Schiit EITR

[Lebouwsky]

57 minutes ago, Charente said:

EITR ... I guess the obvious answer is that for their initial model they wanted to keep it at a certain price point to have broad market appeal. It would not surprise me (as I have speculated before) that they may well offer an EITR Plus (or whatever), along the lines of a Singxer SU-1. My further speculative thinking is that the bigger (more expensive) Gadget that is in the pipeline, will be an EITR + Gadget in one box and offer more connectivity, such as BNC, either in a BiFrost or Gungnir case.

If that would be the case I'd buy it blindly. Don't quite follow you about this Gadget, what is it.

[Charente]

@Lebouwsky Essentially, The Gadget, as Mike Moffat calls it, is a 'music processor' that re-tunes the pitch of a recording exactly at 256Hz just prior to a DAC ... to produce an 'enhanced mood musical experience' ... see my brief posts about it on the previous page.

 

It is the entry level in his Manhatten series that he has been working on for some time. As it's a 'series', he has already mentioned there would be a bigger version (hence my speculation of what that could look like) and possibly even, in my mind, a 'signature' version.

 

If my speculative prediction is correct, I'd rather have Gadget Plus, (or whatever it will be called) which would make sense to me to include the guts of an EITR ... but perhaps I would not get the Gadget Signature (or whatever that will be called). I suspect that might be quite pricey but ultimate.

[rickca]

On 9/15/2017 at 6:07 AM, Charente said:

The new Schiit Gadget (a 'music processor', pre-announced by Mike Moffat) may provide another reason to have an EITR. The Gadget will have USB Gen2 and S/PDIF inputs with just a S/PDIF output. Mike's chain recommendation for "The quality oriented user ..." is EITR > Gadget > DAC. 

 

EDIT: The S/PDIF connections will be coax.

Where did you see Mike Moffat preannounce this?

[Charente]

@rickca His blog on that 'other place' ! ... he's made 3 posts so far.

[OldBigEars]

I decided to take the plunge and have ordered an mR.  Mint condition, with the 2.5 update.  Crazy really - this is what audiophilia leads to....dropping $500 on the 'possibility' that there might be a subtle improvement in SQ.  The problem is, I had no choice - you all know the feeling.  I simply had to try it so that I'll know for sure whether Eitr has fulfilled its claim of making source components irrelevant, or not.  As I've bought the mR used, I should be able to move it on with minimal financial penalty in the quite likely event it doesn't earn its keep.  Obviously I'm hoping for a significant improvement but I'm fully prepared to let it go if it really doesn't add anything. One more point...I'm going to power it with IFI iPower.  Yes I know, the upgraded LPS is the way to go yada yada.  But this is where I  buy into the theory that Eitr fixes all evil.

 

Right now, my system has never sounded better, The Eitr was a game changer, beautifully topped off when I ditched the Blue Jeans / Canare coax and replaced it with an AQ Carbon.  That wasn't supposed to happen - we've all been told how digital cables (especially coax) make no difference.  The Carbon has added the final layer of control and refinement. 

 

I report back when I get the mR up and running later this week.

 

 

 

 

[George Hincapie]

14 minutes ago, OldBigEars said:

I decided to take the plunge and have ordered an mR.  Mint condition, with the 2.5 update.  Crazy really - this is what audiophilia leads to....dropping $500 on the 'possibility' that there might be a subtle improvement in SQ.  The problem is, I had no choice - you all know the feeling.  I simply had to try it so that I'll know for sure whether Eitr has fulfilled its claim of making source components irrelevant, or not.  As I've bought the mR used, I should be able to move it on with minimal financial penalty in the quite likely event it doesn't earn its keep.  Obviously I'm hoping for a significant improvement but I'm fully prepared to let it go if it really doesn't add anything. One more point...I'm going to power it with IFI iPower.  Yes I know, the upgraded LPS is the way to go yada yada.  But this is where I  buy into the theory that Eitr fixes all evil.

 

Right now, my system has never sounded better, The Eitr was a game changer, beautifully topped off when I ditched the Blue Jeans / Canare coax and replaced it with an AQ Carbon.  That wasn't supposed to happen - we've all been told how digital cables (especially coax) make no difference.  The Carbon has added the final layer of control and refinement. 

 

I report back when I get the mR up and running later this week.

 

 

 

 

 

So what will your chain look like with the mR in place?

[OldBigEars]

1 hour ago, George Hincapie said:

 

So what will your chain look like with the mR in place?

 

Tidal / MacBook Pro -> mR + IFI -> Curious link -> Eitr -> AQ Carbon -> Hegel HD25 DAC -> Morrow MA4 -> Belles Aria Integrated -> Morrow SP4 -> Kudos Super 20's

 

Might change the Curious link for a USPCB.  If the mR doesn't work out, I'll probably look at improving my power supply. 

 

 

[Lebouwsky]

1 hour ago, OldBigEars said:

 

Tidal / MacBook Pro -> mR + IFI -> Curious link -> Eitr -> AQ Carbon -> Hegel HD25 DAC -> Morrow MA4 -> Belles Aria Integrated -> Morrow SP4 -> Kudos Super 20's

 

Might change the Curious link for a USPCB.  If the mR doesn't work out, I'll probably look at improving my power supply. 

 

 

Really looking forward to your findings @OldBigEars. That goes for the mR, the USPCB and the lps.

 

Have you considered the bridged lan connection too, with a second lan port on your MBP, connecting the mR straight into your MBR? It's a relatively cheap tweak with a potential big improvement in the "before the Eitr" hemisphere.

[beerandmusic]

On 9/9/2017 at 1:51 AM, sbenyo said:

S/PDIF is a good way to listen to music but it's not a solution for higher resolutions or DSD. This is a limitation especially when today we pay for DACs that boast in their DSD and higher PCM capabilities. Something has to happen that either S/PDIF will support it or there will be something else. Currently only USB or I2S can play all formats. It may be that I2S will become standard if it's really better than USB. Today it is hardly available in DACs.

 

what format can't ethernet do?  I am thinking to move to ethernet.

 

[Charente]

@beerandmusic I'm not aware that 'Ethernet' itself has any restrictions in relation to resolutions or formats.

[Charente]

@OldBigEars Decision made ! ... look forward to your thoughts.

[OldBigEars]

8 hours ago, Lebouwsky said:

Really looking forward to your findings @OldBigEars. That goes for the mR, the USPCB and the lps.

 

Have you considered the bridged lan connection too, with a second lan port on your MBP, connecting the mR straight into your MBR? It's a relatively cheap tweak with a potential big improvement in the "before the Eitr" hemisphere.

 

@ Lebouwsky  - excuse the ignorance.  I'm trying to understand exactly how I would implement the bridged lan connection.  I have one lan port on my MBP - would I insert a splitter device?

[Lebouwsky]

5 hours ago, OldBigEars said:

 

@ Lebouwsky  - excuse the ignorance.  I'm trying to understand exactly how I would implement the bridged lan connection.  I have one lan port on my MBP - would I insert a splitter device?

No need to excuse yourselve. I already had the feeling you were unaware of this tweak, which is perfectly understandable. This tweak was discovered by a fellow member called @romaz. You can find the original thread here (but its 140 pages+ and counting): 

This first post was a kickstart for a series of tweaks. The only thing you need to read at first is this quite large first post, which is heavily modified and indexed by another member called @austinpop. This first post is a summery of all the tweaks and advices of this entire 140 pages long thread.

 

The bridged lan tweak is a very cheap tweak where the mR is connected to a second lan port. In order to do so you need to expand your mbp with a so called thunderbolt to ethernet adapter. You have to bridge both ethernet ports in the settings of the operating system. Here's described how to do so:

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18510?locale=en_US

The idea behind it is that you exclude the the clock of your router more or less, which degrades the signal (or something like that.....)

 

The results are quite spectaculair, and eventhough it looks complicated, it's actually not, as long as you take your time and don't give up.

 

Cheers

[Charente]

@Lebouwsky Thunderbolt > Ethernet adapter > DIRECT to mR, ... if I understand this correctly ... very interesting ... I shall pursue your links when I get a moment.

[OldBigEars]

8 hours ago, Lebouwsky said:

No need to excuse yourselve. I already had the feeling you were unaware of this tweak, which is perfectly understandable. This tweak was discovered by a fellow member called @romaz. You can find the original thread here (but its 140 pages+ and counting): 

This first post was a kickstart for a series of tweaks. The only thing you need to read at first is this quite large first post, which is heavily modified and indexed by another member called @austinpop. This first post is a summery of all the tweaks and advices of this entire 140 pages long thread.

 

The bridged lan tweak is a very cheap tweak where the mR is connected to a second lan port. In order to do so you need to expand your mbp with a so called thunderbolt to ethernet adapter. You have to bridge both ethernet ports in the settings of the operating system. Here's described how to do so:

https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18510?locale=en_US

The idea behind it is that you exclude the the clock of your router more or less, which degrades the signal (or something like that.....)

 

The results are quite spectaculair, and eventhough it looks complicated, it's actually not, as long as you take your time and don't give up.

 

Cheers

 

 

Thanks so much for this information.  Sounds very interesting...a tad daunting, but I can probably figure it out.  I'll go step by step, probably first using the standard connection and then maybe later experimenting with the bridged connection.

[Charente]

@Lebouwsky Which Thunderbolt/Ethernet adapter do you use in your setup ?

[Lebouwsky]

15 minutes ago, Charente said:

@Lebouwsky Which Thunderbolt/Ethernet adapter do you use in your setup ?

My server is a w10 laptop and I use a cheap and simple usb to ethernet adapter. I have no experience in MBP's, so I can't help you with that. Pretty sure it's bin discussed somewhere in the first 5 or 10 pages of the original thread.

[Abtr]

@Charente. Did you receive your replacement Airlink BPS1502? I installed a simple DC-blocker in mine (no soldering required).

 

 

It improves sound quality (in my system) even further. And I think the Airlink with DC-blocker sounds better than the Amplimo with DC-blocker. I'm testing a refurbished Sansui AU-D9 amplifier right now and it sounds quite amazing with the Airlink. 

[sbenyo]

@Abtr,  can you describe which DC-blocker is installed and how you installed it. I am interesting in the BPS solution and if it works great including DC-Blocker I may go for it.

In addition, are you using anything else on the USB chain? Does it help or is the Airlink briniging the most significant improvement?

 

[Charente]

@Abtr Yes, I got it a couple of days ago ... At first listen it pretty much performs the same as the 'industrial' version I got in error. It's really is a worthwhile purchase to me ... thanks to your suggestion. 

 

I had thought that a DC Blocker was simply a solution for fixing hum issues, but your suggestion that it also provides SQ benefits is of interest. What might we expect in terms of sound by adding this component ?

[Speed Racer]

19 minutes ago, Charente said:

I had thought that a DC Blocker was simply a solution for fixing hum issues, but your suggestion that it also provides SQ benefits is of interest. What might we expect in terms of sound by adding this component ?

 

A DC Blocker is only going to affect SQ if your isolation transformer is saturated by DC offset.

[Charente]

@Speed Racer Presumably ... to be clear in my (non EE) mind ... if it is saturated by DC offset then that manifests itself as audible hum ... which I don't experience.

[Speed Racer]

2 minutes ago, Charente said:

@Speed Racer Presumably ... to be clear in my (non EE) mind ... if it is saturated by DC offset then that manifests itself as audible hum ... which I don't experience.

 

I've never had enough DC offset on the AC line to saturate my Topaz so I don't know what it would sound like in regards to transformer noise. The Topaz can't pass DC offset so the only SQ issues would be loss of power, leakage flux, flux distortion, and associated secondary voltage harmonics.

[Charente]

A couple of extracts from Airlink Transformer FAQs ...

 

Question 8)   How quiet is a balanced power supply.
Answer:   We consider that these Power Supplies are very quiet.
However a few customers have reported that when switched on a small audible click is heard followed by a low hum which subsides after a few seconds becoming almost silent.

In a few cases customers report that some transformer noise is still audible. This is most likely to be caused either by a higher than normal input voltage or some distortion of the mains sine wave leading to a slight DC offset.

 

Question 10) I'm getting a physical buzz from my balanced power supply at certain times of the day. Can I do anything to stop it?

Answer: There are two main causes of the physical buzz or growl that can emanate from a toroidal transformer. The noise is caused by the transformer approaching saturation of the core either as a result of distortion of the mains waveform, causing a DC offset, or the application of a higher voltage than that for which the transformer has been designed, or a combination of both. In either case, if your Airlink balancing transformer is one of the models with optional higher voltage primary taps, you could try moving to a higher tap. This has the effect of reducing the flux density in the transformer slightly which may be sufficient to combat the effects of the distortion or over voltage. Doing this will, however, slightly reduce the output voltage of the unit. This shouldn't adversely affect the performance of the attached equipment.

[Speed Racer]

@Charente

 

Yes, but none of that information contradicts what I wrote. Toroidal transformers are much more affected by DC offset than other iron core types. So you have more to be concerned with tan I do using a Topaz. I don't think that toroidal is the best choice for an isolation transformer.