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USB audio cracked... finally!


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Hi All

 

I don't normally post, but have been following this thread with interest. After a short time on the fence, I decided to give the Lush a chance. My Lush USB cable arrived today and I felt I needed to provide another data point in the DAC list being compiled.

 

My USB chain is a little long, but I'll try to get through it as it is an important part of my story.

 

I've a Bryston BDP2 > Curious USB (0.4 M) > Intona Industrial > SBooster VBus2 Isolator > Nordost Valhalla 2 USB (don't say it) > Uptone amber Regen/LPS-1/SBooster LPS  > Curious USB (0.2 M) > MSB Analogue DAC with Latest USB Module.

 

I decided to replace the most downstream Curious USB cable (0.2 M), I thought it would have the biggest and best affect, boy was I wrong.  When I heard the result I wasn't happy, the sound was big but the detail and air and many of the other 3 dimensional qualities I value so much were diminished, it was as if everything had gone through a filter and had been flattened.  I A/B-ed the two configurations and decided perhaps the problem was due to cable break-in.  However I wasn't sure break-in could account for the frankly disappointing sound I was hearing.

 

So I decided to reread the entire thread again.  A couple of hours later based on what I learned (by reading more carefully), I decided to try replacing the first Curious USB cable in the chain (0.4 M), th one between the BDP2 and the Intona.

 

The results were extraordinary, the Lush cable before the Intona (the first box in the chain) improved all of the qualities I value so much (3D, sense of space and air) as well as giving me a soundstage with much more going on.

 

My advice would be to use the Lush before any regenerators/isolators.  In my case it wasn't just a matter of choosing the best of two good alternatives, but the difference between a large degradation and a large improvement in sound quality.

 

Regards

Barry

 

 

 

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58 minutes ago, PeterSt said:

 

Hmm ... Maybe I missed it myself, but I think it would be hard to find what you discovered. B| I would have derived this from the available data :

 

No Regen Amber in the chain at all.

:P

But this is just theory. So did you try that ?

And if this is not for the better(no Regen Amber), I'd say this could be new information.

 

Btw, I too am thinking twice now (uh-oh). So there is something that makes your decision perfectly logic, but it is hard to imagine that you found that "data" in the thread. Still without Regen Amber it should be better. Should be ...

 

Thank you very much for your report !

Peter

 

Edit, PS: I must emphasize that we are talking about the Regen Amber. Not the Green and most certainly not the ISO. For them different rules apply (in the chain).

 

Hi Peter

 

First, there was no delay in customs, I only had to pay the UPS brokerage fee using PayPal, but even if I hadn't, CanadaPost would have collected COD.  Delivery was really fast.

 

Now on to your questions, I believe earlier in the chain of responses you gave what you thought would be the optimum placement of a Lush cable, before or after a regenerator.  You thought before a regenerator would be optimum.  I wanted to keep the Amber Regen in the chain.  Not so much for the regeneration but to be be able to use the SBooster VBUS2 Isolator and reintroduce 5 volt power (which my DAC requires) just at the DAC.  I found that 5 volt power in my main 2.0 m USB cable (the Nordost) and others I've tried), hurt the sound quality.

 

Again, the Amber Regen is mainly used to be able to eliminate 5 volt power running through my Nordost cable which runs between the Intona and the Regen.

 

Without the VBUS2 Isolator, the Amber Regen makes little or no difference in my chain.

 

You have made me Curious (sic), tomorrow I will remove the Amber Regen and the VBUS2 Isolator. and run the Lush into the Intona and then into the DAC, but before I do this I will investigate the removal of the VBUS2 isolator with everything else as is.

 

Ultimately I'm really comparing with and without the Regen, a Curious cable (0.2 m), and the VBUS2 isolator.

 

In the past the removal of the VBUS2 isolator was really obvious.  When I get an ISO Regen (back ordered), I will place the Lush before it, but unfortunately as it requires 5 volt input, I'll need to retire the VBUS2 isolator permanently anyway.

 

Regards

Barry

 

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Hi Again

 

I just spent another 2 hours playing around with cables etc.  Please remember this only applies to me and my taste, but would be interested in knowing if some aspects of my findings are duplicated in other member's systems.

 

First, I found that the Amber Regen did make a worthwhile (not huge but worth keeping) contribution which was not significantly impacted by the VBUS2 Isolator regardless of the order of cabling.  This is a different finding from what I had assumed earlier.

 

Second, the Lush indeed has the largest effect just after the Amber Regen and before the DAC, but I'm not happy with the effect.  The music was more dynamic but the small 3D almost holographic effects I really value were essentially missing. So I'm going to put this configuration on hold until my ISO Regen arrives.

 

Finally, the Lush USB before the Intona vs. the Curious USB before the Intona:  The sound with the Curious cable is big, and by this I mean the scale is large, and somewhat more forward.  The sound with the Lush has more depth and has a smaller scale, everything seems more realistic.  Some might like the Curious version, I sort of like the Lush version.  It's weird, after playing the Lush, the same tune from the Curious appears to be way more forward, after a second or third play, the soundstage recedes somewhat, but when I reintroduce the Lush, the soundstage is way back.  After I get used to this (second play), the soundstage is not as far back but further back than the Curious.  

 

The more realistic (smaller) scale of the music is also more natural (for me).  When things are just right, I almost feel you can pinpoint where in 3d space the sound of a cymbal or drum is coming from (you can't, but you get a feeling you can walk around it).  With the Curious cable you still imagine you can do this, but as the scale is larger and the stage more forward it's more difficult. 

 

I can reproduce these effects with different music types and at different times and order or cable trials, so I'm pretty sure I'm hearing this and not just fooling myself (yeah right).  So for right now, the Lush is going to stay before the Intona, and I'm going to invite some of my golden ear friends over for a listen next week.  Sometime we don't agree, but I do appreciate the input.  I'm very interested in what they think about the Lush after the Amber Regen just before the DAC.  Maybe its just me?

 

Unfortunately I can't test the Lush on its own without a major change in how my HiFi rack is set up.  I'm not going to do this right now.

 

Regards

Barry

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Hi

 

I've got about 60 hrs on the Lush now and am considering its use as the last USB cable between the Amber Regen and my MSB Analogue DAC.  Upstream of the Amber Regen, I've an Intona Industrial, Curious and Nordost cable (I've described my USB chain earlier in this thread).

 

On two separate evenings I had different audiophile friends over and asked them to compare the 0.7 m Lush with the Curious Regen link.  They did not know which cable was which.

 

The first friend preferred the Lush, the second preferred the Curious cable.  Oddly enough the reason for their the preference was the same.  They both felt the Curious had more resolution, one fellow preferred this and one fellow thought the extra resolution would ultimately be fatiguing.  Both said they could live with either cable. 

 

I did my own comparison this morning (the only one that really counts) and felt that indeed the Curious cable was more resolving.  It was as if the Lush had a less transparent/(Black?) background, hard to explain, its as if I could see further into the 3D soundstage with the Curious Link.  I can see that if used to analogue sound the Lush might be appealing. My decision in my system, for what its worth, is to keep the Curious Link in place.

 

When Alex delivers my ISO-Regen to me (in the fullness of time), I'll reevaluate, but until then I'm happy with the Curious Link.

 

I did try changing up the order of the cable insertion between friend 1 and friend 2.  However the number of trials was very limited, just 3 songs played at most 3 times with each cable.  But on each of the 3 songs my friends reached the same conclusion (although the conclusions were different).

 

Of course my own personal comparison was sighted and I already expected the Curious cable to be more resolving after hearing from my buddies and of course hearing for myself from the sidelines on the two previous evenings..  

 

Regards

Barry

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi All

 

I have to agree with Barrows about the Lush.  I know it's not a "popular" view here, but I do feel while the lush is engaging, I find using a Curious cable is ultimately more detailed and more to my liking.  I do agree the Lush is unlike any other able I've tried, all the others seem to try to try to extract the most detail out of the music.  Don't know how, but the Lush goes down its own path. I just not happy with the slight loss of soundstage depth and detail (It's not you it's me:D).

 

I am comparing the Lush and Curious after an ISO Regen (LPS-1, SBooster LPS) as well.  The cable into the ISO Regen is a Nordost Valhalla USB.  Both the Lush and my new ISO Regen are both broken in with more than 100 hours on the pair.

 

As another data point in my comparison, my DAC is an MSB Analogue DAC with the latest MQA enabled USB module My file player is a Bryston BDP-2.  And I do hear the benefits of the ISO Regen vs. no ISO Regen.

 

My Regards

Barry

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