Schiit EITR

[Abtr]

16 hours ago, Charente said:

I tried the Audiophonics LPSU25 power supply connected to the Topping D10s, as well as to the Hecate (before you ask @Abtr 🙂). 

 

Surprisingly, I prefer the D10s with the LPSU25 overall (versus with the UpTone LPS-1)... although I found the bass guitar chord-tones a bit easier to follow on the Hecate/LPSU25. They were that bit clearer and sounded less muted (softened ?) through the Aeons.

 

So, the attack/bite margin has closed between Hecate/LPS-1 and D10s/LPSU25 .... Not, however, the ambience/airiness. Ambience has more presence on the Hecate/LPS-1, especially when listening to performances in larger venues ... the echo/decay is more noticeable than on the D10s/LPSU25. Similarly, airiness around instruments is more notable, particularly on acoustic jazz, providing a fine 'delicacy' to the notes and improving the overall quality of the sound-stage. I've done a lot of to-ing and fro-ing and played through quite a few different albums of good recording quality to cross-check my results. To my ears this remains my preferred source.

...

I assume you are referring to Hecate/PS + Delock/PS versus direct Toslink from D10s/PS. Just some questions. How did you power the Delock in combination with Hecate/LPSU25? And did you plug in the LPS-1 and LPSU25 before or after your Airlink mains isolation transformer? I used to plug in the SMPS of the LPS-1 before the Airlink and any LPS goes after the Airlink. When I tested Hecate/Delock I used 2 LPSs and found that D10s (with LPS) sounds best in my setup.

 

Our different results may come down, as you said earlier, to personal preference and/or overall system differences (especially your Schiit, versus my RME DAC), but since power supply is crucial, I may try a (used) LPS-1 and/or LPSU25 before concluding anything..  

[Charente]

6 hours ago, Abtr said:

I assume you are referring to Hecate/PS + Delock/PS versus direct Toslink from D10s/PS.

Yes.

6 hours ago, Abtr said:

How did you power the Delock in combination with Hecate/LPSU25?

With the same LPSU25, It has two 5v outputs. I appreciate this may not be ideal for good electrical reasons. It's all I had to hand at the time.

6 hours ago, Abtr said:

And did you plug in the LPS-1 and LPSU25 before or after your Airlink mains isolation transformer?

I no longer have the Airlink on my headphone setup. I have instead used iFi AC iPurifier. The Uptone LPS-1 energiser before the iPurifier and everything else after.

 

7 hours ago, Abtr said:

but since power supply is crucial ...

Yes, my tests made that clear to me as well.

[Abtr]

29 minutes ago, Charente said:

...

I no longer have the Airlink on my headphone setup. I have instead used iFi AC iPurifier. ...

Do you think the iFi AC iPurifier sounds better than the Airlink?

[Charente]

2 minutes ago, Abtr said:

Do you think the iFi AC iPurifier sounds better than the Airlink?

No, I don't think it is better ... the Airlink is performing service with my Naim Mu-so 2 speaker setup, where it makes a big difference. But the iPurifier is certainly better than straight mains.

[Abtr]

1 hour ago, Charente said:

No, I don't think it is better ... the Airlink is performing service with my Naim Mu-so 2 speaker setup, where it makes a big difference. But the iPurifier is certainly better than straight mains.

Yes, I think you mentioned this before. It's a difference between our systems that might account for the dissimilar results..

[Charente]

I do intend to get another Airlink transformer at some point, as they make such a worthwhile difference. I'm glad we found that solution through our discourse in the past. I seem to recall you did a mod to yours which I felt was beyond my capabilities ... I'm a software person and avoid 'hardware' issues when people ask for advice ... and certainly steer clear of anything electrical or electronic. 🙂

[Charente]

BTW ... where are you based ?

[Abtr]

10 hours ago, Charente said:

I do intend to get another Airlink transformer at some point, as they make such a worthwhile difference. I'm glad we found that solution through our discourse in the past. I seem to recall you did a mod to yours which I felt was beyond my capabilities ... I'm a software person and avoid 'hardware' issues when people ask for advice ... and certainly steer clear of anything electrical or electronic. 🙂

Yes, that was a DC-blocker which I still use. You can also buy one assembled like this:

https://www.atlhifi.com/shop/fully-assembled-devices/dc-blocker-trap-filter-assembled-in-case/

If there is no DC component in your AC mains it will do nothing, otherwise it may reduce transformer hum.

[Abtr]

11 hours ago, Charente said:

BTW ... where are you based ?

I live in the Netherlands.

[Abtr]

Regarding my results with the Topping D10s's optical output, I must say that in my setup there's a buildup of static charge in the 5V power supply or the PS/D10s combination. When, after the system has been on for some time, I touch the metal connector (minus terminal) of the power cable to the 5V USB power injection, then the D10s loses its USB connection. Disconnecting and reconnecting the USB input restores the connection but some high current discharge induced the disconnection.

 

To remedy this problem, I connected the minus terminal of the PS output to mains ground/earth, with a 100K Ohm resistor in series to decouple PS input and output ground. This solves it and IMO improves SQ, though the latter may be a matter of personal preference. BTW, I noticed the same problem of static charge buildup with the PS/Delock combination..

[audiobomber]

I fried a Sabaj Da2 simply by touching it in the dry season. The zap from my finger killed it, never made a sound again.

 

I received my Eitr just over an hour ago, hooked up to the Dell laptop and Audiolab DAC in my headphone system. Initially a little disappointing, lacking body and a little hashy in the mids and treble. I expect break-in will improve things somewhat. 

 

I added an iFi iPurifier2 and got a nice improvement; blacker background, more body, smoother mids and treble. The iPurifier is definitely staying. I'll use the Schiit wall wart for now, then try the iFi iPower. 

[Charente]

@audiobomber ... I believe the Shiit EITR wallwart is a step-down AC output PS ... is the iFi iPower not DC ??

[audiobomber]

Thanks @Charente. Looks like you saved me some grief. From the manual, which I had not read:

 

Power Input. Connect only to the Schiit-supplied 6VAC wall-wart, or bad things may happen.

[Charente]

@audiobomber ... both @Abtr and myself inject 5v DC from a decent PS at the USB-B plug, using an adapter for the purpose, thus eliminating 'dirty' power on the USB power lines from the source computer. That will certainly improve the EITR SQ.

[audiobomber]

1 hour ago, Charente said:

@audiobomber ... both @Abtr and myself inject 5v DC from a decent PS at the USB-B plug, using an adapter for the purpose, thus eliminating 'dirty' power on the USB power lines from the source computer. That will certainly improve the EITR SQ.

I agree, that's what I working on for the past few minutes. The USB 5V bus from my laptop is crap.

 

I replaced the Belkin USB 3.0 cable with a dual-head Ghent Audio 2.0 cable, power leg connected to the iPower 5V. Initially, there was a huge gap between the Eitr and my sMS-200 Neo with Welborne Labs LPS. They are close at this point. One day I will replace the superior LPS on the sms-200 with an iPower and see how close they are on even ground. 

[audiobomber]

On 9/5/2020 at 10:44 AM, Abtr said:

Do you think the iFi AC iPurifier sounds better than the Airlink?

The AC Purifier only provides a very small improvement to any individual component, but provides that tiny improvement to everything that is plugged into the same circuit. I use an AC Purifier in my main system, plugged into a Furman power conditioner, with all my front end gear.

[Abtr]

So I connected the 5V LPS of the Topping directly to the mains power, i.e., before my Airlink BPS1502EU balanced isolation transformer. There is no USB disconnect when I touch -V5, yet SQ is better when I connect the -5V terminal to mains ground/earth through a series resistor. IME, however, SQ is superior with the LPS connected to the Airlink and -5V connected to balanced ground (null), again through a series resistor (100K Ohm is about optimal) :

 

 

 

 

I'm still puzzled regarding the mechanism(s) underlying the static charge buildup and the SQ improvement with -5V grounding.. 

 

 

[Abtr]

On 9/12/2020 at 3:59 PM, audiobomber said:

The AC Purifier only provides a very small improvement to any individual component, but provides that tiny improvement to everything that is plugged into the same circuit. I use an AC Purifier in my main system, plugged into a Furman power conditioner, with all my front end gear.

According to some, the iFi Audio AC iPurifier Active Noise Filter is snake oil and it even appears to inject noise into the mains..

 

https://www.audio “science” review/forum/index.php?threads/so-has-anyone-measured-how-the-ifi-audio-ac-purifier-is-supposed-to-work.10243/

 

 

 

[audiobomber]

ASR is a bad joke, I couldn't care less what they say.

 

I heard a very minor improvement when I added the AC Purifier to my main system, so I continue to use it. I do not intend to add any more to this system, nor use one in my other systems. 

 

The video shows that the unit needs to be grounded or it injects noise. That is not a surprising result, as it is designed to be grounded. The North American version is three-prong.

[Abtr]

41 minutes ago, audiobomber said:

ASR is a bad joke, I couldn't care less what they say.

 

I heard a very minor improvement when I added the AC Purifier to my main system, so I continue to use it. I do not intend to add any more to this system, nor use one in my other systems. 

 

The video shows that the unit needs to be grounded or it injects noise. That is not a surprising result, as it is designed to be grounded. The North American version is three-prong.

Not sure about ASR.. The video shows that the iPurifier injects less noise into the mains when it is grounded, but the least noise is registered when the unit is disconnected from the mains.

[audiobomber]

2 hours ago, Abtr said:

Not sure about ASR.. The video shows that the iPurifier injects less noise into the mains when it is grounded, but the least noise is registered when the unit is disconnected from the mains.

ASR says the iPower, which uses similar technology, also injects noise into the line. Except that it beats every generic SMPS I've compared it to on sound quality, in three systems. Here's a good example of why I consider ASR to be a joke:

 

"It is clear that whether you use the USB power, or the supplied switching power supply, there is absolutely no audible improvement in the output of the DAC with linear power supplies."

Amir
Founder, Audio Science Review 

 

I'm not advocating for anyone to buy an AC Purifier, but I will continue to use mine, because you can't get away from switching power supplies. They are endemic in electronic gear and throughout your household. I heard a small sonic benefit, therefore I did not return the AC Purifier, despite the naysayers. 

[Charente]

By preference I would use an isolating transformer ... I use one in my speaker system ... however, I do have a grounded AC iPower (2 green lights) in use for a couple of key devices (DAC & Amp) in my headphone setup. Tonight I took the iPower out of the block and although the difference wasn't massive, the was a noticeable decrease in dynamics in the music. So, it's doing something worthwhile to my ears.

 

The only items plugged outside of the iPower are a couple of SMPS's, a lamp and my MacMini. I don't suppose the noise from the iPower would affect those from an audible point of view ... but maybe I'm wrong.

[Abtr]

I happen to have a noise detection device similar to the one used in the video. It basically transforms high frequency mains noise into audible frequencies. When I plug it directly into a wall socket, the noise sounds very much like the noise in the video. When I plug it into the AC output of my Airlink isolation transformer there is no audible noise, except for a very low level hiss which may even come from the detection device itself.

 

Note that the Airlink has a foil screen between the primary and secondary windings that is connected to ground. This significantly reduces the coupling of leakage currents and EMI/RFI currents. Moreover, the AC output is balanced (115V - 0 - 115V) which inherently has a high level of common mode noise rejection.

[audiobomber]

I use a Furman Elite-15 PFi conditioner for my power amps and subwoofers. Front-end gear is plugged into a Furman PST-8 power conditioner. The AC Purifier is plugged into the PST-8. This is a very different setup than the one I tested, with a new and higher resolution DAC and streamer and two linear power supplies replacing switching power supplies. I will do a fresh round of testing and report back. 

 

I am concerned about the video you posted. Distortion can sometimes sound like increased detail. I've asked iFi for comment:

 

 

[audiobomber]

The official response is on the iFi website: https://support.ifi-audio.com/kb/faq.php?id=803. Seems reasonable to me