UtterDisbelief
Moderator
- Joined
- Feb 13, 2012
- Messages
- 9,605
- Motherboard
- Gigabyte B760 Gaming X AX
- CPU
- i5-14600K
- Graphics
- RX 560
- Mac
- Classic Mac
- Mobile Phone
Well after the annoying experience of the Cambridge DACMagic XS, which I note has now been discontinued, I thought I would try the HiFi.Me Sabre ES9023:
It works very well, but sound quality is not up to the DACMagic XS (Windows) performance. There are a few more expensive models in the HiFi.Me product range that may offer better quality, but as this was my first experience of the brand, I wasn't about to throw too much money their way. The sound is very clean and pleasant but I notice some "colouration" altering what I've previously been used to. Maybe to be expected as this wasn't at the same price point as the DACMagic.
Motherboard audio has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, especially since the big manufacturers decided to use audio-quality capacitors in their sound circuitry. I think I'm getting very good output from my ALC892 onboard audio BUT it is ruined by interference from the wireless PCIe card. You can easily tell when the PC is going online for data because of "birds on the wire" noise. This is the main reason I'm experimenting with DACs. I could experiment with different wireless cards, but where's the fun in that?
So another try and perhaps another fail. Though I have kept this one as a back-up. It's very light and portable and can stay attached to the headphone lead for a simple plug-and-play experience.
Motherboard audio has come on leaps and bounds in recent years, especially since the big manufacturers decided to use audio-quality capacitors in their sound circuitry. I think I'm getting very good output from my ALC892 onboard audio BUT it is ruined by interference from the wireless PCIe card. You can easily tell when the PC is going online for data because of "birds on the wire" noise. This is the main reason I'm experimenting with DACs. I could experiment with different wireless cards, but where's the fun in that?
So another try and perhaps another fail. Though I have kept this one as a back-up. It's very light and portable and can stay attached to the headphone lead for a simple plug-and-play experience.