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exaSound e32


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Previously I have found the usb output of my PC to be quite noisy, even when using a separate 5v power supply bypassing the USB bus power. For that reason, I moved to using an SOTM streamer and USB converter. You're right, though, I should try using my PC again, directly into the e32's usb input. I wonder how this would compare with the Play Point?

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8 hours ago, Robert van Diggele said:

Or connect the exa to the USB out in the sms-200 without any converter in between.

 

That's not possible, since exasound do not release their drivers to third party product manufacturers.

 

However, I did try the e32 usb input directly from my PC using the exasound driver, and it does sound excellent. I haven't yet critically compared it with the SPDIF input from the SOTM, and will do so over the next week or so.

 

 

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13 minutes ago, Dr Tone said:

 

I thought Exasound's USB implementation was considered one of the best in the game?  Now it needs to be fixed as well?

 

That was my understanding as well, which is why I haven't tried any usb isolation devices.

 

Some more observations on the e32: it continues to be as musical and engaging as I found it initially. It now seems to be fully run in, since its sound has not changed further. There remains a distinctive Sabre sound - a slight dryness, a very slight grain, and a lack of sharp outlines to instruments and voices, which appear as a kind of overlapping cloud of sound. But there is also an immediacy and directness, a natural sense of timing and saturated tonal colours, all of which combine to give the sense of presence that I have only previously had from vinyl. But, despite its faults, vinyl still remains the benchmark, combining all these benefits with a greater sense of focus, tangibility and (at its best) sharply  outlined instruments and voices. But the e32 is closing the gap significantly, and I find it hard to stop listening to it, it is just so damned musical. I can hear its faults (as I can with just about any device and any medium) but it just draws me in anyway.

 

I also spent a bit of time last night comparing the usb input from my PC to the spdif input from the SOTM, and honestly could not tell any difference. I will need to do some more testing, but it looks like I will be able to remove one more device - the SOTM -  from the rack (which is a good thing!). After emailing George Klissarov, it also appears that the Play Point should not offer any sonic improvement over a direct USB connection to my PC, so I will probably not get the Play Point, unless I decide to use the e32 in a different room.

 

 

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22 minutes ago, watts said:

Doesn't this presume all windows based computer servers sound the same? Regardless of specs?  You are going to have to try and see; but if it is the same why not choose the matching play point? 

 

Because I already have the PC and the PlayPoint is a little too expensive to buy just to satisfy my curiosity.

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A further update. When I said earlier that after 100 hours the e32 had fully run in, I was mistaken. With another 100-200 hours it is now sounding even smoother and fuller.

 

I have also replaced the Teddy Pardo power supply with a Fidelizer Nikola. While I really like the Teddy Pardo power supplies and probably own half a dozen of them, I know that they can sound just slightly hazey, and this may not be a good combination with Sabre dacs, which already have tendencies in that direction. I had a suspicion that a different power supply may prove a better match, and I ordered the Fidelizer Nikola based on positive reviews. My suspicion proved to be correct, with the e32 now sounding a little more dynamic, and with a faint layer of haze now removed.

 

I have also been doing some more extensive comparisons of the the USB input against the SPDIF input from my SOTM 200 and Matrix S SPDIF 2. A The latter wins convincingly. In isolation, the USB input sounds very good, but against the SPDIF input, it sounds a little grayer, and a little more blurred. With the SOTM/Matrix in the SPDIF input, the e32 sounds more colourful, instrumental outlines are more fully delineated, and it also sounds smoother and more liquid. Obviously, this comparison relates to my specific equipment, and may not be true for other sources.

 

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