A novel way to massively improve the SQ of computer audio streaming

[Johnseye]

1 hour ago, luisma said:

Related to this specific topic and I feel compelled to share my experience in regards to power supplies / ac adapters improving the SQ of audio. This is of course no news for many of you here but empirically it is for me. I will try to be brief.

 

I don't consider myself a complete audiophile nor I'm an expert in these matters, I'm a music aficionado who loves quality in audio and definition. I am also a network engineer working with bits and computers since 1984 and I consider myself a very objective person technology wise.

 

Until a few days ago I was a believer than replacing the SMPS by a good quality LPS should not create big dramatic changes on what you hear coming out of the speakers, a part of me used to think most of the people in these forums who have experienced these "clean currents theories" were "drinking the cool aid" and were subjected to some sort of massive induced beliefs created by some sort of placebo effect as their experiences are very very vivid in terms of soundstage, instrument separation, quietness of the backgrounds in audio, tighter bass etc. 

 

Another part of me (the practical one) was driven to actually believe the use of LPS's may change a few things here and there possibly improving audio quality by 4% to 6% more (or none at all) but nothing spectacular so I went ahead and purchased a few days ago an LPS1.2 from Uptone Audio.

 

My setup consist of a NUC with Roon Server running Tidal MQA as a decoder only feeding via network an Allo DietPi connected to a Pro-Ject S2 and my Yamaha AS2100 with P37F speakers and a powersoundaudio S3600i sealed sub.

 

Since I don't trust my hearing alone or my own brain judgement and without giving specifics I asked my wife (she is a pianist with 35 years playing) to listen to a song I know very well, School by Supertramp, there is a section of the song from minute 3 to 4 more or less that you have a few instruments well defined and working together, guitar, drums, bass, piano, synth etc. I know I should have selected more songs to make a more fair and consistent evaluation but was lacking time so.

 

We listened to this specific song section 5 times with the Allo and Pro-ject factory supplied SMPS and 5 times with the Allo and Pro-ject connected to an LPS1.2, everything else stayed the same, volume and eq settings, Roon settings, cables and connectors.

The difference in audio was to me night vs day. I did not say anything and waited for my wife to provide her own opinion and we were both in complete agreement the background was quieter and cleaner (I guess the right term is a quieter soundstage but I'm not too good with these terms), the instruments were "clearer and more defined", the entire audio experience was more balanced, the bass without the LPS was a little distorted but very precise and tight with the LPS feeding the DAC and Bridge. The only thing we missed was the actual instrument sound, the bass chord strokes, felt more defined without the LPS but after listening several times we realized that it did not lacked definition but without the LPS all instruments were very far in the background and the bass was more noticeable as it was alone in the front end whether with the LPS bringing all the instruments forward created a more coherent and balanced sound and the bass chords were sharing the sound with the other instruments.

I feel with the Uptone Audio LPS1.2 like I'm listening to this song for the 1st time, also for the 1st time I'm hearing bass clarity on my sub and speakers, before bass was all over the place distorted sometimes, lost others, now it is for lack of a better word "tight" and "punchy".

 

I have a Powersound Audio S3600 which after 2 years of owning it I can finally start to appreciate, it is just ridiculous, the performance of the sub now is completely different with just adding the LPS to the chain, before I had distortion when increasing the crossover, now the sound it very very controlled and precise. As a matter of fact I have to start re calibrating my entire system and room now.

 

@JohnSwenson and @Superdad  and all of you who already knew and experienced this I would like to extend my apologies for being an incredulous and pragmatic hard headed techie, I was completely skeptical about this but I can confirm to myself now indeed that power quality matters if you want to improve SQ and enhance audio. My next test to try a few AC power cables, not the most expensive ones as my budget is limited but see if quality cables make any difference.

 

So just my 2 cents here, I thought I should share this as I found here in CA other people (funny thing is with my same background of computer engineering, networks, telecommunications etc) as pragmatic as I was and maybe if they read my comments will be willing to try something else to reach that Holy Grail of perfect SQ.

 

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Uptone Audio in any way with the exception I purchased their products which I consider excellent and very well built. I believe the only aspect these can be criticized is the lack of certain colors or finishes for certain products but I am not affected by it as look mainly at the performance and good engineering design rather than the aesthetics.

 

[lmitche]

Hi all,

 

In the true spirit of this thread, I'd like to introduce you to JSSG 360.  Thinking about John Swensons JSSG cable tweak, a layer of tinned copper shielding with the ends connected with a drain wire, it occurred to me that instead of the drain wire, a layer of insulation followed by another layer of tinned copper would likely to be better. With the two layers of tinned copper attached at the end points, the SQ impact is much greater then the current, and brilliant, JSSG tweak. This tweak works on DC cabling, network cabling and USB cables.

 

Having recently treated one of Rajiv's Lush cables with JSSG 360, he can vouch for the SQ impact.

 

I am quite excited to have found the Gotham Audio USA Gac4/1 ultra pro cable which has JSSG 360 built-in. Once again, just connect the inner and outer shielding at the endpoints and you have JSSG 360 SQ.

 

Unfortunately, I can't explain why JSSG 360 sounds so good. But I've been treating my cables this way since last fall and it seems to work without fail on any cable.

 

Enjoy JSSG 360.  You will be amazed at the new life you will get out of your existing cabling.

 

Larry

[Johnseye]

17 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Hi all,

 

In the true spirit of this thread, I'd like to introduce you to JSSG 360.  Thinking about John Swensons JSSG cable tweak, a layer of tinned copper shielding with the ends connected with a drain wire, it occurred to me that instead of the drain wire, a layer of insulation followed by another layer of tinned copper would likely to be better. With the two layers of tinned copper attached at the end points, the SQ impact is much greater then the current , and brilliant, JSSG tweak. This tweak works on DC cabling, network cabling and USB cables.

 

Having recently treated one of Rajiv's Lush cables with JSSG 360, he can vouch for the SQ impact.

 

I am quite excited to have found the Gotham Audio USA Gac4/1 ultra pro cable which has JSSG 360 built-in. Once again, just connect the inner and outer shielding at the endpoints and you have JSSG 360 SQ.

 

Unfortunately, I can't explain why JSSG 360 sounds so good. But I've been treating my cables this way since last fall and it seems to work without fail on any cable.

 

Enjoy JSSG 360.  You will be amazed at the new life you will get out of your existing cabling.

 

Larry

 

Cats out of the bag now.

 

Is this what you're referring to?

 

http://gothamcables.com/en/gothamcables/starquad/11001gac41

 

 

Construction:
1 = Jacket:	PVC, Ø 5.4 mm, velvet black (ultrasoft) 11201 = FRNC Material
2 = Shield No. 1	Bare copper wires (0.10 mm) 100% coverage
3 = Shield No. 2	Bare copper wires (0.10 mm) 100% coverage
4 = Viscose fiber coat:	counter wrapped to the quad twisted conductors
5 = Insulation (cond):	PE, Ø 1.2 mm, white, ivory, pink and red, quad-twisted
6 = Conductor:	Stranded bare copper wires 96 x 0.05 mm (0.19 mm²)

[lmitche]

Nope, it's this one:

 

http://gothamcables.com/en/gothamcables/starquad/11301gac41ultrapro

 

 

 

Two layers of shielding separated by a thin insulation layer.

[austinpop]

26 minutes ago, lmitche said:

Hi all,

 

In the true spirit of this thread, I'd like to introduce you to JSSG 360.  Thinking about John Swensons JSSG cable tweak, a layer of tinned copper shielding with the ends connected with a drain wire, it occurred to me that instead of the drain wire, a layer of insulation followed by another layer of tinned copper would likely to be better. With the two layers of tinned copper attached at the end points, the SQ impact is much greater then the current, and brilliant, JSSG tweak. This tweak works on DC cabling, network cabling and USB cables.

 

Having recently treated one of Rajiv's Lush cables with JSSG 360, he can vouch for the SQ impact.

 

I am quite excited to have found the Gotham Audio USA Gac4/1 ultra pro cable which has JSSG 360 built-in. Once again, just connect the inner and outer shielding at the endpoints and you have JSSG 360 SQ.

 

Unfortunately, I can't explain why JSSG 360 sounds so good. But I've been treating my cables this way since last fall and it seems to work without fail on any cable.

 

Enjoy JSSG 360.  You will be amazed at the new life you will get out of your existing cabling.

 

Larry

 

I am so glad Larry has unveiled his JSSG 360 concept, so I can Gush about the Lush he modded for me. When he described the concept to us at @Johnseye's place after AXPONA, my reaction was - ?‍♂️ DOH! Of course - it makes sense. If a drain wire makes sense, then why not a drain sheath? Serendipity allowed me to hand Larry my Lush cable in Chicago, and he kindly sent me the modded version a while later.

 

This JSSG 360 mod really raises the Lush USB to another level. It's a similar reaction I had to the Habst cable for clocking. There is a marked drop in digital glare, everything sounds more natural, and fuller, more dimensional. There is more meat on the bone.

 

Now that it's revealed that the Gotham cables implement this, it makes me wonder if this is implemented in other well-regarded cables.

[lmitche]

22 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

Cats out of the bag now.

Yes, a cat with two skins.

[Superdad]

16 minutes ago, lmitche said:

 

 

 

 

Two layers of shielding separated by a thin insulation layer.

 

Larry: Which shield layers are you connecting?  #1 & #2?  The diagram does not show any insulation layer between them.  Or are you doing something with #3, #4, or #5?   And how?  A photo perhaps?

 

The tricky part to me is getting the shields back and away from the -ve of the actual power conductors as the shell of the Oyaide barrel connectors is metallic and common to the "ground" leg of the cable.

 

7 minutes ago, austinpop said:

I am so glad Larry has unveiled his JSSG 360 concept, so I can Gush about the Lush he modded for me.

 

Oh, I am going to have to do this to the Lush in my system!

 

7 minutes ago, austinpop said:

Now that it's revealed that the Gotham cables implement this, it makes me wonder if this is implemented in other well-regarded cables.

 

To be clear, the Gotham cable does not by default implement the JSSG trick.  It is just that it has enough shielding layers (really a ton!) to do the tie-together-at-both-ends trick.

 

And if I have followed Larry's reports correctly, it seems that the extreme level of shielding--of individual pairs, with the Gotham cable--has replicated the results that have been reported the past month with various highly-shielded Ethernet cables.  But now with the JSSG   as the cherry on top! 

 

By the way, based on how @JohnSwenson has described the mechanism by which JSSG works, I am not convinced that having the connecting wire between (inner) shield ends be another shield is of particular benefit.  i.e.: The inner shield is doing the work, and using a single wire on the outside to tie the ends together should be just as effective.  But certainly the "wire" being a circumferal shield can't hurt and is a whole lot cleaner looking!

 

Cheers,

--Alex C.

 

[d_elm]

40 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

I am so glad Larry has unveiled his JSSG 360 concept, so I can Gush about the Lush he modded for me. When he described the concept to us at @Johnseye's place after AXPONA, my reaction was - ?‍♂️ DOH! Of course - it makes sense. If a drain wire makes sense, then why not a drain sheath? Serendipity allowed me to hand Larry my Lush cable in Chicago, and he kindly sent me the modded version a while later.

 

This JSSG 360 mod really raises the Lush USB to another level. It's a similar reaction I had to the Habst cable for clocking. There is a marked drop in digital glare, everything sounds more natural, and fuller, more dimensional. There is more meat on the bone.

 

Now that it's revealed that the Gotham cables implement this, it makes me wonder if this is implemented in other well-regarded cables.

Was the double shield installed replacing a single shield plus drain or was there no shield previously over the Lush cable ?

 

[Bruce Orr]

The JSSG 360 appears to be a big winner!!  I’ve got 2 Lush - before and after the SoTM dx-Ultra - that seem like great candidates to apply it.  I’m not the guy who tinkers with the insides of any device, but with John’s step-by-step instructions and accompanying photos I managed to pull it off. The 360 looks a little trickier. Any chance we can a similar step by step with photos?

[rafa]

Hi guys, my friend replaced crystal oscillator motherboard with NewClassD NeutronStar. Is extremally happy with sound effect. Especially the soundstage is bigger, more clear and precision. The system is stable.

 

But integrated graphics card (Intel CPU) seems to don't like new clock. Time to time screen get black or flashing on the bottom (it is not a monitor problem). When screen is off music still plays as normal, so that's why it looks like system is still stable.

Interesting that simple switching lights on in the room may destabilize graphics card.

The NeutronStar is powered by NewClassD PSU supplied with a clock. Clock voltage is setup to 3.3V

 

Any ideas what can make those problems?

[RickyV]

Or power cables.

 

Or supra cat8 cable.

I did it with copper foil tape and braided tinned copper sleeve. 

With the copper foil is not the best idea, the cable gets stiffer this way

[sandyk]

51 minutes ago, rafa said:

Any ideas what can make those problems?

 

 Excessive lead length to or from the new oscillator ,or inadequate shielding , causing it to be susceptible to RF/EMI ?

[RickyV]

2 hours ago, rafa said:

Hi guys, my friend replaced crystal oscillator motherboard with NewClassD NeutronStar. Is extremally happy with sound effect. Especially the soundstage is bigger, more clear and precision. The system is stable.

 

But integrated graphics card (Intel CPU) seems to don't like new clock. Time to time screen get black or flashing on the bottom (it is not a monitor problem). When screen is off music still plays as normal, so that's why it looks like system is still stable.

Interesting that simple switching lights on in the room may destabilize graphics card.

The NeutronStar is powered by NewClassD PSU supplied with a clock. Clock voltage is setup to 3.3V

 

Any ideas what can make those problems?

 

Any pics ?

[Johnseye]

Does anyone know where to find very small diameter sheaths that could be placed around an RF cable like this:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/2015357-3/A36228-ND/1249192

 

Also, what kind of shielding could be used?

 

I'm guessing this is too wide.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BIBQE1S/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A38Z015AJ7I755&th=1

 

I'm looking to shield the cables used to connect to the sCLK.

[BigGuy]

10 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

Does anyone know where to find very small diameter sheaths that could be placed around an RF cable like this:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/2015357-3/A36228-ND/1249192

 

Also, what kind of shielding could be used?

 

I'm guessing this is too wide.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BIBQE1S/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A38Z015AJ7I755&th=1

 

I'm looking to shield the cables used to connect to the sCLK.

Have had the same issue.  The braid may be fine for the wire but the issue will be getting it over the connectors due to inability to expand enough.  You might consider the adhesive backed foil also pictured on the page.

[Johnseye]

5 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Have had the same issue.  The braid may be fine for the wire but the issue will be getting it over the connectors due to inability to expand enough.  You might consider the adhesive backed foil also pictured on the page.

 

What about sheathing to go over the foil?  Can't have bare copper.

Do you know where to get the foil?

[d_elm]

25 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

Does anyone know where to find very small diameter sheaths that could be placed around an RF cable like this:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/2015357-3/A36228-ND/1249192

 

Also, what kind of shielding could be used?

 

I'm guessing this is too wide.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BIBQE1S/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A38Z015AJ7I755&th=1

 

I'm looking to shield the cables used to connect to the sCLK.

I get braid and clean cut tubing from B&E Electronics.

http://www.be-electronics.com/product_p/mbn0.25sv.htm

 

3/8" may fit over the coax connectors, 1/2" will fit over XLR connectors.

[lmitche]

10 hours ago, Superdad said:

 

Larry: Which shield layers are you connecting?  #1 & #2?  The diagram does not show any insulation layer between them.  Or are you doing something with #3, #4, or #5?   And how?  A photo perhaps?

 

The tricky part to me is getting the shields back and away from the -ve of the actual power conductors as the shell of the Oyaide barrel connectors is metallic and common to the "ground" leg of the cable.

 

 

Oh, I am going to have to do this to the Lush in my system!

 

 

To be clear, the Gotham cable does not by default implement the JSSG trick.  It is just that it has enough shielding layers (really a ton!) to do the tie-together-at-both-ends trick.

 

And if I have followed Larry's reports correctly, it seems that the extreme level of shielding--of individual pairs, with the Gotham cable--has replicated the results that have been reported the past month with various highly-shielded Ethernet cables.  But now with the JSSG   as the cherry on top! 

 

By the way, based on how @JohnSwenson has described the mechanism by which JSSG works, I am not convinced that having the connecting wire between (inner) shield ends be another shield is of particular benefit.  i.e.: The inner shield is doing the work, and using a single wire on the outside to tie the ends together should be just as effective.  But certainly the "wire" being a circumferal shield can't hurt and is a whole lot cleaner looking!

 

Cheers,

--Alex C.

Hi Alex,

 

I am connecting shields 1 and 2 with shield 5.  Shields 3 and 4 provide insulation between the shield layers.  at the ends I am makng a hair of the very fine copper strands, and then wrapping them perpendicular to the cable and burying them in shrink wrap. The Oyaide barrel can slide over the hairball without connectivity to the shielding.  It's tight and tedious as hell, but I can make it work.

 

Beats me as to why the circumferential shield makes such a difference in the JSSG 360 implementation, and I was skeptical as well, but try it on the Lush cable and hear the difference.  Maybe Lush + JSSG 360 = Plush cable?

 

Larry

[BigGuy]

13 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

What about sheathing to go over the foil?  Can't have bare copper.

Do you know where to get the foil?

Amazon...its on the same page as the link you provided, just scroll down.

[lmitche]

32 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

Does anyone know where to find very small diameter sheaths that could be placed around an RF cable like this:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/2015357-3/A36228-ND/1249192

 

Also, what kind of shielding could be used?

 

I'm guessing this is too wide.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BIBQE1S/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A38Z015AJ7I755&th=1

 

I'm looking to shield the cables used to connect to the sCLK.

Here is a good source for tinned copper sleeving of all sizes.  They sell on Amazon as well.

https://www.electriduct.com/Tinned-Copper-Metal-Braided-Sleeving.html

 

Look here for the gobsmacking variety of sleeving available.

https://www.electriduct.com/Braided-Sleeving.html

[Johnseye]

5 minutes ago, BigGuy said:

Amazon...its on the same page as the link you provided, just scroll down.

 

Guessing this is it.  Doh.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Copper-Conductive-Adhesive-1inch-12yards/dp/B018RDZ3HG/ref=pd_sim_60_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B018RDZ3HG&pd_rd_r=E38Y3EXG6V4RMXG9DQX1&pd_rd_w=UqpYN&pd_rd_wg=kbQN9&psc=1&refRID=E38Y3EXG6V4RMXG9DQX1

[RickyV]

1 hour ago, Johnseye said:

Does anyone know where to find very small diameter sheaths that could be placed around an RF cable like this:

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/te-connectivity-amp-connectors/2015357-3/A36228-ND/1249192

 

Also, what kind of shielding could be used?

 

I'm guessing this is too wide.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BIBQE1S/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_2?smid=A38Z015AJ7I755&th=1

 

I'm looking to shield the cables used to connect to the sCLK.

 

http://www.techflex.nl/metaalafscherming-c-146.html?language=EN

 

 

[rafa]

3 hours ago, RickyV said:

 

Any pics ?

 

[jean-michel6]

14 hours ago, lmitche said:

Hi all,

 

In the true spirit of this thread, I'd like to introduce you to JSSG 360.  Thinking about John Swensons JSSG cable tweak, a layer of tinned copper shielding with the ends connected with a drain wire, it occurred to me that instead of the drain wire, a layer of insulation followed by another layer of tinned copper would likely to be better. With the two layers of tinned copper attached at the end points, the SQ impact is much greater then the current, and brilliant, JSSG tweak. This tweak works on DC cabling, network cabling and USB cables.

 

Having recently treated one of Rajiv's Lush cables with JSSG 360, he can vouch for the SQ impact.

 

I am quite excited to have found the Gotham Audio USA Gac4/1 ultra pro cable which has JSSG 360 built-in. Once again, just connect the inner and outer shielding at the endpoints and you have JSSG 360 SQ.

 

Unfortunately, I can't explain why JSSG 360 sounds so good. But I've been treating my cables this way since last fall and it seems to work without fail on any cable.

 

Enjoy JSSG 360.  You will be amazed at the new life you will get out of your existing cabling.

 

Larry

Hi Thank's for the info on this Gotham cable which seems quite nicely built . It seems it can use and can replace the canary 4s6 .

Were are you using the gotham cable in your system ? Have you found it to be better than the canare ( with jssg360 ) ?

 

Which kind of mesh screen are you using to build your jssg360 cables ?

 

The gotham use the excellent reussen screen which insure 100% coverage .

[luisma]

3 hours ago, lmitche said:

I am connecting shields 1 and 2 with shield 5.

So not only creating a JS loop with shields 1 and 2 but also adding to the loop the individual shielding for each wire? so a loop of shield 1+2 +4 more shields for each wire? all connected together ?