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

[cat6man]

2 hours ago, edwardsean said:

Did you get it from Monoprice?

 

Also, do you know if this works with USB 2.0 devices? 

 

yes

it should

 

will install here tomorrow

[austinpop]

9 hours ago, altsouza said:

I have noticed the same buffering from Tidal in the recent days. Do tou think this applies also to Tidal?

 

I don't use Tidal anymore, but I suspect the same applies.

[zacho]

9 hours ago, Nenon said:

Buffalo switches - does the 8-port model sound like the 16-port model? Time to find out.

 

 

But first, some serious burn-in time needed.

Am waiting for my 2008 to arrive as well! What DC Voltage does it take? I might get another dual rail ciunas ISO-PS to power them

[flkin]

2 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

I don't use Tidal anymore, but I suspect the same applies.

I wrote a few days earlier that buffering occurs in Tidal under Euphony/Stylus and gave my experiments. Unsure for Roon as I don’t use it anymore. 
 

Glad to hear it’s true for Qobuz as well. 

[tgb]

3 hours ago, Exocer said:

 

@tgb, With the BS-GS2016, the bottom ports are preferred. Not sure which ports are audibly superior on the 24 port model. Which ports are you using?

 

I have a bone stock BS-GS2016P and I do not consider it to add harshness to the sound I get with my LPS 1.2 powered Etherregen downstream. This is only with the "proper" ports in use. The top ports sharpen the sounds too much.

Hi Exocer,

I tried diffrent prots & SQ is quite equal... not good.

 

With the GS2024, the architecture is quite different from 2008 & 2016.

For instance, you have 2 heat sinks, the HSink 1, like 2016s, seems to manage the 12 first ports, this one is quite hot at 43°C ; the 2nd one seems to manage the last 12 ports & the SFPs and is much colder at 32°C. This diff in temperature is very big and may have a role in the switching... don't know.

 

Given that, I tested :

port 2-3, then forward 5-7, bottom of the 1st buch ports 10-12

on the 2nd bunch : port 14-16, then forward 18-20, and then 22-SFP thru 24

I mixed both bunches : SFP (port24) + port 2 etc...

etc...

after "a while", all ports will be burnt ! for sure !

 

Another point : the vendor sent it in the carton box they received from Buffalo. It was the last one in the box of 2 switches, they found convenient to send the big box.

There is a label on the box with Buffalo stamps etc with the shpping date from Buffalo : June '18. This make me think it is quite an old one, & maybe needs for extra-time to burn... don't know... 🙂

Rgds

[Exocer]

1 hour ago, tgb said:

Hi Exocer,

I tried diffrent prots & SQ is quite equal... not good.

 

With the GS2024, the architecture is quite different from 2008 & 2016.

For instance, you have 2 heat sinks, the HSink 1, like 2016s, seems to manage the 12 first ports, this one is quite hot at 43°C ; the 2nd one seems to manage the last 12 ports & the SFPs and is much colder at 32°C. This diff in temperature is very big and may have a role in the switching... don't know.

 

Given that, I tested :

port 2-3, then forward 5-7, bottom of the 1st buch ports 10-12

on the 2nd bunch : port 14-16, then forward 18-20, and then 22-SFP thru 24

I mixed both bunches : SFP (port24) + port 2 etc...

etc...

after "a while", all ports will be burnt ! for sure !

 

Another point : the vendor sent it in the carton box they received from Buffalo. It was the last one in the box of 2 switches, they found convenient to send the big box.

There is a label on the box with Buffalo stamps etc with the shpping date from Buffalo : June '18. This make me think it is quite an old one, & maybe needs for extra-time to burn... don't know... 🙂

Rgds

If it's that old it could certainly use a firmware update. That being said, I updated my firmware shortly after powering up the device for the first time so I do not know if the firmware update improved sound quality.

 

There were some recommended configurations as well. I'm on my mobile device at the moment so I would suggest checking my post history in search of the post where I mention the configurations used by @austinpop ,mainly around disabling lldp , powersaving features and disabling unused ports.

 

Hopefully things get better!

[cazone]

On 7/4/2020 at 12:19 AM, austinpop said:

Experiments with Vibration...

 

...Control. Minds out of the gutter, please! 😎

 

I have not played with vibration control much in my system for a couple of reasons. First — due to my reviewing activities, things are always in a state of flux. Secondly, I've subconsciously dismissed this aspect as less important in a headphone system, even an admittedly high-end one like mine.

 

Well, Daiza time and place for everything, and all this Daiza talk piqued my curiosity, so it seemed like a good time to try something new. I wanted to do a proof of concept, so I did not want to spend $$$ on this experiment. I recalled the good results reported with IKEA bamboo butcher blocks as captured in this article: The Best Things in Life Are (Almost) Free: IKEA's Aptitlig Chopping Boards, so I tried this path. 

 

I bought 4 of these APTITLIG butcher blocks:

 

 

and for rigid footers, I found these hardwood birch 1" cubes on Amazon:

 

 

Pro tip regarding contactless shopping at IKEA in the US and Canada. Home delivery is backed up for weeks, but you can do contactless curbside "Click and Collect" at your local store. If — that is — you can find a slot! That's where this nifty site comes in: https://ikea-status.dong.st/. Yep, we may be the laughing stock of the world when it comes to tackling the pandemic, but we're still the best and brightest at shopping, baby.

 

My system is a hodge-podge spread over 2 vertical racks. I have my PSUs in one rack, and then my digital gear rests on a giant Tranquility Base UEF XL on top of another rack. I deployed the Ikea boards and birch footers under the following:

• power conditioner,
• 3 big PSUs.

    

 

My digital stack was unchanged, and looks like this. I have MiG 2.0 footers under my REF10 SE120. I can't get the DAVE to balance on MiG 2.0's, due to the weight of the cables, so I need to work on that. 

 

 

I realize I still have a ways to go to do this comprehensively across all my gear, but I thought this was a good start to evaluate if it made a difference.

 

Listening Results

 

For a total outlay of under USD 100, I'll say it makes a difference! It's not earth-shattering, but it is noticeable. Keep in mind that it took a good 10-15 minutes to put the blocks and footers in place, so rapid A-B was not possible. But what I am hearing is similar to what Larry @lmitche described a few pages ago with his Daiza platform. Transients are crisper, there's a general deblurring, and upper bass lines in particular are better defined and easier to follow.

 

While I'm sure something like a Daiza platform with Panzerholtz or Stillpoints footers will take this to the next level, I'm happy for now with this inexpensive hack!

 

Did something similar here. 

I think the results are very interesting. 

Especially under the dac and the streamer. 

 

 

 

 

c*

 

 

[drjimwillie]

I love the balls in the groove of the bamboo cutting blocks!
 

I am also about to foray into improved vibration isolation. 
 

I called them the azure plinths. I used three-quarter inch plywood left over from my other lock down project They are different thicknesses based on what will fit on the rack and still have room for a weight on top. 
 

they will be sitting on industrial felt. And old-school, Analog only friend of mine who sells vintage tubes suggested the industrial felt along with the mass of the plinths.

has anyone tried industrial felt?  
 

I am considering putting balls on top of the felt. 

 

they will be sitting on the new rack I made for myself out of 5/4 mahogany, with a built-in accessory rack.  The rack has soft rubber wheels for isolation.

 

I am not allowed to move my equipment into my new rack in till I finish my other lockdown project, cabinets for under my stairs. 
 

I will also have Gaia feet on top of the plinths. 
 

I will let you know how it sounds when I have it all together.  Does it look like enough mass?
 

I have been busy during lockdown. 

[Downtheline]

32 minutes ago, drjimwillie said:

I love the balls in the groove of the bamboo cutting blocks!
 

I am also about to foray into improved vibration isolation

I must say that it has been such a joy to be part of this group.  I love seeing everyone working on their projects from diy cables to ramrooting to stacking 6 ethernet switches to woodworking with mohagony.  This forum has been a refuge and distraction in trying times. 

 

Thanks to all kin here

E

[edwardsean]

I just got the Monoprice Slimrun. It won't connect to Dave or anywhere in my chain for some reason. When I plug it into my MacBook Pro and connect the other end to a USB cable into Dave, it works fine. 

 

However, when I plug it into my tx-USBUltra, or IsoRegen, or SMS200, Dave doesn't perform a handshake. I know that it is USB2.0 compatible, so I'm not sure what the issue is. 

 

Is there a trick to getting it to connect to a DAC with 2.0. devices?

[cat6man]

may not be your problem but i found it needs to be plugged in deeply on some devices.........insufficient contact observed here until i pushed it in further on the NUC

[edwardsean]

Thanks. I do think it's inserted as far as it can be. 

 

Is the USB port in your NUC 2.0?

[austinpop]

On 6/7/2020 at 10:09 AM, Peter Avgeris said:

I have been notified by the greatest network guru in Greece

 

Just chuckling at the way you phrased that! I'm picturing her sitting in white robes in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, surrounded by pairs of Buffalo switches.

 

No offense intended whatsoever. I'm actually just reminiscing about a memorable driving trip in your beautiful country 2 summers ago, and hoping to go again after this Covid nightmare is over.

[AnotherSpin]

3 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

Just chuckling at the way you phrased that! I'm picturing her sitting in white robes in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, surrounded by pairs of Buffalo switches.

 

No offense intended whatsoever. I'm actually just reminiscing about a memorable driving trip in your beautiful country 2 summers ago, and hoping to go again after this Covid nightmare is over.

 

Everyone knows that the most important gurus live in India and they do not need to use switches to transmit ultimate truth through all kinds of networks... 🙂

[Vangelis]

On 4/26/2020 at 10:46 PM, Dev said:

JCAT Reference LAN Gold

 

I have been using the JCAT Reference for two week, so hopefully it is well broken in by now. Here is my subjective opinion:

 

A bit of background on my setup - I have the ER, powered by PH SR4, for over a month now. Its connected to Ubiquity fiber which further connects to my wifi router. One port on A side is connected to NAS (home brew running AudioLinux) powered by Mojo-audio Illuminati3. The B side is connected to NUCi7 running Euphony. So far I have been using cheap $10 Mono price CAT8 to connect. The JCAT Signature at 1000 EUR is too rich for my blood and hence I settled in for its lesser brother the JCAT Reference LAN Gold.

 

Needless to say, the ER has brought tremendous improvement to my previous setup which was using Wifi. However, as great as ER is, there was something off that kept me unsettling. I couldn't figure out what was it, neither I could lay my fingers on until I replaced the Monoprice CAT8 with JCAT Reference LAN Gold. It was an eye-opener from the first song I played that I realized how unnatural the tones was previously. The cheap cable had a metallic tone, especially to human voices. The JCAT completely removed it - music is fuller, bigger and natural is what I felt. In other words, if you have a good enough resolving system, a $10 cable will actually sound like a $10 cable after you have replaced it with a better one. I cannot explain why a 1M cable would have such a tremendous effect - the improvements in my system were much bigger than what ER bought to the table. However, both together brings a great synergy in my setup.

 

Marcin says that the Reference is 65% of the Signature which is about twice the price. I can only speculate how Signature can only take things further up the chain.

 

The Reference Gold at 600 EUR is not cheap by any stretch but I am glad that I took the plunge. For those, like me, who are not willing to spend and justify over a 1000 bucks for an Ethernet cable, the Reference takes the prime seat but if you can swing it, my guess is you will be up for a treat.

 

Don't skimp with cheap Ethernet cables and you will be glad (as I am) that you did.

 

I tried a number of off the shelf and High-end Ethernet cables. I’m very impressed with my Transparent Audio Ethernet as it pretty much clobbered everything I’ve compared it to.  I haven’t seen much of anything about it on the blogs. The Transparent Ethernet is not cheap, but it’s a great value compared to some of it’s competition. 

[Downtheline]

On 7/7/2020 at 11:54 PM, zacho said:

Am waiting for my 2008 to arrive as well! What DC Voltage does it take? I might get another dual rail ciunas ISO-PS to power them

Just received mine. 12v.

[XCop5089]

<removed reported post>

 

These Buffalo switches may be available from Japan and within the US, but they are rare indeed in Europe!

 

Do you recommend the Buffalo BS-GU2016 unmanaged switch as an alternative please?

[Exocer]

My 2nd Buffalo BS-GS2016(P) has arrived. I also ordered a Ghent JSSG360 Linkway Cat8 cable to compare with the CableMatters CAT8. The Buffalo BS-GS2016 pair + Etherregen is likely going to be my endgame network solution... incremental DC tweaks will commence from here on out.

 

Sad to admit this but I'm running out of AC outlets 😂 so I've created a spreadsheet to manage my outlets and plan for proper LPSUs with multiple rails to improve SQ...

 

More to follow.

 

Oh and my 8 Herbie's footers (firm, regular height Tenderfoots) have arrived. I have placed 4 under my Yggdrasil and another 4 under my music server. Wondering why I didn't do this sooner. I hear an improvement in imaging and soundstage. I could only imagine what some Panzerholz would do...

[tgb]

hi,

2nd attempt, I finally managed to boot & stream music with my GS2024 using 3 external PS, bypassing the internal regulation from 12 to 3.3/1.5/1V.

That's was just a rough test. It works.

Next step : find the right way to give it a clean current.

The trick is : as you all notice, the heat sink is quite hot (the 2nd one on my GS2024 is mild vs the common one), thus nearly all the power goes thru these 3 tiny voltages, thus : high current.

Please find here my report => http://forum-hifi.fr/thread-16891-post-378333.html#pid378333

If Google translate get stuck with my French, I'll post here the ENG version. Just ask.

Rgds

[RickyV]

1 hour ago, tgb said:

hi,

2nd attempt, I finally managed to boot & stream music with my GS2024 using 3 external PS, bypassing the internal regulation from 12 to 3.3/1.5/1V.

That's was just a rough test. It works.

Next step : find the right way to give it a clean current.

The trick is : as you all notice, the heat sink is quite hot (the 2nd one on my GS2024 is mild vs the common one), thus nearly all the power goes thru these 3 tiny voltages, thus : high current.

Please find here my report => http://forum-hifi.fr/thread-16891-post-378333.html#pid378333

If Google translate get stuck with my French, I'll post here the ENG version. Just ask.

Rgds

Hi tgb 

I also attempted this with my 2016 switch but stopped because of a few problems.

I used a 2A regulator for all the voltages and that was not enough for the 1V. So you are using a 5A regulator for the 1V, does it get hot? The next problem I thought of was the input of the three regulators because I wanted to use only one voltage for all three regulators, 4V. And 3V of voltage drop over the 1V regulator may have been to much power to dissipate for my ldovr regulator boards I was using.
Why don’t you remove the switch mode regulator coils and solder the input wires to those islands? 
I love hear from you how it sounds and if this mod is worth it. 👍

[Nenon]

3 hours ago, tgb said:

hi,

2nd attempt, I finally managed to boot & stream music with my GS2024 using 3 external PS, bypassing the internal regulation from 12 to 3.3/1.5/1V.

That's was just a rough test. It works.

Next step : find the right way to give it a clean current.

The trick is : as you all notice, the heat sink is quite hot (the 2nd one on my GS2024 is mild vs the common one), thus nearly all the power goes thru these 3 tiny voltages, thus : high current.

Please find here my report => http://forum-hifi.fr/thread-16891-post-378333.html#pid378333

If Google translate get stuck with my French, I'll post here the ENG version. Just ask.

Rgds

 

Perhaps offtopic here, but please post in my DIY thread - 

 I am sure many people would appreciate your post. 

[tgb]

Hi RickyV & Nenon,

yesteday eve I had no time to do it (too late) 

I think the best is to gather this special modd on GS20xx switches on a dedicated thread, in the network part of this forum => here it is : 

 

@ RickyV, I posted there my reply to your post

Rgds

 

[zacho]

On 7/14/2020 at 7:51 AM, Downtheline said:

Just received mine. 12v.

Thank you! Any idea if 3A will be sufficient?

[Downtheline]

2 hours ago, zacho said:

Thank you! Any idea if 3A will be sufficient?

Yes, 3 amps is sufficient for the gs2008.  It uses a max 10.6 watts, per the specs. I'm waiting on a Y splitter cable to see if I can power two switches with one rail of a keces p3. 

[Chris_Shorter]

On 7/8/2020 at 6:06 AM, austinpop said:

 

I don't use Tidal anymore, but I suspect the same applies.

I do use Tidal and my observations of how Roon works with it are as follows:

 

Play of the first item begins and Roon rushes ahead and buffers the first track and the whole of the second one. As soon as the second item becomes current, Roon buffers the whole of the third item. And so on until the last item is reached when Roon just plays it and there is nothing to buffer. I presume the buffering is to RAM in the server? So, except for the first item, all tracks are played entirely from RAM. 
 

if you have a playlist where Tidal tracks follow local content, you can see the first Tidal track buffering when the last track of local content becomes current.

 

 I believe Roon’s buffering approach goes beyond doing this just with Tidal and Qobuz streams and it is actually also doing it with local content as well, if it is in the playlist. Of course, this buffering happens much, much quicker than with internet streams and so is more difficult to see happening. Maybe, other forum members have access to network tools that would confirm or deny my belief?

 

Operating like this, I would expect local FLAC and Tidal FLAC to sound pretty much identical and this is my experience.