Most of the external DACs we offer are USB-controllable and provide resolutions/sampling rates of up to 24 or 32-bit/192kHz. To exploit the full potential that asynchronous USB Audio 2.0 inherently offers, it is typically necessary to replace the so-called kernel drivers of Microsoft Windows operating systems with proprietary drivers. Apple devices running operating system versions ≥10.5.x and equipped with USB 2.0 interfaces do not require any additional drivers to play high-resolution audio via an external USB DAC.
For the sake of completeness and accuracy, it should be mentioned that parts of the following information are based on information provided to customers by the manufacturer Cambridge Audio.
USB Audio Class 1 & Class 2
USB Audio Class 1 was the first USB audio class introduced in Windows®. By creating a device compatible with the Windows Driver Model, audio data with up to 24 bit/96 kHz sampling frequency can be transmitted via USB. This mode is often supported by versions of Linux and Mac OSX prior to 10.5 (Leopard). USB Audio Class 1 is more likely to work with older computers and those compatible with the slower USB 1.1.
USB Audio Class 2 is a more recent development that allows for higher data rates to be transmitted over USB. The highest data rate supported by USB Audio Class 2 is 24-bit/192 kHz, which is double that of Class 1.
ASIO (Audio Stream Input/Output)
ASIO represents a method for audio transmission within a PC. ASIO was originally developed by Steinberg in Hamburg and aims to bypass part of the typical audio path from the playback application through the Windows audio system (including the kernel mixer and the resulting distortion and increased latency). The result is a direct path, e.g., to your chosen USB DAC, with a bit-perfect, low-latency audio stream of audio material up to 24 bit/192 kHz without affecting the sampling rate. To use ASIO, the media player used requires an output signal extension (plug-in). ASIO can only be used in USB Audio Class 2 mode.
So far so good. Many sound card manufacturers (especially established ones) provide ASIO drivers for their products: ALTERNATE, ASUS, Atelco, ADI Sound, AOpen, Arowana, Aureal Aztech, Audiotrak, Alesis, Auzentech, Boeder, Behringer, Club 3D, C-Media, Creative Labs, Digidesign, Echo Audio, Edirol, E-MU Systems, ESI Audiotechnik, Ensoniq, ESS Tech, Gravis, Guillemot, Hercules, LogiLink, Line 6, MARIAN, M-Audio, MOTU, Native Instruments, Nvidia, Philips, RME-Audio, TerraTec, Realtek, Thomann, Tascam, Trust, VIA Technologies, Videologic, Yamaha, among others.
In cases where only WDM drivers (Windows Driver Model) are available, it makes sense to use, for example, the freely available ASIO4ALL driver from Michael Tippach. It is available free of charge at http://www.asio4all.com/. We recommend refraining from using beta versions of the ASIO driver initially. The driver can be installed without problems. The instructions, available in German, explain the installation procedure and point out all driver settings.
0 comments