D (which are also very good) with 2 x TI LME49860/LME4562, the same ones used in the DAC2.Does not support 88.2 kHzDoes not support 88.2/176.4 kHzDid not support 88.2 or 176.4 kHz in our test at 16- or 24-bit depthThe PCM1792A DAC does support DSD, but unfortunately, the C-Media CMI8788 does not, hence the lack of this capability on the card
Despite the higher product series number, the ESS Sabre ES9023 DAC is, on paper, inferior to the ES9018. That doesn't imply an audible difference, though.
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