[LAU] 384kHz DAC - Monolith USB?

[Ralf Mardorf]

On Sun, 20 May 2018 13:21:17 +0200, David Kastrup wrote:
>ralf.mardorf at alice-dsl.net (Ralf Mardorf) writes:
>
>> On Tue, 2018-04-03 at 20:56 +0200, Ralf Mardorf wrote:  
>>> On Tue, 3 Apr 2018 14:34:54 -0400, Chris Chronopoulos wrote:  
>>> > i'm not aware of any configuration that will get you >16 channels
>>> > analog for <$1k.  
>>> 
>>> How about the Focusrite Scarlett 18i20? I own one, it provides 18
>>> input and 20 output channels for less than USD 1000.00, including an
>>> additional required ADAT deviceand and S/PDIF device.
>>> 
>>> It works OTTB with Linux.  
>>
>> Sure, the audio quality of the I/Os of this Focusrite setup can't
>> hold a candle to the audio quality of my RME gear, which provides
>> less I/Os by a completely different price range. However, do you
>> think you could build professional audio quality circuits at home,
>> by less costs, than a vendor such as  RME could build, by a larger
>> scale production, than you do at home?  
>
>If you got 1€ of satisfaction out of every mention of your Hammerfall
>DSP, you probably got back its price threefold.  If not its weight in
>gold.
>
>RME does not develop their own audio ADCs, they use similar converters
>as everybody else.  Their analog circuitry around it is good and
>durable, and they are pretty good with continued driver support and
>also delivered good info in more active ALSA development times.
>
>In the mean time, converter development has moved on.  The audio
>quality of quite a few setups can definitely hold a candle to that of
>older RME gear by now.  And for now.  In 10 years, gear might have
>died of hardware failure and/or bit rot while the RME keeps running as
>long as you can connect it to your computer, assuming you replaced the
>Asian power brick which has likely given up its ghost long ago but can
>be replaced by a wagonload of different choices.
>
>There have been listening tests for different ADC converters ranging
>from very affordable to very expensive.  It's already rather hard to
>distinguish boutique preamps from run-of-the-mill preamps, and it's
>much harder to actually tell apart different converters in double-blind
>listening tests.
>
>It's really more the reliability and robustness and product value
>preservation that sets apart products like those from RME.  The actual
>conversion quality, due to relying on the same kind of parts, is not as
>much an issue these days.

Instead of your blah-blah I would welcome a recommendation for an audio
device cheaper than RME gear, providing such a high quality headphone
output or at least such good line outputs, that I could use it with a
high quality external headphone amp. Tell me all about it!

-- 
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