Very simple question here. Is it possible to connect a USB DAC to an Intel NUC running ROCK? Thinking of getting something along the line of a Chord Cutest, or a Denafrips DAC. Those are both DACs without network stream capabilities. At the moment, I have a Windows PC running as a source, sending a signal over Toslink to the DAC of my amplifier (Cambridge Audio CXA60). This requires me to have my PC on when I wanna listen to music. This is fine if I wanna listen for a long time while doing household stuff or whatever. But quite a hassle if I just wanna “put on some quick music while getting ready to go out.” In that case, I just play through the NUC’s headphone jack into the amplifier but the sound quality isn’t very good compared to when going through the amplifier’s DAC.
I know it’s not optimal to have a Roon Core be the source as well, as you want to separate the two, but it seems like a good step in between using the crappy headphone jack of the NUC, and getting a dedicated streamer, to use as an end-point. Obviously, streamers with DAC’s are plentiful, and if I come across one, I would go for it, but I just would like to know if there’s the possibility to go for a DAC-only device, just to have more options.
Cheers,
Leroy
EDIT: this would also allow me to consider amps with DAC’s that have a USB, like some of the Hegel amps (something I’m also considering)
Thanks, that’s good to hear. And how does one find out if a DAC works well with Linus? Is this often mentioned on product pages? And I’m not familiar with DSD. I know the theory behind it, and how it’s different from PCM. But not sure who uses what. I only listen to Qobuz through Roon. Or local files downloaded from youtube as MP3 that aren’t available on Qobuz. Is that all PCM?
1 Like
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
5
Pretty much everything is PCM. If you’ve never heard of DSD, you don’t need that capability. Even if you have, I’d say it’s of dubious worth. It’s essentially just a left-over frill from Sony trying to sell a new format 20 years ago. There are lots of threads on this forum discussing it, though relatively few discussing its actual utility.
Of course, I also think that external DACs like the ones you mention are essentially fetish objects these days, as the state of the practice has gotten to be so good.
Almost all DACs these days that support USB input use “USB Audio Class 2” interface protocols, which are supported by Linux (and ROCK).
That is all PCM
If you have never heard of DSD, that is probably a rabbit hole to walk past and carry on.
Hard to argue with @Bill_Janssen comments around expensive and esoterica DACS, but enjoy whatever you try and it should pretty much work out of the box.
When I tried it, I ended up with some type of ground loop related, “computer” noise in the backgound of my music. That was with an inexpensive DAC. When I tried a better U.S. made DAC the noise was mostly eliminated. So I think the odds of having issues is related to the DAC choice.
I avoided the issue entirely by inserting a Raspberry Pi + Ropiee endpoint connected via ethernet to the NUC, and connecting a DAC to the Raspberry Pi’s USB port.
It works perfectly well. I have a sample size of two DACs (Benchmark DAC3, Topping D90MQA). But I believe that any relatively modern DAC will work. I have a NUC12 which has more than enough horsepower to stream with a convolution filter without the fan running. That said, I did move it to my computer closet and use a Raspberry Pi Similar device as a bridge.
A Chord Electronics Qutest works as you suggest, on my system.
I connected a usb cable from Roon Rock, to the Qutest, used a headphone amp into some headphones. I then used my iPhone through Roon Remote settings to set up the new USB connection. The dac appears in the audio section and all it needs is a name for the new audio zone.
Not a recommended setup, I would guess, but it does sound very good. I didn’t test the headphone socket on the Rock, I believe you.
