New D/D Converters from Denafrips

[richard_crl032]

11 hours ago, Ben-M said:

For that, there is the one and only Titans Audio Helen. The only D/D that does I2s in->I2s out, that anybody knows of.

 

So the whole flow there would be:

1. Terminator Plus Master Clocks->Gaia. 

2. USB source->Gaia.

3. Gaia USB->Gaia I2s.

4. Gaia I2s out->Helen I2s in.

5. Helen I2s in->Helen I2s out.

6. Helen I2s out->Terminator Plus I2s in.

Music.

 

That chain gives me a bit of a laugh, mostly because I've never heard of a DAC sending Master Clock outputs to an upstream device... Maybe I'm behind the times in the External Mster Clocking field...

 

Hi Ben,

 

Indeed  ... to me best clock should be nearest to dac and you have the dual encapsulated ocxo ones in the Terminator plus.

 

Next, to sync source to dac directly makes it preferrable to avoid added cable which itself introduces jitter as in usual case of a master clock, added big $ for an better one than oxco as well as not wasting more $ in clock in other source equipment. In my case, I am glad my Avator transport is a vfm <usd1.2 with only femto clock.

 

Please note for the gaia as seen from the pcb photos, one can compare that the ocxo even if same grade (dunno) are not similarly treated and rightfully so as the Terminator Plus is their latest flagship and the gaia is their first and only ddc at a much lower price albeit already into ocxo realm.

 

On your mentioned flow, indeed no sense to even connect any source's usb (or i2s) output for hires dsd to gaia and then via i2s to Terminator Plus to avoid more cable, connectors as well as also format (hence ddc) just to sync clock ... even for i2s output with the added cable, connectors etc. since you cannot repair the digital signal once damaged with added jitters regardless how super your downstream clock is. 

 

So what is the gaia to me ? I will only use it for other digital sources with xlr, rca or bnc and not already with i2s or usb and hope synced clock from it with the dual ocxo clock as well as preferred i2s output of the Terminator Plus proves beneficial.

 

Will try out if I can get the demo gaia from vineshine but trial of bnc T splitter from 45mhz clock output of Terminator must work else loss to my currently synced Avatar with i2s D to i2s B via RJ45 will not be acceptable to me.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

GAIA:

 

Terminator Plus:

[richard_crl032]

7 hours ago, Blake said:

Arnold's personal live-in chef just arrived, ready to serve him some tasty tunes! 

 

This thing is built like a tank and rather heavy for its size.  Great packaging and build quality.  

 

 

 

Hi Blake,

 

Congras !

 

So Gaia arrived or Terminator also arrived ?

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, R1200CL said:

Would you like to tell us how or who gave you that understanding ?

And what would the alternative be ?

 

Hi R1200CL,

 

Antipodes for one even if their output is only usb but guess they pushed as far as possible for hires and native dsd since typical digital format limited in sampling rates with exception of dual AES.

 

Alternative will be the mentioned ethernet RJ45.

 

Nevertheless, also dependent on implementation as usual.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/denafrips7/

 

Glad clock outputs of TP is finally explored here albiet I need to test out gaia to sync instead of daisu chain my Avatar and gaia next week .. and to be continued 😂

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

17 hours ago, Blake said:

My personal, entirely subjective impressions using the Gaia with the Chord Qutest:

 

The Gaia transforms the Qutest.  I had to keep checking myself since the Gaia arrived to make sure I was hearing the magnitude of change I believed I was hearing.  Yep, it is real.  I could see the Qutest+Gaia combo as an "end game" combo for the vast majority of audiophiles.  

 

If I had been listening to the Qutest just by itself for a long time, and then I was blind-folded and someone connected the Gaia to the Qutest, but told me they had inserted a Dave*, I would believe them and immediately start figuring out how long it would take me to save up for the Dave because hearing the improvements, it would be difficult to go without.  Again, though, that is just me.

 

*I have not heard the Dave in my system and thus I am not saying a Qutest+Gaia would equal a Dave.  I am just trying to express the magnitude of the change.  After my years of buying and trying different DAC's in my system, I view the Gaia improvements to comfortably exceed one, and possibly equal even two DAC model jumps within a manufacturer's DAC line. 

 

Another data point:  I loved my Berkelely Alpha USB D/D converter and it improved every DAC to which it was connected (most recently a Yggy Analog 2).  The sonic improvements brought by Gaia exceed the sonic improvements from the Berkeley by a rather large margin.

 

I'd love to put a Gaia up against a PhoenixUSB or Chord M Scaler just to see how it compares (yes, I appreciate these are differing devices and it would be a somewhat flawed comparison due to the different connection types).  If you simply view all of these devices as "sonic improvement" devices at differing price points, which at the end of the day is what they are (thinking of the Gaia as merely a tool to convert to a different digital type is really missing the big point of the Gaia), the Gaia might prove to be a cheaper alternative for a given amount of sonic improvement.

 

What are the primary sonic improvements?  Dramatic (on an audiophile rating scale- i.e. not to my wife's rating scale) improvements to holography/sound staging and transparency (hearing even more musical information, details, the impression of the recording venue, etc).  The sound stage is huge and there is so much air between the performers.  I really value those aspects.  If those sonic attributes are not what floats your boat, then move along, nothing to see here.

 

Finally, as a Terminator Plus owner, the ability to take advantage of the TPlus' clock output to the upstream Gaia, is more icing on the Gaia cake.

 

 

 

Hi Blake,

 

Nice review !

 

Can you also review the difference between same sources connected via the gaia synced to the Terminator Plus against direct connection to the Terminator plus on the same connection type of say usb and aes ?

 

Believe this will be useful for owners of Terminator Plus to consider getting the gaia.

 

Sorry if I had missed such a comparison.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

On 7/6/2020 at 1:55 AM, Ben-M said:

For that, there is the one and only Titans Audio Helen. The only D/D that does I2s in->I2s out, that anybody knows of.

 

So the whole flow there would be:

1. Terminator Plus Master Clocks->Gaia. 

2. USB source->Gaia.

3. Gaia USB->Gaia I2s.

4. Gaia I2s out->Helen I2s in.

5. Helen I2s in->Helen I2s out.

6. Helen I2s out->Terminator Plus I2s in.

Music.

 

That chain gives me a bit of a laugh, mostly because I've never heard of a DAC sending Master Clock outputs to an upstream device... Maybe I'm behind the times in the External Mster Clocking field...

 

Hi,

 

Indeed a laugh .. the Helen will no longer be clock synced to the Terminator Plus.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

On 7/26/2020 at 6:40 AM, Blake said:

My personal, entirely subjective impressions using the Gaia with the Chord Qutest:

 

The Gaia transforms the Qutest.  I had to keep checking myself since the Gaia arrived to make sure I was hearing the magnitude of change I believed I was hearing.  Yep, it is real.  I could see the Qutest+Gaia combo as an "end game" combo for the vast majority of audiophiles.  

 

If I had been listening to the Qutest just by itself for a long time, and then I was blind-folded and someone connected the Gaia to the Qutest, but told me they had inserted a Dave*, I would believe them and immediately start figuring out how long it would take me to save up for the Dave because hearing the improvements, it would be difficult to go without.  Again, though, that is just me.

 

*I have not heard the Dave in my system and thus I am not saying a Qutest+Gaia would equal a Dave.  I am just trying to express the magnitude of the change.  After my years of buying and trying different DAC's in my system, I view the Gaia improvements to comfortably exceed one, and possibly equal even two DAC model jumps within a manufacturer's DAC line. 

 

Another data point:  I loved my Berkelely Alpha USB D/D converter and it improved every DAC to which it was connected (most recently a Yggy Analog 2).  The sonic improvements brought by Gaia exceed the sonic improvements from the Berkeley by a rather large margin.

 

I'd love to put a Gaia up against a PhoenixUSB or Chord M Scaler just to see how it compares (yes, I appreciate these are differing devices and it would be a somewhat flawed comparison due to the different connection types).  If you simply view all of these devices as "sonic improvement" devices at differing price points, which at the end of the day is what they are (thinking of the Gaia as merely a tool to convert to a different digital type is really missing the big point of the Gaia), the Gaia might prove to be a cheaper alternative for a given amount of sonic improvement.

 

What are the primary sonic improvements?  Dramatic (on an audiophile rating scale- i.e. not to my wife's rating scale) improvements to holography/sound staging and transparency (hearing even more musical information, details, the impression of the recording venue, etc).  The sound stage is huge and there is so much air between the performers.  I really value those aspects.  If those sonic attributes are not what floats your boat, then move along, nothing to see here.

 

Finally, as a Terminator Plus owner, the ability to take advantage of the TPlus' clock output to the upstream Gaia, is more icing on the Gaia cake.

 

 

Hi Blake,

 

Any chance to share on my query in post #77 ?

 

My plan to test out the effect of the gaia is to connect coaxial rca of my bel canto fm tuner directly to the T+ and have its digital aes/ebu to the gaia and i2s to the TP+. In this way, several simple switch over while playing will leave least doubt on AB.

 

With typically preferred aes-ebu, synced clocked and even more highly regarded i2s, I really hope for some improvement with gaia else adding gaia is redundant for me since T+ already have all and more inputs and save space as well as $ o  the gaia, digital cable and powercord.

 

On the usb, I am not too sure as any conversion in gaia is expected to be of lower quality than in the flagship T+ with expected higher quality treatment and consideration .. 

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

7 minutes ago, seeteeyou said:

 

0.5m CAT8 Ethernet cable (Full Metal Case option for $33.45) could be a good choice as well

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000575872860.html

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/old-king-of-r2r-dac-is-dead-denafrips-terminator-plus-terminator-arrives.936310/page-6#post-15767608

 

 

Hi seeteeyou 

 

Yes indeed, this is the one that I am using in my sharing and had posted the cable specification of published ofc copper albiet no further details and if believable.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, seeteeyou said:

 

0.5m CAT8 Ethernet cable (Full Metal Case option for $33.45) could be a good choice as well

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000575872860.html

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/old-king-of-r2r-dac-is-dead-denafrips-terminator-plus-terminator-arrives.936310/page-6#post-15767608

 

 

TZ ofc cable spec

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, SYM said:

Hi Richard, hows the tz cables performing with ur rest of your system? Ie switch, nas etc. Am keen to hear ur impression. Thanks

 

Hi Sym,

 

Sure .. I only have their 0.5m RJ45 for i2s B between the Avatar and T+ but ordered for my router to switch, NAS to switch and Antipodes EX to switch ... figured that if it sounded equitable in sound quality to the solid core silver Argentus hdmi at least in my testing, I am very satisfied with the $ spent.

 

I had the well burnt-in Argentus via i2s A hdmi on loan from the Avatar to the TP+ and it was an easy switch between i2s A and i2s B which tells me that baringly any unknown i2s preference of RJ45 to hdmi, this OFC TZ cable is equitable in MY preference of sound quality to Argentus cable in MY system via both my Revel Salon 2 speakers and grado fg-1 headphones ymmv.

 

The Argentus hdmi is musical but a tad softer which my wife with grade 13 piano certification prefers over the more "neutral" sounding TZ rj45 that my 18 year old daughter who play the drum, guitar and also piano prefers .. for me, I am bias since I am the only one who knows the price and prefers the TZ RJ45 cables.  Hence I concluded that if available as an optional input, it is a vfm alternative to much more costly Argentus hdmi cable.

 

I also found out my 6% silver Pangea hdmi with "cardas copper" sounded even softer and veiled in comparison in MY system than the Argentus hdmi.

 

Go ahead, the TZ RJ45 Cat 8 OFC cable is only usd30+ with free shipping ... meanwhile, I have the recommended unshielded Cat 6 meicord RJ45 on the switch to my Samsung Qled in desperate attempt to burn in to hopefully and magically improve over the TZ cables .. lol !

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, SYM said:

Thanks Richard. Using wife and dotter is a good way of keeping grounded  

 

cheers!!!

 

Hi Sym,

 

Indeed and it help with WAF and now DAF especially cos my system is in my living hall 😅

 

One further note is that my dotter pick up the input/cable 5 out of 5 times over various music and my wife pick up 4/5 in this "blind test".

 

AB testing on NAS, switch, Antipodes etc. will not be so easy or reliable with flip of the input switch and no motivation to pull my hairs over cheaply TZ cat 8 ofc RJ45 and hence nothing to share 🙏

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

 

[richard_crl032]

1 hour ago, R1200CL said:

 

I think the only difference between Iris and Gaia, is the clock. Gaia is using XCXO.
 

 

Hi R1200CL,

 

When Blake or I, if I can beat him to it with pending demo gaia, uses the T+, it will be synced to a better sealed ocxo clock with expected better psu, isolation etc treatment which is also your mentioned best clock near dac that I also believes in as well as synced components which is what I am getting from Avatar and covets.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

2 minutes ago, Abyss Man said:

Hi,

The Gaia i2S output is restricted to 1x RJ45 that runs on LVCMOS and the HDMI output that runs on LVDS. Personally I have not tried comparing both of these formats. Maybe I should. I do have a spare Supra Cat 8 lying arnd somewhere. Thanks for the heads up. But TBH, the LVDS is a better connection/preferred connection cause it’s got higher immunity to noise. But no harm trying since it’s just a simple plug in/out. Cheers.

 

Hi Abyss,

 

Indeed the case of only hdmi i2s of the gaia being preferred lvds without saying I had tested and heard any difference in MY system since still pending demo gaia.

 

My hope it that I can daisy chain the Avatar and the gaia with gaia via hdmi i2s B and the avatar via the RJ45 i2sB which is lvds.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

Oops ....

 

My hope it that I can daisy chain the Avatar and the gaia to the T+ with gaia via hdmi i2s A and the avatar via the RJ45 i2sB which are both lvds.

[richard_crl032]

4 minutes ago, matthias said:

 

Agree,

I see no reason why a HDMi-based I2S implementation should be superior to say a double reclocked USB implementation like in Aries Cerat DACs.

IMO, when a I2S implementation is superior then USB is not implemented well enough. So it is interesting to compare Gaia with Terminator Plus vs. Terminator Plus solo.

 

Matt

 

Hi Matt,

 

First of all, I have no expertise on digital electronics and can only try to interpret from what I gather from googling .. pls feel free to correct me on the following:

 

- is2 and usb are the only hires dsd capable connectivity

- all key digital electronics run on i2s in its fundamental and needed form

- usb just like all other digital coaxial rca, aes, optical etc. requires added electronics to get to i2s ... complex and high quality aka expensive electronics is required at both transmitting and receiving devices to convert and tune to designer's thinking and preference

 

With that, why isn't i2s a better conduit of audio signal than usb while noting the requirement of short length ? 

 

Unfortunately, I do not have any source that does usb and is2 output for hires dsd but from my omnia S1 playing flac, I certainly prefers its i2s to coaxial RCA.

 

My apology on not understanding what is double reclocking usb.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

 

[richard_crl032]

6 minutes ago, matthias said:

 

Hi Richard,

can you please shed some light on why the additional Gaia should provide an advantage to a direct Avatar/ TPlus connection.

Thanks

 

Matt

 

Hey Matt,

 

Sorry for the confusion but I really only hope for the coaxial aes output from my Bel Canto fm tuner and hence my interest in the gaia.

 

I hope that having synced transfer from gaia to T+ via its sealed ocxo clock as well as i2s connectivity will better direct connection of Bel Canto fm tuner's aes to the T+.

 

I am in doubt too that there is any benefit to connect the usb output from my Antipodes ex to the gaia with added path instead of directly to the T+ and hence raised the request for him to review before I can get my hands on the demo gaia 

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

[richard_crl032]

26 minutes ago, matthias said:

 

Richard,

 

I am talking about the context an USB output signal from a server and USB input of a DAC. So what is the sense of an additional I2S device?

 

Matt

 

Hi Matt,

 

Aaah .. got it.

 

Then same thinking and doubt .. adding another component of gaia, another wire regardless i2s and synced or not does not seem like a plausible strategy for improvement for usb.  Moreover, I expect all treatment of flagship T+ to better the gaia and sealed ocxo instead of exposed ones seen points the same ... hence provision for T+'s ocxo clock as master.

 

My wish as mentioned in earlier post is on coaxial output from my Bel Canto fm tuner as I use it 90% of the time.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

7 hours ago, Abyss Man said:

Hi Matt,

I forgot to mention that you can also use a USB regenerator like the Phoenix, txusb  ultra and so on to clean the signal as well. I do have a Txusb ultra which is also master clocked and yet got myself a Gaia. As I said, everyone is free to choose their own poison and if it makes a difference or gives a bump in SQ, fine and well. I listen to a piece of gear and if I find it gives me sonic satisfaction, then I buy it. It’s that easy for me. My ears, and only mine matter. I am of course very thankful to all the seniors and gurus here who have been very patient with my PMs with regards to queries or doubts that I have. Thank you.

 

Hi Abyss,

 

Indeed our ears are all the matters end of the day and sharing by others are for consideration which still does often helps to lead to further improvement in our own system.  I really appreciates the agree to disagree atmosphere here in audiophilestyle and headfi forums .. do head to superbestaudiofriend cult like forum which rules includes something like either agree with them or shut up which I joined after seeing immediate 3 dislikes when member dimertiti with the standard Terminator made some casual queries in their rockna thread.

 

So many different attributes and variables in our systems and personal preference lead often to no absolute and hope for the avoidance of negative remarks like "bad" or 10x better that cannot be substantiated and most of all, avoidance of dislikes if possible  ... already too much hate and dislike globally in recent challenging times.

 

In my case of usb regen, I have the iso regen, ifi usb3.0 and Ideon 3R mk1 that I tried and found the Ideon 3R mk1 fed by zerozone 7.5v lps lead to preferred sound from my system when I had the standard Terminator. I avoid the use of addition usb cable and have $2 adaptor at the side of the Terminator and had various wooden block to support them.

 

This is when used with then ifi idefender 3.0 to cut 5v at various source sides of allo usb bridge as well as the 10x pricer Antipode ex .. figured that the best usb isolated cable will benefit to have no 5v running along the audio signal. Had tried the Oyaide continental 5S V2, Furutech gt2 pro, AQ carbon and Zonotone shupreme to settled with the Oyaide which clearly sounded the best in MY system.

 

With the Terminator+ and the Antipodes, I did some extensive listening via both the salon 2 and grado headphones and prefers without the Ideon 3r ... sounded cleanest and natural and probably easier to hear out cos Terminator+ is just quieter with darker background (hence my first review on veiled standard Terminator in comparison).

 

I will soon be breaking into Alvin's shop just about 15 mins from my home to snatch his gaia if I do not get the demo unit next week to end all speculation of it on at least in my System on the impact of usb source to gaia instead of the Terminator+ and most importantly digital aes_ebu from my Bel Canto Fm-1 .. lol !

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

13 hours ago, vortecjr said:

That statement is to generalized and may not apply to all cases. What if the master clock from the LVDS i2s source is really good. What if the master clock from the LVDS i2s source is ignored and the local clock is used. What if the master clock from the LVDS i2s source is properly reclocked in the receiving unit. These cases exist in the wild so we would need to know the design of this unit. 

 

Hi Vortecjr,

 

Indeed and for myself having the Terminator Plus, the hope that its sealed ocxo and flagship accoustic treatment is better than most sources .. afterall it the dac that will be used.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

On 8/1/2020 at 11:21 AM, Abyss Man said:

Hi R1200CL,

Before going to the impressions, please allow me to share my Termy and DDC journey. These are from my memory of course, so please use your discretion and don't flame me ok?

1. Termy was bought and loved it, Alvin recommended that I go with a i2S connection cause the Termy loves it, hence a Su-1 was bought and I was using a AQ Coffee HDMI cable with it. Nice improvement overall. What struck me most was the quietness.

2. The Gustard U16 appeared on the market and I bought it, although there were numerous issues with the FW it worked fine for me cause I never upsample my music. (It was better than the SU-1 for sure).

3. The new DSP V2 board for Termy was released. Out went the Gustard cause the board was slightly better sounding/equal in status and as such rendered the Gustard useless and anyways I was getting pissed off with the FW issues with the Gustard.

 

Fast forward to present day,

1. Termy was mated with the Gaia and it was a OMG moment. 3-D and Holographics went ballistic. I was convinced that this will be end game for a while at least.

2.  TP came in for an audit, and it was very good and I enjoyed it as much as the Termy/Gaia combo, but was not still not convinced that I should get the TP.

3. Enter Alvin, he told me to listen to the TP again and give it some time to settle down, and boy was he right. The TP was performing at a better level than the Termy/Gaia combo but in all honesty, a lot of us could live with the combo of Termy/Gaia. But me being me, I got the TP.

4. TP came in and was enjoying my new found improvements in SQ.

5. Enter the Iris, and immediately I could sense even the entry level DDC was a nice addition especially if clocked by the TP. The 3-D and Holographic presentation was.......well scary. I'm a headphone user and so many times I could swear that the audience was outside my field of hearing. A friend came over to listen and when asked what he thought, he said he does'nt know cause he has never heard headphones present music in such a manner. (There was no base to refer to). I'm using the Abyss Phi CC btw. It was like strapping speakers to your ears.LOL

6. Currently, I'm back to just the TP as the Iris is back on tour. I have lost some of that Holographic presentation but it still is one mighty DAC on its own.

* For the Iris and Gaia I was using just basic power cables and an el cheapo HDMI cable and yet it was as reported above.

7. Currently awaiting for my Gaia to arrive, after which I will get some decent power cords from Tellurium and a HDMI cable probably from Argentus, unless something better gets reported or recommended. Please also take a step back and look at the cables which are in your sytem. They make a huge difference as well.

 

To summarise:

I have not yet heard the TP/Gaia combo, but putting A+B together, I think it would be one bloody freaking good combo, not forgetting the TP loves I2S connection and is also recommended by Alvin. As we know USB implemenatation is never easy and thus the need for DDC or USB regenerators like the Phoneix from Innuos, Tx-usb ultra from soTm, Intona and so on. There is a market for these equpiments for a reason and manufacturer's spend a lot on R&D to achieve the ulimate or at least try and get us as close as possible to music nirvana.

 

Hope this helps and do forgive me if I don't make sense cause I'm not a professional reviewer nor do I have bat's ears. As long as my toes are tapping, I'm a happy bunny. I do not like to discredit any one or any gear or branding cause, end of the day, the choice is ours to make. It's a free world. God bless.

 

I have not yet heard the TP/Gaia combo, but putting A+B together, I think it would be one bloody freaking good combo, not forgetting the TP loves I2S connection and is also recommended by Alvin.

 

Hi Abyss,

 

Dev just alerted that you have both the TP and Gaia at the same time but I am confused that from above previous post on "fast forward" that: 

 

1. tells me that you have the gaia and

2. tells me you have the TP

 

but yet above stated that you had not heard the gaia and the TP together ? 🤔

 

But more importantly if you indeed had the gaia and TP at the same time, please share your review of key query on at least your system but do share if equipment especially if speakers or headphones:

 

1. Digital inputs via gaia vs directly to TP

 

2. Usb input via gaia vs directly to TP

 

Assumption is best case of synced gaia to TP and my apology of bold lettering to ensure my possibly confusing statement oso after "some" soju with korean lunch 😅

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

45 minutes ago, Abyss Man said:

I never had the TP/Gaia combo. Dev probably read wrong or you understood wrongly. Oh ya, one more thing, I am a vegan and teetotal and as such am not able to do the various tests as requested and don’t intend to as well. Please enjoy and I’m off to a vegan lunch with lemonade. Have fun.

 

Hi Abyss 

 

Aaah .. got it and understand.

 

All will be sorted out soon for me these 2 days .. the gaia is in the backseat of my car otw home 😃.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

[richard_crl032]

Oops .. forgot to mentioned one critical test.

 

It is to test if daisy chain of T+ clock with both my avatar and gaia works.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[richard_crl032]

Hi All,

 

First of all, daisy chain of Avatar and gaia input to oxco clock output of T+ works !! This is really a denafrips ecosystem of digital playback though not advertised as such by denafrips 😃

 

Secondly, key objective of getting aes-ebu output of my Bel Canto fm-1 tuner to gaia to convert to i2s and synced to oxco clock of T+ sounds so much better ..  more detailed and clean with blacker background like veil had been lifted as compared to direct aes-ebu output directly to T+. Asked my dotter as I switch between the 2 and she remarked "you need to ask ? So obvious !" 🤣

 

Thirdly, on this main query if usb input directly to T+ or via gaia to convert to i2s that is synced to the oxco clock of T+, there is no miracle for the usb of my Antipodes ex and sounded less detailed and less engaging.

 

Speculative but the usb output from my Antipodes is no slouch and does not benefit from going via gaia but a lesser usb source may.

 

Similarly, the aes-ebu of my Bel Canto tuner benefitted very much via the gaia after conversion to i2s and synced to the ocxo clock of T+ but perhaps a higher quality aes-ebu or other digital source of say esoteric k series transport may not ... Avatar that I tested for sure benefits when synced to T+ .. more solid imaging and prat.

 

Hope this helps and YMMV since system dependent especially on quality of digital sources planned for gaia, personal preference and past experience ... I am still enjoying my Bel Canto fm 1 (this betters previous Accuphase T1000) for the last 2 hrs and it is unbelievable that fm radio can sound this good 😍😍

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

PS: Black gaia with customised blue leds ordered as with a 0.75m Argentus hdmi cable 🥰🥰

 

 

[richard_crl032]

Speculative but the usb output from my Antipodes is no slouch and does not benefit from going via gaia but a lesser usb source may.

 

Hi All,

 

For completeness of the abovementioned, I connected my allo's usb bridge to the gaia and behold the needed validation ... the sound quality improved to more detailed, dense and musical presentation ! 😃

 

Believe this final update sums up the outcome of my planned venture with gaia with synced clock to T+ and i2s and should help bros here to consider the digital source quality if gaia will improve the sound quality of your system if you have the T+.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

 

 

[richard_crl032]