Jump to content
IGNORED

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


Recommended Posts

  • 5 months later...
  • 2 weeks later...
  • 5 months later...

I have developed annoying background hiss somewhere in my chain that is hard to diagnose. I am considering trying to reduce USB noise from the PC by adding an iFi iSilencer between PC USB out and SU-1 USB in. My question is whether the SU-1 itself would be expected to reduce USB noise from the PC input before data signal is output I2S to my DAC, in which case iSilencer before the SU-1 is redundant. Alternatively, if the SU-1 does jitter reduction, reclocking etc... but nothing to reduce USB bus noise originating from the PC, iSilencer may be worth a try.

 

Thoughts / recommendations appreciated.

Desktop: HQ Player --> Singxer SU-1 --> Matrix X-Sabre Pro --> McChanson SuperSilver UltimatE

Headphones: Audeze MM-500, Meze Audio Elite, Focal Utopia 2022, Focal Bathys (Wireless)

Portable Gear: Hiby RS6, xDuoo XD05 Bal 2, FiiO BTR7, Creative BT-W5, FiiTii HiFiDots TWS

Nearfield Active Speakers: Audioengine HD3 

Power Conditioning: Furman Elite-15 PFi

Link to comment
  • 5 months later...
  • 3 years later...
On 5/11/2017 at 11:31 AM, pkane2001 said:

 

Today was a good day. Got the new firmware v2.22 for SU-1 and was able run DSD512 natively to my DAC. Sounds really nice, an obvious, although not huge improvement.

 

Later in the day, I found my Sparkos Labs SS1117xx regulator in the mail. I went ahead and unsoldered LD1086 without problems. I cheated and got a rework workstation with a hot air gun -- makes unsoldering SMD components really easy! My excuse was that I needed a new soldering iron anyway, and this workstation was only $59 :)

 

IMG_2155.thumb.jpg.53a982ae2dce8ca09b1f3d5eddecb29d.jpgIMG_2159.thumb.jpg.5f310dac53e09bc666209951f2a82e99.jpg

 

I then carefully bent the SS1117xx regulator legs, making sure that the pins were aligned correctly and used the soldering iron to fix it in place. This actually was a bit trickier to do, as there is little room to work in between Sparkos and the PCB and I didn't take the PCB out of the SU-1 case.

 

IMG_2161.thumb.jpg.c1246fa40e35ab21613628aac97358bc.jpg

 

Tried this out in my system, and it really was as everyone said: the change is not subtle! I'm still using the iFi 5v supply, so perhaps the change would be less obvious with an LPS-1. But for me, it's a major step up in SQ. If the change from DSD256 to 512 was about 5% improvement in SQ, the relative change to Sparkos 3.3v regulator was closer to 20%. I'm not kidding! The bass became a lot punchier -- almost visceral, like I added a subwoofer. The air around instruments became more obvious, all the sounds seemed natural. On a good recording, there was nothing I could hear that didn't feel just right.

 

I'm sure I'll discover more things I need to improve later ;), but for now,  I'm a happy camper. Thanks to everyone who recommended and explained this mod in detail, it really was worth doing it!

I know this was a long time ago, but do remember the procedure to update the Singxer SU-1 firmware. I have downloaded the latest drivers 5.58 already and installed them.

Link to comment

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



×
×
  • Create New...