Popular Post bobfa Posted March 26, 2022 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 26, 2022 Mercury Beta update report: 3/26/22 Yesterday I had the opportunity to listen to the Kitsune Holo May DAC on my system. It was the first time I heard such a tremendous change in the system for the better. We extensively compared the Pi2EAS and the Mercury using just Qobuz streaming. I have replaced my core network with the tp-link Omada system, so it was an excellent opportunity to test between Wired and Wireless. The absolute clear winner no-photo-finish-needed was the Mercury on the wired network. (using the DX-engineering filters). I have not had a DAC elevate the sound quality of my system that much before this test. But, to me, the May DAC's ability to show us the difference between the streamers was the most enlightening. Many thanks to Rich S. of the Chicago Audio Society for bringing the DAC over and spending the day. Footnotes: 1. Volumio on the Mercury had all the additional sources turned off. 2. PiCorePlayer with LMS and Squeezelite on the Pi2AES was not as perfectly optimized as I have done it using two Pi's 3. We used Ferrum HYPSOS supplies on the streamers 4. The un-balanced analog cables from the DAC to the 517 were Bluejeans Cable, Beldon Flexible. 5. AC power cabling was all Puritan Audio Laboratories. 6. DAC Settings: AES input only. PLL test showed that PLL off was better. NOS. RJF PS I was extremely pleased with how Volumio 3 sounded. Riccitone and Rexp 2 My Audio Systems Link to comment
oneguy Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 Am I correct in assuming you can load Audiolinux to this and use it as an AES endpoint for HQP NAA? Link to comment
bobfa Posted April 5, 2022 Author Share Posted April 5, 2022 A firm maybe! I have not tried audiolinux on the Mercury. Mine is going out on loan so I do not have time to play with it now. My Audio Systems Link to comment
dericchan1 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 40 minutes ago, oneguy said: Am I correct in assuming you can load Audiolinux to this and use it as an AES endpoint for HQP NAA? I use the predecessor of the Mercury - Pi2AES and load HQP NAA image just fine. Link to comment
oneguy Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 @dericchan1Thanks for the confirmation. I wanted to get a Pi2AES but they’re out of stock with a questionable ETR date. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Mercury to feed my Yggy from the server. Link to comment
dericchan1 Posted April 5, 2022 Share Posted April 5, 2022 4 minutes ago, oneguy said: @dericchan1Thanks for the confirmation. I wanted to get a Pi2AES but they’re out of stock with a questionable ETR date. I went ahead and pulled the trigger on the Mercury to feed my Yggy from the server. I don’t use audiolinux tho, I only use the raspberry pi NAA image and connect to my windows hqplayer desktop, it works just fine Link to comment
PoMarantz Posted April 14, 2022 Share Posted April 14, 2022 Isn't the whole point of The Mercury to use the I2S into a high-end DAC? sch8mid 1 Link to comment
bobfa Posted April 14, 2022 Author Share Posted April 14, 2022 3 hours ago, PoMarantz said: Isn't the whole point of The Mercury to use the I2S into a high-end DAC? Or direct to your powered speakers via SPDIF or, AES to your DAC. My Audio Systems Link to comment
PoMarantz Posted April 14, 2022 Share Posted April 14, 2022 OH....I gotcha....I do not think in those terms as I do not have powered speakers. I just ordered my Mercury...and also good quality, short HDMI cable to connect it to my DAC. I am excited about this. Very, very cool device....although I am very green and probably do not even understand all of its capabilities. Link to comment
Riccitone Posted May 13, 2022 Share Posted May 13, 2022 Im a bit late to this but am so glad you began reviewing the new Pi2 Mercury.! I’m almost there about a purchase, as I’m (so far) seeing it as a significant improvement on the Pi2AES. Or at least for those not wanting to tinker to such a great extent. I’m currently using an allo digione, even managed to copy/paste code though ssh (Volumio) to calm the rpi s bit. Definitely improved s/q overall. But now seeking a decent upgrade, and one that would hopefully best the new ifi zen stream. Plus would really like to try I2s for once. Question: have you had a chance to stream via wifi since this post? If so, compared it to the Pi2AES? Thanks in advance! Link to comment
bobfa Posted May 14, 2022 Author Share Posted May 14, 2022 Riccitone, I have loaned my Mercury to @Superdad to play with! I am currently testing a speaker system that does not need my Pi stuff. I will get back to it one day. My Audio Systems Link to comment
zackthedog Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 10 hours ago, Riccitone said: Im a bit late to this but am so glad you began reviewing the new Pi2 Mercury.! I’m almost there about a purchase, as I’m (so far) seeing it as a significant improvement on the Pi2AES. Or at least for those not wanting to tinker to such a great extent. I’m currently using an allo digione, even managed to copy/paste code though ssh (Volumio) to calm the rpi s bit. Definitely improved s/q overall. But now seeking a decent upgrade, and one that would hopefully best the new ifi zen stream. Plus would really like to try I2s for once. Question: have you had a chance to stream via wifi since this post? If so, compared it to the Pi2AES? Thanks in advance! I'm expecting a Mercury any day now. I like my Pi2AES a lot. With Gentooplayer it's a true bargain, IMO, very good sound. I prefer coax over AES, seems cleaner. My Dac doesn't have I2S input, but the coax makes excellent music. I'll post a comparison when I get the Mercury. Link to comment
Riccitone Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 10 hours ago, zackthedog said: I'm expecting a Mercury any day now. I like my Pi2AES a lot. With Gentooplayer it's a true bargain, IMO, very good sound. I prefer coax over AES, seems cleaner. My Dac doesn't have I2S input, but the coax makes excellent music. I'll post a comparison when I get the Mercury. That would be really great, thank you. The upgrade bug really bit me hard yesterday, so I went ahead and ordered the Mercury! Considered it would be a notable and worthwhile upgrade to my allo board/rpi. Still very curious about the comparison, so I look forward to your findings. My dac has I2s, so I’ll make sure to report any differences I find between I2s and coax, of course there are SO many variables that can effect outcomes. Very much appreciate everyone’s input and expertise on these amazing game-changing devices! 🙏🏼 Link to comment
Egill23 Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 Are the Mercuries shipping now? I preordered one a while ago to replace the Allo digione signature that has served me well, but the delays in China due to covid restriction made me drop the expectations of getting it anytime soon. Link to comment
zackthedog Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 58 minutes ago, Egill23 said: Are the Mercuries shipping now? I preordered one a while ago to replace the Allo digione signature that has served me well, but the delays in China due to covid restriction made me drop the expectations of getting it anytime soon. The web site says they should be shipping by the end of May. Link to comment
zackthedog Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 5 hours ago, Riccitone said: That would be really great, thank you. The upgrade bug really bit me hard yesterday, so I went ahead and ordered the Mercury! Considered it would be a notable and worthwhile upgrade to my allo board/rpi. Still very curious about the comparison, so I look forward to your findings. My dac has I2s, so I’ll make sure to report any differences I find between I2s and coax, of course there are SO many variables that can effect outcomes. Very much appreciate everyone’s input and expertise on these amazing game-changing devices! 🙏🏼 I can tell you that the Pi2AES is an upgrade from my Allo USB/Digione Signature. The coax output is much cleaner and free of the slight glaze the Allo has. The Allo is good, but Pi2AES eliminates all the glaze. Link to comment
PoMarantz Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 11 minutes ago, zackthedog said: The web site says they should be shipping by the end of May. From P2 Design webpage: Production Update 5/12/22 - The assembly house shipped the first production units to us. DHL says we will get them Tuesday next week (17th). We will need a few days to begin testing and shipping units. Current back orders should be completely shipped by week of the 30th. Link to comment
PoMarantz Posted May 14, 2022 Share Posted May 14, 2022 I emailed Michael at Pi2 Design this week. He had posted REALLY confusing update info. He just fixed it a couple of days ago to the above that I just posted. Very soon..they will ship. Link to comment
sonodynesrp205 Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 Hello, so we can order this streamer only from their home store? From USA? Because Im from EU. regards, Simon Link to comment
zackthedog Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 5 hours ago, sonodynesrp205 said: Hello, so we can order this streamer only from their home store? From USA? Because Im from EU. regards, Simon I don't know, you'd have to ask Michael. Link to comment
Egill23 Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 10 hours ago, sonodynesrp205 said: Hello, so we can order this streamer only from their home store? From USA? Because Im from EU. regards, Simon I'm from the EU too I ordered one on the site which works just fine. For me it was an additional $75 in shipping fee and then I'll have to pay VAT+ customs fee when it arrives. I don't think there is any other way of buying it at the moment, but I do think it would be nice if f.x Audiophonics could sell it. Link to comment
zackthedog Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Egill23 said: I'm from the EU too I ordered one on the site which works just fine. For me it was an additional $75 in shipping fee and then I'll have to pay VAT+ customs fee when it arrives. I don't think there is any other way of buying it at the moment, but I do think it would be nice if f.x Audiophonics could sell it. Yes, it would be nice, but I imagine, given Michael's on-and-off difficulty in sourcing parts, it would be hard to engage a distributor. Plus, why would he share any of the profits? ;-) Link to comment
PoMarantz Posted May 20, 2022 Share Posted May 20, 2022 I am looking forward to this adventure with The Mercury Streamer. Today, after a 4-month wait I just received a Schiit Loki Max to integrate into my system…so I should have that all settled in when The Mercury arrives in a week or so. FUN TIMES! 👍🏼 Link to comment
sch8mid Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 If you work with Holo Audio spring or May please try the I2S connection. I had no success with Raspi 4 based streamers (Silent audio Munich M1t) https://www.silent-angel-audio.com/munich-m1t The Holo audio Dacs (Spring and May) need 15 seconds to lock to the I2S input and need 15 to relock , if you pause and change resolution. Barely tolerable . Even without change in the samplerate the first seconds of every file dissapear in the locking Nirvana. Holo Support suggests to disable PLL , as the signal ,coming of the Raspi would be way to noisy. But disable their worldclass PLL as a workaround ? Not a good idea , because I need PLL desperately with other sources (S/PDIF). JR adds 5 seconds of silence to come across the problem . Not for me. Last : Why I2S ? In my Rig with Neumann studiomonitors I2S sounds right. Can someone with more skills shed a light on this ? And is there a networkstreamer with full functional I2S ? Best and t.i.a. as Hate late stage capitalism's tendency to overly fetishize merch Link to comment
Riccitone Posted May 28, 2022 Share Posted May 28, 2022 Hoping the Mercury will connect well with a Topping d70s via I2s. I’ve read the Pi2AES does fine with Topping. Only assuming the Mercury is a similar topology on that end. Link to comment
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