Innuos PhoenixUSB

[Gavin1977]

Brand new out of the box Phoenix - how long should I give it for burn in?

 

Sounds good, but the imaging is not as pinpoint as I expected, burn-in of the clock?

[Gavin1977]

Thank you @Blackmorec

[Gavin1977]

37 minutes ago, Koso said:

Phoenix USB arrived today. Starting burn in. Will report my findings after one - two weeks. Also will do the comparison with another reclockers (Ideon 3R Master time and Denafrips Gaia). Stay tuned.

Great news - I've also been hoping someone would do this!  Looking forward to it.

 

You must try daisy chaining DDC's as well!

[Gavin1977]

Shame you don't have a a Singxer SU-6 at the same time - apparently it's the top measuring DDC at present, even better than Gaia.

 

https://goldensound.audio/2021/08/01/singxer-su6-measurements/

 

 

[Gavin1977]

I have a Singxer SU-6 on the way, so will also be able to add my thoughts on this shortly.

[Gavin1977]

On 3/14/2022 at 6:23 PM, Gavin1977 said:

Shame you don't have a a Singxer SU-6 at the same time - apparently it's the top measuring DDC at present, even better than Gaia.

 

https://goldensound.audio/2021/08/01/singxer-su6-measurements/

 

 

 

I purchased a Singxer SU-6, and compared it to my matrix audio xspdif-2 (which was recommended to me at the time as being one of the best).  Not a night and day difference, but the SU-6 is in the lead.
 

SU-6 has a quieter background, seems to provide higher contrast.  More detail - particularly noticeable are some background details and the sound of drum sticks striking each other is easier to discern which was not as readily apparent before probably due to the improved onboard clock.

 

Matrix xspdif-2 is is slightly warmer sounding because it’s more homogenous in its presentation, and lacks a smidge of detail comparatively speaking.  It’s knack of presenting the music more as a whole is attractive though, as it gives it more jive.  For me through the increased realism afforded by the SU-6 means it come out trumps.  For me, if I wish, I can add colour or more body to the cleaner and more detailed signal coming from the SU-6, and  my DAC, at the preamp stage (tubes in my case).  I’d rather not take anything away prior and allow maximum musical information to pass.

 

I do however think on this one your decision should be made on budget, if you want the very best then the SU-6 is the one to go for, the delta in performance and additional outputs are worth the difference vs the xspdif-2 making it the DDC of choice.

 

The technical measurements as laid out by @GoldenOne are certainly borne out in listening.

 

One quirk I noticed was that swapping USB inputs can cause the Singxer to lose USB lock, when this does occasionally happen it doesn’t allow for quick change overs because to reset the unit you need to wait for the super cap to empty.  A minor quibble on an otherwise flawless technical performance.

 

Same principles apply as before, quality of USB into DDC makes a difference (use high quality USB, or OptoDX) - using motherboard USB compared to JCAT USB XE does round off the presentation, with a loss of detail and dynamic range and adds some greyness to the pitch black background.  It’s not a huge jump, only in the single digit percentages, but it is noticeable.