At Hi-Fi Club meeting, by necessity we usually use a computer and a DAC to feed an amplifier. The reason is that JRiver can be controlled by means of an iPad running JRemote, which frees us from jumping up now and then to select a track, adjust the volume. There is a demo folder with 45 tracks, all hi-res FLAC or DSD
Hitherto it has been a Lenovo and a variety of DACs (NuPrime, FiiO, Denafrips ARES, Holo)
Most often a 0.5m Chord USB cable is used
Recently acquired from an emigrating doctor is a Dell XPS 15 with superb specs. Loading the same music on this machine found that when attached to a Devialet 220 DAC/Amp, the sound was cleaner and more detailed
At the most recent club meeting, this Dell was attached to a FiiO K5 DAC with the Chord USB cable. Good clean sound and quite adequate
One of the members brought along an Audioquest Carbon USB cable. When substituted, the sound became brighter and even more detailed
Taking this back home, tests were done using the Chord USB and Audioquest USB with a Devialet. No difference whatever. However, if the FiiO DAC is used, then the difference is immediately discernable
Better matching perhaps? But it is there and you don't have to think hard to determine a difference. Three of us could hear it straight away
Hitherto it has been a Lenovo and a variety of DACs (NuPrime, FiiO, Denafrips ARES, Holo)
Most often a 0.5m Chord USB cable is used
Recently acquired from an emigrating doctor is a Dell XPS 15 with superb specs. Loading the same music on this machine found that when attached to a Devialet 220 DAC/Amp, the sound was cleaner and more detailed
At the most recent club meeting, this Dell was attached to a FiiO K5 DAC with the Chord USB cable. Good clean sound and quite adequate
One of the members brought along an Audioquest Carbon USB cable. When substituted, the sound became brighter and even more detailed
Taking this back home, tests were done using the Chord USB and Audioquest USB with a Devialet. No difference whatever. However, if the FiiO DAC is used, then the difference is immediately discernable
Better matching perhaps? But it is there and you don't have to think hard to determine a difference. Three of us could hear it straight away
