Centrance DACport HD Discussions | Drop

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Centrance DACport HD

Sep 30, 2020

I just ordered this from Drop and going to pair it up with my HD 58X Jubilee. I have two questions and wish you all can give me some advice.

Is a driver still required for this device to function properly, if I'm using this on Windows 10 latest build (19041) ? Most of my audio files are in 24-bit FLAC.
I read previous comments, which stated that "use low gain for IEMs; high gain for high-end cans." Since HD 58X is fairly easy to drive with 150 Ohms impedance, will there be any improvements in audio clarity/details when switched to high gain, other than being louder? Louder is not necessarily equal to higher quality audio right?

Thanks in advance.

(Edited)

Oct 31, 2020

Al0922Yes. You're correct: louder is not necessarily equal to higher quality audio. If the volume knob doesn't need to be maxed out to sound ear-splittingly loud, low gain is enough. You can download the CEntrance univeral ASIO driver from their website. Some amps like my Schiit Asgard 1 doesn't have a low/high gain switch like the Asgard 2, which I also own, but has plenty of gain for high impedance headphones (even for my beyerdynamic DT 880 Edition 600 ohm) without having to crank the volume very high. That's not the case with the DACport HD: its low gain setting really has low gain, which is needed for very sensitive headphones, so low impedance stuff will sound loud and clear at half volume. High gain is needed for anything with high impedance.

Oct 31, 2020

raansire7Hi @raansire7 , thanks for your info! This is a really good DAC/Amp. I set it to low gain and turn up the volume control in Windows to 10% or so, which give pretty loud output, and love the sound of my HD58X now. Never thought that DAC/AMP can make such a huge difference in listening experience.

Nov 4, 2020

Al0922You're welcome. Any reason why you're at 10% volume in Windows? That's not ideal. You aren't feeding the full signal to the DACPort. It's just getting a wisp of it. Because it has its own volume control, you should leave the volume at 100% on Windows and lower your audio player's volume a half dB or so to prevent clipping from hot tracks that are close to 0 dB.

Nov 4, 2020

raansire7OMG, so if I don't set the windows volume to 100%, there may be a loss in fidelity from some songs? I didn't know that. The reason for me doing that is I want to prevent accidently increase the volume too much and blows my eardrums out. I do realized that when I plug this into my MacBook Pro, it automatically set the output volume to max.

(Edited)

Nov 4, 2020

Al0922YES! You are not feeding all the bits of resolution to the DAC, he-he. The amplifier isn't amplifying the lot of the music. You're leaving lots of meat on the bone. 😁

Nov 5, 2020

raansire7Thanks God I met you, else I'll never know what I've been missing out! How about the gain setting? I only set low gain for my HD58x which is 150 ohm impedance, is it okay?

(Edited)

Nov 5, 2020

Al0922Amen, brother! Ha-ha. I appreciate that. Yeah, I'm constantly lurking the comments to see if anyone needs help. I've been making computer music and using the Sony MDR-7506 since early 2002, but I only started learning about headphones as late as in early 2016. I've learned some stuff, so I always try to give people those helpful pointers to optimize their experience! :) Regarding the HD 58X, they are sensitive and very easy to drive for being 150 ohm, but the low gain of the DACport HD is really low gain to drive very sensitive and low impedance headphones and be able to use the volume knob's range. I gave away my HD 58X, so I can't test them, but I do have the HD 6XX and those max out the volume on low gain while sounding weak. Once I change it to high gain, they shine with plenty of volume range left. If you're close to the max volume on low gain, turn it down completely, put it on high gain, and slowly raise it to a comfortable level. Always turn it down all the way to prevent accidentally blowing your ear drums. It's common-sense, but it's easy to forget and can damage both your ears and your headphones.

Nov 6, 2020

raansire7Really appreciate your advice brother. I just started to get into the Hi-fi Headphones in 2018, and only gotten myself a proper AMP/DAC last month as I was going down the rabbit hole. Feel like that audiophile's stuff are more like an art than science, like burning in etc. Glad to have some firm guidance from an expert! :)

(Edited)

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