Blackmorec

The problem in answering your question is that different systems and networks handle files very differently. Ideally a server that streams both local and remote files to RAM, then shuts down as much processing as possible before playing the file will be a good place to start. Then there’s the SW and system you use to play the music. Something like Roon is very network intensive, so its performance will depend on how much noise the network produces. Networks can be highly optimised for audio, by cutting down noise, by removing non-audio related traffic and by setting up the network as a cascade of physical layer improvements, so the degree of optimisation has a huge effect on sound quality The amount of network noise leaking into your server and DAC will have an effect on both local and remote files, so again, the greater the degree of network optimisation from a noise standpoint, the better both local and remote streaming will sound. Bottom line, there is no universal answer to your question as each and every system is different. The most important thing to know is that the quality of the network and how much noise pollutes all the network processes has a huge effect on the final quality of the sound you hear. Many people believe that all you need is a bit perfect file structure and for data transmission that’s true but for audio, where the data file is converted into an analog signal, then into nerve impulses and conscious awareness, bit perfect is just one quality element. The quality of the bit stream’s physical layer in terms of noise, voltage polarity change precision, timing precision, latency etc also plays a major role in the quality of the conscious music your brain produces from the bit stream and resulting DAC analog output.

View Classified Magico S1 MkII Floor Standing Loudspeakers - UK Based On offer are my beautiful Magico S1 MkIIs Loudspeakers. I woke one morning with sudden sensorineural hearing loss in one ear, which rendered my entire system redundant, hence the sale. Until this incident, I had absolutely no intention of parting with these wonderful loud speakers. I had them installed in a near field listening position and had never owned loudspeakers before that could image and involve the listener in the music quite like these speakers can. In my system, the speakers completely disappeared, to create 4 dimensional venues with musicians providing incredibly realistic performances. The monocoque enclosure of the S1 is formed from a single elliptical aluminium extrusion ca. 1cm thick and 30cm in diameter, extensively braced and damped using Magico’s proprietary processes to reduce resonance and maximise rigidity. The result is a very neutral sounding sealed enclosure with no square edges to cause diffraction. The elegant top plate is extensively machined with an 3D convex shape to enhance rigidity and minimize internal standing wave reflections. The enclosure is coated in an extremely hardwearing, scratch resistant M-Cast Bronze finish. The enclosure sits on a 4 point outrigger assembly to which either the standard floor spikes or optional SPOD footers are attached. Drivers comprise Magico’s extremely extended and gorgeously detailed 2.5cm (1”) diamond coated Beryllium diaphragm tweeter, first seen on the S7, that provides wide dispersion and high power handing capabilitIes. Bass and mid-range frequencies are handled by Magico’s 17.5cm (7”) mid-bass driver that incorporates multi-wall carbon nanotube and nano-graphene technologies, resulting in a 20% lighter, 300% stiffer cone than the already great sounding MkI version of these loudspeakers. The result is an utterly seamless low bass to shimmering sparkling tops that seem to utterly defy the physical limitations of a 2 way design. In an appropriate listening room, the speakers absolutely disappear to immerse the listener in a mesmerising 4 dimensional sound-field that is frankly hard to reconcile with 2 channel stereo. The sealed enclosure makes for unproblematic and uncomplicated room positioning. The addition of the optional SPOD footers results in some of the most organic, physically present, timbrally rich and detailed bass I’ve ever heard, once again contradicting the theoretical limitations of a 2 way design. There is nothing ‘light-weight’ about how these speakers sound, being both rich and full bodied. Magico must be justifiably proud of just how full range these speakers sound in the right room and with matching ancilliary equipment. In summary, I spent a lot of time and effort optimising the network and source that fed these loudspeakers and they responded to those efforts by simply sounding better and better, more involving, my convincing, more physical, more gorgeous. I realise this is a sales pitch, but I hope what comes across is just how much I loved these loudspeakers and just how incredibly beautiful they sounded. When I lost my hearing I lost a set of keys to audio paradise. If my hearing ever comes back I would buy another pair in a heartbeat, so for the price, these loudspeakers represent a genuine audio bargain in terms of their sonic abilities. RRP £26,998 Price £9,200. (Nine Thousand, two hundred Pounds Sterling) Optional SPOD footers £1,290 Collection from Stockton-on-Tees area National or International shipment via courier by arrangement with buyer Seller Blackmorec Date 10/09/23 Price 9,200.00 USD Category Speakers  

View Classified Acrolink 7N-PC4030 Power Cable Want to run top class power cables but not happy with the exorbitant mark-ups? Here’s your solution! I have 2 lengths of Acrolink 7N ultra-high purity copper power cable for sale. One of the most popular cables amongst cable builders, both lengths are used but in excellent condition. Acrolink 7N-P4030II Stressfree Cable 4.5m. New price £110/m for sale at £250 1.7m at £95.00 or £310 for the pair. Available for collection from Stockton-on-Tees area, UK or WW shipment by arrangement with buyer Cable materials & specifications Conductor: 7N Cu D.U.C.C Stressfreex2 (0.37×50 strands) 4N Cu for Ground (0.37×50 strands) Insulation material: High molecular Polyolefin Resin (Black & White & Green) 1st Inner Sleeve: High molecular Polyolefin + tungsten + amorphous + carbon powder 2nd Inner Sleeve: Polyolefin with Resonance control powder Shielding: Copper foilwith drain wire Outer Sleeve: Lead free Polyvinyl Chloride Conductor resistance: 2.8mQ/m Cable diameter: 15.7mm Seller Blackmorec Date 07/14/23 Price Category Power Supplies / Power Products  

View Classified Sean Jacobs Mini ARC6-DC4 incl. Gaia Isolation Footers & Mundorf Silver/Gold cabling The Mini ARC6-DC4 is basically an ARC6-DC4 with a more compact ‘Statement class’ audio grade transformer in a half-width chassis. The same ARC6 module and DC4 active regulation is used, making this an absolute top performer for situations where a full width chassis is too big or obtrusive. Both AC input and DC output voltage of this unit will be set up by Sean, according to your needs (included in price). Condition is ‘as new’. In addition to the power supply, I can also provide a Nenon-built 45 or 70cm Mundorf Silver/Gold JSSG360 DC cable with 2.1 or 2.5 resp. barrel connectors (£200.00each) and a Sean Jacobs 1m or 2m PowerBlack IEC cable with 3 pin UK plug at £105.00 (RRP £180.00) or £140.00 (RRP £240) respectively. Worldwide shipping available by UPS or FedEx by arrangement with buyer (45 x 40 x 24cm. x 6kg) from Stockton-on-Tees area, UK Price £1990.00 (RRP £3,650) Seller Blackmorec Date 07/14/23 Price 2,600.00 USD Category Power Supplies / Power Products  

Hello Dan, My modem and router are on the ground floor and my hi-fi system is on the first floor across some stairs. I live fairly close to 3 appliance stores so I was able to trial many different approaches. My first was running a ethernet cable bungee style, just thrown over the stairs. I tried both the regular consumer grade cable and then some Synergistic Research Active SE, which sounded much better. I then compared a range of wi-fi based strategies including Internet over Powerlines, which was better that I expected, Wi-fi mesh from 2 vendors and finally a wi-fi bridge/extender from TPLink, the RE650. The RE650 was the clear winner, even better than the SR Active SE cable, which told me that my system needed the isolation from the modem and server that wi-fi brings. I had the RE650 set up as 5GHz only, polling off, with my hi-fi as the only client. I then added a TPLink 3 band router in place of the all-in-one ISP modem/router and dedicated one band solely to audio. So I literally had a single wi-fi channel with no traffic other than the audio system. It worked great. The RE650 is a consumer device that plugs into the wall socket, correctly orienting the antennae and getting 230V which it then rectified and down regulated to 5V DC for the actual radio/receiver. Of course the units picks up vibration from the wall, vibration from the internal power supply rectifier and transformer and the DC produced is probably noisy, given the cheap-as-chips switched mode power supply. So I stripped out the power supply and wall plug and replaced it with a DC barrel connector socket, wired directly to the circuit board with Mundorf Silver/Gold Cable. I then built an anti-vibration wall mount so I could maintain the antennae orientation without all the wall vibration. I attach the RE650 to the mount using a single point mount, which is easy to unclip. The unit is suspended on 4 untensioned o-rings. I have used several generations of Sean Jacobs DC power supplies, currently an ARC6 DC4 Mini with a Mundorf Silver/Gold JSSG360 DC cable. The pictures show the finished bridge with its wall mount, the wall mount itself and the cheap-as-chips power supply that the ARC DC4 replaced. As a part of an equally well optimized network the results were quite stunning, giving a beautiful and highly energetic 4 dimensional rendition of musicians playing instruments in a venue.

Hi Will, I don’t live in the US but do have some experience with shipping. First thing to bear in mind. I don’t know how much a single choke costs but it could be below the limit for charging import duty. If you bunch a lot together into one shipment, it will for sure exceed that limit and you’ll have to pay duty as the importer, so you’ll now need to recover import duty and shipping from individuals You should look up US import rates and limits and make sure that consolidation of the shipment doesn’t add duty and tax to the whole delivery as Im unsure if the US has lower limits on customs duty and tax. Actually distributing the chokes is quite easy….receive the bulk package, split and repack into small boxes, pick a courier or postal service, log in all the shipments then either wait for courier pick-up or deliver to their drop off point, depending on the level of service you’ve ordered. Of course you’ll then need to pay for all deliveries Then you’ll need to do a final reckoning of import & clearing costs, duty and shipment and give the consignees the means of paying you….ie Paypal etc.

I would love to talk about the other elements. Fascinating stuff because it all has an affect on how the music sounds and I’d love to understand how and why and what the alternatives are and what adjustments/settings are available and what is important when selecting a switch or placing switches in a cascade. So anything you can share will be avidly read, at least by me and TCA 😁

Hi Superdad, TCA, thanks for the above. I agree that a better understanding of this technology could be extremely beneficial. I would therefore ask that we do go into the detail Superdad suggests, as there’s currently no other thread. Alternatively start another thread about ‘`The appreciation of switch technology’ . Thanks guys

I use Mundorf Ag/Au throughout my entire network supply chain. It takes a really long time to break in and can cause some really strange SQ anomalies on the way such as peaky treble that comes across as sibilance on spoken voice, boomy bass etc. But once fully run in it imparts a beautiful holographic resolution, purity and naturalness to the sound. Regarding connectors, one of main impacts to SQ seems to be their impedance values. Certain connectors have a much higher impedance than others.

Hi Skyline, Think about your network this way. Each device on the network is converting and or resynthesizing your music data file. The better the output of a device, the better the input to the next device. At each stage, the better the input, the better the output. If your modem/router output is superior to that of your extender for any reason, the direct connection to the router will outperform the output from the extender….in other words if the extender isn’t improving the data stream then its making it worse…..logic. So whatever power supplies, clocks, transmission cables and vibration control you employ on your modem/router, you need to have better specs at the next stage, your bridge. If not, the bridge will have a deleterious affect and deliver a ‘less sonorous’ file to your DAC.

Hi skyline, Thanks for the feedback. What are you using to power your extender?

I have spent the past 4 years improving the network and server side of my local/remote streaming system. At first the improvements I heard were best described in hi-fi terms like noise, detail, imaging, depth etc. and how instruments and voices sounded more real, like I was listening to the actual creation of the music by musicians and their instruments Next came the spacial phase, where most improvements related to how 3 and 4 dimensional the music, how clearly the acoustics and venue were portrayed and how perfectly those attributes could be heard. Finally, the biggest changes came from the way I reacted to the music, the strength of my feelings and emotions generated by the music. The system became incredibly involving, making my whole body want to respond and be involved in making the music. But as soon as I added new components like cables or upgraded power supplies, that highly attractive instant involvement would disappear for the period the new components were running in and I would find myself reading and responding to forums rather than being deeply, profoundly involved in the creation and flow of the music. It was very difficult to analyze what had changed, just that there was a certain magic missing from the music, a certain attractiveness that was immeasurably appealing, something that seemed to transform the music and connect it directly to my pleasure centres. And it was absolutely clear when that quality returned, literally from one day to the next. So I don't know if you have something still running in or whether a component change has absented the magic, but of one thing I can assure you. Its not your imagination. What it is is that your subconscious is not finding the music as beguiling as it did.

Hi Low Orbit, Thanks for the kind reply. No further technical observations my side….only to say that the only reason I bang on about the network is that in my 50 years of hi-fi experience I have never found an equivalent area where ‘relatively inexpensive upgrades’ bring such major and fundamental improvements. I consider improvements to belong to one of 2 categories; cosmetic improvements, where I hear the typical hi-fi type improvements but after a couple of months find that my level of enjoyment is more or less unchanged….and fundamental improvements, where my response to the music, my emotions, involvement, excitement and enjoyment level increase with every listening session. These fundamental improvements often mean that pieces I was previously not too keen on suddenly have new qualities, characteristics and meaning that seriously elevate my overall enjoyment and mean that every listening session is improved. In my 50 years I have owned several very different systems, from multi-amp active Isobarik and sealed box systems to all tube-driven horns and have regularly updated and upgraded components, but I have never found an area like networking where upgrades consistently deliver sometimes large fundamental improvements. What also became very apparent is that the network upgrades are entirely scalable and as long as the ‘progressive improvement’ concept is followed, the improvements are very consistent in nature.

Hi Marcel, Just interested…. In terms of SQ, did you find the break-in process was a series of downs and ups, with a final big down then big up? I have gone through a series of power supply upgrades, all with Mundorf caps and the process always seems to follow the same pattern.

Hi Low Orbit, I get the feeling that if we keep on discussing we’ll eventually get a point of complete agreement. Let me try to explain the ‘improvement or upgrade’ logic that I’m seeing in networks intended for audio. A network comprises many different components and the data therein can exist in several different states, formats, forms so you are correct, there is no direct connection. But what there is is influence. These devices are all connected together, all have a sonic character and all influence final SQ. The quality of a feed into a component influences its output. The better it’s input feed, the better it’s output. This is pretty easy to clearly observe (I dont use the word ‘prove’ in deference to the objective nature or the forum). My network comprises DC4 ARC6 power supplies, extensive vibration and resonance mitigation, a cascade of ultra low noise 3ppb clock-accuracy switches and a loom of SR Atmosphere cables with all screens star earthed. A short while ago my ISR sent me a new replacement modem in order to handle their new 1gHz stream. Unfortunately its power inlet did not match my own Mundorf Silver/Gold JSSG360 DC cable, so I had to use the OEM supplied switch mode power supply. The unit needed some time to run in and sounded a lot less dramatic, vibrant and enjoyable. It was the kind of sound that would soon find you surfing the forums. Within a couple of days however it was sounding much better…not a lot of difference from how it was previously I would judge. In the meantime I’d arranged with one of my kind suppliers to modify my router by remaking the circuit board to DC connector path. He used Mundorf Ag/Au cable and a high quality connector, to give a nice low impedance connection. I returned home, plugged it into my DC4, rebooted the network then left it for a few hours. That evening I sat down, switched on the amps, and I immediately heard that the -40dB, 128kbps, MP3 based Swiss Radio Classic transmission sounded better. It instantly grabbed my attention with fuller sound and greater vibrancy. Cranked up to -13.5 dB and streaming full fat high resolution files the system has the ability to project the illusion of a 360 degree venue atmosphere with musicians performing within. Some recordings, especially electronic music can be like sonic fireworks display while other music is felt as a most warm, gentle, caress. In a few words the system took a quantum leap forward. The system became both physical and more cerebral at the same time. Big hit! So was the DC4 that much better? Well obviously yes, it was, but in addition the device it was powering had to have the ability to use that superb power without polluting it with an identifiable own identity or loads of noise in order to produce an output that ultimately produced a far more ‘tactile’ and ‘vibrant’ musical experience. But in order for me to hear those improvements made at the modem level, they have to pass through every level of the network. And the only way to explain that ability, given the variation and differences in forms and formats along the way is better in = better out, but this process only works when the device receiving the “better in” has the ability to produce “better out”. If its noise and timing specs are worse than the spec of the incoming signal, the output will be of a lower spec. So if you arrange your network as a series of points designed to serially upgrade the output, then you have a series of improved inputs and correspondingly improved outputs and your improvements start to compound, the modem making the router input better, making its output to the bridge better, which made its output to the first switch better and so on. What I’m saying is, regardless of what part of the network process you are talking about, a better input results in a better output, sound-quality-wise when the following stage is superior. Essentially what I am typically refining in my system are: Network topology to get as close to an ‘Audio-only-network’ as possible. Unrelated network traffic and activity does not help the audio cause Division of labour…..making sure there are no bottlenecks in the network, exclusivity for audio and video streaming and adequate signal strength and bandwidth for the rest Power supplies, best when all of a similar designs throughout to minimize interactions and formation of noise harmonics. Taiko posted some very interesting noise spectra in this regard. DC cabling plays an extremely important role and for reasons I don’t fully understand, makes a VERY significant difference to the final sound. Vibration and resonance control is important and has an impact at every stage. For any input that needs a clock signal, the more accurate and precise the input, the better the quality of the output, when the following clock is superior. What I am saying is that a digital audio network rewards when each stage is optimized and the handshake between modules is provided with an optimum signal ie one lacking timing errors, noise and having an optimum voltage profile. The more noise that gets eradicated or avoided, the better, because even when there’s no connections to the DAC that noise is still having a negative impact by reducing the quality of interim processes and their outputs.