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

[seeteeyou]

33 minutes ago, austinpop said:

Not sure what you're saying, and not going to ask.

 

Ah, that's what happened when I was leaving the similes out. For some reasons I just kept thinking about Austin Powers whenever I saw your ID here and on Head-Fi etc. Since Roy is actually a doctor, that's why I was constantly picturing 100 billion dollars.

 

BTW, just wondering if there were anyone who's familiar with this wireless dock from Pioneer?

 

 

It's only available in Japan for roughly 180 bucks

 

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Pioneer-パイオニア-IEEE802-11a-ワイヤレスユニット単体-APS-WF02JBK/dp/B01D45S1K8

 

Unfortunately they only made some apps for iOS and Android. No love for Linux whatsoever but both Windows and Mac OS X are supported

 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=jp.pioneer.itp.android.stellanovaplayer&hl=en

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/stellanova-ワイヤレスハイレゾプレーヤー/id917070017?l=en&mt=8

 

Basically it's taking 15V / 2.7A via its DC input and there are 4 USB ports. One of them is meant for USB DACs while the others are good for even stuff like BD drives or speakers etc. I checked their official site and they didn't provide any drivers for their own USB DAC APS-DA101 as shown below. In other words, supposedly USB Audio Class 2.0 is supported on both wireless dock and USB DAC if I weren't mistaken

 

https://jpn.pioneer/ja/support/s-year.php?main_cd=021&sub_cd=096

 

It's operating at either 2.4GHz or 5GHz so that's different from Intel's WiGig. (i.e. 802.11ad @ 60GHz)

 

 

[austinpop]

15 minutes ago, beautiful music said:

Will you consider to audition Adrian's DS-1 soon or are you waiting for someone else And see his findings?

 

Oh yes - I’ll certainly audition it if he sends it to me, as we’ve discussed.

[beautiful music]

5 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Oh yes - I’ll certainly audition it if he sends it to me, as we’ve discussed.

Looking expectantly to be findings.

 

Also may we know more information about the type of motherboard and other things also when I went to the site i don't find the price.

[lmitche]

4 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

 

Larry, let's see if stuff like this were the least painful way or not. So far the longest pigtail I could find was about 31.4 inches (i.e. 80cm) but they're coming from China

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=540183870295

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/A-pair-of-IPEX-MHF4-80cm-31-4-2-4-5G-wifi-antennas-for-Intel-7260/32682007357.html

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/A-pair-of-IPEX-MHF4-80cm-31-4-2-4-5G-wifi-antennas-for-Intel-7260/32858347028.html

 

These guys make something up to 20 inches

 

https://www.data-alliance.net/mhf4-to-rp-sma-female-cable-1-inch-2-in-3-in-4-in-6-in-8-in-10-in-1-ft-14-in-16-in-18-in-20-inch/

 

Other than that, we could also try Pasternack

 

https://www.pasternack.com/t-cable-creator.aspx

 

They seemed to something that's gonna be a good match, though I wasn't able to select HMCX32 from their page The Cable Creator linked above

 

https://www.pasternack.com/pages/RF-Microwave-and-Millimeter-Wave-Products/ultra-miniature-coaxial-cable-assemblies-up-to-6-ghz.html

 

Could 31.4 inches away from an Akasa case be far enough to mitigate the effect of RF noise? If not, do you think it could be taken care of if we're going for the one that's terminated with RP-SMA and then add another extension coaxial cable cord?

Over here, I used the stock  4 to 6 inch ipex cable with the rp-sma poked through the case and then a 10 foot sma extension from there.  Signal quality is 70/70 or 100% according to Linux. Please don't ask what the units are, I don't know.

 

Here is one:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Taoglas/CABS02?qs=%2Fv8iy7V9uiwj65CKT%2F%2b6tQ%3D%3D&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4vOtnpvS3QIVC6_ICh33YAQNEAQYBSABEgIxfPD_BwE

 

And another:

https://www.amazon.com/Rp-sma-Female-Pigtail-0-81mm-Wireless/dp/B0119DX04Y

[lmitche]

3 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

 

We just need to bribe Rajiv and then he'll be our spy, then we're gonna get the latest and greatest intelligence before that's posted by Roy.

 

I guess that he might have talked to Adrian about further improving Dream OS or something. For instance, we could tweak the Linux kernel by changing the value of CONFIG_HZ

 

https://linuxmusicians.com/viewtopic.php?t=9339&start=15#p29673

https://github.com/MintCN/linux-insides-zh/blob/master/Timers/linux-timers-1.md

http://www.my-hiend.com/vbb/showthread.php?5404-走向超值而極緻的-HI-FI電腦訊源（連載）&p=228756#post228756

 

That value is 250Hz (4ms) by default and we could increase that drastically in order to lower the latency. An audiophile in Taiwan tried some values such as 44100Hz (~0.023ms) 22050Hz (~0.045ms) 11025Hz (~0.09ms) since the vast majority of the files in his music library turned out to be in Redbook format. Finally he concluded that all three of them sounded pretty much the same and therefore 11025Hz was the chosen one with the lowest CPU usage.

Part of Audiolinux is proprietary latency control and measurement tools.

[seeteeyou]

Here's a similar mini PC from Asus with Gemini Lake processors, according to the manual it might only accept 19V via its DC input

 

https://www.asus.com/Mini-PCs/Mini-PC-PN40/

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/Desktop/MiniPC/PN40/E13634_PN_Series_EM_WEB.pdf#page=21

 

Right now I'm only able to find the model with Celeron N4000 in US for $150 or so, it's coming with a fanless case by default so we don't need to pay another $67.95 for an Akasa Newton JC

 

https://www.provantage.com/asus-90ms0181-m00210~7ASUD0CE.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Barebones-integrated-DisplayPort-BlueTooth-PN40-BB021M/dp/B07C66BNWH

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1403485-REG/asus_pn40_bb021m_pn40_fanless_barebones_mini.html

 

Also available in New Zealand with 32GB eMMC and 2GB of RAM for NZ$299 or about 200 bucks

 

https://www.dicksmith.co.nz/dn/buy/asus-pn40-celeron-j4005-2gb-ram-32gb-emmc-mini-pc-pn40-c4000m2s32w10p-csm-asus/

 

Thankfully we could also get the Celeron J4005 version from China for $160 or so

 

https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=577510692935

 

That fanless case looked pretty good to me, though not sure if that were sounding any better than Intel's NUC7CJYH.

[lmitche]

Before the arrival of the second NUC, booting from the hard disk with the emmc disabled sounded better than booting from the emmc. After the second NUC arrived the hard disk was moved to the dirty zone, and booting the clean NUC from emmc made sense.

 

Thinking about how to disable the emmc, iscsi boot was contemplated until the realization that you can't iscsi boot over a wireless connection. At least I don't know how. Booting iscsi over direct ethernet could be made to work and then once the wireless link was up, the ethernet cable could be removed. That seemed like a plan until I recognized that booting from a USB stick and removing it after boot would work just as well. This also avoids days of work getting pxe boot and iscsi going again.

 

So now I'm doing just that. Since headless Audiolinux only takes 8gbs, the two 8gb sodimms were replaced for two 4gb boards as well.

 

It's too early to talk about any SQ difference here until the new ram cooks for a few days.

[austinpop]

Interesting discussion on power cables over on the SR-4 thread, especially a very perceptive post by @feelingears that has gotten me thinking.

 

2 hours ago, feelingears said:

Personally, after a few years of this “magic” with USB and power stuff, I now consider cables components unto themselves because for better or worse, I can hear them. What this means is that my “sense of balance” is no longer offset by the cost of the component attached to a cable. It is what it is and the cable companies need to put kids thru college too. And of course I have a budget so it’s not the sky’s the limit anyway. 

 

This is very perceptive, and I think you've hit the nail on the head - one has to stop thinking of cables as accessories, and evaluate them as primary parts of the chain. I've been told as much by Roy before - many times - but this a point of view that does not come easily to me, even though it does make sense. And, as you say, as long as you control the insanity with a budget, you can navigate this space!

 

My only additional contribution to this discussion is to illustrate what I think we all know - that a power cable that is perfect in one spot may be over- or under-kill in another. After my initial experiment with confirming Jay's finding in his SR-4 review, that the SR-4 really benefits from a better power cable, I redid that experiment with 2 other components in my chain: the Ref-10 and the Zenith SE. The findings are - well, instructive and cautionary.

• Ref 10: I did not finding the Ref 10 to benefit as greatly from a cable upgrade. I went from a modest $150 Pangea AC-14XL to the $700 Cardas Clear. There is perhaps a very slight improvement, but not as dramatic as with the SR-4. Really strange.
• Zenith SE: Note that I am already using an older Cardas Golden Cross power cable ($460 MSRP, bought on 50% sale) that I found to have made a big improvement over the stock cable back when the SE first arrived. So the swap was Golden Cross to Clear. Oh my word! Another dramatic improvement. This one I did not expect, as I was going from a good to a better cable.

What does it all mean? I don't know yet. At some point, I will have to test the remainder of my components to determine:

• how sensitive they are to power cable quality
• then, decide whether (and how) to upgrade, as funds allow.

[seeteeyou]

I re-read Roy's absolutely and positively epic post last night, though that $22K power cable from HFC seemed to be a bit too much for we mere mortals

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/chord-electronics-dave.766517/page-396#post-13065507

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?page=49&tab=comments#comment-645953

 

In addition to power cables, there are some AC filters from Furutech / Acoustic Revive / MIT etc. as shown below

 

http://my-hiend.com/wp/furutech、acoustic-revive、mit-ac濾波/3/

 

The best combo back then turned out to be Furutech + MIT but they still cost quite a bit today, depending on what the grade is

 

http://acousticrevive.jp/portfolio-item/ac-stabilizer/

http://www.furutech.com/products/power-distributors-filters/

https://www.acoustic-revive.com/english/ras14/ras14_01.html

 

Of course we could also make something like that on our own, it's just a matter of finding the right connector as shown below

 

 

And then we could even emulate Acoustic Revive by adding some Finemet beads

 

https://www.amazon.com/Finemet-saturable-core-MP1006LF3T-length/dp/B00R5GWP2S

http://www.hilltech.com/products/power_components/amorphous_nanocrystalline_cores.html

https://www.hitachimetals.com/materials-products/amorphous-nanocrystalline/surge-absorbers.php

 

Also good for DC cables etc.

 

https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/digital-source/142562-microsd-memory-card-transport-project-63.html#post3615018

 

 

http://www.kaijin-musen.jp/211_8756.html

 

 

 

http://www.highendforum.cz/viewtopic.php?t=4443

 

[Advieira]

This topic have lost its initial

consensus. I dont know anymore if I can do anything to improve sotm trifecta, oor if I order a Innuos, or build a media server piece by piece or forget media server and order M-scaler. ?

 

I even dont know it the bridged connection is the best yet.

 

Why you each of you guys dont create a tutorial with the various approaches tested? Item by item what you have done to media serving your dac?

[Bruce Orr]

13 hours ago, austinpop said:

Interesting discussion on power cables over on the SR-4 thread, especially a very perceptive post by @feelingears that has gotten me thinking.

 

 

This is very perceptive, and I think you've hit the nail on the head - one has to stop thinking of cables as accessories, and evaluate them as primary parts of the chain. I've been told as much by Roy before - many times - but this a point of view that does not come easily to me, even though it does make sense. And, as you say, as long as you control the insanity with a budget, you can navigate this space!

 

My only additional contribution to this discussion is to illustrate what I think we all know - that a power cable that is perfect in one spot may be over- or under-kill in another. After my initial experiment with confirming Jay's finding in his SR-4 review, that the SR-4 really benefits from a better power cable, I redid that experiment with 2 other components in my chain: the Ref-10 and the Zenith SE. The findings are - well, instructive and cautionary.

• Ref 10: I did not finding the Ref 10 to benefit as greatly from a cable upgrade. I went from a modest $150 Pangea AC-14XL to the $700 Cardas Clear. There is perhaps a very slight improvement, but not as dramatic as with the SR-4. Really strange.
• Zenith SE: Note that I am already using an older Cardas Golden Cross power cable ($460 MSRP, bought on 50% sale) that I found to have made a big improvement over the stock cable back when the SE first arrived. So the swap was Golden Cross to Clear. Oh my word! Another dramatic improvement. This one I did not expect, as I was going from a good to a better cable.

What does it all mean? I don't know yet. At some point, I will have to test the remainder of my components to determine:

• how sensitive they are to power cable quality
• then, decide whether (and how) to upgrade, as funds allow.

 

Thanks both @austinpop and @feelingears

 

Rajiv, just confirming your test was with the Cardas Clear, not the Cardas Clear Beyond version? At .5 meter both are in the $700 ballpark. 

 

Thanks!

[austinpop]

1 hour ago, Bruce Orr said:

 

Thanks both @austinpop and @feelingears

 

Rajiv, just confirming your test was with the Cardas Clear, not the Cardas Clear Beyond version? At .5 meter both are in the $700 ballpark. 

 

Thanks!

 

Yes. Clear, not Clear Beyond.

 

https://www.thecableco.com/clear-power-cord.html

[str-1]

27 minutes ago, austinpop said:

 

Yes. Clear, not Clear Beyond.

 

https://www.thecableco.com/clear-power-cord.html

I would like to give these cables a try but the UK distributor seems to be the only point of sale here.  Their 20% restocking fee for returns, and insistence that returned items must not have been opened, is a little off-putting.

[Superdad]

5 hours ago, str-1 said:

Their 20% restocking fee for returns, and insistence that returned items must not have been opened, is a little off-putting.

 

20% restock fee on an unopened product? Outrageous!  And the heck are you supposed to audition it if you don’t open it? 

[austinpop]

6 hours ago, str-1 said:

I would like to give these cables a try but the UK distributor seems to be the only point of sale here.  Their 20% restocking fee for returns, and insistence that returned items must not have been opened, is a little off-putting.

 

That’s unacceptable!

 

Try contacting Cardas directly to clarify. They’re pretty good abut phone and email response.

[Ralf11]

they may have had some bad experiences with bad consumers -- emphasize that you are a good one, but need a listening session

 

- I'd use Email at some point NOT voice alone (in case you have any problems)

 

IIRC, some dealers sell Cardas and will allow returns.

[str-1]

I’ve emailed Cardas so just need to wait to hear what they have to say.

 

Just as a matter of interest, do the Cardas power cables come in packaging that can be opened and closed again without tearing anything?

[the_doc735]

16 minutes ago, str-1 said:

I’ve emailed Cardas so just need to wait to hear what they have to say.

 

Just as a matter of interest, do the Cardas power cables come in packaging that can be opened and closed again without tearing anything?

I think they have an holistic label that is destroyed when opened.

[hols]

On 9/9/2018 at 3:43 PM, BigAlMc said:

 

Hi Hols,

 

Great review.

 

I'm loving the Lush^2, so looking forward to your thoughts and comparison to the Intona.

 

Cheers,

Alan

I received my Lush 2 last week and has burned it for more than a week continuously before I evaluate it together with a few of my audiophile friends. So this is only a sort of early report of the Lush 2 as it will need more burn in to reveal its full potential. I will only report 2 configurations of the shielding combinations here and leave the opinion on other configurations in the Lush 2 thread.

 

Frankly speaking we don't have great expectations at first because we had been 'tricked' before by other cable manufacturers who come up with a little modification and boost that it is a revolution. So when the Lush 2 was used to replace another USB cable costing ($1800) from my SOtM Tx-USB ultra to the Chord Blu 2 our jaws dropped to the ground. This is the A: B-W-Y-R  B: B-W-R configuration. We were listening to Lanchbery In a Persian market a piece for chorus and orchestra, the chorus and orchestra suddenly come back to shape. The percussions are much more focused , the Cello melody come on so sumptuously. You suddenly found all the Persian goodies are well displayed in front of you. This is really excellent layering and holographic presentation of the orchestra. We then changed to the A: B-Y & W-R  B: B-Y & W-R configuration and this is another world. The instruments suddenly becomes much richer in timbre and so much more musical. You can feel the whole orchestra is enjoying the music. However the layering and focus of instruments are not as good as the first config. And opinions are a little divided here. Some would prefer this config than the first one for the musicality although I myself think that the piano sound is too thick and lost its liveliness. We have also substituted this Lush 2 with the Lush 1 and the reaction is that it is not listenable and have to change it back immediately. The difference is really great.

 

And then there is the question of how does it compare with the Intona Ultimate? So we replace the Intona Ultimate with the Lush 2 and WOW we lost half of the detail we have got previously. The orchestra shrunk down both in size and in layering and  in number of orchestra members. There appear to be holes in between instruments. 

 

What about using the USB cables just connected to DAC without the intermediary SOtM Tx USB Ultra. So we then tried the Lush 2 in another system where my Windows 10 HQplayer is driving my Holo Spring DAC. We tried Lush 1, Lush 2 , Intona Ultimate. The character of all the USB cables is similar to before. The Intona Ultimate is most detailed. Lush 1 appears musical but without too much of  layering or focusing of instruments. Lush 2 is miles ahead of Lush 1 and it has advantage of being able to change the character in minutes by changing the configurations. And the character could be so vastly different, not imaginable before.

 

So our conclusion is that Intona Ultimate excels in giving you details which at present no other cables can come close. Lush 2 is great either as a complementary cable to the Intona Ultimate or on its own. The question of (whether we Lush 1 owners should buy the Lush 2 or not)  has now changed to how many do I need?  No deal with Phasure ( I pay full price and get refund of 50 Euro like all Lush 1 owners). So it seems that both material & specification(Intona claims Ultimate 90 Ohm +/- 0.2 Ohm, Reference 90 Ohm +/- 0.5 Ohm) as well as shielding are all important in the final outcome of the sound generated. 

[Johnseye]

On 9/22/2018 at 5:21 PM, austinpop said:

 

But this was several circuits, right John? What would you say was $/circuit?

 

It was 2 circuits with fairly long runs to 5 different outlets. We cut open drywall and added new outlets as well. It was a big job. 

 

[austinpop]

32 minutes ago, hols said:

I received my Lush 2 last week and has burned it for more than a week continuously before I evaluate it together with a few of my audiophile friends. So this is only a sort of early report of the Lush 2 as it will need more burn in to reveal its full potential. I will only report 2 configurations of the shielding combinations here and leave the opinion on other configurations in the Lush 2 thread.

 

Frankly speaking we don't have great expectations at first because we had been 'tricked' before by other cable manufacturers who come up with a little modification and boost that it is a revolution. So when the Lush 2 was used to replace another USB cable costing ($1800) from my SOtM Tx-USB ultra to the Chord Blu 2 our jaws dropped to the ground. This is the A: B-W-Y-R  B: B-W-R configuration. We were listening to Lanchbery In a Persian market a piece for chorus and orchestra, the chorus and orchestra suddenly come back to shape. The percussions are much more focused , the Cello melody come on so sumptuously. You suddenly found all the Persian goodies are well displayed in front of you. This is really excellent layering and holographic presentation of the orchestra. We then changed to the A: B-Y & W-R  B: B-Y & W-R configuration and this is another world. The instruments suddenly becomes much richer in timbre and so much more musical. You can feel the whole orchestra is enjoying the music. However the layering and focus of instruments are not as good as the first config. And opinions are a little divided here. Some would prefer this config than the first one for the musicality although I myself think that the piano sound is too thick and lost its liveliness. We have also substituted this Lush 2 with the Lush 1 and the reaction is that it is not listenable and have to change it back immediately. The difference is really great.

 

And then there is the question of how does it compare with the Intona Ultimate? So we replace the Intona Ultimate with the Lush 2 and WOW we lost half of the detail we have got previously. The orchestra shrunk down both in size and in layering and  in number of orchestra members. There appear to be holes in between instruments. 

 

What about using the USB cables just connected to DAC without the intermediary SOtM Tx USB Ultra. So we then tried the Lush 2 in another system where my Windows 10 HQplayer is driving my Holo Spring DAC. We tried Lush 1, Lush 2 , Intona Ultimate. The character of all the USB cables is similar to before. The Intona Ultimate is most detailed. Lush 1 appears musical but without too much of  layering or focusing of instruments. Lush 2 is miles ahead of Lush 1 and it has advantage of being able to change the character in minutes by changing the configurations. And the character could be so vastly different, not imaginable before.

 

So our conclusion is that Intona Ultimate excels in giving you details which at present no other cables can come close. Lush 2 is great either as a complementary cable to the Intona Ultimate or on its own. The question of (whether we Lush 1 owners should buy the Lush 2 or not)  has now changed to how many do I need?  No deal with Phasure ( I pay full price and get refund of 50 Euro like all Lush 1 owners). So it seems that both material & specification(Intona claims Ultimate 90 Ohm +/- 0.2 Ohm, Reference 90 Ohm +/- 0.5 Ohm) as well as shielding are all important in the final outcome of the sound generated. 

 

Thanks so much for this informative report. 

 

I did get kind of lost at the end. So you found the Intona Reference to be the best, correct? Is your final configuration then: Lush^2 going from your source to the tX-USBultra, and then the Intona Reference from tX-USBultra to the Blu2? Sorry if I missed it in your write up.

 

Also, I have a favor to ask. When you get a chance, please also try: A: B-W & Y-R  B: B-W & Y-R. This is JSSG 360 classic, what we Lush1 DIYers have got. I'd like your take on this config vs the 2 you tried.

[austinpop]

9 minutes ago, Johnseye said:

 

It was 2 circuits with fairly long runs to 5 different outlets. We cut open drywall and added new outlets as well. It was a big job. 

 

 

Gotcha. Thanks!

[seeteeyou]

I just saw this about Lush^2 on another thread

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/49648-lush2-share-your-configuration-experiences/?page=11&tab=comments#comment-880259

10 minutes ago, hols said:

(4)Then comes the (JSSG360 )A: B-W & Y-R  B: B-W & Y-R. The sound is sort of in between the first and second one but the musicality is significantly lower than the previous two. In other words, not so musical and then the layering and image focus is also not as good. The music does not catch the ear so much as the others.

 

[hols]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

Thanks so much for this informative report. 

 

I did get kind of lost at the end. So you found the Intona Reference to be the best, correct? Is your final configuration then: Lush^2 going from your source to the tX-USBultra, and then the Intona Reference from tX-USBultra to the Blu2? Sorry if I missed it in your write up.

 

Also, I have a favor to ask. When you get a chance, please also try: A: B-W & Y-R  B: B-W & Y-R. This is JSSG 360 classic, what we Lush1 DIYers have got. I'd like your take on this config vs the 2 you tried.

I can use an arbitrary scale 1 to 10 to describe the improvements. 

Intona Ultimate awarded 8. The improvement is mainly towards detail and timing, less so over musicality

Lush 2 A: B-W-Y-R  B: B-W-R  awarded 5. The improvement is most significant over 3-D , imaging, layering

Lush 2 A: B-Y & W-R  B: B-Y & W-R  B: B-Y & W-R awarded 5 . The improvement is mainly over musicality and timbre.

Lush 2 A: B-W & Y-R  B: B-W & Y-R (JSSG 360) awarded 2 . The improvement is comprehensive. 

Lush 1 and Lush 2 is 1

 

I find the best combination is Intona Ultimate from NAA computer to SOtM Tx USB ultra and Lush 2 A: B-W-Y-R  B: B-W-R from SOtM to DAC. Of all the cables Intona Ultimate is indispensable because you would lose half of your detail. The position of Lush 2 can be substituted with other cables but you would need probably 5 times its price before you can get the same level of its improvement.

Intona Ultimate in combination with Lush 2 is a synergistic combination. 1+1 is more than 2 in my opinion.

[BigAlMc]

2 hours ago, hols said:

I received my Lush 2 last week and has burned it for more than a week continuously before I evaluate it together with a few of my audiophile friends. So this is only a sort of early report of the Lush 2 as it will need more burn in to reveal its full potential. I will only report 2 configurations of the shielding combinations here and leave the opinion on other configurations in the Lush 2 thread.

 

Frankly speaking we don't have great expectations at first because we had been 'tricked' before by other cable manufacturers who come up with a little modification and boost that it is a revolution. So when the Lush 2 was used to replace another USB cable costing ($1800) from my SOtM Tx-USB ultra to the Chord Blu 2 our jaws dropped to the ground. This is the A: B-W-Y-R  B: B-W-R configuration. We were listening to Lanchbery In a Persian market a piece for chorus and orchestra, the chorus and orchestra suddenly come back to shape. The percussions are much more focused , the Cello melody come on so sumptuously. You suddenly found all the Persian goodies are well displayed in front of you. This is really excellent layering and holographic presentation of the orchestra. We then changed to the A: B-Y & W-R  B: B-Y & W-R configuration and this is another world. The instruments suddenly becomes much richer in timbre and so much more musical. You can feel the whole orchestra is enjoying the music. However the layering and focus of instruments are not as good as the first config. And opinions are a little divided here. Some would prefer this config than the first one for the musicality although I myself think that the piano sound is too thick and lost its liveliness. We have also substituted this Lush 2 with the Lush 1 and the reaction is that it is not listenable and have to change it back immediately. The difference is really great.

 

And then there is the question of how does it compare with the Intona Ultimate? So we replace the Intona Ultimate with the Lush 2 and WOW we lost half of the detail we have got previously. The orchestra shrunk down both in size and in layering and  in number of orchestra members. There appear to be holes in between instruments. 

 

What about using the USB cables just connected to DAC without the intermediary SOtM Tx USB Ultra. So we then tried the Lush 2 in another system where my Windows 10 HQplayer is driving my Holo Spring DAC. We tried Lush 1, Lush 2 , Intona Ultimate. The character of all the USB cables is similar to before. The Intona Ultimate is most detailed. Lush 1 appears musical but without too much of  layering or focusing of instruments. Lush 2 is miles ahead of Lush 1 and it has advantage of being able to change the character in minutes by changing the configurations. And the character could be so vastly different, not imaginable before.

 

So our conclusion is that Intona Ultimate excels in giving you details which at present no other cables can come close. Lush 2 is great either as a complementary cable to the Intona Ultimate or on its own. The question of (whether we Lush 1 owners should buy the Lush 2 or not)  has now changed to how many do I need?  No deal with Phasure ( I pay full price and get refund of 50 Euro like all Lush 1 owners). So it seems that both material & specification(Intona claims Ultimate 90 Ohm +/- 0.2 Ohm, Reference 90 Ohm +/- 0.5 Ohm) as well as shielding are all important in the final outcome of the sound generated. 

 

Thanks Hols for posting such a detailed review.

 

I'd a similar conclusion over on the Lush^2 thread where I felt the very highly regarded Sablon cable was probably more accurate and analytical but there was an immediacy and musicality with the Lush^2 that grabbed me more.

 

I'm on holiday this week and out of the country so have yet to try Peters latest config. Something to look forward to when I get home.

 

Cheers,

Alan