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17 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

•Haha• What the Laphroig misses in treble it catches up in bass-notes and dynamics. I do like Tallisker as well, but find it a little weak in authority! ??

 

It's a matter of overall system balance. If the rest of your system has a tendency to brightness, the Laphroiag can tame that.

 

On the other hand, if you like the Islay sound, but have a neutral system, you would be hard pressed to do better than the Lagavulin 16. Yes, it's more bucks, but you're worth it.

 

Of course, if you're cheap, you can always get the Caol Ila, but how could you look yourself in the mirror the next day?

 

:D

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7 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

It's a matter of overall system balance. If the rest of your system has a tendency to brightness, the Laphroiag can tame that.

 

On the other hand, if you like the Islay sound, but have a neutral system, you would be hard pressed to do better than the Lagavulin 16. Yes, it's more bucks, but you're worth it.

 

Of course, if you're cheap, you can always get the Caol Ila, but how could you look yourself in the mirror the next day?

 

:D

 

Well, Lagavulin 16 is a truly great wiskey. No doubt in my mind there! ? The funny thing is that there is an invisable border at around 15-16 years old smoked wiskey. If it gets older it gets sort too smooth and laid back. In other words really old smokey whiskey is something like Julio Iglesias while 10-16 year old smokey whiskey is more like Foo Fighters! ? Definately more hardcore for the money! ?

 

 

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Smoke content certainly diminishes with longer maturation, but that can be a good thing in my experience when it allows additional aromas and flavours to get through that would otherwise be masked by the peat.

 

For instance, I'm currently working on a Talisker 25, Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25 and a particularly stunning Caol Ila 30. Maybe not as "hardcore" as the young'uns, but infinitely more complex and varied.

 

Enjoy your travels.

Al J.

Modem/router + Keces DC-116 12V LPS - SGC Sonic Transporter + Sonore 12V LPS/Edwards Audio ISO-1 mains isolation transformer - Meicord Opal LAN cables - Aqvox Switch + Sbooster 9V LPS/Uptone LPS-1 - Etalon Isolator - Sonore Signature Rendu Special Edition + Mad Scientist Heretical USB data-only cable - Sonore Ultradigital + Uptone LPS-1 - PS Audio I2S-12 cable - HQ Player - Holo Spring Level 3 DAC -  iPeng on iPad 2 - MK Sound 300 monitors - Mad Audio Scientist Tungsten Carbide footers - Niels Larsen NLE speaker cables - Walker Audio Reference Plus HIGH Definition Links - 2 MK Sound MX350 subs - Shakti Stones - Herbie's Super Sonic Stabilizers - Herbie's Tenderfeet - Stillpoints ERS EMI/RFI sheets - Gutwire Ultimate Ground + Entreq Minimus + Silver Minimus grounding boxes - Symposium Rollerblocks - Symposium Ultra platform - Akiko Tuning Sticks

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On 3/26/2017 at 1:10 PM, Cornan said:

Preparing for my 10 day China trip. I'll need atleast a little something except my portable headphone setup to keep me satisfied in the hotel room after work hours! ?

 

IMG_5872.thumb.JPG.0c31162467befe03cc6592f17edd7bb8.JPG

Hi Cornan,

we sold our house and so I am on the road for three months now. Before everything got packed up I did some experimentation to pick the "on the go" system. What I wound up with is a Squeezebox Touch powered by an LPS-1 with Senheiser PX-100 headphones plugged in directly to the SBT. LMS is running on a Fitlet with a 500G mSATA drive. The Fitlet is plugged into a TPLink travel router for a local network.

 

The system sounds amazing. I've been listening to it this morning and really enjoying it. The LPS-1 does amazing things to the SBT, It sounds like something that should cost $5K rather than something that cost $200.

 

Well back to listening!

 

John S.

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7 minutes ago, Al Jones said:

Smoke content certainly diminishes with longer maturation, but that can be a good thing in my experience when it allows additional aromas and flavours to get through that would otherwise be masked by the peat.

 

For instance, I'm currently working on a Talisker 25, Ardbeg Lord of the Isles 25 and a particularly stunning Caol Ila 30. Maybe not as "hardcore" as the young'uns, but infinitely more complex and varied.

 

Enjoy your travels.

 

Thanks Al! ?

Before I went to China I visited the Beer & Whiskey exhibition in Gothenburg and had myself a Tallisker 25. Loved it and I would'nt mind having a bottle of it for special occations. Both complex and refined indeed. Required small sips for full enjoyment and I could tell that I was missing a nice cigarr at the exhibition! ? I also tried a 15 year old Japanease whiskey which I loved, but the name of it have slipped my mind. A friend of mine took the older one (20 year old I think it was) and we both agreed that the younger fellow had the upper hand. If I suddenly remember the name (or if my friend do) I will let you know! ?

 

 

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13 minutes ago, JohnSwenson said:

Hi Cornan,

we sold our house and so I am on the road for three months now. Before everything got packed up I did some experimentation to pick the "on the go" system. What I wound up with is a Squeezebox Touch powered by an LPS-1 with Senheiser PX-100 headphones plugged in directly to the SBT. LMS is running on a Fitlet with a 500G mSATA drive. The Fitlet is plugged into a TPLink travel router for a local network.

 

The system sounds amazing. I've been listening to it this morning and really enjoying it. The LPS-1 does amazing things to the SBT, It sounds like something that should cost $5K rather than something that cost $200.

 

Well back to listening!

 

John S.

 

Thanks for sharing John! Nice little setup you've got there. I can imagine it sounds marvelous! ?

 

Next time abroad I will bring a portable speaker solution that works and sounds good enough with a bad wifi connection. Chromecast Audio is ruled out! ?

 

Good luck with the move! ???

 

 

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14 minutes ago, austinpop said:

Clearly, a correlation exists between appreciating high-end audio and fine single malts. 

 

@Cornan - can't wait to hear what "tweaks" you have in mind for your Laphroiag. :D

 

Why wait? I can tell you a nice Laphroig tweak right away. You get yourself a good cigarr and quickly dip the unlighted end in your smokey glass of Laphroig. Smoke the cigarr, drink your Laphroig and realize that you are enjoying the music, your Laphroig, your cigarr and your life to the full! ?

 

Best tweak there is! ?

 

 

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11 hours ago, lmitche said:

While in China try some:

 

Baijiu
Baijiu (Chinese characters).svg
"Baijiu" in Chinese characters
Chinese 白酒
Literal meaning "white (clear) alcohol"

 

Strangest tasting stuff ever.  Made from Sourghum.  Can be purple in color.

 

Take some home as you can use it as paint remover as well!

 

 

 

*Haha* Thanks for that tip Imitche! ? I'll be sure to try it while I am still here. I like to try strange thing. Like my father say. What does'nt hurt you will make you strong. Not sure if I am completely safe trying it after reading that last sentence though! ?

 

 

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I asked my Taiwanease agent if 白酒 was any good? He adviced me not to try it due to two quite strong reasons.

A) It tastes aweful and B) The good quality ones is usually fakes around Yiwu. Sorry @Imitche, no 白酒 for me on this trip which is now close to the end. Tomorrow is a easy day since all factories are closed due to Chinease holiday. Tuesday my wake-up call will be set to 03:00 and I will be back in Sweden at 22:45 the same day. I cannot wait to come back and start tweaking again! ;)

 

 

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I received my two Elijah cables, I used the ground and data only cable between the Intona and RUR and removed the Vbus 2 and the curious Regen link, it works very well. I noticed a hint of extra clarity, but maybe a bit at the expense of less body and weight in the music, I left it for now, as it is still too early to judge.

The second cable that has the female DC2.1 socket at the connector side didn't work between the RUR and Brooklyn. The Brooklyn keeps disconnecting itself every 2 seconds. I tried to power the 5V line with the Tp-Link power bank, it did play for a few seconds and in these few seconds, I think I got the best sound in my system so far. Too bad, I couldn't get it to work properly. I put back my Curious USB cable for now in the hope that I can figure this out. I tried the same cable with the battery between Nimitra and Intona, and it worked and the music became clearer but again with less body and weight so I removed it. I am sure there is a way to get this cable to work between the RUR and Nimitra. I have a spare LPS-1 that I should try but I need to find an energizing supply for it. I think what matters more is what is closest to the DAC in the chain and sometimes we gain something and lose something else

Elijah.jpg.90e73223ad92dfe2d2a95635ec6254d5.jpg58d09f03834af_elijahcable(002).jpg.4235a29599b385176cc318070965ad02.jpg

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Also just to be able to complete my tests with usb cables and make sure that I don't miss anything, I went ahead and ordered this custom cable especially for battery power. This should be better without any connectors. I am piling up a lot of cables, but still not clear on what to keep and what to sell :)

13305173_950002751781020_5794489329991657737_o.jpg

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12 minutes ago, moussaobeid said:

I received my two Elijah cables, I used the ground and data only cable between the Intona and RUR and removed the Vbus 2 and the curious Regen link, it works very well. I noticed a hint of extra clarity, but maybe a bit at the expense of less body and weight in the music, I left it for now, as it is still too early to judge.

The second cable that has the female DC2.1 socket at the connector side didn't work between the RUR and Brooklyn. The Brooklyn keeps disconnecting itself every 2 seconds. I tried to power the 5V line with the Tp-Link power bank, it did play for a few seconds and in these few seconds, I think I got the best sound in my system so far. Too bad, I couldn't get it to work properly. I put back my Curious USB cable for now in the hope that I can figure this out. I tried the same cable with the battery between Nimitra and Intona, and it worked and the music became clearer but again with less body and weight so I removed it. I am sure there is a way to get this cable to work between the RUR and Nimitra. I have a spare LPS-1 that I should try but I need to find an energizing supply for it. I think what matters more is what is closest to the DAC in the chain and sometimes we gain something and lose something else

Elijah.jpg.90e73223ad92dfe2d2a95635ec6254d5.jpg58d09f03834af_elijahcable(002).jpg.4235a29599b385176cc318070965ad02.jpg

 

Thanks for sharing Moussa! :)

I personally prefer details to bass performance in general, but it all depends of the magnitude of each parameter ofcourse. You try to cover the barrels with electrical tape to see how that turns out as well since that will remove the coupling between the devices to the USB barrels. That is atleast how I like mine! ;)

 

I am not 100% sure why the DC2,1 version do not work between the RUR and Brooklyn DAC. Maybe the Brooklyn DACs USB input is power hungry and requires more mA than the TP-Link can provide? Powering it with a LPS-1 should answer that question.

 

Getting the best sounding USB cables is a bit of a balance act. You should really use the same type of USB cable types through-out IME. Using for example shielded USB cables combined with unshielded USB cables is not the best of both worlds since you could potensially loose some of the advantages with one or the other. Less body tells me that there is some interfearences/noises in the path. That is not neccessarily the lack of shielding on the EA cable (ie. outside RFI/EMI) but possibly the prescence of shielding and close contact with 5v power wire (capasitive coupling along the lenght of the wire) further uphill, high-lighted by the EA cable.

Getting the second EA cable to work is crucial to really know what an unshielded USB cable path will do for sq IMO. I cross my fingers you'll get the DC version to work as well! :) 

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, moussaobeid said:

Also just to be able to complete my tests with usb cables and make sure that I don't miss anything, I went ahead and ordered this custom cable especially for battery power. This should be better without any connectors. I am piling up a lot of cables, but still not clear on what to keep and what to sell :)

s

 

Wow Moussa, you´re an unstoppable force! ;)

Looks great! :)

 

 

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30 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

Thanks for sharing Moussa! :)

I personally prefer details to bass performance in general, but it all depends of the magnitude of each parameter ofcourse. You try to cover the barrels with electrical tape to see how that turns out as well since that will remove the coupling between the devices to the USB barrels. That is atleast how I like mine! ;)

 

I am not 100% sure why the DC2,1 version do not work between the RUR and Brooklyn DAC. Maybe the Brooklyn DACs USB input is power hungry and requires more mA than the TP-Link can provide? Powering it with a LPS-1 should answer that question.

 

Getting the best sounding USB cables is a bit of a balance act. You should really use the same type of USB cable types through-out IME. Using for example shielded USB cables combined with unshielded USB cables is not the best of both worlds since you could potensially loose some of the advantages with one or the other. Less body tells me that there is some interfearences/noises in the path. That is not neccessarily the lack of shielding on the EA cable (ie. outside RFI/EMI) but possibly the prescence of shielding and close contact with 5v power wire (capasitive coupling along the lenght of the wire) further uphill, high-lighted by the EA cable.

Getting the second EA cable to work is crucial to really know what an unshielded USB cable path will do for sq IMO. I cross my fingers you'll get the DC version to work as well! :) 

 

Thanks @Cornan, that's exactly my next project to try a full Elijah cables chain (unshielded) vs Curious chain (shielded). Only then I will be able to see what each solution offers. 

My aim is still to simplify the chain and end up with one tweak and two usb cables. I have my eye on the to be launched SOTM tX-USBultra especially with their super clock, but I am still not clear if it also gonna offer galvanic isolation like the intona.

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26 minutes ago, moussaobeid said:

Thanks @Cornan, that's exactly my next project to try a full Elijah cables chain (unshielded) vs Curious chain (shielded). Only then I will be able to see what each solution offers. 

My aim is still to simplify the chain and end up with one tweak and two usb cables. I have my eye on the to be launched SOTM tX-USBultra especially with their super clock, but I am still not clear if it also gonna offer galvanic isolation like the intona.

 

Yes, with a full unshielded chain you will make a better judgement wich one works best in your perticular setup.

 

Your aim is shared by many others, me included. However, deep down inside I know that what ever simple solution that comes out it tends to get complicated again after a period of time. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

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4 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

Yes, with a full unshielded chain you will make a better judgement wich one works best in your perticular setup.

 

Your aim is shared by many others, me included. However, deep down inside I know that what ever simple solution that comes out it tends to get complicated again after a period of time. ;)

 

 

 

so true, you speak of experience!

Just got a reply from SOTM that the new tX-USB ultra doesn't have galvanic isolation because SOTM believes that galvanic isolation in USB audio degrades sound quality. I don't know, but if it really sounds better without GI then who cares? Anyway I am keeping my Intona for the time being to use a bench mark to test any new USB gadget and there are many that are coming very soon

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I must admit that I am a bit more keen to see what Auralic comes out with? I hope to see an Altair that ticks all my boxes. But I am also a bit ambivalent of actually getting one. It will mean not much room for tweaking (I am bad at soldering), and I will need something fun to do when I am retired! ;) 

 

 

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3 minutes ago, moussaobeid said:

so true, you speak of experience!

Just got a reply from SOTM that the new tX-USB ultra doesn't have galvanic isolation because SOTM believes that galvanic isolation in USB audio degrades sound quality. I don't know, but if it really sounds better without GI then who cares? Anyway I am keeping my Intona for the time being to use a bench mark to test any new USB gadget and there are many that are coming very soon

 

When you get the second Elijah Audio cable to work you can actually try without the Intona and see what you think? :)

I actually partly beleive in SotMs statement that USB GI could degree sq, just because it requires additional power to work. If using shielded cables with 5v wires I am absolutely sure GI is a great addition, but if you are using EA cables which is unshielded, have GND on a distance from the data wires and no 5v wire it will do a lot of the thing that Intona does without the use of additional power. IMO It is atleast worth a try! ;)

 

 

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2 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

When you get the second Elijah Audio cable to work you can actually try without the Intona and see what you think? :)

I actually partly beleive in SotMs statement that USB GI could degree sq, just because it requires additional power to work. If using shielded cables with 5v wires I am absolutely sure GI is a great addition, but if you are using EA cables which is unshielded, have GND on a distance from the data wires and no 5v wire it will do a lot of the thing that Intona does without the use of additional power. IMO It is atleast worth a try! ;)

I see your point, very interesting. I have to start taking notes to keep track of the different scenarios I have to test.

Soon I will have 3 different cables from EA, 3 USB cables from curious, Intona industrial, RUR, Vbus 2, TP link power pack and LPS-1 :)

so where to start is the question :)

 

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2 minutes ago, moussaobeid said:

I see your point, very interesting. I have to start taking notes to keep track of the different scenarios I have to test.

Soon I will have 3 different cables from EA, 3 USB cables from curious, Intona industrial, RUR, Vbus 2, TP link power pack and LPS-1 :)

so where to start is the question :)

 

 

You can start a computer audiophile test institute by now! :D 

I am very interested to know what you think and where you will end up! :) I also have a pile of USB cables, Ethernet cables, Vbus1, Vbus2s etc collecting dust after previous trials. We can start a USB museum of modern art together! ;)

 

 

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