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Models 1200 & 1300 FAQ
  1. What is this thing, anyway?
  2. Why can't I just run an audio cable from my sound card to my Home Stereo?
  3. I have a soundcard with SPDIF output. Isn't that as good?
  4. What if my audio equipment is across the room from my computer
  5. What are the requirements for a Windows PC?
  6. What are the requirements for a Mac?
  7. What about Linux?
  8. What kind of software can I use with it?
  9. Can I play audio CDs with it?
  10. Can I record music with the Model 1200?
  11. Where do I plug the stereo-link's outputs on my receiver/amp?
  12. Can I still use my computer speakers?
  13. Does the line out get disconnected when I plug in headphones?
  14. What is ASIO and can I use it with stereo-link models?
  15. What if I also want to use my soundcard?
  16. I want to transfer my CDs to my computer without losing any quality. What do you recommend?
  1. What is this thing, anyway?
    Technically, Models 1200,1300 and 1400 are USB DACs (Digital to Analog Converters). What that means is that the audio signal from your computer is sent to the stereo-link in pure digital form, bypassing any soundcard you may have. It is converted to an analog audio signal using a 20-bit DAC, isolated from all the electrical noise inside the computer. The "line out" signal conforms to that of standard home audio equipment, but has been designed to drive very long lengths of audio cable, so you don't need to have your computer right next to your audio system. It will even drive 600 ohm loads commonly used in Pro equipment. The stereo-link also features a very high performance headphone amplifier, so you can listen privately without sacrificing quality. (If headphone listening is a top priority for you, you owe it to yourself to consider our Model 1400HD).

    stereo-link products are designed to be audio components for your computer. They are high-performance alternatives to the built-in or lower quality add-on "sound" products found on most PC's. Easy to install and designed for music, they were developed by people who have been making professional and high-end audio products for many years.
  2. Why can't I just run an audio cable from my sound card to my Home Stereo?
    You can, but you probably won't like the results. Many sound cards do not perform at audio-quality levels - producing lots of distortion and noise. They can be great for games, but not for real music. (Independent laboratory tests have shown that even the best Professional Audio Sound Cards, selling from $200 to $500+ and rated at the new 24-Bit industry standard, actually measure less than 16-Bit performance, and measurements on typical Sound Cards are much worse.)

    Further, the inside of a computer is electrically a very noisy place, and the power supplies are full of digital noise from the processor, disk drives, and other computer components. Sound cards can transfer that noise into their audio output. Many people also experience "hum" from ground loop problems when connecting their sound card to their stereo.

    The stereo-link lives outside of your computer, connected with a clean, digital USB interface. It has its own quiet power supply and special isolation circuitry. It has excellent 20-bit DACs and operates at the "true" sampling rate of the recording, with no resampling (See item 3 for more on this re-sampling thing).
  3. I have a soundcard with SPDIF output. Isn't that as good?
    Anyone who has been seriously looking at the performance of sound cards can tell you that what comes out of the S/PDIF output is probably not a very "clean" copy of the original. Many of the most popular soundcards perform all of their internal "processing" at a 48 kHz sampling rate, which is NOT the rate that most music (MP3's & CDs, for example) are recorded at. This means the music undergoes a sample rate conversion, which introduces a significant amount of distortion. Professional products that are designed to do this conversion correctly can cost thousands of dollars. Obviously your sound card isn't in that league. You can see examples of the problem by visiting our page.

    Also, when you use coaxial SPDIF, you are connecting the computer's ground to your stereo system - not a terribly good idea. So the obvious question is, "won't the stereo-link have the same problem with the USB?" We've taken care of that by incorporating isolation circuitry to keep the computer ground separate from the analog output.
  4. What if my audio equipment is across the room from my computer
    The stereo-link is designed to drive long lengths of audio cable (up to 100 feet) without degrading the quality of the sound. For best results you should use high quality cables, such as our StudioSeries line of interconnects. Our model 1300 premium package has been designed with this application in mind. You can select cable lengths between 10' and 75'. These cables are also available separately - see our Accessories page for details
  5. What are the requirements for a Windows PC?
    Hardware Requirements:
    stereo-link products are designed to work with any Windows PC with a built-in USB port, including the most recent "legacy-free" machines. You can also add USB capability to older machines. For this you will need to purchase and install a USB PCI adapter, available at most computer stores.

    Software Requirements:
    Support for USB Audio is available only with Windows 98, 98 SE, ME, Windows 2000, XP and Vista. It will NOT work with Windows 95 or NT 4.0.

    If you are running the original Windows 98 release, you must upgrade to at least the Second Edition for the USB drivers to function properly.
  6. What are the requirements for a Mac?
    Hardware Requirements:
    stereo-link products are designed to work with any Mac that has a built-in USB port (eg iMac, iBook, G3/G4/G5, Cube, Mini, etc). USB Audio is only supported on machines that have built-in USB ports. A USB adapter card installed on older (pre-iMac) Macs may support other USB functions, but not USB Audio.

    Software Requirements:
    Support for USB Audio is available only with Mac OS 9.0.4 and above, or Mac OS X, with 1.0.4f8 or higher of the USB Audio Drivers. To find out what Mac OS version you have, open the Apple Menu, then click on About This Computer. If you have a version earlier than OS 9, you will need to upgrade to OS 9 first. You can update to 9.0.4 or higher from OS 9 by us the Software Update control panel.
  7. What about Linux?
    USB Audio is supported in Version 2.4.x of the Kernel. The USB Audio drivers may be directly compiled in or as modules. For more information about Linux USB see The Linux USB Project.
  8. What kind of software can I use with it?
    Any software capable of playing audio (or video and audio) on your PC or Mac should be compatible with stereo-link products. This means it will never become obsolete, and you don't have to worry about new formats coming out. Examples of compatible software are: iTunes, Windows Media Player, Foobar2000, Real Player, MusicMatch, Winamp, WinDVD, MediaJukebox. Its also compatible with editing software, such as Adobe Audition, and many DJ programs, including OTS. And those are only some of the most popular.
  9. Can I play audio CDs with it?
    You can turn your PC into a high quality CD player with the SL1200. To do so, you must have a CD ROM drive that supports Digital Audio Extraction (DAE). CD ROM drives vary in their ability; all CD Recordable drives are capable of DAE, while not all CD ROM drives are.

    Windows:
    To use your CD Drive as an audio CD player, you need to configure it for Direct Digital Connection. If your CD ROM DOES NOT support Digital Audio Extraction, these items will not be available and appear greyed out on your Multimedia/CD Audio control panel.

    Mac:
    Newer Mac computers use digital audio CD playback, and are therefore compatible with USB audio. On these computers, you do not need to select the CD as the input source in the Sound control panel or Control Strip to listen to audio CDs.
  10. Can I record music with the Model 1200 or 1300?
    The stereo-link Models 1200 & 1300 are playback only devices - they will not record sound onto your PC.

    We are developing other products, but do not have firm introduction dates at this time. Please visit our website from time to time to find out the latest.

    If there are specific features you would like to see, please let us know, as we are always interested in getting customer input.
  11. Where do I plug the stereo-link's outputs on my receiver/amp?
    You may plug the output from the stereo-link into any line-level input, i.e., CD, AUX, TAPE, VCR, etc. You must not use the PHONO input as bad sound will result.
  12. Can I still use my computer speakers?
    Yes. If you want to keep them connected to your sound card (necessary for speakers built into laptops), see question What if I also want to use my soundcard?
    You can also connect them to the headphone jack on the stereo-link, see Does the line out get disconnected when I plug in headphones?for ideas.
  13. Does the line out get disconnected when I plug in headphones?
    No, both the line out and headphone out operate simultaneously. The headphone amplifier has its own volume control, so it can be adjusted without affecting the level of the line out.

    You can also use the headphone output jack to drive your powered computer speakers. This can be usefull when you have your stereo set up in the next room and you also want to get sound locally on your desktop.
  14. What is ASIO and can I use it with stereo-link models?
    ASIO are a type of low-latency audio drivers for Windows. They were originally developed by Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH to facilitate recording and editing on the PC. High-end enthusiasts have started using ASIO drivers because they bypass the Windows mixer stack and ensure exact bit transfer to the DAC. A free version ASIO4ALL has been developed by Michael Tippach, and it supports "generic" USB audio devices like the stereo-link DACs.

    The information needed to get started is a bit difficult to find in one place. We hope the following brief introduction will help.
    You will need both the ASIO4ALL driver AND a compatible plug-in for your player (usually). Once the plug-in is installed, you will need to use the properties option of your player to select the ASIO output instead of the DirectSound or waveOut. Several popular players have plug-ins written for them, and we have used it successfully with Winamp and foobar200 players. Begining with V0.9, foobar2000 provides an optional ASIO pugin, which must be downloaded separateley.

    To get things started, we recommend using the links below and trying the popular foobar2000 player. Once the driver dll is installed, it will appear as one of the options under Playback->Output on the Preferences menu. Select ASIO (dll version). Then on the Playback menu, make certain the Output Data Format is set to "32 bit fixed point", otherwise you will get an error when you try and play a file.

    Use the "Off-Line Settings" application for ASIO4All to select the stereo-link as the active device. You should select a buffer size of at least 512, more if you find that you are getting pauses.

    When using ASIO, the WAVE and CD volume controls on the Windows mixer will be disabled. This is a simple way of checking that the ASIO driver is active. The "Speaker" or master volume control will still work; that volume control is in the stereo-link DAC, not the Windows mixer. If you get occaisonal skips, increase the buffer sizes in the player as well as the driver. The default buffers size is often too small.

    Here are some links to help you out.
  15. What if I also want to use my soundcard?
    All versions of Windows support multiple audio devices, as does Mac OS. For example, when the stereo-link is connected, Windows will recognize it as a new device, but also keeps your existing devices, such as built-in sound cards active. In most cases, you can manually select which device you want the sound to play out via your player software's preferences. When you make the stereo-link your default playback device (Control Panel -> Sounds and Audio Devices -> Audio ->Sound Playback) and check the "Use only default device", the stereo-link will audtomatically be the active device whenever it is connected.

    It is also possible to run sound out of two or more devices simultaneously. See the topic on our support page for details.
  16. I want to transfer my CDs to my computer without losing any quality. What do you recommend?
    With storage cost under $1/Gbyte, you no longer need to use highly compressed formats such as mp3 and wma to fit your collection onto your hard drive. Lossless formats are now readily available, and are built-in options on the two most popular players, iTunes and WindowsMedia. Two of the most popular stand-alone formats are Monkey's Audio and FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec) . A good free player for the Windows platform that supports both of these formats is Foobar2000 foobar2000 audio player

    No matter what format you choose, the most important first step is to properly "rip" the CD without errors. One of the best programs for doing this remains Exact Audio Copy .
    For an excelent article of this program, see Exact Audio Copy for Moonies and other Dummies on 6moons.com on-line audio magazine.

    . .



Last updated Feb 15, 2007