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

[Bricki]

On 9/23/2019 at 11:04 AM, elan120 said:

I know I also want to add JSSG360 treatment to these cables, meanwhile, the recent learning from different configurations in using Lush^2 USB cables, I decided to experiment by adding a third layer of shield to make it JSSG360^3 and see how that will work.

I have ordered some more braided tinned copper sleeve because I want to try a 3rd layer on my USB and Ethernet cable to my endpoint NUC.... just confirming that you had all 3 layers of shield connected at both ends and each shield separated by a layer of insulation... with nothing connected to ground?

[Bricki]

49 minutes ago, elan120 said:

Yes, confirmed.  Please see pictures below as reference.  Looking forward to your impression when you are done.

 

First two layer shields connected together without connected to ground:

 

I left about 6mm of section exposed (Red Circles) without heat shrink tubing to connect to the third layer shield:

 

Third layer added:

 

 

Excellent! 😁👍 Thanks heaps for this... I hope to have my USB cable completed with this 3rd layer in a couple of weeks... I will post my impressions when done and then complete my Ethernet cable 😁👍

[Bricki]

2 hours ago, luisma said:

Not trying to advertise here but results with lush^2 kind of show full 3 layer jssg360 wouldn't be the best config although close, maybe you can leave yourself open to options with a redo static jssg360 3 layer? Just saying, you can take a advantage of the results and do your own testing. Personally I got lush^2 

When you say a "static jssg360 3 layer", do you mean not connected to the underlying first 2 layers at all? Or do you mean like the TANF configuration in the lush^2 thread, which is as best I can tell, a jssg360 with a 3rd layer only connected to the first 2 layers at the output end? 

[Bricki]

My braided tinned copper sleeve arrived earlier than expected and I got a chance to put a 3rd layer on my curious USB cable.

For the first 2 layers I used the 9.5mm sleeve... That was probably over a year ago...for this 3rd layer I used 12.7mm. I tried to replicate the TANF configuration that @TheAttorney came up with in the lush^2 thread...as far as I can tell this basically involves the 3rd layer being connected to the underlying jssg360 layers at only one end, that end being the output end for the direction of the music.

 

This 3rd layer has given me even blacker backgrounds with more clarity and detail and timbre... There is more depth and individual images are less convoluted and more separated. Everything once again sounds richer and more natural... vocals sound even more dimensional and have more subtle gradations. Small background sounds in recordings are more easily discernable and every individual image is more focused and more accurately placed in the sound stage in terms of depth and width.

 

Next step is to add a 3rd layer on my Supra cat8 Ethernet cable between my NUC endpoint and server. I will use this same TANF configuration and report back again.

[Bricki]

1 hour ago, ray-dude said:

It would be very interesting to see if JSSG360^4 config (a 4th layer) gives even more benefit.  With my Lush^2's, I preferred the full JSSG360^3 config to the TANF config (by a smidge), but I was very impressed with both configs.

Interesting... I will probably have enough braid left over to try a 4th on my USB cable at least... I have just finished my Ethernet cable and the improvement seems even greater than the USB cable 🧐... I certainly wasn't expecting that

[Bricki]

I have now completed a 3rd layer on my Supra cat8 Ethernet cable used on the bridged connection from my server to NUC endpoint.

I did the same TANF configuration and connected just one end to the underlying jssg 360 layers.

The end with the longer section of heat shrink denotes the end that connects to the jssg 360 shielding.

 

After listening for a couple of hours this seems to have even more impact than the USB cable... maybe it's the fact that this cable has to pass over my furutech TCS31 ac cable that goes to my sps500 or maybe it's the fact that it's 1meter long as opposed to the USB cable that is only 280mm... Whatever the reason I think it has more impact in my system.

 

The impact is very similar to the USB cable. The background is blacker again and the music even richer... The depth has increased further still as well as focus. Vocals again seem to be more dimensional and everything pops more.

 

The music has a lot more emotion and feeling to it. Small nuances are more evident and bring more character... just listened to son of neck bone by the beastie boys and the impact of the drums and the timbre of the cow bell is just making it so real 😁👍... I wonder what I'll sheild next 🙄

[Bricki]

Experiments with a 4th layer

 

As per @ray-dude suggestion I have been experimenting with a 4th layer. 

 

I have tried a 4th layer that formed a new jssg360 but connected to the first at one end.... This sounded too quiet and lost some of the magic after hours of listening I decided to try the fourth layer as a double TANF... This was better but there was something about it that just wasn't right... It felt like it was a bit muffled and it was having some kind of negative impact so today I have rejigged it to be 2 individual jssg360s, one underlying jssg360 unconnected to the top jssg360 and right away I knew this was a keeper all the magic of jssg360 is back and I hardly had to listen much to know that I don't want to experiment with any other configurations.

 

This one is a keeper and I will want to change my other cables to have this configuration... I think we should call it jssg360x2👍😉

[Bricki]

I have only been able to listen for a short while and I have to go away for a week now but I can say that this configuration of 2 independent jssg360 over the top of each other is very very good. I have that feeling that I got when I did the original jssg360... That deathly quiet background and the music just has more space to breath and the dynamics increase and the individual sounds get further apart... This is significantly better than just one jssg360. I won't be able to listen again for a week but when I get back I will definitely be doing more cables with this configuration 👍😁...

[Bricki]

5 hours ago, Metnoc said:

 

Interesting, is there a guide on how to do this?

@austinpop wrote a good guide a while ago

 

I am simply adding a 3rd and 4th layer disconnected from the first 2 to form a 2nd jssg360 over the top

[Bricki]

30 minutes ago, elan120 said:

 

This JSSG360x2 is quite interesting and I decided to give it a try with the materials just arrived to one of my Lush^2 cable.  So far, with about an hour of playing time, it is clear that I have my new favorite.  Now I am going to modify my other Lush^2 cable to this configuration (A: Y-W,  B: R-B).

 

Here is a picture of my modified Lush^2:

Awesome! My next step is to try this jssg360x2 on my ethernet cable 😁👍

[Bricki]

I got the 4th layer and my 2 independent JSSG360 finished on my Supra cat8 Ethernet cable a few days ago... This JSSG360x2 shielding on this ethernet cable is a smashing success!

 

The improvement is very obvious and immediate. It sounds much richer and fuller and more coherent. Lyrics are easily discernable with what seems like better enunciation. Fine details are easily heard with a feeling of higher resolution and the character of instruments and voices has changed to become more realistic and personable. The dynamics are even better and with greater ease and backgrounds are inky black. Everything is more relaxed and less hard. Beautiful textures and timbres are coming to life. 

 

It's so good I think I'm going to have to order more braid 🤣

 

Final layer of insulation

I've run out of black heat shrink 🤣

 

The cable is now so thick that I didn't measure my final shield layer correctly and had to extend it with another piece to complete the circuit. All mistakes can be covered up with heat shrink 😁

 

It's a fat cumbersome Ethernet cable reminiscent of manly power cables but it's all worthwhile once you figure out a way to plug it in 🤣. When my Etheregen arrives in January I'm going to need more weights to hold it down 🤣

[Bricki]

2 hours ago, rickca said:

I've actually been considering flat ethernet cables for the EtherREGEN to keep it from moving around.  Congratulations on some really good experimentation.

If some of your smaller components have a tendency to move around then grab some $5 1kg door stoppers and show those pesky fat cables who's boss. They're also a great conversation starter 🤣

This is an old pic of my system before the days of NUC. If you zoom in you can see the only thing I have in contact with the component chassis are very thin vibration dampening discs👍.  

[Bricki]

34 minutes ago, Chopin75 said:

Perhaps you can try these too:

https://www.supplyhouse.com/sh/control/product/~product_id=MP-2E

 

Great reviews for isolating vibration from audiophiles. Now I am testing them.

Interesting product. I'd be interested to read the results of your testing.

These are the ones I'm using and I think they work really well but I've never compared them to any other vibration dampening product. Vibration dampening can be a tricky thing because for some reason if something is over damped then the sound can become muffled and too much bloated bass... I've experimented with it a couple of times... For example if you damp the transformer in your amplifier too much then the sound will become muffled with bloated bass... But just the right amount will give a more refined and sweeter treble with tighter bass. I have a feeling it's got something to do with damping the different frequencies evenly. 🤔

[Bricki]

Wham Bam Thank You RAM😁

 

First of all, a big thank you to @Nenon for organising the RAM group buy. I'm sure he's helped many people get a nice sound quality bump to their systems.

 

 

I replaced my standard Kingston ram stick with the new apacer wide temperature industrial RAM that @Nenon sourced. It is a non ECC sodimm. It was installed in my endpoint NUC7CJYH running roon bridge and Audiolinux 2.1 in ramroot.

 

I have never compared any RAM sticks before and I had no idea that different RAM sticks could impact the sound at all. So I had no idea what to expect when I swapped my sticks. 

 

When I pressed play after swapping, the first few seconds I was confused because it sounded as if my amp had been turned down... Then a vocal kicked in and it sounded set back further in the soundstage than I remembered... Then I realised that there was a whole lot more space back there in the soundstage... This was in the first 30 seconds and things were sounding very fresh and not settled... As I changed tracks there was more space in every song I played... instruments weren't crashing into each other and each instrument was seemingly occupying more space. This was quite a big change and a lot bigger than I was expecting. In the first couple of hours the sound opened up more and I could notice a reduction in hardness that I didn't know was there before. The old RAM seemed to accentuate some of the more prominent parts of a recording and brush over some of the subtleties. The new apacer RAM set those prominent parts, like lead vocals, back into a more refined and larger soundstage that allows you to hear quieter instruments in the background and hear more subtleties and nuances in the main instruments. The images themselves have more of a 3 dimensional quality to them that makes them seem bigger in the front to back plane. The bass is also more rounded, tighter and has more impact.

In the track "bass and drum intro" on Nils Lofgren band live, there is part of the song where the bass guitarist plays harmonics and those harmonics are very hard to reproduce properly on HiFi... I haven't heard them quite so coherent and realistic before installing the apacer RAM. 

 

On the Eric Sumo album "My Rocky Mountain" the first track "slow" has some amazing electronic sounds that have opened up enormously to fill a much larger space but also have a lot more texture and character to them in the reverb.

 

I don't know if the Kingston RAM I was using was particularly bad or if this new

Apacer RAM is significantly better than every other consumer RAM... What I can say is that the new apacer RAM completely obliterates the Kingston RAM on nuance, tone, realism, refinement, ease and soundstage space. I never would have thought I would write that sentence about a RAM stick 😂

 

It's very hard to quantify changes like this but as far as tweaks go I think this is a large one. My system sounds noticeably more refined with the apacer RAM. When you can hear small subtleties and nuance in your music more clearly, it makes for a much more enjoyable and emotional experience. I feel closer to my music and I'm enjoying every song all the more, and that's what it's all about 👍😁

 

[Bricki]

20 minutes ago, austinpop said:

G’day @Bricki

 

Exciting report! I received my non-ECC Apacer DIMMs from @Nenon’s group buy for my server a few days ago, but have not had the time to do the swap.

 

Now I’m motivated! 

I suppose the level of improvement will depend on what you start out with and maybe the Kingston RAM I had was particularly poor 😅

[Bricki]

14 minutes ago, Miska said:

 

Have you checked who's RAM chips the Apacer is using? Not revealed due to the sticker on that side, but on the other side it should be visible?

 

Your previous Kingston seems to have Micron chips (who also sells memory modules under their own Crucial brand).

 

These are the chips on the Apacer RAM... I think they are Samsung but I don't know for sure

[Bricki]

2 hours ago, luisma said:

Currently have this NUC7i7BNH, on specs doesn't support ECC ram so I guess ECC could be ruled out, anyone using a ram chip which makes a difference in sound with industrial specs non-ECC?

Yes, the RAM in my comparison is non ECC... All Intel "i" series and lower processors do not support ECC... Xeon does and I think most AMD processors do as well.

[Bricki]

4 hours ago, austinpop said:

Apacer Industrial non-ECC DIMM update

 

Well - color me impressed. This replaced a HyperX Fury 8GB DIMM, and I had just listened to a test track before powering down the server and swapping DIMMs. Forget burn-in - the improvement is evident in the first note. There is a weight and richness to the music that just wasn't there before. Wow. I'm assuming this only gets better.

Yes, I found that things improved further and settled down after a week or so. 👍

[Bricki]

3 hours ago, seeteeyou said:

FYI - here's something new for 100 bucks that could work with either DXP-1A5S or DXP-1A5DSC

 

https://fccid.io/RR-iFi-iPower-X-001

https://fccid.io/RR-iFi-iPower-X-002

https://www.price.com.hk/product.php?p=438876

https://www.facebook.com/sk.storehk/posts/2537748199816889

https://www.hkepc.com/forum/viewthread.php?fid=124&tid=2539565

 

 

For instance, get the 15V iPower X and DXP-1A5DSC for something that needs a double-regulated 12V / 1.5A rail so that we'll have 15V → 13.5V → 12V

 

12V iPower X → 10.5V → 9V

 

9V iPower X → 7V → 5V

 

It's somewhere between the price tag of POWERADD PP2 & PP5 (i.e. $89.99 & $105.99 respectively)

 

https://www.amazon.com/POWERADD-Pilot-23000mAh-External-Smartphones/dp/B015OAJFOC

https://www.amazon.com/POWERADD-Delivery-30000mAh-Smartphones-Chromebook/dp/B07WVTKTYD

 

According to @str-1 both PP2 & PP5 should sound the same

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/hugo-m-scaler-by-chord-electronics-the-official-thread.885042/page-657#post-15387361

 

Just another option for those of us who might find it somewhat difficult to get PP2 & PP5 because of issues related to shipping batteries etc.

I can't seem to find any info on how the ifi ipower x differs from the original ipower... Doesn't seem to be listed on their website yet.

 

Do you have any more info other than the price?

[Bricki]

15 minutes ago, seeteeyou said:

I didn't link to iPower X since it's still password-protected at the moment

 

https://ifi-audio.com/products/ipower-2/

 

Previous gen could only deliver up to 18W while the latest ones could reach as high as 24W depending on the voltage. And then previous ones would have some kinda claims like "Up to 10x quieter than the original iFi Ultra-Low Noise AC/DC Adapter" printed on the side of the box while it should be changed to 20x this time. Though not exactly sure if that were just theoretical number or something

 

 

And then I didn't mention this clip below since it's only available in Cantonese without English subtitles, the part about iPower X should begin around the 11:30 mark

 

https://www.facebook.com/CASWorkshopHK/videos/911580552594520

 

Basically they're asking for $100 while we'll get fewer accessories in return, different removable plugs for multiple countries used to be part of the package deal while there's only one plug now. And then most likely we won't be able to reuse those plugs from previous generation. The adapters for DC connectors are still included, though.

Awesome info 👍 thanks 😁

[Bricki]

On 2/13/2020 at 10:03 AM, lmitche said:

Over here, I am back to bridged USB NICs hanging off two direct to CPU USB 3 ports. Zero PCH traffic. Bliss!

G'day Larry

 

So are using your Etheregen "within" your ethernet bridge? A to B?

[Bricki]

28 minutes ago, lmitche said:

I think the ER is best between the router and the server where it eliminates the cable and router born grunge. A side to router, B side to server if copper. Reversed for fiber of course.

Interesting, so your endpoint is not directly connected to the Etheregen? 🤔.

 

I will have to give this a try when I get a chance

[Bricki]

BTW with regards to the furutech IEC inlets

 

They are a very worthwhile modification. I recently installed the FI-06 NCF IEC inlet on my integrated amp and I am very pleased with the results, particularly considering their relatively low price point. 

 

I also swapped an FI-11 IEC plug for an FI-50 NCF and found it to be a very worthwhile upgrade also. This is used on the power cord for my sps-500 that powers my Audiolinux endpoint NUC. 

 

In both cases the furutech rhodium plating takes an exceptional amount of time to burn in... there is an irritating harshness to the sound that does not disappear until you have over 500 hours burn in time.

 

 

In the long run you are left with a smooth sound without harshness and extra clarity and transient attack as well as a larger sound stage and greater depth.

[Bricki]

On 2/16/2020 at 10:29 AM, lmitche said:

My hardware config is likely to be unique, so YMMV. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Thanks again Larry for sharing your experiments, I have finally had a chance to spend several hours trying out your recent suggestions.

 

I got myself a TP Link UE300 with the realtek 8153 chipset and I decided to go for your full suggestion of putting the server on the b side of the Etheregen feeding into the RJ45 port of the server and then bridge one USB NIC on the server to another USB NIC (UE 300) on the endpoint NUC, joined with the cable matters cat 8. I changed this connection speed to 100Mbps because in my system I found 1Gbps too glassy in the treble. On the A side of the Etheregen I only have a Supra cat8 going to my router... I have also turned off 5Ghz WiFi on the router for a small gain (less glassy treble). 

 

I have been using this configuration for several hours now and so far I'm liking what I'm hearing. I think that there are some gains from having the server on the b side further separated from the router... I am hearing more ambient cues and decay on some tracks and small background details that simply weren't there before. 

 

The addition of the Etheregen in my system really made music incredibly enjoyable and engaging, so I'll see how I like this new configuration over the next week and if I don't feel as engaged with the music as I did before then I might revert back to just the endpoint on the B side again to compare, but for now I'm saying that your configuration is a success in my system 😁👍

 

 

[Bricki]

JSSG360 on data cables

 

Over the last 6 months I've made many changes in my system including the addition of an Etheregen and an lps1 powered edgerouter x as my main network router...and after burning in a cable matters cat 8 I decided it was time to try putting a JSSG360 shield over it... After doing that I plugged it back in on the b side of my Etheregen and was quite shocked because I thought it sounded worse 😬.

 

I took the shielding off and put the cable back and wondered why - what I thought was once a good tweak was instead having a negative impact... I have since removed JSSG360 shielding from my curious USB cable and decided that it was definitely better without it as well.

 

At one point I thought that it was removing noise from the sound but since my system has become far more transparent (so many things have changed, apacer RAM, furutech FI-50 NCF on my endpoint NUC as well as all the network tweaks) I feel like it's taking away ambience and the true space of the recording as well as dimension and depth.

 

I still have JSSG360 on some DC cables...I haven't tried removing them yet.

 

Has anyone else had a similar experience with JSSG360 as your system has because more transparent? 

 

As @austinpop has said in this thread before, it pays to go back and re-check old tweaks as your system changes and becomes more transparent.