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

[auricgoldfinger]

Has anyone tried the modded switch with the microRendu?

[auricgoldfinger]

26 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

I know @limniscate and I had done this, so I went back to our handy-dandy first-post index, and found it!

 

See bullet #2 in this post:

 

 

Thanks very much!

[auricgoldfinger]

Here's something for people to obsess about. 

 

Platinum Starlight is Wireworld's top-of-the-line ethernet cable. Patent-pending, triple-shielded Tite-Shield design technology is the same as Starlight, only this cable features OCC-7N Solid Silver conductors, the highest grade, most conductive metal in the world. Fast and flawless 40 Gbit/sec @ 30 meters provides  maximum fidelity.

http://www.wireworldcable.com/hi-res-digital-audio-cables.html#ethernet

[auricgoldfinger]

24 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

Not at that price point.  For me personally, that money could be better invested elsewhere.

 

I could make a rather long list of better ways to spend that kind of money. 

[auricgoldfinger]

1 minute ago, Bamber said:

My impressions from tonights tX-USBultra (6.5v-9v) tests.

 

sPS-500 set at 9v is better than 7v.

 

The LPS-1 sounds much better than the sPS-500 (at any power setting).

 

 

 

No issues running a 9v device with the LPS-1 on the 7v setting?

[auricgoldfinger]

1 minute ago, Bamber said:

 

 

This version of the tX-USBultra can run between  6.5v and 9v

 

There is no risk to the LPS-1 of running a device set to 9v when the power supply is only rated for a maximum of 7v?

[auricgoldfinger]

Sorry, I was confused.  I realize now @Bamber was talking about the sPS-500 (not the tX) being set to 9v. 

[auricgoldfinger]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

That looks real nice! I have been searching here on US sites, and have not found any black anodized options. This one looks to be a perfect size, but not particularly good looking:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073QS338W

 

Will continue searching. It seems like 100x70mm would cover most of the top.

 

Check out this one:

 

https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/518-95AB/345-1055-ND/340668?WT.mc_id=IQ_7595_G_pla340668&wt.srch=1&wt.medium=cpc&&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4rLxjuTb1QIVBJBpCh3ELAcyEAQYASABEgL7tfD_BwE

[auricgoldfinger]

6 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Thanks, Michal - that looks very similar to the Amazon one I posted.

 

 

Thanks - I'm looking at Digikey for more sizes now.

 

Let us know if you find something you like better at Digikey.

[auricgoldfinger]

Clock experts:  I am in the process of ordering a tX-USBultra with a master clock connector.  Is there any reason to choose a 50 ohm connector vs. a 75 ohm connector?

 

[auricgoldfinger]

4 hours ago, dgarretson said:

That depends on whether your future 10mhz master clock has a 50 or 75 ohm output.   75 ohm is common in Pro studios, 50 ohm in lab equipment.  I ordered 75 ohm SOtM units to match the SRS Perf-10 master clock that I was already using to time an Esoteric DAC and an Antelope LiveClock frequency divider into a Tascam DA-3000 DSD recorder.   All have 75 ohm clock connections. 

 

Including the SOtM-modified D-Link switch, that's six devices synchronized to the same master clock.  So when choosing the connector impedance, it's wise to think about where your system is headed.   

 

Thanks for your thoughts.  I've done a little reading, and it seems that 75 ohm is the best approach for high end audio and video.

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, austinpop said:

 

Thanks for that!

 

BTW - I opted to get 50 MHz for mine, because I know I will never be in the rarefied price point of the Mutec's, the SRS'es, and the Antelope's. 

 

I have my eye on the Cybershaft (http://www.cybershaft.jp/a-products/premiumop.html) units @hols mentioned, and of course the upcoming SOtM one. Both are said to support both 50 and 75 ohm, but I guess we will have to see what the price point of the SOtM is.

 

If it's SOtM, you can expect it will be expensive. 

[auricgoldfinger]

1 minute ago, austinpop said:

 

What is expensive to you?

 

I find the cost of their trifecta with all the necessary power supplies to be expensive. 

 

I'm guessing their clock will cost $3,500 +/-

[auricgoldfinger]

5 hours ago, austinpop said:

BTW - SOtM completed my SMB retrofit and master clock addition in record time, so my gear is on its way back already! It should be here mid-week.

 

Only thing is - I have this uninvited guest named Harvey that showed up, and I have no idea when he'll leave. He's a bit of a wet blanket.

 

Hint - he's also a former hurricane.

 

I was in Austin earlier this week taking my son to UT and got back to Houston just in time for the storm!  We have another few days of hairy flood risk.

[auricgoldfinger]

5 hours ago, austinpop said:

BTW - SOtM completed my SMB retrofit and master clock addition in record time, so my gear is on its way back already! It should be here mid-week.

 

Only thing is - I have this uninvited guest named Harvey that showed up, and I have no idea when he'll leave. He's a bit of a wet blanket.

 

Hint - he's also a former hurricane.

 

Since the Cybershaft has only 1 output, how would you connect it to your Trifecta?

[auricgoldfinger]

On 8/31/2017 at 9:35 AM, Cornan said:

 

A tip to maximize the (minor) investment with the cps-3205II or 3205C (C is almost exactly the same except for the active FPC found in the C version) is to get yourself (or build yourself) Canare 4S6 starquad DC cables and use starquad ac mains cable for it. It makes quite a difference!  If you have a isolation transformer with floating secondary close by connect the Gophert to it. I promise you're in for a surprice! 

 

 

 

 

This is a very interesting idea, but I don't want separate +/- leads.  Have you ever seen a similar product with a 2.5mm or 2.1mm plug instead?

[auricgoldfinger]

3 hours ago, Cornan said:

 

No, I have´nt seen it! However, it is very easy to build your own DC cables using Canare 4S6, 4mm banana plugs and DC2.1/5.5mm screw terminal plugs. It will look like this and takes roughly 5 minutes to build!

 

 

Here is another version with screw terminal USB A female plug (for 5v USB injection). On the picture with the ATL starquad power cable is also visable. The other picture was from an experiment.

 

 

I took the plunge and bought a CPS-1610 16V 10A so I can power my NAS.  I have a spare high quality AC mains cable, and I'm having Ghent build me a Canare 4S6 DC cable.  It costs $40 but I know it will be done professionally in contrast to my build quality.  Hopefully, it will be a cost effective upgrade.

[auricgoldfinger]

1 minute ago, austinpop said:

 

Cool! I look forward to hearing what difference/improvement that makes.

 

What model NAS do you have? Does you NAS have a special connector like mine does, below?

 

 

It's a DS213+ with a 2.1mm plug.

[auricgoldfinger]

36 minutes ago, Kritpoon said:

  

I am also trying to get the pin layout for this too (I also have DS916+) and also looking to replace the stock SMPS with LPS. 

 

You'll probably need 6 amps unless the newer, more powerful unit have also gotten much more efficient.

[auricgoldfinger]

12 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

 

In posting the funny pictures, I forgot to describe the experiment. I wanted to compare:

• sMS > Curious > ISO-R > Curious > tX > Lush against
• sMS > USPCB 90º > ISO-R > USPCB > tX > Lush.

Yes, the latter was achievable, with some playing with coasters (for raising pieces to align ports). Here's a picture with the successful 2-USPCB configuration.

 

 

Net Result:

 

Definitely, the 2 x USPCB configuration sounds better. This is a subtle difference at best, but it does feel the USPCB config sounds a bit more coherent, with better micro-details. Remember, in both cases, the cable to the DAC from the tX is the Lush.

 

Interesting little experiment, but one that was pending for a while.

 

This is a great idea.  I'm going to do it instead of a USB cable.

[auricgoldfinger]

I finally installed my pre-owned sPS-500 (stock copper cable) today and did some A/B testing with the LPS-1 and JS-2 (Uptone star-quad copper cable).  I was using them to power my microRendu.  All 3 power supplies are plugged into my BPT BP-3.5 Signature Plus balanced power transformer.  I definitely preferred the LPS-1 over the JS-2.  Initially, I found the LPS-1 and sPS-500 to be close, with perhaps a slight edge to the LPS-1.  I felt that more listening was needed to form a definitive opinion.

 

Later, I decided to replace the stock sPS-500 A/C cable with a Pangea 14SE MKII Signature power cable that I had lying around.  In this scenario, the sPS-500 was the clear winner.  I suspect the gap will be even greater once my star-quad Canare 4S6 cable arrives since the sPS-500 stock cable is rather unimpressive.  Given its versatility, I think the sPS-500 is pretty hard to beat on a price-to-performance basis.  You just need to spend a little extra on a better A/C cable.

[auricgoldfinger]

 

6 hours ago, zoltan said:

Given standard mathematical operations, we can conclude that SPS--500 is clearly better than JS-2 in this situation? 
I'm asking because I have a JS-2 powering an SMS-200 ultra and thinking of buying the SPS-500. How would you describe the differences between JS-2 and SPS-500? 

 

Both the LPS-1 and sPS-500 are more transparent and detailed with better separation relative to the JS-2.  They improved the macro- and micro-dynamics of the microRendu.  With the stock sPS-500 A/C power cable, the two supplies are comparable, but the LPS-1 does seem to have a slight edge.  Given the cost differential, if I only wanted to power a single 3.3V, 5V, or 7V device, the LPS-1 is possibly the better choice.  (In my case, I was fortunate to buy a 1-month old sPS-500 for the price of a new LPS-1.)

 

The Pangea A/C power cable greatly enhances soundstage dimensionality and imparts a sense of realism that makes the LPS-1 sound lean in comparison.  Please note that this particular Pangea cable is relatively inexpensive and would never be confused with a reference power cable.

 

I am not the first person to have noticed the importance of the A/C power cable: 

 

On 8/13/2017 at 9:09 AM, phusis said:

Perhaps more than the significance of the DC-cable is the importance of the power cable used with the SOtM sPS-500. A nicely made DIY power cable will do small wonders instead of the run-of-the-mill power cable that follows the sPS-500 - as I've found out in my own setup.

 

 

[auricgoldfinger]

4 minutes ago, sadekkhalifa said:

Did you mean this AC power cable?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Pangea-Audio-AC-14-Powercord-Meter/dp/B0030ERI1W

 

This one: 

 

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGAC14S2&opt=3633

 

 

[auricgoldfinger]

15 minutes ago, zoltan said:

#auricgoldfinger, thank you for your reply. I will probably buy a SPS-500. No chance to find used at this stage I guess, so I will have to go for a new one.

I have read good things about the Pangea AC cord. Have you tried any other aftermarket AC cord on the SPS?

 

I also have a Pangea AC-9SE, but I haven't tried it yet.  I'll post impressions once I've had a chance to compare them.

 

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGAC9S2

[auricgoldfinger]

55 minutes ago, JJ Braham said:

Did you try the Pangea power cable with the JS-2?

 

My JS-2 improved a lot when I changed the power cord to a Nordost Valhalla cable. Would be interesting to see if it helps your JS-2 compared to the sps-500.

 

That's a good question.  I'll try it the next time I'm A/B testing.