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Even though I am mostly an analog guy I would like to enjoy my digital setup more.  I have done a decent amount of work getting it to where it is but I would like to maybe "turn it up a notch."

 

Here is my current setup:

 

Music server – Xeon E3-1265L; 16 GB ram; Streacom FC-10 case

Main power supply – HD-Plex 400; SSD powered by a Bakoon PS

System Software – Windows server 2016; Audiophile optimizer

Music software – Roon and HQ Player

Endpoint – Sonore ultrarendu with Ultracap LPS-1

 

My DAC is a Lampizator Big 7.

 

Is there any obvious weakness or area that I should consider upgrading?

 

 

Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7s, 4 M&K ST-150Ts, 1 VCC-5; Amplification: 2 Vandersteen M7-HPAs, CI Audio D200 MKII, Ayre V-6xe; Preamp: Doshi Audio Line Stage v3.0; Phono Pre: Doshi Audio Phono Pre; Analog: Wave Kinetics NVS with Durand Telos composite arm; SME 3012R arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2; Reel to Reel:  Technics RS-1500; Doshi Tape Pre-Amp; Studer A810, Studer A812, Tascam BR-20; Multi-channel: Bryston SP-3; Digital: Custom PC (Sean Jacobs DC4/Euphony/Stylus)> Lampizator Pacific

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i think you've got a great system as is.

 

only things to consider would be to isolate your endpoint by either: (a) sell the ultrarendu and buy an optical module, an opticalrendu and a power supply (use lps1 on the optical module as it won't have the juice for the optical rendu), OR (b) buy 2 optical modules and 2 lps1.2, OR (3) buy an etherregen or sotm switch

 

there are a lot of other possibilities besides the above to achieve the isolation . . . .

(1) holo audio red (hqp naa) > chord dave > luxman cl-38uc/mq-88uc > kef reference 1
(2) simaudio moon mind 2 > chord qutest > luxman sq-n150 > monitor audio gold gx100
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7 minutes ago, jcn3 said:

i think you've got a great system as is.

 

only things to consider would be to isolate your endpoint by either: (a) sell the ultrarendu and buy an optical module, an opticalrendu and a power supply (use lps1 on the optical module as it won't have the juice for the optical rendu), OR (b) buy 2 optical modules and 2 lps1.2, OR (3) buy an etherregen or sotm switch

 

there are a lot of other possibilities besides the above to achieve the isolation . . . .

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I do have a bunch of TP Link optical modules and a Cisco optical switch but I haven't been using them.  I guess I should give them a try again.

 

Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7s, 4 M&K ST-150Ts, 1 VCC-5; Amplification: 2 Vandersteen M7-HPAs, CI Audio D200 MKII, Ayre V-6xe; Preamp: Doshi Audio Line Stage v3.0; Phono Pre: Doshi Audio Phono Pre; Analog: Wave Kinetics NVS with Durand Telos composite arm; SME 3012R arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2; Reel to Reel:  Technics RS-1500; Doshi Tape Pre-Amp; Studer A810, Studer A812, Tascam BR-20; Multi-channel: Bryston SP-3; Digital: Custom PC (Sean Jacobs DC4/Euphony/Stylus)> Lampizator Pacific

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6 minutes ago, dminches said:

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

I do have a bunch of TP Link optical modules and a Cisco optical switch but I haven't been using them.  I guess I should give them a try again.

 

 

i would give them a try but you need to be sensitive to the power supply used on the tplinks.

 

since you've got a very nice system and you have the cisco optical switch, i'd go beyond the tplink modules and invest in an optical module and an lps1.2 for your ultrarendu (assuming the optical port on the cisco switch does gigabit and isn't limited to 100M)

(1) holo audio red (hqp naa) > chord dave > luxman cl-38uc/mq-88uc > kef reference 1
(2) simaudio moon mind 2 > chord qutest > luxman sq-n150 > monitor audio gold gx100
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2 minutes ago, jcn3 said:

 

i would give them a try but you need to be sensitive to the power supply used on the tplinks.

 

since you've got a very nice system and you have the cisco optical switch, i'd go beyond the tplink modules and invest in an optical module and an lps1.2 for your ultrarendu (assuming the optical port on the cisco switch does gigabit and isn't limited to 100M)

 

I guess I am not sure what the optical module is.  Can you specify?

 

Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7s, 4 M&K ST-150Ts, 1 VCC-5; Amplification: 2 Vandersteen M7-HPAs, CI Audio D200 MKII, Ayre V-6xe; Preamp: Doshi Audio Line Stage v3.0; Phono Pre: Doshi Audio Phono Pre; Analog: Wave Kinetics NVS with Durand Telos composite arm; SME 3012R arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2; Reel to Reel:  Technics RS-1500; Doshi Tape Pre-Amp; Studer A810, Studer A812, Tascam BR-20; Multi-channel: Bryston SP-3; Digital: Custom PC (Sean Jacobs DC4/Euphony/Stylus)> Lampizator Pacific

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I see.  The Sonore optical module which would be used instead of the TP Link.

 

Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7s, 4 M&K ST-150Ts, 1 VCC-5; Amplification: 2 Vandersteen M7-HPAs, CI Audio D200 MKII, Ayre V-6xe; Preamp: Doshi Audio Line Stage v3.0; Phono Pre: Doshi Audio Phono Pre; Analog: Wave Kinetics NVS with Durand Telos composite arm; SME 3012R arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2; Reel to Reel:  Technics RS-1500; Doshi Tape Pre-Amp; Studer A810, Studer A812, Tascam BR-20; Multi-channel: Bryston SP-3; Digital: Custom PC (Sean Jacobs DC4/Euphony/Stylus)> Lampizator Pacific

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1 minute ago, dminches said:

I see.  The Sonore optical module which would be used instead of the TP Link.

 

 

exactly.

(1) holo audio red (hqp naa) > chord dave > luxman cl-38uc/mq-88uc > kef reference 1
(2) simaudio moon mind 2 > chord qutest > luxman sq-n150 > monitor audio gold gx100
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Also a vinyl guy here with a pretty good analog rig that is hard to beat by digital. It took a long time to get close to the point where the recording matters, not the media. My recommendations (in that order of priority). 

1. Ditch the ultrarendu. It would never sound on par with a good analog rig. Get a good USB PCIe card (i.e. PinkFaun, JCAT, SOTM) and power it by your LPS-1. Get a good USB cable. Connect your computer directly to your DAC. Try Euphony - it sounds more analog to my ears. 

2. Second priority, they all make a difference, hard to tell which one you would like most.

 - Get a more powerful computer. Higher speed CPU, more cores, more CPUs, it all makes a difference in dynamics and overall presentation.

- Get a better LPS. I like Sean Jacobs, but there are other alternatives that are better than the HDPlex.

3. Third tier of upgrades:

- Put your OS on Optane card. Remove the noisy SSD. 

- Try the SOTM tx-usbultra

- Are you streaming Tidal/Qobuz? If you are then I would recommend the JCAT Network card. And you should probably get a good switch. 

...

 

It's never ending, but I highly recommend you do #1. Some of these companies offer to try their products at home. Euphony has 30 day trial version. It would cost you next to nothing to try these things. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

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8 minutes ago, Nenon said:

Also a vinyl guy here with a pretty good analog rig that is hard to beat by digital. It took a long time to get close to the point where the recording matters, not the media. My recommendations (in that order of priority). 

1. Ditch the ultrarendu. It would never sound on par with a good analog rig. Get a good USB PCIe card (i.e. PinkFaun, JCAT, SOTM) and power it by your LPS-1. Get a good USB cable. Connect your computer directly to your DAC. Try Euphony - it sounds more analog to my ears. 

 

 

I have a jcat femto which I haven't been using since I went the rendu route.  I thought that was the recommended way to go for isolation.

 

If I did go to a direct connection would I still run roon server or would I have to run a different version for direct USB output?

 

Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7s, 4 M&K ST-150Ts, 1 VCC-5; Amplification: 2 Vandersteen M7-HPAs, CI Audio D200 MKII, Ayre V-6xe; Preamp: Doshi Audio Line Stage v3.0; Phono Pre: Doshi Audio Phono Pre; Analog: Wave Kinetics NVS with Durand Telos composite arm; SME 3012R arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2; Reel to Reel:  Technics RS-1500; Doshi Tape Pre-Amp; Studer A810, Studer A812, Tascam BR-20; Multi-channel: Bryston SP-3; Digital: Custom PC (Sean Jacobs DC4/Euphony/Stylus)> Lampizator Pacific

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17 minutes ago, dminches said:

I have a jcat femto which I haven't been using since I went the rendu route.

 

This is a USB card I suppose? Was it powered by external LPS? 

I guess if you had it this way and switched to the ultraRendu, and you like the Sonore better then maybe we have different taste. That's okay. But keep in mind that the OS plays a significant role. If you have everything needed, it would not hurt to give it a try - your JCAT USB card with external LPS running Euphony/Stylus (make sure you disable the volume control in Euphony) connected directly to your DAC. I would be very interested of your feedback. 

Industry disclosure:
https://chicagohifi.com

Dealer for: Taiko Audio, Conrad Johnson, Audio Mirror, and Sean Jacobs

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Thanks. I will look into Euphony. 

 

Speakers: Vandersteen Model 7s, 4 M&K ST-150Ts, 1 VCC-5; Amplification: 2 Vandersteen M7-HPAs, CI Audio D200 MKII, Ayre V-6xe; Preamp: Doshi Audio Line Stage v3.0; Phono Pre: Doshi Audio Phono Pre; Analog: Wave Kinetics NVS with Durand Telos composite arm; SME 3012R arm, Clearaudio Goldfinger Statement v2; Reel to Reel:  Technics RS-1500; Doshi Tape Pre-Amp; Studer A810, Studer A812, Tascam BR-20; Multi-channel: Bryston SP-3; Digital: Custom PC (Sean Jacobs DC4/Euphony/Stylus)> Lampizator Pacific

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