Stereophile correction for DAC 8 DSD

**Randy Myers** · November 20, 2019, 08:17 PM

The new issue of Stereophile magazine announced that the T+A DAC 8 DSD was left off their recommended components list in the October issue because of bad information from a former distributor and was being reinserted into their online list as a top rated Class A+ DAC!

**jdandy** · November 21, 2019, 12:53 AM

Randy.......Gosh, now I can finally get a good night's sleep. .

. .

**Randy Myers** · November 21, 2019, 12:59 AM

Well Dan, T+A fans might want to know this and Stereophile went out of their way to announce this in the latest issue. I know it means nothing to you, but people who pay attention to the T+A gear it probably does.

**Mike** · November 21, 2019, 08:34 AM

Randy, their former distributor was a real challenge for them. I’m delighted we have David (an employee of T+A) for North America now. When you guys read that kind of stuff, you get a dose of things that manufacturers and dealers must deal with. I love dealing with the manufacturers directly and I think they enjoy working with us, money matters aside, it gives them insight into the customer market directly: customer feedback, concerns, complaints, sales, etc. and for us, no BS, no delays, we get it right from the horses mouth and we feel much more like a “team”. There are indeed some good distributors, but I’ve said it before: manufacturers and dealers interests are aligned.

**aKnyght** · November 21, 2019, 08:52 AM

IMO: until t+a updates the firmware allowing the dac8 dsd to accept dsd256 and dsd512 streams from OSs other than windows such as linux and mac, a class A+ rating is not warranted... and, this is from an otherwise very satisfied owner of the dac8 dsd

**Elberoth** · November 21, 2019, 09:59 AM

Is there any DAC out there that accepts DSD512 from a Mac ?

**Randy Myers** · November 21, 2019, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by aKnyght

IMO: until t+a updates the firmware allowing the dac8 dsd to accept dsd256 and dsd512 streams from OSs other than windows such as linux and mac, a class A+ rating is not warranted... and, this is from an otherwise very satisfied owner of the dac8 dsd

I could be wrong but does not DSD256 and up require DSD Native capability? Does Mac or Linux even offer this? Windows works wonderful for me, but as always, YMMV.

For me, Windows, Roon, HQPlayer and the T+A DAC is a perfect combo

....

By the way, the writer of the Stereophile review does not even have DSD capability, and as he mentions in the review, he had "heard" that with DSD it is an even higher level. He still gave it an A+ rating purely by its PCM capability. I know this because he is a friend of mine and at my last hosting of our audio club meeting he was pointing out to other people what an amazing DAC he felt it was!

**jdandy** · November 21, 2019, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by Randy Myers

Well Dan, T+A fans might want to know this and Stereophile went out of their way to announce this in the latest issue. I know it means nothing to you, but people who pay attention to the T+A gear it probably does.

Randy.......Just poking a little fun at you. I know you're a big T+A fan and enjoy your components very much. It is fun to see audio gear you own being recognized in Stereophile as a premium product.

**Randy Myers** · November 21, 2019, 12:19 PM

Yea, I know you are Dan. All taken in good fun my friend

.

**aKnyght** · November 21, 2019, 01:14 PM

Originally Posted by Randy Myers

I could be wrong but does not DSD256 and up require DSD Native capability? Does Mac or Linux even offer this? Windows works wonderful for me, but as always, YMMV.

please correct me if i am wrong here, but a separate usb driver (downloadable from t+a) is necessary to provide a software interface between a windows computer and the dac8 dsd...

all i am asking for is a little usb driver love for linux (roon OS) users

dsd256 and dsd512, a well advertised capability of the dac8 dsd, was a consideration in the original purchase... i was quite disappointed to learn in a footnote on page 63 of a bi-lingual user manual that this was only possible on window computers with a separate driver installed. i take full responsibility for not discovering this earlier.

nonetheless, the dac8 dsd is a fantastic dac that i am quite happy with -- i believe it would take a multiple of its price to equal or better its SQ performance.

**Randy Myers** · November 21, 2019, 01:32 PM

I agree, in my view, it would take a DAC many times its price to better the T+A.

For every DAC to interface with Windows it requires a driver. This is a difference in how operating systems work. I do not claim to be an Apple expert (to say the least), but one of the big differences between Microsoft and Apple has always been that Windows is an open system while iOS is a closed system.

What I mean by this is that Windows has always been able to use almost any hardware that become available. It requires a driver (a software program that allows for interface with the new hardware), while Apple has always tried to bake in the interface with new hardware and do not usually use drivers. Therefore they can, and do, control any and all hardware that can be used with iOS. A DAC operates in the exact same way.

iOS has baked in a standard DAC interface up to DSD128 using DoP, but anything above that has traditionally required native support, and drivers. Unless this has changed this is how it works and why the T+A requires a Windows computer.

I have never used Linux. However my understanding is that Linux is the wild frontier, so to speak, and anything can happen. It is more for the DIY crowd and should be able to be modified for whatever the user wants, so long as they have the know how.

Many server builders use Linux because it is free and they can modify it how they want. However most are not willing to develop software to interface with any DAC out there so they stay more with the standards which are about the same as Apple uses. Also, there are so many variations and customization's in use for Linux that most hardware manufactures would be unwilling to attempt to create an interface for their hardware since it would not work with many or maybe even a majority of the Linux installations in use.

Again, this is my understanding but I make no claim that this is how it currently works, however this is definitely how it used to work.

**aKnyght** · November 21, 2019, 01:37 PM

thanks for the clarification and further explanation! as linux is an open system, hopefully t+a will provide a similar driver or other software update so that the expanding number of roon OS users can access dsd256+512.

in the interim, i am happy to enjoy this superb dac.

**wisnon** · November 21, 2019, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Is there any DAC out there that accepts DSD512 from a Mac ?

Not Mac, but I think Linux can do that now...

**Randy Myers** · November 21, 2019, 02:34 PM

Originally Posted by wisnon

Not Mac, but I think Linux can do that now...

I think I have heard that as well, however I believe it is only for DIY installs of Linux and on only certain versions of Linux, not for pre-built music servers. Again, I do not claim to have absolute knowledge of this

.

**wisnon** · November 29, 2019, 09:49 AM

LDMS Server manufacturer will do this no, problem, though he and I both believe that the Windows Server version sounds better.

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