Schiit EITR

[OldBigEars]

13 hours ago, Charente said:

@OldBigEars ... let us know your thoughts when you get the mR upgrade done.

 

You bet.

[R1200CL]

On 6.12.2017 at 6:45 PM, OldBigEars said:

Now that I’ve proved to myself that the source does indeed matter with Eitr,  I’ll probably go ahead and get the 1.4 board upgrade for the mR.  

 

If so, I proved to myself using the ultraDigital, there isn’t any difference in the rendus. And would like to see if anyone can confirm my findings. 

 

I totally agree that normally anyone will hear a huge uplift SQ from 1.3 to 1.4. I’ve tested myself. But it seems a good DCC is of great value as well. 

 

I hope you considder my suggestion to test the ultraDigital. 

As I wrote in another thread, I will try to test the Eitr as well. 

[R1200CL]

On 7.12.2017 at 10:13 AM, Speed Racer said:

An LPS made a noticeable improvement with my ultraRendu.  I went with a Teddy Pardo 7vdc unit. I really would have liked to go with the UpTone Audio UltraCap LPS-1 as I think the use of capacitors is a great idea. But, the fact that it needs another energizing supply (which really needs to be an LPS so the AC mains are not contaminated) and that it puts out only 1 amp stopped me.

 

But how sure are you actually that those Meanwell will introduce any negative at all ? Don’t you think the positive effect done by the LPS-1 will overshadow any possible pollution made by the SMPS ?

I think if you try, you will change your mind ?

(And of cause do the JSGT as well). 

          

[Speed Racer]

14 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

 

But how sure are you actually that those Meanwell will introduce any negative at all ? Don’t you think the positive effect done by the LPS-1 will overshadow any possible pollution made by the SMPS ?

I think if you try, you will change your mind ?

(And of cause do the JSGT as well). 

          

 

Is the LPS-1 really any better than the Teddy Pardo? The main reason I would have gone with the LPS-1 is that it would support a US company and one that supports this forum. Alex is a good guy and makes great products. I made a conscious decision to not have any SMPS on my audio system's AC circuit. I couldn't justify buying the LPS-1 and a quality LPS to energize it. I am perfectly content with what I have now.

[R1200CL]

Well Alex is offering you a money back ?

[davide256]

On 12/7/2017 at 3:41 AM, Charente said:

@jaaptina ... Yes, IMO a LPS is a mandatory recommendation for the xRendus. Do you still intend to pair up with an EITR ? I am running an original mR v1.3 into EITR and altho' some suggest the 1.4 upgrade (or even an ultraRendu) is an improvement in that setup, I am not yet persuaded that the difference will be worthwhile. So long as the EITR gets a good quality signal, it does the rest to produce good SQ. So, the question is, how much better quality signal does it have to be to make a worthwhile difference through the EITR ? ... and why ?

Look at it from an investment perspective, a  $235 upgrade keeps your microRendu  current, improves the sound and makes it easier to resell later if you move on. Where else will that $235 get you better bang for the buck?

[Ralf11]

Back to the Audioquest Niagra - it sells for $7,000 -    ~~15x the cost of a Topaz...

[Charente]

58 minutes ago, davide256 said:

Look at it from an investment perspective, a  $235 upgrade keeps your microRendu  current, improves the sound and makes it easier to resell later if you move on. Where else will that $235 get you better bang for the buck?

 

Thank-you for your thoughts @davide256 ... although I have never looked at any audio equipment purchase as an 'investment' ! It would have to be a worthwhile improvement to justify shipping and re-importing to France. 

[Charente]

58 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

Back to the Audioquest Niagra - it sells for $7,000 -    ~~15x the cost of a Topaz...

 

I saw a price of $995 ... still high tho' compared to what I spent on the Airlink Transformer unit.

[Lebouwsky]

2 hours ago, Charente said:

 

Thank-you for your thoughts @davide256 ... although I have never looked at any audio equipment purchase as an 'investment' ! It would have to be a worthwhile improvement to justify shipping and re-importing to France. 

@davide256 does make a good point. When you purchase something, reselling value is something to take in account, especialy in the digital domain. At least I do.

[OldBigEars]

3 hours ago, Charente said:

 

I saw a price of $995 ... still high tho' compared to what I spent on the Airlink Transformer unit.

 

The AQ Niagara 5000 is $7000.  The AQ Niagara 1000 is a relative cheapie at $1000.  Apparently it retains much of the goodness

[OldBigEars]

4 hours ago, davide256 said:

Look at it from an investment perspective, a  $235 upgrade keeps your microRendu  current, improves the sound and makes it easier to resell later if you move on. Where else will that $235 get you better bang for the buck?

 

That was my exact rationale.  I'm sending my mR 1.3 to Florida on Monday.

 

We'll soon see.

[davide256]

Received my Eitr order, will have to bake it in and see how it shakes out. Initial impressions are that it does a better job of taming  "digititus" on 16 bit recordings, those filter irritants that make you avoid some recordings.

[Charente]

Great news @davide256 ... Yes, some burn-in does help settling down ... I keep the EITR (& DAC) on 24/7.

[Lebouwsky]

1 hour ago, davide256 said:

Received my Eitr order, will have to bake it in and see how it shakes out. Initial impressions are that it does a better job of taming  "digititus" on 16 bit recordings, those filter irritants that make you avoid some recordings.

Burning in took me about 24 hours. The difference was quite substantial. And like @Charente I leave mine on 24/7.

[exdmd]

When I first got my Eitr it did take 24 hours for a slight veil on the sound to lift. I also found sound was best going straight from laptop and avoiding a powered USB hub (on Windows.) I thought the Eitr was supposed to make all USB cables sound the same which I found was not true. Better cables do improve SQ I am using AudioQuest Diamond USB right now.

[Lebouwsky]

If you’re able to use the uptone uspcb I can strongly recommand it. 

[Charente]

Yes, indeed ... some respected CA members have ditched their expensive USB cables for the UpTone USPCB connector ... if you can physically accommodate it between your equipment. I can also recommend it.

[exdmd]

4 hours ago, Charente said:

Yes, indeed ... some respected CA members have ditched their expensive USB cables for the UpTone USPCB connector ... if you can physically accommodate it between your equipment. I can also recommend it.

 

Thanks for this! Intriguing idea to say the least. Unfortunately using a USPCB to connect a USB port to my Eitr is just not physically possible no way to make it work it is too short.

[PorkChop]

2 hours ago, exdmd said:

 

Thanks for this! Intriguing idea to say the least. Unfortunately using a USPCB to connect a USB port to my Eitr is just not physically possible no way to make it work it is too short.

 

Indeed.  All these hard adapters, while probably helping SQ, are not feasible in many of our setups.  As it is, my Eitr gets the telltale Windows *kerchunk" even when I'm doing something as benign as laying arms on the desk.   And that's with a 4" cable laid fairly straight!  I hate USB audio, not for hi-fi reasons, but simply because the connection itself is so precarious. 

[rayl1234]

1 minute ago, PorkChop said:

 

Indeed.  All these hard adapters, while probably helping SQ, are not feasible in many of our setups.  As it is, my Eitr gets the telltale Windows *kerchunk" even when I'm doing something as benign as laying arms on the desk.   And that's with a 4" cable laid fairly straight!  I hate USB audio, not for hi-fi reasons, but simply because the connection itself is so precarious. 

 

Haven't tried it, but if we're so worried about RF/EMI interference coming in via the digital cables.... Put PC/EITR/DAC into an RF test box... and seal all holes (as small as possible) coming out with RF shielded gaskets.  Should easily see 50 dB+ reduction up through several GHz.

 

 

[nbpf]

I am testing the Schiit Eitr and the Mutec MC-3+ USB in parallel with my current solution (M2Tech hiFace Evo + Teddy Pardo 9V/2A LPSU). All three units are connected to a Naim DAC feeding a Naim SN2 and S-400 Ovator speakers. My first impressions are that the MC-3+ and the Eitr are both brighter (or perhaps more transparent) than the Evo. In photographic terms I would say that the MC-3+ and the Eitr project pictures with higher contrasts. In terms of resolution, I cannot hear much difference. I will make more careful comparisons in the next days and report my findings.

[jaaptina]

I bought EITR second hand. It will be delivered tomorrow. Going to find out if coax input with EITR will sound as good as direct USB input from ultraRendu. 

[nbpf]

Do we know what kind of AC adaptor comes with the Eitr and whether it makes sense to connect it to the same power strip to which DAC and amplifier are connected?

[Charente]

@nbpf ..., from what I know the external adaptor is a simple AC step-down transformer with the main linear supply on board the EITR. I have it connected on the same strip as the DAC and AMP (on the balanced side of my mains transformer supply) with no untoward issues that I can detect.