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

[auricgoldfinger]

20 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

Not wanting to read too much into this, but you said "at present".

 

A voltage limit of 7V does eliminate a lot of potential sales. 

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, limniscate said:

Roy took out the ISO Regen from his chain.  The general consensus is that the tX-USB Ultra sounds better than the ISO Regen.

 

If you read about Roy's final build, I believe you'll find that he's using an ISO REGEN which he has modified to accept an external clock.

[auricgoldfinger]

40 minutes ago, thyname said:

 

I have read quite the opposite from other people, including the guy who sold me the sms-200 Ultra.

 

I guess the only way to try is to buy the sps-500, and test one vs the other

 

In my system, I prefer the sps-500 with an upgraded ac cable to the LPS-1 for powering my microRendu.  I haven't tried it on any other devices in my chain such as the tX-USBultra .  I have ordered a silver DC cable made from VH Audio Pulsar Ag silver wire to use with the sPS-500.   I expect it to provide a nice bump in sound quality.

 

(Looking forward to replacing the microRendu with an sMS-200Ultra with silver wiring and eABS-200 by the end of next week.) 

[auricgoldfinger]

If your power requirements are less than 50 watts, you may want to consider the SOtM sPS-500 as a DC power source.  If you upgrade the AC power cable, the sound is quite good.  You could also upgrade the DC cable for a further boost in SQ.

 

DC power output
  Voltage : 7Vdc, 9Vdc, 12Vdc, 19Vdc selectable
  Voltage tolerance: ±10%
  Current limit:
    5A@ 7Vdc, 9Vdc, 12Vdc
    3.3A@ 19Vdc
  Current tolerance: ±10%
  Maximum output power :
    50W@100Vac <, +50℃ > inside temperature

 

https://www.sotm-audio.com/sotmwp/english/portfolio-item/sps-500/

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, austinpop said:

So what does this all mean

1. Don't daisy chain, if at all possible. Even without the other complications, daisy chains necessitate longer cable lengths, which degrades clock quality
2. If you must, design your chain to ensure that all devices in the chain can be configured to be unterminated, and that there is proper termination of the right impedance on both ends, using tees and terminators.
3. At least for the SOtM Ultra components, SOtM does not currently provide a way to switch between terminated and unterminated. I'm pretty sure that upon request, they can configure a device whichever way you want it.

 

Terrific post!  Thanks for taking to time to share this valuable information with everyone.

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, marce said:

Using a generic line and resistor will go some way, but especially for the higher frequencies is tailoring any termination to the full line, which does require some direct observation of the signal.

 

How does one directly observe the signal?  Please be specific with links to any instruments or other devices mentioned. 

[auricgoldfinger]

@Johnseye  You may want to check out this link: https://www.murata.com/en-us/products/emc/ferrite/basic/selection

 

Summary

 

Following these points will enable you to select the optimum ferrite core.

Shape
Select the core with the smallest possible inner diameter (this is the most important point).
Make sure the length exceeds the outer diameter.
For effective results, the priority order is (1) inner diameter, (2) length, and (3) outer diameter.

Number of turns of wire
Basically, the effect is proportional to the square of the number of turns of wire.
For frequencies above 300 MHz, do not wind more than 3 turns of wire.

Materials
If you use Murata products, the materials make no difference at higher frequencies (above 30MHz).

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, Johnseye said:

 

I'm going to try these because they range from 100-500MHz at 100 ohm.

 

https://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&itemSeq=243445819&uq=636458279157585775

 

And this for the Lush

https://www.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&itemSeq=243199166&uq=636458279157575775

 

 

These links are bringing up 6,717,697 results for me.  Is anyone else having the same problem?

[auricgoldfinger]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

John,

 

please post any ferrite clamps you find. Roy mentioned somewhere he sourced a bunch inexpensively from Digikey.

 

Their website is a joy to navigate.  

 

Here is Roy's post: 

 

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, jean-michel6 said:

I finally took the time to put in my system these 2 sotm modified MC 220 TP link (optical-rj45 converter ). 

Before I speak I talk about the effect of this mod let me mention briefly my system. 

It is a dual pc fed y batteries and running under roon ( Linux ). 

The player PC has an sotm tx-USBexp card who is connecte to a dx-USBhd which has a sCLK-ex clock board inside and 2 of the clocks were used for the FMC .

Both pc are linked with an optical switch. 

The dc-dc mod done by sotm on the fac is simply replacing those converters by less noisy components .

 

Now what about the impact of this mod . In a wor : amazing , i did not expect such a big improvement with this mod. The sound is much more analogic and natural , i have completely lost a very small brightness in the high midrange. 

I am extremely happy. 

I think the mod I did is a little bit similar to what have observed those who have installed à sotm modes switch between their server and renderer .

 

I did not expect to get such a big improvement , basically I think what this mod does is improve the timing of the flow of data between the server and the player.

However if I look at the overall lan connection between the two pc's there is 5 clock (lan server mobo, fmc , optical switch ,fmc , lan player )  and only the two fac have the upgraded sotm ( sCLK-ex) clock. 

 

I can't imagine what I can get once I have all 5 clocks modified ... I will go in that direction. 

 

Computer audio d'iOS is really fun and sometime frustrating but results are stunning. 

 

I have SOtM-modded FCM's arriving this week.  I'm really excited to hear them based on your experience!

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, austinpop said:

 

Awesome! 

 

Thanks for your detailed post, especially the BoM and the schematic. I can't wait to hear how it sounds for you. 

 

+1

[auricgoldfinger]

1 hour ago, octaviars said:

 

Anybody heard anymore regarding Pauls SR4? 

 

As of 6 weeks ago, Paul was awaiting the arrival of the revised PCBs from the manufacturer.  If their electrical integrity was correct, and if no further revisions were required, the launch would occur by the end of October.  I don't know what has happened since then.

 

The price of the SR4 is only for the PSU itself.  DC and AC IEC cables are not included.  You can buy the DC cable from Paul, but you will have to supply your own AC IEC cable.

[auricgoldfinger]

2 hours ago, limniscate said:

Testing in progress:

 

 

 

LOL.  I know you're having a great time!

[auricgoldfinger]

9 hours ago, jean-michel6 said:

Hi

I have also experiment with ferrite . However you need to be careful on which cable you use them.

All current are electromagnetic waves as well as Emi-rfi that we are trying to get rid of. 

Ferrite is effective with positive results ( from an audio perspective ) on digital cables ( USB, lan,...  ) on power cords. 

On interconnect , it has a negative effect as it just kills the sound making it softer and less engaging. 

One very effective way to shield all cables from emi-rfi is the use of mumetal , with two layers to passively cover cable. 

One cable company in france HiFi cable is using this  technology on all their top line cable with very good results. 

I have treated my digital cables with very good results. 

The main difficulty is to find mumetal for this at a reasonable cost. 

 

How difficult is it to wrap the cables?  Is the mumetal fairly pliable?

 

Would it be possible for you to share some photos of your cables?

[auricgoldfinger]

6 minutes ago, JJ Braham said:

From what I've read, the main difference between them is that the sPS-500 scales accordingly with a better power cable, while that does not seem to be the case for the LPS-1...

 

I own both the sPS-500 and LPS-1, and I have found that the LPS-1 improves with a better power supply.  I have heard improvement when powering it with both a Gophert DC power supply and a JS-2.  Of course, one might question why it is necessary to buy a linear power supply that needs another linear power supply to perform optimally, but I will leave that debate to others.

 

I prefer the sPS-500 with an upgraded AC power cable, but when the LPS-1 is powered by the JS-2, they are reasonably close in performance.

[auricgoldfinger]

1 minute ago, beerandmusic said:

I am newbie in all of this, and likely when i buy in, i won't be daisy chaining or buying upgraded cables at my first nibble....

In your opinion, which is better, the SPS-500 with default  or LPS-1 with default ?

Also, I am sure stupid question, but when you say  LPS-1, are you referring to uptone?

 

 

Yes, I'm referring to the Uptone LPS-1.  In all honesty, it has been so long since I used them in their default condition that I can't say for sure which is best.  One thing you should do if you go with the LPS-1 is the John Swenson grounding technique for it SMPS power supply.  Everyone is finding it to provide a very inexpensive, yet beneficial upgrade to sound quality.

 

What device are you planning to power?  If you only need 7VDC (and 1.1 amps max) or less, the LPS-1 is probably the way to go.

[auricgoldfinger]

11 minutes ago, lmitche said:

After success with the Lush cable, the remaining signal carrying cables were covered with tinned copper sleeving.  Additionally the ends were tied together with an insulated 14 stranded copper cable wrapped around the sleeving at the endpoints and soldered in place. Treatment for the HDD USB 3 cable and ethernet cabling to the newly grounded Netgear switch was completed.

 

All digital signal carrying cables in my system have now been treated.

 

From the first note there was an immediate and terrific improvement. Even more clarity and openness. It is hard to describe the impact. Everything's improved.

 

John Swenson is a genius. I am grateful.

 

Please share some photos of your finished product.

[auricgoldfinger]

45 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

Here is the next level of cable shield:

http://custommagneticshielding.magneticshield.com/viewitems/magnetic-shielding-for-wiring-applications/co-netic-aacableshield

 

Of cause we need new boxes for the UR & MR, the SU-1, switches and more.

(SoTM as well.)

 

It remain to see how much difference the mu-metal actually  will do vs a normal Faraday's Cage ....

 

 

Interesting

[auricgoldfinger]

2 hours ago, acaro said:

A question to those who have the trifecta and the dlink switch. How are you powering the dlink?  Does the sms-500 have enough power to do the trifecta and the dlink? I have the the sms-200 ultra and the sms-500 (thinking about the txUsb), but don't wsnt to buy yet another power supply.

 

You can use the sPS-500 with a y-cable to power both the sMS-200ultra and tX-USBultra.  It will work just fine, but the sound quality will be less than if you powered them separately.

[auricgoldfinger]

16 minutes ago, acaro said:

You mean that the txUSB only will run at 12V?

 

From the SOtM website: 

 

The tX-USBultra requires 6.5 ~ 9 voltages. But if your power supply provides over 9V, you can change the standard power requirement to the optional 12.0V, and then you can use above 9V ~ 12V power to tX-USBultra.

[auricgoldfinger]

5 hours ago, flkin said:

Yes I recall seeing something about that in the Eunhasu setup, I'll have a look there. Thanks

 

You can also try varying the Roon settings in Settings > Library > Background Audio Analysis Speed and Settings > Library > On-Demand Audio Analysis Speed

[auricgoldfinger]

35 minutes ago, austinpop said:

@Johnseye, @afrancois, et al. who have dabbled with the 3M or  SOtM EMI/RF sheets.

 

Do you put these on the inside of the chassis - of whatever, server, sMS, tX, etc? Or do you open each component up, and cover individual components?  Also, is there a use case for using these on the outside surfaces of a component?

 

I'm not sure I want to open up any trifecta components, but just gathering info!

 

 

 

The photo shows where to place the eABS-200 on the upper side of the chassis inside the sMS-200ultra and tX-USBultra.  May sent me this photo so that I would understand the correct placement.  You need a T8 torx screwdriver to open the case.

 

It's actually pretty simple to add to the tX-USBultra.  The sMS-200ultra is more challenging because of the difficulty of removing and replacing both boards.  The sMS-200 may be simpler since it lacks the sCLK-EX.

 

I heard a discernible improvement after adding the eABS-200 to the tX-USBultra.  My sMS-200ultra came with it already installed, so I have no basis for comparison.

[auricgoldfinger]

18 minutes ago, Jianan said:

One is planned to be used for moded ethernet switch and another for iso regen (send to sotm for mod).

 

SOtM most likely will not modify an ISO REGEN, in which case you could buy a tX-USBultra and have it re-clock your modded sMS-200 and ethernet switch. 

[auricgoldfinger]

1 minute ago, Jianan said:

Thank you for your information. I saw ramaz did the mod but I will further confirm with May.

 

 

romaz did that mod himself, but please let us know if SOtM agrees to do it for you.

[auricgoldfinger]

47 minutes ago, d_elm said:

@marce, do you have something better to do than troll these threads ?

 

The 'ignore user' function is a wonderful feature.