2x 828mk3 for 16 channel home theater DAC ?

[Paul W]

Considering two 828mk3 daisy-chained for use as 16 channel 24x192 DACs. Would be used with a Win 7 64 bit box, Firewire 1394a via a TI TSB43AB23 chip. Source would be JRiver MC18 which would do most of the processing, the 828s serving primarily as DACs.

1. Would this setup reliably achieve 16 channels at 24x192? (Don't want flaky performance.)

2. What would be the (subjective) SQ difference between a pair of 828s and a Lynx Aurora 16, AES16e?

3. Since I am new to these products, could I "test the water" by first trying a single 828 on the front LCRs (bi-amped by JR) with the surround channels handled by the mobo Realtek HD audio?

4. Other products to consider?

5. What else I should be thinking about?

[HCMarkus]

It strike me the MOTU is not your best bet, as it is designed for different applications and has functionality you will never use. You need conversion and a high quality multi-channel analog attenuator between your D to A and your Amp/Speakers to maintain resolution at all volumes.

[Paul W]

This is for a dedicated room & volume doesn't vary much...mostly on/off. The power amps have level controls so the D/A can run as needed.

Agree the 828 has a huge feature set I don't need. What do you recommend?

[4stripes]

For the same price you could get an Alpha-Link MX 4-16 and MADI card bundle: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/ ... 4AodGTQA1w, ah but I see that's up to 96k. PCIe is likely more reliable than FireWire though especially at 192k.

I'm suspicious that you will not ever want to change the volume though! Every system needs a volume control, and doing it from power amps seems awkward if they aren't ganged together.

Benchmark DAC16 is probably your highest quality option and has a few different interface cards.