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Model 1200 Description
  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. OK, but I have a soundcard with SPDIF output. Isn't that as good?
  4. I don't get it. How does this thing hook up to my computer and stereo?
  5. What about that headphone amplifier.
  6. That all sounds nice, but my stereo is across the room from my computer
  7. My friend told me he read that USB Audio has problems. Why would I want to use it?
  8. What are the requirements for a Windows PC?
  9. What are the requirements for a Mac?
  10. What about Linux?
  11. What kind of software can I use with it?
  12. Can I play audio CDs with it?
  13. Can I record music with the Model 1200?
  14. Where do I plug in the 1200's output on my receiver/amp?
  15. Is there any way to get ASIO working with the 1200?
  2. What is this thing, anyway?
    Technically, the Model 1200 is a USB DAC (Digital to Analog Converter). What that means is that the audio signal from your computer is sent to the SL1200 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. The SL1200 also contains a very high performance headphone amplifier, so you can listen privately without sacrificing quality. (In fact its probably better than the headphone amplifier in your stereo).

    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.
  3. 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 SL1200 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).
  4. OK, but 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.
  5. I don't get it. How does this thing hook up to my computer and stereo?
    Take a look at our Wiring Diagram
  6. What about that headphone amplifier? If its so good, can it go to 11
    It actually goes way beyond 11, but we don't want our competitors to find out. We've kept the numbers off to dial to lull them into complacency ;-)
  7. That all sounds nice, but my stereo is across the room from my computer
    No problem. Each product comes with a 10 ft (3 meters) USB cable and 10 ft (3 meters) of shielded coaxial audio cable with gold plated connectors. The stereo-link is designed to drive much longer lengths of audio cable (80+ feet), so you can extend it as necessary - even into the next room, as long as you use good quality shielded cable. Visit our accessories page for the latest list of options. You can connect several individual lengths of cable together to get the length you need, using good quality phono jack couplers. For reference, 12 foot and 50 foot lengths of audio cable are commonly available at many electronic stores and, of course, on our accessories page.
  8. My friend told me he read that USB Audio has problems. Why would I want to use it?
    When USB support was introduced in the original release of Windows 98, several companies introduced USB speakers, and the reviews were mixed. The original release of Windows 98 had some problems with USB audio, including "hiccups" and instability problems with some popular applications. As with most things, progress has been made! Windows 98SE improved in this area significantly, and all of the rough edges are gone in Windows XP. We recommend that anyone using the stereo-link make the upgrade.

    Also, different PC manufacturers use different USB chips in their machines. One in particular is known to be vulnerable to the "hiccup" problem. Again, this is easily fixed by upgrading to the latest driver. See, for example, www.microsoft.com/technet/support/kb.asp?ID=240075

    It is still possible to do things that will cause the sound to become interrupted, but often these same operations (such as doing a lot of reading and writing to the disk while playing a music file) will cause similar problems with a regular soundcard. Other processor intensive tasks, such as many games, can also cause interruptions. For this reason, we do not recommend the use of a stereo-link for "gaming" applications on slower machines.

    The stereo-link does not require special drivers of its own - it is truly plug-and-play. However, to get optimum performance you do need to be using the latest USB drivers that are part of your operating system. You may also want to look into using ASIO drivers (see Q15 )

    Apple did not support USB audio until early this year, when they released an upgrade to OS 9 (OS 9.0.4). We have found USB audio on the Mac to be very stable.
  9. 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. It will NOT work with Windows 95 or NT 4.0.

    If you are running the original Windows 98 release, we strongly suggest you upgrade to at least the Second Edition for the USB drivers.
  10. 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 in other 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.
  11. 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.
  12. What kind of software can I use with it?
    Any software capable of playing 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: Real Player & Jukebox, MusicMatch Jukebox, Winamp, XMMS, QuickTime Player, Liquid Audio Player, Windows Media Player, FreeAMP. And those are only some of our favorites.
  13. 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.
  14. Can I record music with the Model 1200?
    The stereo-link Model 1200 is a playback only device - it 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.
  15. Where do I plug in the 1200's output on my receiver/amp?
    You may plug the output from the Model 1200 into any line-level input, i.e., CD, AUX, TAPE, VCR, etc. You must not use the PHONO input as bad sound will result.
  16. Is there any way to get ASIO working with the 1200?
    High-end enthusiasts are using ASIO drivers to bypass the Windows mixer stack and ensure exact bit transfer to the DAC. You can use the ASIO4ALL driver which supports "generic" USB audio devices like the model 1200. You should use the "Off-Line Settings" application.

    If you are not already familiar with ASIO, you may find it a bit difficult to sort out. You will need both the ASIO driver AND a plug-in for your player (usually). Once the plug-in is installed, use the properties option of your player to select the ASIO output instead of the DirectSound or waveOut.

    Here are some links to help you out.