The true experimental tweak thread

[Cornan]

8 minutes ago, desbiss said:

Port 1 = input from ISP modem

Port 8 = output to streaming audio device (Aurender)

Port 4 = 'non audio' device (TV)

All other ports = no devices connected

 

Looks good! Try port 6 as well as port 4. You never know which one that is most isolated.

 

9 minutes ago, desbiss said:

Another consideration is whether there is any port priority on my ISP modem (similar to the switch scenario)... I may have to call them back and ask. I'm not sure if that would matter from an audio perspective? Interested in any thoughts you may have.

 

If your switch supports QoS it will surely affect SQ as well. For the TP-Link/Aqvox the first and the last ports have the highest priority. 

[desbiss]

24 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

Looks good! Try port 6 as well as port 4. You never know which one that is most isolated.

 

 

If your switch supports QoS it will surely affect SQ as well. For the TP-Link/Aqvox the first and the last ports have the highest priority. 

Thanks! I contacted my ISP to see if the cable modem has any port prioritization. They were unable to confirm. So with that, I've connected the Netgear switch ethernet cable to one of the end ports on the ISP modem (they're not labelled, but there are 4 in total). The wifi ethernet cable is connected to one of the middle ports on the ISP modem. If QoS is supported by the ISP modem, the switch should have priority... provided that the end ports are given priority.

 

I'll also give port 6 on the switch a try, (over 4). Good suggestion.

 

Next step - deciding if I want to spring for the AQ-SWITCH-8!

[MikeyFresh]

My home is not wired for ethernet, to get network audio in my HiFi room I use an Apple Airport Express as a wireless media bridge, it's ethernet output feeding a Sonore microRendu.

 

Recently after reading John Swenson's testing results, I added a Netgear ProSAFE FS105 switch in between the AEx and microRendu, along with a ground shunt on the DC output of the FS105's SMPS.

 

Even though it adds complexity, circuitry, wires etc... the above gave a pretty nice performance lift.

 

But what about the AEx? It has an integral SMPS, and a flip out AC plug for direct connection to a power receptacle. I wondered if grounding it would yield any further improvement.

 

I decided rather than tearing open the AEx to examine it's insides for grounding points, an easy first step would be to construct a ground shunt using a USB Type A plug, because the AEx has an unused USB port.

 

Sure enough, adding this USB ground to the AEx seems nearly as good as adding the one to the ethernet switch.

 

This leaves me still curious about tearing open the AEx, I'm unclear as to whether or not grounding through the USB port is essentially the same thing as finding an internal grounding point on the SMPS.

 

I'll probably just stick with the USB ground given it seems to work well and does not necessitate tearing open the AEx, but I'm also unclear as to why this would offer additional improvement if I'm already shunting AC leakage to ground downstream of the AEx, via the shunt on the FS105.

 

Thoughts?

 

PS - both the AEx and FS105 are on a separate AC circuit than the rest of the HiFi system, and the microRendu is further isolated by an UpTone LPS-1 UltraCap power supply.

[Cornan]

1 minute ago, MikeyFresh said:

My home is not wired for ethernet, to get network audio in my HiFi room I use an Apple Airport Express as a wireless media bridge, it's ethernet output feeding a Sonore microRendu.

 

Recently after reading John Swenson's testing results, I added a Netgear ProSAFE FS105 switch in between the AEx and microRendu, along with a ground shunt on the DC output of the FS105's SMPS.

 

Even though it adds complexity, circuitry, wires etc... the above gave a pretty nice performance lift.

 

But what about the AEx? It has an integral SMPS, and a flip out AC plug for direct connection to a power receptacle. I wondered if grounding it would yield any further improvement.

 

I decided rather than tearing open the AEx to examine it's insides for grounding points, an easy first step would be to construct a ground shunt using a USB Type A plug, because the AEx has an unused USB port.

 

Sure enough, adding this USB ground to the AEx seems nearly as good as adding the one to the ethernet switch.

 

This leaves me still curious about tearing open the AEx, I'm unclear as to whether or not grounding through the USB port is essentially the same thing as finding an internal grounding point on the SMPS.

 

I'll probably just stick with the USB ground given it seems to work well and does not necessitate tearing open the AEx, but I'm also unclear as to why this would offer additional improvement if I'm already shunting AC leakage to ground downstream of the AEx, via the shunt on the FS105.

 

Thoughts?

 

Thanks for sharing Mike! ?

 

AFAIK the USB negative/GND grounding (as well as any signal ground) could be as good as a DC- output grounding IF the USB is connected to the ground plane of the AEx. For me personally grounding the GND screw adds an additional jump in SQ on my Aqvox switch despite JSGT. I guess the GND takes care of additional leakage/noises that the JSGT doesn't shunt.

[MikeyFresh]

48 minutes ago, Cornan said:

For me personally grounding the GND screw adds an additional jump in SQ on my Aqvox switch despite JSGT. I guess the GND takes care of additional leakage/noises that the JSGT doesn't shunt.

 

Thank you for that suggestion, I'll try adding another ground connection to the FS105's GND screw.

 

Here is the cable, the heat shrink came out a little crooked but acceptable. I had to use 18 gauge wire this time, the solder tab on the USB plug would not accommodate the 14 gauge wire I had used on my other shunts:

 

 

[Cornan]

4 minutes ago, MikeyFresh said:

 

Thank you for that suggestion, I'll try adding another ground connection to the FS105's GND screw.

 

Here is the cable, the heat shrink came out a little crooked but acceptable. I had to use 18 gauge wire this time, the solder tab on the USB plug would not accommodate the 14 gauge wire I had used on my other shunts:

 

 

 

Nice work! ?

IME even >24awg wires works great for grounding purposes. If they have silver content (silver plated or pure silver) it improves further as well.

If you want to fit thicker wires I can recommend the screw terminal USB plugs. Not as nice looking but works great! ?

[sandyk]

11 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

21 minutes ago, MikeyFresh said:

 

Thank you for that suggestion, I'll try adding another ground connection to the FS105's GND screw.

 

Here is the cable, the heat shrink came out a little crooked but acceptable. I had to use 18 gauge wire this time, the solder tab on the USB plug would not accommodate the 14 gauge wire I had used on my other shunts:

 

 

 

Nice work! ?

IME even >24awg wires works great for grounding purposes. If they have silver content (silver plated or pure silver) it improves further as well

 

  Cornan

If you are talking about leakage derived from a high impedance source as discussed by John Swenson and others, (SMPS PSUs) the leakage will be reduced to virtually unmeasurable amounts by even a low value resistor, let alone the 5/8 of S.F.A. of measurable difference between a metre or so of 24AWG copper wire, and silver plated wire of the same diameter and length.

 The best wire to use, would be the yellow-green wire from a redundant length of 3 core mains cable.

IIRC, either John or Alex C has already commented about the silver coated suggestion ?

 

Regards

Alex

[Cornan]

23 minutes ago, sandyk said:

  Cornan

If you are talking about leakage derived from a high impedance source as discussed by John Swenson and others, (SMPS PSUs) the leakage will be reduced to virtually unmeasurable amounts by even a low value resistor, let alone the 5/8 of S.F.A. of measurable difference between a metre or so of 24AWG copper wire, and silver plated wire of the same diameter and length.

 The best wire to use, would be the yellow-green wire from a redundant length of 3 core mains cable.

IIRC, either John or Alex C has already commented about the silver coated suggestion ?

 

Regards

Alex

 

I am talking about JSGT and external grounding in general and using the ears instead of o'scopes to detect differences. Even if all the people in the world tell me that silver wires does'nt make a difference with grounding it does'nt really matter. I am already 100% sure it does in my setup after trying it countless times and I know many people that knows about it as well. Therefore I can without a doubt recommend anyone to try it themselves! ?

[Cornan]

I think it is time for a music tip! ?

Here is a great and well recorded album.

 

Grace VanderWaal - Just The Beginning

 

https://tidal.com/track/80393848

 

 

Enjoy and good night! ?

[sandyk]

19 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

I think it is time for a music tip! ?

Here is a great and well recorded album.

 

Grace VanderWaal - Just The Beginning

 

https://tidal.com/track/80393848

 

 

Enjoy and good night! ?

 

Have a laugh before you go to bed.

 

Little Johnny.

 

A teacher decides to let students out early if they can name the origin of a famous quote.Teacher: "Who said 'Four Score and Seven Years Ago'?"

But before Johnny began to open his mouth, Susie says, "Abraham Lincoln."Teacher: "That's right Susie, you can go home." 

Teacher: "Who said 'I Have a Dream'?"Again, before Johnny can open his mouth, Mary says, "Martin Luther King."

Teacher: "That's right Mary, you can go." 

Teacher: "Who said 'Ask not, what your country can do for you'?"Before Johnny can open his mouth, Nancy says, "John F. Kennedy."Teacher: "That's right Nancy, you may also leave." 

When the teacher turns her back, Johnny says in frustration, "I wish these dumb bitches would keep their f***g mouths shut!"

 

The teacher turns around and she is livid: "Who said that?”

Johnny: "Harvey Weinstein. Can I go now, Miss?”

[Cornan]

6 hours ago, sandyk said:

Have a laugh before you go to bed.

 

Little Johnny.

 

A teacher decides to let students out early if they can name the origin of a famous quote.Teacher: "Who said 'Four Score and Seven Years Ago'?"

 

But before Johnny began to open his mouth, Susie says, "Abraham Lincoln."Teacher: "That's right Susie, you can go home." 

 

Teacher: "Who said 'I Have a Dream'?"Again, before Johnny can open his mouth, Mary says, "Martin Luther King."

 

Teacher: "That's right Mary, you can go." 

 

Teacher: "Who said 'Ask not, what your country can do for you'?"Before Johnny can open his mouth, Nancy says, "John F. Kennedy."Teacher: "That's right Nancy, you may also leave." 

 

When the teacher turns her back, Johnny says in frustration, "I wish these dumb bitches would keep their f***g mouths shut!"

 

 

 

The teacher turns around and she is livid: "Who said that?”

Johnny: "Harvey Weinstein. Can I go now, Miss?”

 

 

*Haha* nice one! ?

 

Here is a true story! ?

[Monge]

20 hours ago, desbiss said:

Thanks! I contacted my ISP to see if the cable modem has any port prioritization. They were unable to confirm. So with that, I've connected the Netgear switch ethernet cable to one of the end ports on the ISP modem (they're not labelled, but there are 4 in total). The wifi ethernet cable is connected to one of the middle ports on the ISP modem. If QoS is supported by the ISP modem, the switch should have priority... provided that the end ports are given priority.

 

I'll also give port 6 on the switch a try, (over 4). Good suggestion.

 

Next step - deciding if I want to spring for the AQ-SWITCH-8!

Is it a modem/router all in one?

I have a Netgear CG3000EU modem/router and I use port 1 to Switch and port 4 to my AV. This combination sound Best to me.

Netgear.CG3000:

https://www.insidegadgets.com/2016/07/16/inside-the-netgear-wireless-cable-voice-gateway-cg3000-1staus/

This modem/router is very good IMO. I don’t know why, but it sound very natural.

Also I use Axing DC-blocker pre CG3000 and a Supra ground seperator at the wall splitter/outlet as recommended by @Cornan

Regards Monge

[Cornan]

Since we are selling our appartment I have merged the most of my two setups into one and for the first time I am playing turntable via my speakers. All the gears are either in boxes or hided inside my sideboard.

 

 

I just realized that I really missed listening to turntable via speakers. A really nice feeling! If it would be Friday I would have a glass of a nice red wine too and just enjoy spinning records until late at night, but a cup of coffee will have to do! ?

 

Listening to this album right now.

 

 

[Cornan]

 

Today I made my Black Friday deal by grabbing a pair of Sony XBA-N3AP for rougly $159 instead of $299.

 

 

Approx. a month ago I got tired to wait for the Mytek Clef´s official launch and decided to try a Audioquest Dragonfly Black v1.5 (with MQA) together with my Jitterbug inline instead. I was quite surpriced how good that combo sounded through my simple Urbanears Sumpan in-ears. Today I was prepared to look for a pair of better in-ears. Luckily I found these that I have listen to and loved before.

A happy black friday!  

 

 

 

[desbiss]

On 2017-11-23 at 9:05 AM, Monge said:

Is it a modem/router all in one?

I have a Netgear CG3000EU modem/router and I use port 1 to Switch and port 4 to my AV. This combination sound Best to me.

Netgear.CG3000:

https://www.insidegadgets.com/2016/07/16/inside-the-netgear-wireless-cable-voice-gateway-cg3000-1staus/

This modem/router is very good IMO. I don’t know why, but it sound very natural.

Also I use Axing DC-blocker pre CG3000 and a Supra ground seperator at the wall splitter/outlet as recommended by @Cornan

Regards Monge

Hi Monge - I’m using a Hitron CGNM-2250, supplied by my internet provider. This is a combination unit but I disabled the Wifi as I prefer the newer Apple Airport Express.

 

I’ve never really had much consideration for the modems I use, and go with whatever is provided. This model certainly performs well.

[Monge]

1 hour ago, desbiss said:

Hi Monge - I’m using a Hitron CGNM-2250, supplied by my internet provider. This is a combination unit but I disabled the Wifi as I prefer the newer Apple Airport Express.

 

I’ve never really had much consideration for the modems I use, and go with whatever is provided. This model certainly performs well.

Hi desbiss - Thats good to hear 

 

Hi Cornan,

I did buy some cables on Black Friday for other places and gear In my house

2 Monster High Performance cat6 - 0.9 m

1 Monster Digital High Performance A/B USB cable- 1 m

1 Monster 450DFO High Performance Optic toslink Cable - 1m

1 Tech+Link Wires Acuity High End antennacable - 3 m

1 Tech+Link USB 3.0 kabel - USB-A han / USB Micro B han -2m

1 Ipad mini cover - Black

 

All this for ca. 20€, Thats ok I think.

How do I reformat text here when I copy and  paste from an IPAD here?

Regards Monge

 

[sandyk]

May be of interest to a few members, as it shows that better power to internal SSDs does matter.

 

Way back in the 2nd post on page 140, I showed a photo of a Voltage regulator + JLH PSU add-on module used to power 2 internal SSDs from the internal +12V SMPS.

My friend put it  back in his system yesterday. Apparently it compared very favourably with the JS-1 he has, when  using it between his 300W HDPlex and his OS SSD.

If you have room inside your PC/Server, why not try one of the ultra low noise +12V  to +5V 1A voltage regulators now available on ebay ?  It should at least give a small but worthwhile improvement without costing too much.

It will also have other uses if you decide it doesn't make much difference there. Perhaps even using it with a USB Regen if it has an adjustable output ?

 

Alex

[Cornan]

12 hours ago, Monge said:

Hi desbiss - Thats good to hear 

 

Hi Cornan,

I did buy some cables on Black Friday for other places and gear In my house

2 Monster High Performance cat6 - 0.9 m

1 Monster Digital High Performance A/B USB cable- 1 m

1 Monster 450DFO High Performance Optic toslink Cable - 1m

1 Tech+Link Wires Acuity High End antennacable - 3 m

1 Tech+Link USB 3.0 kabel - USB-A han / USB Micro B han -2m

1 Ipad mini cover - Black

 

All this for ca. 20€, Thats ok I think.

How do I reformat text here when I copy and  paste from an IPAD here?

Regards Monge

 

 

You did very good Monge! ???

 

I usually write the names manually and paste the links to avoid the firmat issues. On a PC it is easy to reformat the pasted text though.

[mozes]

Maybe it is best to ask my question on this thread.

I have two android tabs and want a way to run Tidal on one tab which is connected to my DAC via USB, but I want to control Tidal from the second tab.

 

Any ideas?

[Cornan]

43 minutes ago, mozes said:

Maybe it is best to ask my question on this thread.

I have two android tabs and want a way to run Tidal on one tab which is connected to my DAC via USB, but I want to control Tidal from the second tab.

 

Any ideas?

 

If you want to wireless control a Android tablet there is apps for it. TeamViewer is probably your best bet. Usually this is not a very smooth ride. It is usually best to install BubbleServer to the wired Android and control it using BubbleDS Next on the other tab. Sound better as well with Tidal.

[mozes]

13 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

If you want to wireless control a Android tablet there is apps for it. TeamViewer is probably your best bet. Usually this is not a very smooth ride. It is usually best to install BubbleServer to the wired Android and control it using BubbleDS Next on the other tab. Sound better as well with Tidal.

Thanks Cornan, funny I already have Bubble installed and I forgot it!

[Cornan]

12 minutes ago, mozes said:

Thanks Cornan, funny I already have Bubble installed and I forgot it!

 

You're welcome Moussa! ?

BubbleServer is a install and forget software after all! ?

[mozes]

I have Bubble upnp installed on both tabs but I can only see the local renderer on each tab. Is there a setting I have to setup on the one that will play the music so I can see it as a renderer on the control tab?

[Cornan]

11 minutes ago, mozes said:

I have Bubble upnp installed on both tabs but I can only see the local renderer on each tab. Is there a setting I have to setup on the one that will play the music so I can see it as a renderer on the control tab?

 

You'll need to install BubbleServer on the Android tablet https://www.bubblesoftapps.com/bubbleupnpserver/

You need to ensure that they use the same network and a static IP on the control tablet is best IMO. Go into the BubbleServer settings and tick OpenHome render.

[mozes]

24 minutes ago, Cornan said:

 

You'll need to install BubbleServer on the Android tablet https://www.bubblesoftapps.com/bubbleupnpserver/

Thanks it works now, It sounds better than the native Tidal app!