MarkusBarkus

@MarcelNL did you consider using your phone to check ports and/or fo cable? I know you have SFPs on the way, but I think this would work, if you're in the mood.

...I think a certain Guru sez: Wave ferrite-ed BNCs for ICs on that Head-Fi site, if you have RF concerns. FWIW: I use them between DAVE and MScaler. Sound good, IMO.

Briefly OT: I had a Qutest to evaluate "Chord Sound" before purchasing DAVE. Qutest sounded better with Farad3. Smooth and mellow. Musical. Very nice.

I may have misremembered that video, I cannot recall wavelength. It may have been using a laser pointer to test: One way is to begin the process with a highly unscientific but effective test. I disconnect both ends of the fiber cable and hold a laser pointer up to the cable to see if the light comes out the other end, as shown in Figure A. If you don’t have a laser pointer, a bright flashlight works just as well, as shown in Figure B. Fiber optic cable is designed to conduct light, so you don’t have to worry too much about exactly lining up the cable with the light source.

@MarcelNL there are others better qualified than I am to help, but it occurs to me a simple test, without/before buying new SFPs, could be to disconnect one end of the cable from the SFP and point it at the wall...any place not your eyes! Is there light output? Then try the other FMC/ SFP combo. Might give you rudimentary on/off level info. Just don't look at that laser output. From reading your posts, I suspect you might like this test. 😉 I believe the laser would project out of the cable, as I recall seeing videos of techs taking pics on a cell phone.

I have swapped them, successfully, both ways FWIW. SFP into FMC then cable into SFP. And when SFP was already out, I have plugged in the fiber cable, and inserted the whole assembly into the FMC. Excuse the basic troubleshooting question: Are you sure your new cable is the correct spec for those SFPs? You would not be the first person to have an unplanned mismatch.

Although I had studied the pics before the conversion, it was still sobering to see the little CNC-ed chamber and aluminum billet walls created to isolate the stock PS. I suspect just pulling the stock SMPS out of its coffin and putting it in an external box would improve sound, for those without a DC4 budget. I think that would be do-able. And great call-out on the connector. I used blue tape to index the orientation in case I lost my mind and my nerve reconnecting it! Great article, Ray. Mark

...hey, those allegations were never proven! Admittedly, I have used Armor-all, but not since sometime in the mid-90s, when my disc storage was something less than "Audiophile Style."

Very helpful, @michaelD. I use Chord HMS and DAVE, so the upsampling in the SE is not a target feature. Initially, I thought it might actually be redundant (to me), so I didn't pursue the SE. Frankly, the Taiko Extreme DIY thread is what got me thinking about the SE. I don't think I would be the best participant in the DIY group, and tweaking software is not fun (to me). So, then it's Taiko vs. SE. I speculate over that sound differential, but have not found any concrete info...other than cost differential. 😉

You are not alone in this struggle, sir.

Hello Folks. Aside from the amount of storage capacity and the integrated ripper, am I giving anything up by trading up from an ACS10 to the W20SE? Actually, I think the ACS10 sounds excellent streaming and from storage, but am considering an "upgrade" nonetheless. Once everything is ripped, I don't really need that feature. I have not nearly used the storage space I thought I would. Doing a back-up "manually" once and a while wouldn't be a big pain vs. the ACS mirrored raid. Users here with the SE seem to like it. Anything you don't like? Aside from price. 😉 Th

...I tried on two networks. Looks like uploader code issue to me.

...watching your video reminds me: a progress bar that remains in place after success or failure is a big no-no for UX design. You have to dismiss it and check to see status. Thank you for checking on that workflow, @The Computer Audiophile OK, Qobuz team: a few things to consider.

I was finally able to download the files I purchased. This was achieved on a laptop that previously failed, but this time used on a different network, so it's not the laptop or browser. FYI: browser was Firefox. That said, I do not believe the network was the issue, as I later tried and succeeded in downloading the CD res files at home, *and* the download failed repeatedly on the second network, until we tried track-by-track. This issue was with the hi-res files, and with archiving related actions. By selecting the hi-res files a track at a time, it is p

...I am quite sure the singers you note completely understand what they are singing, including the emotional elements. I think it's a soft-palate effect. Full disclosure: I am not a speech pathologist, but I did live in Japan for some years. It's just an accent and how the sounds are formed in/with the mouth, tongue, etc. "We" usually cannot correctly pronounce "tsu" and some other "sounds" in the Japanese language (or others). We kind-of pronounce it. Well enough to be understood. For the record, I don't enjoy those tracks either. When I'm connecting with the emo