The true experimental tweak thread

[Cornan]

I am happy for your family Cornan

 

 

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Thanks moussaobeid!

I know they are!

 

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[Middy]

lol

 

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[Cornan]

Wow! Even if I expected a change for the better with my galvanicly isolated Voltcraft FPS-1134 connected to my router I am actually blown away by the extent of it. I got my 14awg 4mm banana to DC2,1/5,5mm DC cable today.

 

 

 

 

 

I have spent a couple of hours now re-exploring my favourite albums. All of them sounds better than before on all parameters. More bass, improved details, wider, airier, more 3D, more natural...well more of everything. It is in the same scale as the Peaktech2240 isolation transformer...if not even better!

If I had a Darko knock-out reward to give away I would give it instantly to the Voltcraft for kicking my router alive. But I do not have a fancy award to give away...but I highly recommend anyone to give it a try. My best spent 70 bucks ever! ?

 

The word "real" sounds very appropriate to describe what I am hearing. VERY REAL!!! Daft Punk's "Beyond" have never ever felt this real in my setup before. I am really very thrilled about this improvement! ?

 

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[mozes]

BTW r_w. Have you tried to cover the USB barrels with electrical tape? This is a very simple tweak that is a bit of an eye-opener when you think about what it achieves!

 

[ATTACH]32796[/ATTACH]

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My plugs is still covered!

 

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I tried your tweak and covered my exposed USB barrels with electric tape.

My system is Nimitra Win 10 (JS-2)>Curious 20cm Regen link>Intona Industrial>Curious 20cm Regen link>RUR (LPS-1)>Curious 28cm Regen link>Brooklyn (VR MINI)>Naim SN2

I did listened to it over 3-4 days and it seems that the sound became more a bit more rounded, leaned more to the warm side and the highs were rolled off. I also lost some air around instruments. I don't know if this makes sense or if it is my implementation as I may have tightened the electric tape too much around the barrels. Now I removed the electric tape, so the highs are more extended and more air around instruments just like it was.

Thanks Cornan for sharing your ideas, I always like to experiment as well

[Cornan]

I tried your tweak and covered my exposed USB barrels with electric tape.

My system is Nimitra Win 10 (JS-2)>Curious 20cm Regen link>Intona Industrial>Curious 20cm Regen link>RUR (LPS-1)>Curious 28cm Regen link>Brooklyn (VR MINI)>Naim SN2

I did listened to it over 3-4 days and it seems that the sound became more a bit more rounded, leaned more to the warm side and the highs were rolled off. I also lost some air around instruments. I don't know if this makes sense or if it is my implementation as I may have tightened the electric tape too much around the barrels. Now I removed the electric tape, so the highs are more extended and more air around instruments just like it was.

Thanks Cornan for sharing your ideas, I always like to experiment as well

 

Thanks for sharing moussaobeid! Always good to know how it affects different systems! Not the same changes at all in my own system but never the less interesting. I would have expected clearer treble, lower bass, more natural presentation and improved mid-range. Since this is a fairly new tweak I do not have a crystal clear idea what might cause your rolled off hights. Could be due to Curious cables special design and the fact that all of your cables are shielded. Ground currents are tricky business to control. If they have got another path to ground they will choose to use it...whatever you like it or not. They can travel in any direction if they find a suitable pat h for the purpose. It seems likely that the shield noises have chosen a worse path to ground in your case affecting other devices in the chain.

 

Did you cover the USB plugs on all of your three USB cables and on both sides of the plug?

You could also cover just one of the USB cables to see if you get another result. I would personally start with the 20cm Curious Regen Link close to Nimitra or after RUR were it most likely could end up with the best result.

 

:-)

 

 

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[Cornan]

I am starting to wonder if a cheap automatic voltage stabilizer like this one https://www.proshop.se/Stroemfoersoerjning/Bluewalker-PowerWalker-AVR-1200-Stroemfoersoerjning-720-Watt-80-Plus-/2477181?s=automatisk+sp%C3%A4nningsregulator could potensially be a good thing between the wall outlet and my active speakers in my secundary setup instead of my star grounded Naim powerstrip!?

 

http://www.powerwalker.com/datasheets/AVR/PowerWalker%20AVR%201200.pdf

 

I do not want to spend too much money on my background music setup. Considering the price and reading about it here Voltage Stabilizer Working And Its Importance makes me curious if it is not a good idea for active speakers? Question mark on the boost and buck stabilizers that is used on this one. Anyway, my secondary setup is worth a 40 bucks experiment in vain...so I will find out!

[mozes]

Thanks for sharing moussaobeid! Always good to know how it affects different systems! Not the same changes at all in my own system but never the less interesting. I would have expected clearer treble, lower bass, more natural presentation and improved mid-range. Since this is a fairly new tweak I do not have a crystal clear idea what might cause your rolled off hights. Could be due to Curious cables special design and the fact that all of your cables are shielded. Ground currents are tricky business to control. If they have got another path to ground they will choose to use it...whatever you like it or not. They can travel in any direction if they find a suitable pat h for the purpose. It seems likely that the shield noises have chosen a worse path to ground in your case affecting other devices in the chain.

 

Did you cover the USB plugs on all of your three USB cables and on both sides of the plug?

You could also cover just one of the USB cables to see if you get another result. I would personally start with the 20cm Curious Regen Link close to Nimitra or after RUR were it most likely could end up with the best result.

 

:-)

 

 

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I covered only the curious cable after the RUR on the end close to the RUR. I am happy with it this way. Took a bit of glare away and made the sound more natural but without losing the air and the highs

 

 

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[mozes]

Btw It seems that my Naim powerlines are not shielded which I use with the SN2 and its PSU (Hicap DR), but my other audiosensibility power cords that I use with my distribution box and other PSUs are shielded.

 

 

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[Cornan]

I covered only the curious cable after the RUR on the end close to the RUR. I am happy with it this way. Took a bit of glare away and made the sound more natural but without losing the air and the highs

 

 

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I am happy it proved to be a good tweak for you as well!

 

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[Cornan]

Btw It seems that my Naim powerlines are not shielded which I use with the SN2 and its PSU (Hicap DR), but my other audiosensibility power cords that I use with my distribution box and other PSUs are shielded.

 

 

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It do not surprise me! Naim have always been a company that take grounding very seriously! I would love to have their Powerigel!

 

BTW. Are you happy with the Nimitra? I was considering it for a while (as a happy Fidelizer Pro & Jplay user) but eventually bought the Aries Mini.

 

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[mozes]

I am very happy with Nimitra and powered by JS-2 I think it is one of the best performing music servers that can easily compete with servers that cost 3 or 4 times more

 

 

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[Cornan]

I got my QED Reference SVT SAT cable today and installed it instead of my supplied SAT cable from my service provider.

 

 

 

Not a huge difference, BUT a difference for the better. The sound became a tad more clearer. More fresh or clear as water so to speak. Maybe a tighter low end and more presence...but hard to tell for sure due to quite small changes. Surely an improvement worth the cost in any case. As soon as everything is updated on the router end I will make things more tidy and will probably gain some SQ and WAF by keeping the cables more hidden and separated! ?

 

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[mozes]

Maybe if you leave the QED cable for a week so it has time to settle and then switch to the old cable you may then have a better idea if the new cable is a real improvement

 

 

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[mozes]

I noticed that in my system every time I change any wire the system like gets a shock and even if the new cable is better it usually sounds much much better after a few days. I tried this trick where I go bac to old cables or gear after a month or more and I was surprised with the improvements which were not so clear if I hadn't done this swap

 

 

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[Cornan]

Maybe if you leave the QED cable for a week so it has time to settle and then switch to the old cable you may then have a better idea if the new cable is a real improvement

 

 

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Yes, I usually re-test my add-ons (ie. not only cables) sooner or later. Before I tidy around my router end I will compare again. I might even have a working DIY SAT cable to throw into the mix when that happens...since it is still my little mind-ghost that I haven't given up on just yet!

I have a couple of linear optocoupler coming that I might use in a SAT shield experiment. They might just end up in a type of shield isolator adapter between my QED cable and the router now when they are ruled out for USB data isolation.

 

:-)

 

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[Cornan]

I noticed that in my system every time I change any wire the system like gets a shock and even if the new cable is better it usually sounds much much better after a few days. I tried this trick where I go bac to old cables or gear after a month or more and I was surprised with the improvements which were not so clear if I hadn't done this swap

 

 

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That's true! I usually blame ground currents for that behaviour rather than cable burn-in. Usually ground currents will seattle (find their path to ground) within 24 hours...so I never re-evaluate anything before that.

 

Cables with silver content do however need a longer break-in time to soften up.

 

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[mozes]

That's true! I usually blame ground currents for that behaviour rather than cable burn-in. Usually ground currents will seattle (find their path to ground) within 24 hours...so I never re-evaluate anything before that.

 

Cables with silver content do however need a longer break-in time to soften up.

 

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Well this is very interesting I never came across such an explanation before. I still find it strange that ground currents can take this long to find their way to ground. Shouldn't this be instantaneous? Electricity travels at the speed of light or I am missing something.

 

 

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[tapatrick]

Wow! Even if I expected a change for the better with my galvanicly isolated Voltcraft FPS-1134 connected to my router I am actually blown away by the extent of it. I got my 14awg 4mm banana to DC2,1/5,5mm DC cable today.

 

[ATTACH]32938[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH]32939[/ATTACH]

 

[ATTACH]32940[/ATTACH]

 

 

I have spent a couple of hours now re-exploring my favourite albums. All of them sounds better than before on all parameters. More bass, improved details, wider, airier, more 3D, more natural...well more of everything. It is in the same scale as the Peaktech2240 isolation transformer...if not even better!

If I had a Darko knock-out reward to give away I would give it instantly to the Voltcraft for kicking my router alive. But I do not have a fancy award to give away...but I highly recommend anyone to give it a try. My best spent 70 bucks ever! [emoji3]

 

The word "real" sounds very appropriate to describe what I am hearing. VERY REAL!!! Daft Punk's "Beyond" have never ever felt this real in my setup before. I am really very thrilled about this improvement! [emoji847]

 

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Hi Cornan. Appreciate you sharing your ongoing enthusiasm for experimentation and especially your experience of the Voltcraft psu. I was on the lookout for a linear psu for my router too so I've ordered the 1132 Voltcraft (11-14v 2-4amp version) based on your impressions. For £43 it's worth a try for sure.

 

Also to share my tinkering too, I got a Topaz 1kva Isolation transformer a while back. I've plugged my Antipodes DXe music server, Aqua La Voce Dac and Eastern Electric Amp into this. Then I added an Uptone LPS1 which I've been playing around with to supply USB 5v into my Dac aided by some diy silver cables. These changes plus a growing knowledge of proper grounding to solve any loops have made really huge improvements to date.

 

Last weekend also after many weeks trying to get an I2S input in my Dac to work through a Luckit Wavio board (USB to I2S), I realised I'd over looked that my Dac also has a galvanically isolated BNC Spdif input and that the Wavio board has Isolated Spdif output too.

 

I set up a temp connection to Spdif (the 2 wires are much easier that sorting out the 8 pins/wires and grounding on the I2S/RJ45). With the Wavio board powered by the LPS1 the result has been another huge improvement. A truly sweet, natural and deep sound. In fact it's so damn good now I've lost the interest to tinker and tweak (for now..). Any lingering desires to purchase a Microrendu or SMS200 have completely evaporated!

 

 

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[mansr]

Well this is very interesting I never came across such an explanation before. I still find it strange that ground currents can take this long to find their way to ground. Shouldn't this be instantaneous? Electricity travels at the speed of light or I am missing something.

 

You are not. Currents will stabilise within milliseconds.

[Cornan]

Well this is very interesting I never came across such an explanation before. I still find it strange that ground currents can take this long to find their way to ground. Shouldn't this be instantaneous? Electricity travels at the speed of light or I am missing something.

 

 

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Let's make this clear to avoid misunderstandings. That cable burn-in is due to ground/shield related changes is my own personal theory..and my personal theory only. I have done a lot of ground related changes in my setup during the years. It always takes some time for it to seattle in. Now when the grounding is pretty much optimize the changes are more instant and I actually almost never notice the same amount of changes in SQ on the same cable after a while. Personally, I just choose to look at it as a ground/shield issue based on personal experience by experimenting with ground/shields. Not saying that I am right. You can call it a personal belief that I do not want to persuade others to believe in. I am just sharing how I look upon it.

 

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[Cornan]

Hi Cornan. Appreciate you sharing your ongoing enthusiasm for experimentation and especially your experience of the Voltcraft psu. I was on the lookout for a linear psu for my router too so I've ordered the 1132 Voltcraft (11-14v 2-4amp version) based on your impressions. For £43 it's worth a try for sure.

 

Also to share my tinkering too, I got a Topaz 1kva Isolation transformer a while back. I've plugged my Antipodes DXe music server, Aqua La Voce Dac and Eastern Electric Amp into this. Then I added an Uptone LPS1 which I've been playing around with to supply USB 5v into my Dac aided by some diy silver cables. These changes plus a growing knowledge of proper grounding to solve any loops have made really huge improvements to date.

 

Last weekend also after many weeks trying to get an I2S input in my Dac to work through a Luckit Wavio board (USB to I2S), I realised I'd over looked that my Dac also has a galvanically isolated BNC Spdif input and that the Wavio board has Isolated Spdif output too.

 

I set up a temp connection to Spdif (the 2 wires are much easier that sorting out the 8 pins/wires and grounding on the I2S/RJ45). With the Wavio board powered by the LPS1 the result has been another huge improvement. A truly sweet, natural and deep sound. In fact it's so damn good now I've lost the interest to tinker and tweak (for now..). Any lingering desires to purchase a Microrendu or SMS200 have completely evaporated!

 

 

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Thanks for sharing Tapatrick!

I hope you will enjoy the Voltcraft as much as I do. Please post your honest impressions here when you have evaluated it! ?

 

The Voltcraft and the Peaktech 2240 is two of my best hifi related investments up to date. I have also been interested in the mR or SMS200 but cannot really find the urge to buy. It sounds too good now. I have no hurry anyway.

I cannot stop myself from tweaks though...but this is good part of the fun for me in this hobby. When I cannot tweak anymore I will probably jump to another train. Elaton streamer maybe? ?

 

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[r_w]

OK, I have taped over the barrels all 6 of them, will update after listening later.

 

 

BTW r_w. Have you tried to cover the USB barrels with electrical tape? This is a very simple tweak that is a bit of an eye-opener when you think about what it achieves!

[tapatrick]

Thanks for sharing Tapatrick!

I hope you will enjoy the Voltcraft as much as I do. Please post your honest impressions here when you have evaluated it! [emoji4]

 

The Voltcraft and the Peaktech 2240 is two of my best hifi related investments up to date. I have also been interested in the mR or SMS200 but cannot really find the urge to buy. It sounds too good now. I have no hurry anyway.

I cannot stop myself from tweaks though...but this is good part of the fun for me in this hobby. When I cannot tweak anymore I will probably jump to another train. Elaton streamer maybe? [emoji3]

 

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Yes Cornan, will let you know how the Voltcraft fits in my system. I'm sure it's going to be a good choice based on your experience.

 

For the past 2 years I've been seeking an elusive goal - to get as far from the "bleeding ears" sound when I started with digital audio when I was playing music from my MacBook Pro laptop. At first it was spending lots of cash on expensive gear which got me 95% of the way but there was always a lingering hiss or edge to voice and treble. This became more and more subtle as I made improvements but still remained.

 

Over the past few months with understanding of ground leaks and ac isolation etc (and like you adding an Isolation transformer due to John Swensons and others great advice), this edge had gone completely.

 

With my recent tweak of the isolated Wavio board powered by LPS1 I'm in audio heaven. Voices are shocking (bar the occasional bad recording) and often when I'm listening I jump at the realism - mistaking parts of the audio as if they are coming from outside or from somewhere in my apartment. The music pleasure is wonderful and that's why I'm losing interest in further expenditure. Except possibly for a customised diy rack which I have a plan for ...[emoji41]

 

This is all thanks to people like you (also @John Swenson, @Superdad, and others too many to mention) By sharing new discoveries on the great forums and threads here it's a great time for audio.

 

 

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[tapatrick]

Ps And of course Roon 1.3 is out..[emoji41]

 

 

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[Cornan]

OK, I have taped over the barrels all 6 of them, will update after listening later.

 

Looking forward to hear your impressions! Learning from @moussaobeid it might be wise not to have the USB barrels connected to the Intona covered with tape.