Today, given the cloudy morning, I did several tests with my Asus nettop EB1501 , a very complete desktop PC easily transportable, it can be a multimedia center for your hi-fi and HT.
EB1501 For now, I used only as a PC, on which I installed Linux it works perfectly. Windows 7 comes with the PC is very comprehensive and easy to use.
For now I always have the problem that I could not get a DVD-A from an album in high definition by Mari Kodama in flac format, similar to the other two I had already bought and which work perfectly in the player.
then I wanted to try the PC as a source of digital audio. As it happens, that the Asus EB1501 is equipped with an optical digital Toslink "drowned" in the audio output minijack back. The Asus utility for Windows allows you to select the output characteristics up to 24 bit / 96 kHz.
Once connected to the DAC, the EB1501 active once the digital output, then the DAC will recognize it immediately syncs and stays in sync.
The proof is rather short. First install MediaMonkey, a kind of iTunes for Windows much improved, has the nice feature of being compatible with high-resolution flac m4p and even with Apple's DRM.
A fabulous advantage is the presence of the remote control supplied as the rest of the Toslink-minijack adapter, a remote control and is as large as or even more than that of a normal TV. The functions basic (dragging, arrows, OK) work well with MediaMonkey.
The EB1501, with its about 380 euro, could be the digital source ideal, affordable handyman, but the play showed a couple of problems that can only be so for audiophiles (like me):
- The digital output is subjected to various volume controls (MediaMonkey and also that of the Asus driver). Now, I just can not understand the usefulness of the volume in the digital domain, as it is a characteristic of the analog section. One has to write code specifically for the volume control that, admittedly, is very simple in the digital domain, as well as useless. The DAC
- not resynchronized ever the input frequency, which means that the output dell'EB1501 is always 24/96, even when the original files are 16/44 or 24/88, which means that the output is resampled. No one knows how, though, and here lies the problem. An audiophile external DAC with oversampling certainly knows how to give the best results (unless special software on your PC, but it makes me smile).
The Asus is then returned to the desk, where he continues his normal work.
Mari Kodama continued on his way to another DVD-A.
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