My (very) mini review of the Singxer SU-1 DDC

[LoryWiv]

4 hours ago, mikicasellas said:

Yes i was referring to connecting ISO REGEN direct to Terminator,

 

Let us know the outcome of putting the ISO REGEN with the Singxer makes a difference

 

Regards!!

Not strictly analogous, but I connected the iFi iGalvanic3.0 to the Singxer SU-1 and definitely noted a blacker background, slightly better stage. I'll be interested in your findings!

[VonLoon]

So i ended up getting the kitsune tuned demo unit, should do fine for now and i can always convert for LPS later.  I've had it 3 days now, listened about 5 hours total.  should be fully broken in as its a well used demo unit.  at the moment I'm not impressed.  Granted its pretty hard to do AB comparisons cause i need to move cords and swap setting between PC/USB source and SU-1.

 

I'm pretty sure I need to add a jumper to my NOS11 to change the PLL setting,  I think the NOS11 is re-clocking to the onboard clock ATM.  Cant find my spare jumpers right now so I'll have to wait on amazon to test.  Id be interested in the preferred settings for anyone running Audio-gd gear.

 

I'm also only using this massive dac/amp single ended to drive high sensitivity IEM's (AAW w900 currently for sale) and my cheapo superlux gaming headphones.  hopefully I'll notice more improvement when i move back to a more demanding headphone.

 

should the singxer work with windows audio?  I've got foobar running OK, but i cant skip around within a track or it it just freezes, then workers fine again when I restart the track.  Windows mixer sounds such as games, you-tube, and streaming music don't work at all.  This is very disappointing and i surprise to me.  maybe I've got some driver/settings i need to work out.

 

Is there a preferred order for start up and shut down?  I've been starting amp-dac first then singxer, then shutting off singxer before dac.

[VonLoon]

I fixed problems with windows audio by reinstalling singxer usb 2.0 and fixed foobar issues by lowering buffer length in foobar.

 

might need a new hdmi cable as well, currently  using the 10$ .3 meter cable from kitsune website.  Wish it were easier to find these super short cables in stock, sounds like length is very important.

[pkane2001]

On 6/22/2018 at 3:43 AM, VonLoon said:

might need a new hdmi cable as well, currently  using the 10$ .3 meter cable from kitsune website.  Wish it were easier to find these super short cables in stock, sounds like length is very important.

 

Here's one I've been using (0.5m). Works great, and I can't tell the difference between this and a 0.3m one. High quality and inexpensive:

 

https://www.amazon.com/Apollo-AV-Lightning-Speed-Ethernet/dp/B00HHZ4B74

 

 

[rafa]

Do we know what is the latest revision of SU-1? Maybe someone has seen any pictures of pcb, internals etc?

[Energy]

On 7/16/2018 at 1:32 PM, rafa said:

Do we know what is the latest revision of SU-1? Maybe someone has seen any pictures of pcb, internals etc?

 

Lastest one I saw was version 1.5. Strangely there were some of the newer Singxer SU-1 photos surfaced in Japan audio blogs that showed newer clocks and varied components used within. It could either be a new version or a new model. I'm not sure which.

[Duy Le]

@elan120 @Energy

I soldered my NDK clocks wrong direction and turn on power, do I need to buy another pair ?

[tboooe]

I just noticed on the Kitsune website USB driver 4.45 (I am on 4.36).  Anyone download this?  Any differences?

[Franatic]

Ooooh, I'm very interested. Have not been able to get Jplay Ultrastream working with 4.36. It still sounds better than the previous driver, but this one may be the ticket to better with Ultrastream.

Good looking out, tboooe!

[elan120]

11 hours ago, Duy Le said:

@elan120 @Energy

I soldered my NDK clocks wrong direction and turn on power, do I need to buy another pair ?

Ouch...that isn't good.  When soldering these oscillators in "wrong direction" means +3.3V was applied to the GND pin, and GND was applied on Vcc pin, that normally will cause internal circuitry be damaged within a very short time.  If you have an access to a scope, take some measurements on the output pin when they are soldered in correct orientation, and this will be the best way to find out for sure.  As a reference, below are outputs from my SU-1:

 

22.5792MHz:

 

24.576MHz:

 

[Energy]

@Duy Le hopefully it still functions otherwise there goes $50. ?

 

@elan120 Thanks for helping him out with the scope.

[rafa]

5 hours ago, elan120 said:

... As a reference, below are outputs from my SU-1:

 

Did you ever compare wave shape when use two different VR for the clock?

[elan120]

5 hours ago, rafa said:

Did you ever compare wave shape when use two different VR for the clock?

No, I didn't, I only took measurements using different clocks.

[tboooe]

23 hours ago, Franatic said:

Ooooh, I'm very interested. Have not been able to get Jplay Ultrastream working with 4.36. It still sounds better than the previous driver, but this one may be the ticket to better with Ultrastream.

Good looking out, tboooe!

Did you get a chance to try out 4.36?  

[Franatic]

2 hours ago, tboooe said:

Did you get a chance to try out 4.36?  

Hey tboooe,

Yes, I loaded it in today.......and now I can play Ultrastream again! Also sounds great. The new driver version is actually V4.45.0

https://kitsunehifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Singxer_USB_Audio_Class2-Manuals_Driver_v4.45.0.zip

It has a control panel to adjust latency. I'm very happy to restore Ultrastream functionality. With 3.34, Ultrastream worked. With 4.36, I lost Jplay ultra but it still sounded better in Xtream than 3.34. Now I have a better sounding driver and Ultrastream! Great job, Leter.

[tboooe]

12 minutes ago, Franatic said:

Hey tboooe,

Yes, I loaded it in today.......and now I can play Ultrastream again! Also sounds great. The new driver version is actually V4.45.0

https://kitsunehifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Singxer_USB_Audio_Class2-Manuals_Driver_v4.45.0.zip

It has a control panel to adjust latency. I'm very happy to restore Ultrastream functionality. With 3.34, Ultrastream worked. With 4.36, I lost Jplay ultra but it still sounded better in Xtream than 3.34. Now I have a better sounding driver and Ultrastream! Great job, Leter.

Sorry, I mean 4.45.  I believe the previous version also had the control panel to adjust latency.  So you think this version sounds better than 4.36?  I typically do not like to upgrade SW versions unless there is some sort of improvement.

[pkane2001]

11 minutes ago, tboooe said:

Sorry, I mean 4.45.  I believe the previous version also had the control panel to adjust latency.  So you think this version sounds better than 4.36?  I typically do not like to upgrade SW versions unless there is some sort of improvement.

 

Can't say that I hear much of a difference between 4.36 and 4.45, but it certainly didn't make things worse. I tried 4.43 Holo driver, first, and it didn't sound quite right --  a bit thin, as if low frequencies were reduced. I didn't bother trying to troubleshoot this. Installing SU-1 v4.45 driver fixed it right up.

 

[Franatic]

Can't say it will be better for you. I can say it is better for me. With 4.45 and Ultrastream I get a smoother, more relaxed but still very detailed sound.

 

Try it, you can always switch back.

[tboooe]

15 hours ago, Franatic said:

Hey tboooe,

Yes, I loaded it in today.......and now I can play Ultrastream again! Also sounds great. The new driver version is actually V4.45.0

https://kitsunehifi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Singxer_USB_Audio_Class2-Manuals_Driver_v4.45.0.zip

It has a control panel to adjust latency. I'm very happy to restore Ultrastream functionality. With 3.34, Ultrastream worked. With 4.36, I lost Jplay ultra but it still sounded better in Xtream than 3.34. Now I have a better sounding driver and Ultrastream! Great job, Leter.

Did you have to disable driver signature in order to install v4.45?

[Franatic]

1 hour ago, tboooe said:

Did you have to disable driver signature in order to install v4.45?

No need for me to disable drivers. The driver installation process went smoothly with no issues.

[Franatic]

4 hours ago, Franatic said:

No need for me to disable drivers. The driver installation process went smoothly with no issues.

I meant no need to disable driver signature...........at least in my system (WS 2012/AO2.20)

[Franatic]

I'm surprised there has been no discussion of the new 4.45 USB driver for the SU-1. All you DIY guys, here's a very easy upgrade!!

 

It has made a huge difference in my system. I can now run JPlay Ultrastream Kernel Streaming with absolute minimum latency. Sound is has more definition and presence........an excellent upgrade with little work and no cost. If you are running an older driver I highly recommend updating it.

 

It came out in July and until tboooe alerted us here, was not aware it was out.

https://download.shenzhenaudio.com/Singxer/SU-1 driver 7.24 update/Singxer_USB_Audio_Class2-Driver_v4.45.0.exe

[rafa]

I just installed..and I am impressed. More 2nd and 3rd level details, room reverbs and general more 3d.

 

Good to know Singxer is still working on improvements.

[bmnathe]

anyone know how to install via mac?

[LoryWiv]

10 hours ago, Franatic said:

I'm surprised there has been no discussion of the new 4.45 USB driver for the SU-1. All you DIY guys, here's a very easy upgrade!!

 

It has made a huge difference in my system. I can now run JPlay Ultrastream Kernel Streaming with absolute minimum latency. Sound is has more definition and presence........an excellent upgrade with little work and no cost. If you are running an older driver I highly recommend updating it.

 

It came out in July and until tboooe alerted us here, was not aware it was out.

https://download.shenzhenaudio.com/Singxer/SU-1 driver 7.24 update/Singxer_USB_Audio_Class2-Driver_v4.45.0.exe

I installed and compared Singxer 4.45 with the newest Holo driver 4.43 which is fully SU-1 compatible. I've stayed with Holo 4.43 as it sounded a bit more natural / organic / euphonic. I do concede the differences were small and could be expectation bias as I've been running Holo drivers since acquiring my SU-1 from Kitsune. Indeed, does anyone know if the drivers are substantially different in how they are compiled / function? I like to challenge my subjective impressions with factual data when available....?