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exaSound e18 - e20 - e28 - Info and Experiences Post All Here


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I'm looking at several small size options for audio serving to place on my audio rack next to my Exasound E22 - ethernet to small computer, then USB to Exasound. My options today force me to add $140 for Windows Pro (for remote desktop control) to a $300 computer build, instead of being able to stand up a cheap tiny single purpose Linux computer. I find I can control what all goes in in a Linux box much better than I can playing whack-a-process with Windows.

 

Not exactly sure what where you are going with a small size option but here is a possibility

Use Logitech Media Server software on Linux and then control it with your cell phone or other ethernet device

[h=1] Logitech Media Server software on Linux[/h]

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+1

Just updated my system info in my profile. Not a fancy system, because of the reality of having to deal with both video multi-channel and stereo audio in our family room, but one where I tested combinations of components to get the right combination. Marantz multi-channel pre and amp; Golden Ear Triton 2 speakers, Velodyne subs, Exasound E22v2. Cabling is a mess of various Audio Quest picked up whenever I ran into a sale. Speaker wires are some version of Synergistic Research. Did some work on managing the sound in the family room, since it's very far from ideal (2 1/2 story high ceiling, open on one side to kitchen, stair balcony across the back). The various Persian rugs from when we lived in Singapore make both great sound absorption and nice wall hangings. Got a couple of them folded up in corners as bass traps.

 

I still use a Logitech Transporter for streaming radio (we're too far away from New York City to get any decent stations over the air.) I did try routing the Transporter's output to the Exasound, and was surprised that I liked the Transporter's sound with streaming radio better than when I routed it to the DAC. The Transporter's sound signature seems to have been built around making lower rez sound better; when streaming 24/96 to it, it doesn't sound much better than 256k compressed streaming radio. When the signal went to the Exasound, it sounded decidedly low rez.

 

I'd really love to have the Exasound on my two channel system in my studio, with my favorite Gradient Revolution speakers and Krell integrated amp, but when I set it up in the family room just to check it out, my wife went crazy for the sound, so it's not going anywhere soon. There's probably an E12 in my future for the studio. I used to get nice comments from guests about the sound system before, but now I get them shush-ing each other from time to time so they can close their eyes and listen. A couple "lets watch a movie" parties ended up as listening parties. I'd love a fancier higher end system, but choose to spend my money on travel.

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Interesting setup and glad you enjoy the sound of it so much.

I also use a Logitech Transporter to stream Tidal, Spotify etc and Flac sources from my Unraid Nas which runs Logitech Media Server.

I wonder how you are routing the signal to the Transporter and then to the Exasound I found the sound is influenced by how it is routed. I found it best to not use any of the Transporters analog connections. They sound bad.

I have ethernet into the Transporter form the nas. Then Spdif from the Transporter to my E28. The E28 is used both in Stereo and Multichannel so I have the MC E28 outputs feeding an Audio Research MP1 MC analog preamp in home theater bypass. Flac, Wav, and streaming sources sound very good.

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Interesting setup and glad you enjoy the sound of it so much.

I also use a Logitech Transporter to stream Tidal, Spotify etc and Flac sources from my Unraid Nas which runs Logitech Media Server.

I wonder how you are routing the signal to the Transporter and then to the Exasound I found the sound is influenced by how it is routed. I found it best to not use any of the Transporters analog connections. They sound bad.

I have ethernet into the Transporter form the nas. Then Spdif from the Transporter to my E28. The E28 is used both in Stereo and Multichannel so I have the MC E28 outputs feeding an Audio Research MP1 MC analog preamp in home theater bypass. Flac, Wav, and streaming sources sound very good.

 

Connected my Transporter to the E22 via coax for the experiment. I'm streaming direct and wireless to the Transporter, no computer involved - no Tidal here yet... until I can get a proper compact computer close to the equipment rack. I have the Transporter in our family room connected to the preamp via the line out connections, since I found the digital processor of the Marantz doesn't sound as good with streaming as the Transporter (by itself, or with the Transporter feeding it.) In my studio system, I've got the Transporter connected via balanced connections.

 

I really like the Logitech Media Server, and use it to stream to my studio and office. In the main house system, though, it's JRiver and JRemote.

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Connected my Transporter to the E22 via coax for the experiment. I'm streaming direct and wireless to the Transporter, no computer involved - no Tidal here yet... until I can get a proper compact computer close to the equipment rack. I have the Transporter in our family room connected to the preamp via the line out connections, since I found the digital processor of the Marantz doesn't sound as good with streaming as the Transporter (by itself, or with the Transporter feeding it.) In my studio system, I've got the Transporter connected via balanced connections.

 

I really like the Logitech Media Server, and use it to stream to my studio and office. In the main house system, though, it's JRiver and JRemote.

 

Just to clarify a couple of points of interest.

You do now you can run Tidal on the Logitech Media Server without having a computer by using Ickstream.

You only need a computer for the setup.

When you say " I have the Transporter in our family room connected to the preamp via the line out connections, since I found the digital processor of the Marantz doesn't sound as good with streaming as the Transporter (by itself, or with the Transporter feeding it.) In my studio system, I've got the Transporter connected via balanced connections."

 

Do you mean you are using the analog balanced or analog single ended lineouts to the Marantz ?

If so, the Transporter sounds much better if you take the transporter's SPDIF output to the Exasound and the Exasound analog output to your preamp..

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  • 2 months later...

Has anyone had a problem using OSX El Capitan with the exaSound Dashboard. I get no sound out with, Audirvana 2+ ver. 2.2.4, HQPlayer 3.11 or iTunes 12.3. The player bar moves and thinks it's playing, but no sound. Audio MIDI is set to exaSound output and each app is set to output to the exaSound E22. Everything was fine on Mavericks and Yosemite. Upgraded to El Capitan and nothing will play thru the E22, display doesn't show it's connected. Tried on 2 different MAC Minis, one is a 6.2 i7 quad core 2.66Ghz and the other is a 5.2 i7 dual core 2.7Ghz. Both have 16Gb memory. I'm back on Yosemite and all is well.

Music Server(s):Mac Mini w/UpTone linear power supply JS-2, SoTM 200 w/LPS-1, AQ Diamond USB cable,

Music Server Operating System:Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Roon, HQP, A+

USB Digital to Analog Converter(s):PS Audio DS Jr. w/UpTone Audio ReGen  w/ LPS-1 Power Supply

Preamplifier:PS Audio BHK preamp; Amplifier(s):Parasound Amplifier A21; Loudspeakers:Magnapan 3.7

Loudspeaker Cables:AudioQuest CV8

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Has anyone had a problem using OSX El Capitan with the exaSound Dashboard. I get no sound out with, Audirvana 2+ ver. 2.2.4, HQPlayer 3.11 or iTunes 12.3. The player bar moves and thinks it's playing, but no sound. Audio MIDI is set to exaSound output and each app is set to output to the exaSound E22. Everything was fine on Mavericks and Yosemite. Upgraded to El Capitan and nothing will play thru the E22, display doesn't show it's connected. Tried on 2 different MAC Minis, one is a 6.2 i7 quad core 2.66Ghz and the other is a 5.2 i7 dual core 2.7Ghz. Both have 16Gb memory. I'm back on Yosemite and all is well.

 

I had that problem and fixed it by reinstalling the ExaSound OS X driver, and sisconnecting and reconnecting the DAC USB. I still lose use of my e22 after closing down and restarting the Mac mini, but disconnecting and reconnecting the DAC USB solves that. George said it may settle down based on others' experiences.

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Thanks for the reply, I have installed and uninstalled the driver with a fresh download about 5 times, and I have tried the disconnect and reconnect about 20 times with no change in the problem. It flat out refused to see the E22 every time. I guess I will have to stay with Yosemite till they figure out the problem and fix it. What in the devil did Apple do to the USB software to cause this problem?

Music Server(s):Mac Mini w/UpTone linear power supply JS-2, SoTM 200 w/LPS-1, AQ Diamond USB cable,

Music Server Operating System:Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Roon, HQP, A+

USB Digital to Analog Converter(s):PS Audio DS Jr. w/UpTone Audio ReGen  w/ LPS-1 Power Supply

Preamplifier:PS Audio BHK preamp; Amplifier(s):Parasound Amplifier A21; Loudspeakers:Magnapan 3.7

Loudspeaker Cables:AudioQuest CV8

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I too have the same problem with an e28 and el capitain.

 

Although the system report shows the DAC as present and reports it's serial number and I can adjust its settings in the dashboard, the dashboard can find the DAC, but doesn’t report the serial number, the panel on the front of the DAC doesn’t respond to inputs and consequently no sound is produced by the connected amp and speakers..

 

Back to Yosemite for me.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Thanks for the reply, I have installed and uninstalled the driver with a fresh download about 5 times, and I have tried the disconnect and reconnect about 20 times with no change in the problem. It flat out refused to see the E22 every time. I guess I will have to stay with Yosemite till they figure out the problem and fix it. What in the devil did Apple do to the USB software to cause this problem?

 

 

Have you tried removing the Regen?

 

Before you install El Capitan disconnect all your cables and delete the exaSound driver. Install El Capitan. Then the exaSound Driver (make sure you deleted the driver from your saved/downloads) before you install it again.

Then connect just the USB cable to the DAC, with NO Regen in-line.

See if you get any sound.

If so shut down and install the Regen.

 

See if after that you have any sound.

 

Some people have found that helps.

Ambassador for Sound Galleries Monaco and Taiko Audio The Netherlands 

Sound Test USA

[email protected]

 

Sound Galleries SGM 2015 Music Server>ROON-all rates up-sampled to DSD512 by HQ Player>Sablon Reserva 2017 USB>T+A DAC 8 DSD>Merrill Audio Veritas Ncore NC1200 Mono Amps>B&W 802D>High Fidelity Cables Interconnect, Speaker & Power Cords for Amps & SGM & T+A>Power Conditioning High Fidelity MC-6 Hemisphere>T+A & Hemisphere supported by Stillpoints Ultra Mini - B&W 802D & Veritas supported by Stillpoints Ultra SS>All sitting on IKEA Aptitlig bamboo butcher blocks - Taiko Audio Setchi active grounding on SGM & T+A

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Have you tried removing the Regen?

 

Before you install El Capitan disconnect all your cables and delete the exaSound driver. Install El Capitan. Then the exaSound Driver (make sure you deleted the driver from your saved/downloads) before you install it again.

Then connect just the USB cable to the DAC, with NO Regen in-line.

See if you get any sound.

If so shut down and install the Regen.

 

See if after that you have any sound.

 

Some people have found that helps.

 

First the REGEN has not been in the mix since this started. And, I have used different USB cables. This is what I did this afternoon, I

formatted a new SSD and installed EL Capitan, downloaded Dashboard and installed it, downloaded HOPlayer, installed it, and tried to play a selection, NO go. Installed Audirvana 2 Plus, NO go. Tried plugging and unplugging the USB cable. Nada! Audio Midi was set to E22 as were both programs. Post #911 huaklom, seems to be having the same problem with a Mytek DAC. At least Mytek seems to acknowledge there is a problem.

Music Server(s):Mac Mini w/UpTone linear power supply JS-2, SoTM 200 w/LPS-1, AQ Diamond USB cable,

Music Server Operating System:Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Roon, HQP, A+

USB Digital to Analog Converter(s):PS Audio DS Jr. w/UpTone Audio ReGen  w/ LPS-1 Power Supply

Preamplifier:PS Audio BHK preamp; Amplifier(s):Parasound Amplifier A21; Loudspeakers:Magnapan 3.7

Loudspeaker Cables:AudioQuest CV8

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Everything's field upgradable if you know what your doing :)

 

Yes it is a soldered in piece, but it's not a hard job with the right tools and experience. I recommend using a air gun as it's a SMD component. If you have no experience with this, any electronic service shop can do it. I took my Exasound to one of these places and he did it while I waited. Took him 5 minutes and he charged me $25. So was a $49 investment altogether, but brought my E20 into E22 territory.

 

The clock in the E20,E28 and E12 is a Crystek CVHD 950-100. What really matters when it comes to clock specs is phase noise in the range of human hearing. The whole "Femto" clock talk is just a bunch of marketing hype. It is based on a completely useless spec when it comes to audio. It's the jitter at 100KHZ spec. 100 KHZ is far above the range of human hearing. Jitter gets worse the lower you go in frequency. Phase noise represent jitter. So the go to spec when it comes to audio clocks is the 10hz phase noise spec. It's a negative number so the higher it is means lower noise, so higher number means better.

 

The Crystek CVHD 950-100 has a 10hz phase noise spec of -86DBc/HZ. It's pretty decent. The new "Femto" clock Exasounds uses (along with a bunch of other companies like Wyred 4 sound) uses the Crystek CCHD-575-50-100. It's 10hz phase noise is 90DBc/HZ. Only a difference of 4 Db but enough to make a drastic improvement in sound.

 

The 575 series clocks are a smaller form factor, but the contact pads are exactly the same so they line up to the same pads on the Exasound board.

 

Where to buy? they sell them all over but digikey is a good place.

 

Here's the CVHD 950-100:

 

CVHD-950-100.000 Crystek Corporation | 744-1213-ND | DigiKey

 

And here's the "Femto" CCHD 575-50-100

 

 

CCHD-575-50-100.000 Crystek Corporation | 744-1454-ND | DigiKey

 

 

Wow look at that. Exactly the same price right to the penny. Why would they even offer the lower performance clock since they are both the same price anyways?

 

1: Marketing. (good reason to buy the E22 instead)

 

2: Maybe use up old stock of the CVHD-950-100's?

 

Who knows.

 

Hi Blizzard, I did a bit of searching and found this REVIEW - Yulong Audio Sabre DA8 Reference DAC - Page 99

 

recommending this '549-CCHD-950X-25-100' 'The 950X is SMT, an adapter to the 14pin DIP outline will also be needed' would this be a later better version than the one you recommend and if so would it fit?

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To all that are interested in the El Capitan and exaSound DAC's problems, just got an email from George@exasound, saying they were working on a new exaSound driver for El Capitan, and it should be out by next week! Good news! Thanks George.

Music Server(s):Mac Mini w/UpTone linear power supply JS-2, SoTM 200 w/LPS-1, AQ Diamond USB cable,

Music Server Operating System:Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Roon, HQP, A+

USB Digital to Analog Converter(s):PS Audio DS Jr. w/UpTone Audio ReGen  w/ LPS-1 Power Supply

Preamplifier:PS Audio BHK preamp; Amplifier(s):Parasound Amplifier A21; Loudspeakers:Magnapan 3.7

Loudspeaker Cables:AudioQuest CV8

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I too have the same problem with an e28 and el capitain.

 

Although the system report shows the DAC as present and reports it's serial number and I can adjust its settings in the dashboard, the dashboard can find the DAC, but doesn’t report the serial number, the panel on the front of the DAC doesn’t respond to inputs and consequently no sound is produced by the connected amp and speakers...

 

Just installed the EL Cap .1 update and can unhappily to report that my issued is not totally fixed with Exasound's new beta driver. The ASIO driver works as expected but the Core Audio one doesn't, nothing has changed.

 

I installed the update, used appdelete to trash the original driver installation, reinstalled and rebooted.

 

Paul

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Any progress for El Capitan compatibility issue? Did recently OSX update help? Please share.

No change here either. Have to admit I haven't tried ASIO, but Core Audio still doesn't work and for me that's all that counts.

Music Server(s):Mac Mini w/UpTone linear power supply JS-2, SoTM 200 w/LPS-1, AQ Diamond USB cable,

Music Server Operating System:Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan, Roon, HQP, A+

USB Digital to Analog Converter(s):PS Audio DS Jr. w/UpTone Audio ReGen  w/ LPS-1 Power Supply

Preamplifier:PS Audio BHK preamp; Amplifier(s):Parasound Amplifier A21; Loudspeakers:Magnapan 3.7

Loudspeaker Cables:AudioQuest CV8

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To all that are interested in the El Capitan and exaSound DAC's problems, just got an email from George@exasound, saying they were working on a new exaSound driver for El Capitan, and it should be out by next week! Good news! Thanks George.

 

Sounds like George and exaSound is on it. They are good about new drivers for their products and customers.

No problems here - running the exaSound e28 Mark II with Windows 10.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
Is someone using exasound e28 + Jriver + DSP Studio in Jriver (room correction, parametric equalizer, convolution..)

with 5channel DSD files (no bitsteaming output).

 

Is it possible to get this working wirhout clicks, pops, interuptions?

Dunno but I can do it with JRMC's DSP (for bass management) and Dirac's VST plugins (for room correction) from 5/5.1 DSD and ISO files.

Kal Rubinson

Senior Contributing Editor, Stereophile

 

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Is someone using exasound e28 + Jriver + DSP Studio in Jriver (room correction, parametric equalizer, convolution..)

with 5channel DSD files (no bitsteaming output).

 

Is it possible to get this working wirhout clicks, pops, interuptions?

 

I am not currently using the Dirac VST plugin, as Kal is, but I have had none of the problems you describe with JRiver to Dirac with 5/7.1. I also do not use parametric EQ. I see and hear no use for it with Dirac.

 

I am on a PC. Are you on a Mac? I have heard of Dirac/JRiver problems with that combo before.

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