SOTM tX-USBultra impressions

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On 17/02/2018 at 8:06 PM, mozes said:

Has anyone found that there is a difference in SQ when feeding the tX-USBultra 9V vs. 6V or 7V?

I would also welcome any feedback on this, and on whether there are any further improvements to be had from the 12V model.  If the current bad weather in the UK doesn’t delay production and shipping of this, I am expecting my Paul Hynes SR4 to arrive sometime next week, which can supply up to 2A continuous at 5V, 7V, 9V and 12V.  I plan to order a tx-USBultra when that arrives, but not sure whether to order the 6.5V-8.5V/9V model or the 12V.

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7 hours ago, mozes said:

I asked May from SOTM about this and she confirmed that the tX-USBultra sounds best at 9V. 

Thanks.  She recommend 9V to me as well, and said that unit would sound better at 9V than an at 6.5V-8.5V.  She also said 12V could sound better but heat could be an issue with that unit.  Just thought I’d ask the question here to learn what people’s experiences have been in different setups.

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3 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

I know people with 12V tX'es, and they don't seem to be complaining about excessive heat. That comment by May puzzled me

That part of her reply to me was not crystal clear and it could be that she meant the heat problem was with some power supplies feeding the tx-USBUltra.  Does that sound more plausible?

 

I was under the impression the standard unit only covered voltages 6.5V-8.5V and 9V (changeable via jumper), and that you had to order the non-standard 12V unit to have that option.

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On 02/03/2018 at 9:17 PM, Johnseye said:

 

It depends on the version of the sCLK board.

 

May replied to confirm I could change voltage settings across the range 6.5V-12V just by changing tne jumper settings.  She sent me the same image @austinpopposted a few postings back.  My tx-USBultra arrives later today and I expect I will find it has the Rev 1.3 board as the most recent revision.  

 

Does anyone know what improvements were made to the Rev 1.3 board, and what if any improvements this introduced to sound quality?

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My tx-USBultra arrived today and is now in my system beginning its run-in.  

 

With my Paul Hynes SR4 still to arrive my concern had been to make sure the tx-USBultra came with an smps.  I had given no thought to whether a usb cable was included, but I see that one is.  With its own ferrite (I assume that’s what it is) the cable looks a cut above the usual stock cable and I am wondering just how good it is.  The cable is in a sealed bag that I don’t want to tear open in order to try until I have decided to keep the tx-USBultra (I have 30 days).  Are there any views on whether this cable is good enough to get the most out of my Innuos Zenith SE connecting that to the tx-USBultra, with a better cable then connecting the tx-USBultra to my Chord Blu 2/DAVE?  Thanks for any thoughts.

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55 minutes ago, mozes said:

I tried this cable, it’s not bad but the USPCB and Lush form example are in a different league.

Thanks.  Unfortunately, I don’t think the USPCB is usable in the system I now have, unless I decide to run with both the ISO Regen and the tx-USBultra, and connect the two with that.  I’ll play around with things for the next few days while the tx-USBultra is running in.  I should receive my Blu 2 this Friday or Saturday.  My SR4 was also due to arrive before the end of this week, but heavy snow in Scotland and Paul Hynes’ remote location might knock that back a few days.  I think I will need most of those 30 days to decide on the tx-USBultra.

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Placing an order for the recently announced Chord Mscaler and my success in taking over a cancelled order for a Paul Hynes SR7 power supply has made me reevaluate my music system with a view to considering further improvements.  Part of this exercise has been to play some CDs (not something I do that often) to remind myself what I would be missing by trading in my Chord Blu2 for an Mscaler, and rediscovering the fact that music played from my Innuos Zenith SE via usb and standard tX-USBultra is still some way short of the sound quality I get from playing CDs.  CDs on the Blu2 are just more dynamic, punchy and focused - more real.

 

Some of the shortcomings compared to CD will be down to the limitations of the generally excellent Zenith SE (which makes me wonder about the forthcoming Zenith Statement).  But I believe there is still more to be got from what the Zenith SE is sending along the usb cables.  Which brings me to the tX-USBultra.

 

My current tX-U is the standard unit without clock input (no internal wiring/eABS-200 paper upgrades), albeit one that is powered by a Paul Hynes SR4.  The obvious upgrade options here are reference clock input, upgraded internal wires and eABS paper.  The recent comparison of the Mutec REF 10 and SOtM OCX-10 (standard unit and one with upgraded caps) reference clocks undertaken by @limniscate, @auricgoldfingerand @austinpopand their subsequent comments on the "A novel way to..." thread (pages 372-374) have convinced me there are significant benefits to be gained from using a reference clock, even if this is only with a tX-U.  What I am less clear about is the value of upgrading the tX-U's internal wiring (the eABS upgrade at just under £20 seems a no-brainer).  I don't suppose many will have heard both wiring upgrades (UPOCC copper and UPOCC silver).  But if anyone has some comments to offer on what they found in upgrading from standard wiring to one or other of these, I would be most grateful.  I'm wondering if the differences between the two are mostly tonal or whether there is more to it than that.  Thanks.

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4 hours ago, austinpop said:

 

These are not the droids, er, wiring upgrades, you're looking for, but FWIW: 

 

https://www.computeraudiophile.com/forums/topic/30376-a-novel-way-to-massively-improve-the-sq-of-computer-audio-streaming/?do=findComment&comment=839327

 

Do you know exactly what SOtM is offering wrt wiring upgrades? Remember, there are different "wires":

1. wire from BNC reference clock connector on rear panel to the sCLK-EX board - either U.FL or MCX connectors, depending on whether you're 50Ω or 75Ω.
2. up to 3 wires from SMB connectors on rear panel to the corresponding U.FL connectors on the sCLK-EX board for the 3 available clock points on the sCLK-EX board
3. one U.FL to U.FL wire internally, from the sCLK-EX board to the tX-USB's internal clock input.

My experiment (shamelessly copying @elan120) was only to replace the existing cheap (and long) wires with new shorter, but still cheap, wires. If anything, I would expect the UPOCC silver wires to be the more likely benefit, given what we've heard with silver Habst cables from the Ref-10 to the tX-U.

 

Just curious: what is the price of the wire upgrades?

Thanks.  Yes, I remember reading your comments on the internal clock cable change.  

 

I discussed possibilities with May at SOtM back in April when I was first considering placing an order to upgrade my tX-U and buy an OCX-10, and she said they could fit the shorter 20cm cables if I wanted.  Unfortunately, I couldn’t go ahead with the order at that time.

 

As for the copper/silver wiring upgrades availabe when ordering a tX-U, this is only for the internal dc leads.  The details and pricing May sent me were as follows:

 

-      Change internal dc cables to 7N UPOCC silver wire : USD150(MSRP)

-      Change the internal dc cable to 7N UPOCC copper wire : USD130(MSRP)

-      Add eABS-200 : USD20(MSRP)

 

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3 hours ago, auricgoldfinger said:

If cost is a concern, I would do the copper UPOCC upgrade and invest the difference in an Audio Sensibility silver DC cable.  If silver wire is an interest, I believe you will get a lot more bang for your buck with that approach. 

Thanks.  I’ve already got that side of things covered as the Paul Hynes SR4 powering my tX-U came with Paul’s silver dc cable.

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With a number of very highly respected CA posters attesting to the value of upgrading to Evox caps in the sCLK-OCX10 I am wondering what such an upgrade might do for the tX-USBultra.  Does anyone have experience of upgrading the caps in the tX-U?

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A question to those with some experience of taking the board out of the tX-U (for whatever reason), or any similarform SOtM device.  In putting the board back in, how have you secured it to the chassis? 

 

Looking inside my tX-U I see that the board is held securely in place with blobs of some kind of plastic material.  I am assuming these blobs are no longer usable when the board is removed so I am wondering how best to re-secure the board if I ever had reason to take it out.  Thanks in advance for any advice.

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On 4/7/2019 at 3:47 PM, elan120 said:

The blobs of plastic material is hot glue, they can be loosened or removed by rubbing alcohal.  To remove the board, you can either carefully loosen the hot glues on the board side by soaking small amount of alcohal, but careful not to loosen them from the case, this way, board can be re-inserted back into the hot glue blobs.  The other way would be remove the hot glues altogether and then re-apply them when boards are put back.

Thanks for the advice about the hot glue but I now realise that that you do not need to take the board out to remove the jumper to convert to 12v.  It’s there within easy reach when you remove the front faceplate.  

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Can anyone offer a view on how long it takes to fully run-in a new tX-USBultra with Evox caps?  I’ve got one arriving today.