Schiit Eitr Preview Thread

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Rotijon, Jul 17, 2017.

  1. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    It's just that it is almost impossible that there could be a difference. Both WASAPI and ASIO are direct to DAC, bypassing the Windows DirectSound mixer, no resampling etc. WASAPI is solid, I wouldn't worry about it.
     
  2. Dzerh

    Dzerh Friend

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    I'd say the difference is possible if WASAPI control the device in shared mode. The stream goes through a mixer in this case.
     
  3. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    @Dzerh Hmmm. Not sure. I checked just now. During my testing wasapi, device settings in jriver were "Open device for exclusive access" - checked, "Disable event style" - unchecked. In win audio devices eitr properties I have "Allow applications to take exclusive control of this device" and "Give exclusive mode applications priority" both checked.

    @Im4der But mooom... I'm serious though, it's a clear difference. After getting used to the eitr+asio4all thingy into perma turned on Modi Multibit for more than a week of new toys ownership, quick swapping back to wasapi almost instantly reveals slightly muted+smeared top octave and collapsed, lifeless layering overall. Back to "asio", all frequencies are focused in one big, cohesive, smooth, emotional sound. It's slight, yes, but unmistakeable. You don't even need a dedicated test song, it's always clearly there. I never expected schiit would bundle inferior software with their awesome hardware, but they have.

    I knew you scientists and objectivists would be skeptical, but this is so important that I felt like it's my duty to share it. Because the few of you that are chasing the final few percent might actually bother to try it and will probably like it. Lmao, you guys, you make me feel like a mental patient, "Sir, I swear I saw an UFO at 4am"... :D I don't think I can add much more, I just hope I've helped someone. BTW Greetings from audio nirvana, and Valhalla 2 is awesome.
     
  4. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    BTW eitr blinks between playing different sample rate source files both with wasapi and "asio". So maybe eitr reacts accordingly and I was wrong in assuming that there is a resamplig going on, but in that case, Holy jitter does it sound different.
     
  5. lm4der

    lm4der A very good sport - Friend

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    Well, your JRiver settings for WASAPI are correct. Go figure - I can't think of an explanation for what you are experiencing.

    I'm not an objectivist. I accept a lot of subjective impressions, and I don't mean to discount yours. It is however extremely unusual to have a difference between those two things. They really should be the same. But who knows, something must be going on. Maybe something system specific.
     
  6. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    @Im4der Hm, fair enough.
    It's weird to me too, I never expected it, not after all the praise for eitr without any mention of downloading extra stuff... How apparently hard it is to stream some bits, damn.
    I used to not believe in either analog or digital cables that are "in spec" could make any difference either. Then I accidentally heard the difference between HD600 and HD6XX stock cables (y'all prolly remember my previous spamming spree over at 6XX thread, lul) and that scarred me for life. I also originally thought people comparing USB frggin CABLES over at the nervosa thread were nuts or lying, but now I'm starting to think that they are poor souls who really did hear a difference betweed goddamn digital cables. WTF, Physics???... K, I'll try to stop spamming now. I hope more people with gen 5 try asio4all v2 or some other downloadable thingy, Like... I'm honestly hoping someone with more established credibility can try this and report back so more people can believe that a difference exists at all and then people will see how much better their ultra expensive systems can be and that way I will finally SAVE SBAF AND BECOME SUPER POPULAR AHAHAHHAHAHAHAH WORLD DOMINATION IS MIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!... Ahem. Cheers guys.
     
  7. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    BTW I only got the idea of trying a downloadable asio coz I played with wasapi and kernel streaming on modi 1 prior to getting the new toys. No downloads, modi 1 just showed up as kernel streaming. Back then I heard a similar sonic difference and stuck with k streaming. Then got eitr. Only showed up as wasapi. I was like, no way, this can't be right... Ops, I'm rambling again. I just wanted to add that I'm super glad that I got the hunch to try downloading other software. My nervosa is cured and I am really enjoying my sublime new setup, which is endgame for me, unless I win the lottery or stop being a lazy a$$ and get a real carrier (not likely xD). [edit, meant career, doh... btw some day I MIGHT write a valhalla 2 and/or Modi Multibit review]
     
  8. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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  9. GoodEnoughGear

    GoodEnoughGear Evil Dr. Shultz‎

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    My understanding is Asio4All is a wrapper, so there is another WDM driver operative underneath. In this you may well be going through the Windows mixer regardless.

    https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?t=46316

    I know this is inverse to what you seem to be hearing, but there it is.
     
  10. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    @Luckbad r u sure that exists? I did try, I got the "please connect CMedia device" during installation over and over and in the end I assumed that that driver only works for actual dacs, wtf eitr. At the time I already had everything set up and connected, eitr to pc with usb and Modi Multibit to eitr with coax.

    @GoodEnoughGear Well fk.

    BTW even different buffer settings have their own sound, god ******* damn it. I like (in jriver) 500ms device buffer, 500ms live playback buffer, lower values tend to sound noisier/grainier/brittle in the highs. Prebuffering sucked least on 2 seconds though, for me. (In ASIO4ALL settings) I have "ASIO" buffered samples at 2048, again lower values sound more ****** in the highs.

    I didn't stop there, I went full nervosa these days and burned myself out comparing different number of wyrds in front of eitr, different power outlets and power conditioner position combinations and even power cords for the Valhalla 2. Here is the biggest takeaway I got from that neurotic experience: Two wyrds (as many as I have) bring the eitr up to a new level, as long as they are not on the same power strip as eitr. Seriously, zero wyrds just sounds small, in your head, smeared, wobbly bass (so much for the eitr praise). It was like, "yeah, I guess this eitr thing is rather nice" vs "WTF IT COULD BE THAT MUCH BETTER FINALLY I GOT AUDIO NIRVANA". Legit. I wasn't even that high either plus I confirmed it on the next day. Anyways, 2 wyrds, but on the same power strip as eitr still give the desired wide, tight, deep, solid, transparent bass, but also gives you a headache in 3 seconds, highs felt radioactively piercing.
     
  11. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    And just a week ago I was that guy who thought people listening to power cords, digital cables and other weird things were mad and lying to themselves. And here I am now at level 9001 neuroticism. Just like when I was a kid and thought I would never be the kind of person to do drugs AHAHAHHAHA LMAO... F*** digital audio though, seriously, it appears frustratingly hard to get a "perfect signal". I just want to hear my 128 mp3s as they are... BTW yes, even 128knps mp3s showed me unexpectedly good layering and 320kbps actually had details I had never noticed before setting up the 2 wyrds.
     
  12. Renekton

    Renekton Acquaintance

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    Oh, one more thing, back to the "asio", it appeared to only make a noticeable difference if I also disabled eitr in windows audio devices. WASAPI won't work like that. When I use ASIO4ALL, but keep eitr enabled like with wasapi, it sounds about equally as bad. So the benefit I got seems to be from the ability to disable the device. Just... IDK ANYTHING anymore. Help me, I'm f***ing losing it. For now I'm treating my nervosa by listening to my bluetooth speaker.
     
  13. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

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    @Renekton You know you can go back and edit/combine with your previous post instead of creating a new one five minutes later.

    It reduces the amount of visual spam where half a page is taken up by sequential posts from the same user.
     
    Last edited: May 25, 2018
  14. obsiCO

    obsiCO Thai Fish Experiment Gone Wrong

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    Sir, you really need to calm down. Maybe take a break from this hobby for a while, it's apparently melting your brain. As a wise man once said, enjoy the music, not the gear.
     
  15. Dzerh

    Dzerh Friend

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    Excluding psychological issues, I'd say you have something wrong with grounding at your place.
     
  16. Senorx12562

    Senorx12562 Case of the mondays

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    This thread makes me really tired. Yes, I know the cure. Just sayin'.
     
  17. Dzerh

    Dzerh Friend

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    Renekton,
    IMHO, from your description you hear EMI noise. It is coming either by wire or by air. Possible culprit is your own computer as you see correlation between software settings and sound degradation. No amount of wyrds or changing length of buffers can fix it.
     
  18. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    This is a super long thread and I wasn't able to get any results with the search so I will ask.

    Has anyone compaired the Eitr to the DXIO Pro3Z?
    Capture+_2018-06-08-22-20-43.png
    It is comapratively priced, and has using a more powerful chip than the SU-1, plus all the other features described in link...
     
  19. buonassi

    buonassi New

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    Noticed this as well. Seems to happen when my home's HVAC unit switches off. The minute my AC clicks off after cooling a zone, bam, out goes Eitr, and I'm more than miffed right now. It does sound excellent when it works. Any ideas on how I can fix this? Do I need to get an isolation transformer?
     
    Last edited: Jun 8, 2018
  20. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    This would be an interesting comparison!
     

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