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

[dgarretson]

This thread has been really helpful.  So far I'm happy with mR in combination with upsampling by the Roon DSP engine on a QNAP TVS-882 i5 NAS.  The mR is powered by a Hynes SR7 with two stages of down-regulation.   A second rail of four on my SR-7 supplies a Stanford Research Perfection 10mHz rubidium clock that synchronizes an Esoteric K-01X and a Tascam DA-3000 recorder used for ripping vinyl to DSD128. I'm in progress with SOtM to place an order of (1) sMS-200Uttra, (2) tX-USBultra, (3) sPS-500, and (4) modified EN switch with clock link to (1).  1 & 2 will be fitted with 75ohm BNC master clock inputs to match the 75ohm outputs of the SRS master clock.  I'll compare the sPS-500 to the SR7 in this application.

 

Once you invest in toys like a master clock and an SR7, the applications keep expanding...   

 

Cheers,

 

Dave  

[dgarretson]

I'm close to break-in  of the combo SOtM SMS-200Ultra/ts-USBultra/SPS-500, together with the SOtM-sourced D-Link switch timed by the SMS-200Ultra via a 6" SMB cable from Digikey.  All SOtM pieces are synchronized to a Stanford Research Systems Perf-10MHz rubidium clock via Canare 75ohm BNC cables, with the Perf-10 powered at 12 Vdc by a Hynes SR-7. This is definitely an improvement over mR powered by Hynes SR-7.  The gestalt is enhanced with short DIY USB cables made of shielded 3 nines dead soft silver USB cables.  Building a good silver USB cable is fairly simple.  I wouldn't waste $$ in that area.      

[dgarretson]

6 hours ago, hurka said:

So the ~7000$ sotm chain better than mr+SR7.

Yes, but I won't have the full picture until I build a DC Y-cable for the SR7 to connect to the SMS200ultra and USBultra-- enabling comparison of SPS-500 to SR7.

10 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

Please do share your listening impressions, especially in comparison to whatever you were using previously. Also, what are you hearing in terms of improvements specifically attributable to the Stanford Research Rubidium 10MHz reference clock.

 It still needs break-in, but it is clear that the master clock improves pretty much everything: more resolution, more natural pitch & timbre, better bass articulation,  reduced digital smearing.  The comparison is to a mR with hard adapter powered by two DC regulation stages in SR7 to mR via DIY silver umbilical.  DAC is Esoteric K-01X, also synchronized to Perf 10.

6 hours ago, hurka said:

 

Nice setup! Your system must be up there with Romaz's.

Do you have a link/recipe to the DIY silver USB cable you built?

I made two silver USB cables: one 10" shorty between the SOtM units(which doesn't require a Vcc conductor), and a 30" cable from USBultra to K-01X DAC, which does require Vcc.

 

Short Cable between SOtM Devices:

 

Twisted data pair is made of 24awg 4-nines dead soft silver inside 2mm cotton tubes, both from VT4C Studio on-line.  The pair is twisted around 1/2 turn per inch. Twisted bundle is wrapped in teflon plumber's tape. Bundle is wrapped in spiral (A) of 20awg 3-nines dead soft ground wire, 1/2 turns per inch, from Rio Grande on-line.  Bundle is wrapped completely in spiral of 1" wide alum foil shield.  Foil-encased bundle is wrapped by spiral (B) of 20awg 3-nines dead soft silver. Bundle is pulled through 7mm cotton or silk tube from VT4C.  Spiral (A) is connected to ground pad of both USB connectors.  Vcc pad is not used. Spiral (B) is soldered to drilled holes in both USB metal connector bodies.  USB connectors Type A & B are high-quality gold-plated copper alloy from Norne Audio on-line.

 

Long Cable with VCC between USBultra and DAC

 

24awg shielded twisted data pair and 20awg shielded twisted power pair are constructed as completely separate runs so that the two can be pulled apart for isolation.  Each has a spiraled 20awg silver drain wire inside its respective alum shield, but without the above second silver drain wire on the outside of the alum shield.  As above, the drain wire is soldered to a hole drilled in the metal connector body.   

 

You need a good magnifier lamp to solder at this level of detail.  Tin the connector pads first with silver solder. Then just push the wires gently into place with the hot iron and use an Exacto knife to hold the wires down as the iron is withdrawn.

 

All I've compared these wire to so far is a generic USB cable and the standard cable provided by SOtM. The improvement is huge.  More fleshed out and detailed against blacker background.

 

Photos below.  I later added Ferrite clamps that are not shown.  Also, I  brought out the drain wire at the Type B end to support future addition of an external copper braid shield.

 

[dgarretson]

I've had enough run-in now to compare powering the sMS-200Ultra and USBultra on the sMS-500 at 9V, to a double-regulated 7V rail on my Hynes SR7.  The comparison is a bit unfair: the sMS-500 uses their standard copper Y-umbilical, as compared to a more heroic .999 solid silver umbilical with Oyaide connectors that I made for the SR7.  Each conductor in the thick trunk portion is a twist of eight strands of 20awg(totaling around 11awg.) The trunk divides into two tributaries of four strands each(totaling around 14awg) into two Oyaide DC-2.1G plugs(2.1 x 5.5mm.)  I particularly like the Oyaide DC connectors for their oversized solder points relative to standard Digikey items.
 

In this configuration, the SR7 is an obvious step up from the sMS-500.  More clarity, separation, depth, airiness, general refinement, on a dead- calm background.  Of course there is a huge difference in price between these power supplies.   

[dgarretson]

1 hour ago, 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

The comparison was made alternating between a Synergistics Master Coupler PC and a DIY PC of Furutech Alpha III bulk cable and high-end Furutech AC plugs into a Signal DU-5 balanced power transformer. 

[dgarretson]

On 8/23/2017 at 9:46 PM, auricgoldfinger said:

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?

 

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.   

[dgarretson]

15 minutes 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.

 

Cybershaft seems like a good choice.  There is an Audiogon thread in which a few guys with high end DACs reported excellent performance and good customer service at Cybershaft.  IIRC the Cybershaft seller packages a used Rubidium core with his own power supply and chassis.  I'm not sure about the lifespan of a rubidium core, but they do need to be factory recalibrated once and awhile.

[dgarretson]

8 hours ago, zephyr24069 said:

Yes,...definitely; I'm one of them. You can find more details on Agon as well as WBF and Aficionado (AA).    There are quite a few users out there now.  The OCXO side of the dual clock or the OCXO-only units are my favorite for musical playback; they have superior low phase noise and harmonic distortion characteristics (which BTW the former is part of the calc for how much/little jitter a unit introduces...) over Rubidium implementations despite their parts-per-billion precision specs. (IMHO).    I've evaluated SRS, Antelope and other clocks and prefer the Cybershaft for price and performance.  It's phase noise and effective low-jitter specs are superior to others if you dig in far enough.   The only clock I have not tried is the new Esoteric Grandioso G1 and the DCS clocks as I don't have a DCS stack.  FWIW,..I know several Esoteric and DCS system owners that utilize a Cybershaft 10 mHz master clock as a baseline for their Esoteric and DCS clocks themselves with fantastic results....

One thing I like about the SRS rubidium master clock and the Antelope LiveClock distributor is their ability to accept external 12Vdc power.  I've been using a Hynes SR7 for this.  It does make an improvement relative to the stock SMPSs, and should be a consideration for comparisons at the high end.

[dgarretson]

I haven't personally worked with mu-metal, but my understanding is that it loses much of its permeability when bent and needs to be heat-annealed thereafter to restore permeability.

 

From Wiki:

 

""Mu-metal objects require heat treatment after they are in final form—annealing in a magnetic field in hydrogen atmosphere, which increases the magnetic permeability about 40 times.^[4] The annealing alters the material's crystal structure, aligning the grains and removing some impurities, especially carbon, which obstruct the free motion of the magnetic domain boundaries. Bending or mechanical shock after annealing may disrupt the material's grain alignment, leading to a drop in the permeability of the affected areas, which can be restored by repeating the hydrogen annealing step."

[dgarretson]

12 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

FYI - I found this particular experience very interesting regarding silver DC cables

 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/audioquest-dc-cables-why-are-there-almost-no-high-end-dc-cables

 

UP-OCC Hook-up Wire (same as the ones available by SOtM by any chance?)
http://www.neotechcable.com/product9.php

 

26AWG silver gold
http://www.zenwaveaudio.com/product/neotech-26-gauge-occ-silvergold-alloy/

 

26AWG silver
http://www.zenwaveaudio.com/product/neotech-26-gauge-upocc-silverteflon-solid-core/

 

Neotech
http://www.soniccraft.com/index.php/neotech-wire-teflon-solid-ag-c-296_175_183_225

http://www.soniccraft.com/index.php/neotech-wire-teflon-strand-ag-c-296_175_183_226

http://www.soniccraft.com/index.php/neotech-wire-pe-strand-aggd-c-296_175_183_448

 

Mundorf

http://www.soniccraft.com/index.php/chassis-mundorf-wire-c-296_175_423

 

Jupiter

http://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php/jupiter-solid-silver-cotton-28-awg-p-1614

http://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php/jupiter-solid-silver-silk-28-awg-p-5113

http://www.soniccraft.com/product_info.php/jupiter-solid-silver-cotton-23-awg-p-1894

 

[dgarretson]

That was my post on Audiogon post regarding DIY thick .999 dead soft silver DC cables on SR7.  Since then I have made some 10awg pure silver AC power cords as well, and am surprised how much better they sound on the SR7 than the several Synergistics and Furutech PCs I have on hand.  I would have guessed that the superb Hynes SR7 would benefit little from a fancy PC, but this is not the case.  

[dgarretson]

Austinpop, for both sMS-200ultra and tX-USBultra, I've been planning to replace the stock internal DC harnesses with silver-- by removing the headers altogether and soldering direct to the PCB.  Also the cap for NEO upgrade.  Can you provide details on the Evox cap model and capacitance?  I'm considering replacement of all electrolytic caps on the PS board with Panasonic FM or FC, but may order an Evox for comparison.

[dgarretson]

Austinpop, Sorry, I should have directed my question to auricgoldfinger. Dave

[dgarretson]

Austinpop, Thanks for reporting on the JCAT Net Card Femto.  I was unaware of this product.  I'm thinking of one for my QNAP TVS-882 i5 NAS, which hosts Roon core and serves the SOtM trifecta synchronized to an SRS 10mhz clock, all powered by SR-7.

 

I recently modified my SR-7 with a Less Loss 64x Firewall at the IEC inlet.  In DIY form, the Firewall just fits inside the case between the traffo and the rear panel.  I was quite surprised by the meaningful improvement of adding the Firewall to the SR-7.  I've also deployed them in Esoteric K-01X, Pass XP-25, XA-160.8, and Atmasphere MP-1.  They are not cheap, but have made more improvement across the system than any power cord or conditioner that I've tried. 

[dgarretson]

29 minutes ago, greenleo said:

Any more details instructions?

Regarding the Lessloss 64x Firewall, before purchasing the DIY version, I went for one finished, boxed version with AC pigtails that can be mated up in series with any AC cord and moved around the system for evaluation. The only issue with the DIY installation is that you need a hot solder gun and low-temp solder in order to work quickly without distorting the clear epoxy that covers the center section of the Firewall element.  I used Wondersolder and  a 150W trigger operated Rat Shack gun. 

 

https://www.lessloss.com/firewall-module-p-216.html

 

Here's another one inside a Pass XP-25 phono stage power supply chassis.

[dgarretson]

1 hour ago, auricgoldfinger said:

 

 

Are you using some kind of power conditioner at the wall?  In other words, what is the SR7 plugged into?

I've been using a Signal DU-5 5 kva balanced transformer to power the SR-7 and also all line-level analog & digital components-- except for the Pass phono stage, which hums due to a grounding issue when handed balanced AC.  

[dgarretson]

@greenleo The DIY version of the Lessloss Firewall sounds better, whether installed inside the chassis or molded into a high quality DIY power cord. I just finished a pair of PCs with DIY boxed versions and shielded 10awg silver conductors that kills with Pass XA-160.8 monoblocks. The connectors are a mix of IeGo and Furutech. All soldered connections and compression fittings are coated with Perfect Path Total Contact graphene contact enhancer.

 

BTW, I've had good results with this graphene paste on the pins inside molex connectors of SOtM devices and other digital components-- though one must take care not to over-apply it at the risk of shorting the pins.

[dgarretson]

I have a few hundred hours on a JCAT Femto  NIC card powered by an ebayed Zerozone 2A LPS.  In agreement with Austinpop, the JCAT is a game-changer--- compared to a standard  EN port in my QNAP TVS-882 NAS.  The $130 Zerozone was a gamble, but seems to have paid off.  A second one made a major improvement relative to the wall wart I had been using to power a SOtM-modified D-Link hub.  Everywhere else I'm SR-7, but the Zerozone seems to be a reasonable compromise.  I'll probably get a third one to power my Verizon router.