What did you do to your stereo rig today?

skipshot12

Cleaned & lubed the volume pots on one of the amps. Was scratching like a mother…

erniejade

Agree on R2R dac's. Nice pickup Rich!

erniejade

GlennDog wrote: »

GlennDog wrote: »

Brad makes great cables, but somebody needs to light a fire under his keister 🧨

erniejade wrote: »

Truth! I am waiting on an Ethernet cable and USB. I am going to put the Wireworld plat 7 usb against it. It's funny, when I ordered my umbilical cables for the Tri-vista (made a big difference) I got them in under 2 weeks. This round, I ordered them at the beginning of October and still waiting. I wonder if the Tri-vista he had a set of them laying around and didn't need to make them. I did email him 2 weeks or so to check in on him when Hurricane Nicole his area and he did get back to me.

For those who say that's a lot of money to spend on the streaming side of things, your right. It's a sickness and I cannot help myself on trying out different things!

I had a similar experience. 1st umbilical for the Cary 98 arrived quickly. After my upgrade to the Cary 05, I ordered another umbilical . . . It took forever, like close to 4 months.
I had to lodge a complaint thru PayPal to get Brad working again.

You may want to get a little more aggressive. Just say’n . . .

fwiw, it is a very good cable [/quote]


Emailed him again. He said his target is Monday. Fingers crossed!

GlennDog

jdjohn wrote: »

Then it occurred to me: maybe the CAT8 cable was showing the weaknesses in Spotify's (more compressed) streaming feed, and the CAT6A cables were more forgiving/smoothing in playback. That is my working theory at this point. After all, the internet radio comparisons were favorable. To test further (i.e., a true hi-res streaming source), I reckon that a Qobuz subscription would be necessary in order to figure it all out...which sux. I have hi-res downloads on my Zen SSD of all the songs I want from my favorites list, which, of course, bypasses any need for an Ethernet cable, so I don't have a real need for a Qobuz subscription. I reckon I could do a trial subscription just for the purpose of further testing, but...ugh.

Serious question. Is the CAT8 cable "directional"?

treitz3

Not this one, no.

Tom

GlennDog

ok. Thanks Tom

btw, did you pick up another pepper cannon? 20% off is about as good as that one will get

Mike Reeter

I took advantage of the Cary Audio Holiday Sale and landed an SLI-80HS, an Amp I've been wanting to own for some time. It's checking a lot of boxes so far

jbreezy5

Picked up a Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial cable to run between transport to tubedac.

Going to find out how PE outer jacket and Ultraplate connections compare to the PVC outer and gold-plated connections on my Philips PXT1000 coax cable.

Better dielectric constant and greater conductivity should yield better results, in theory. I shall hear. 👂

jbreezy5

Mike Reeter wrote: »

I took advantage of the Cary Audio Holiday Sale and landed an SLI-80HS, an Amp I've been wanting to own for some time. It's checking a lot of boxes so far

🤤

GlennDog

jbreezy5 wrote: »

Mike Reeter wrote: »

🤤

Yowlza . . . dat looks bit c h ‘ n

Nice score, Mike

treitz3

GlennDog wrote: »

btw, did you pick up another pepper cannon? 20% off is about as good as that one will get

Unfortunately, no. It came and went while was on vacation and with family. By the time I had some time to order one, the sale had already ended. That's okay. Being with family once again was more than worth it. My family is a freakin' HOOT!

Tom

Clipdat

jbreezy5 wrote: »

Picked up a Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial cable to run between transport to tubedac.

Going to find out how PE outer jacket and Ultraplate connections compare to the PVC outer and gold-plated connections on my Philips PXT1000 coax cable.

Better dielectric constant and greater conductivity should yield better results, in theory. I shall hear. 👂

Have fun! Big, easy to her difference in digital coaxial cables, in my experience.

Milito

Just purchased a used Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, nice improvement in sound from my DAC1 and Bluesound Node2i. More detail and wider soundstage.

SCompRacer

Added Singxer SU-6 DDC. I2S out over HDMI to Gustard R26 DAC, Roon upsample to native DSD512. I'll compare USB, LAN and I2S, stay with what sounds best.

treitz3

So, I got to thinking today about power supplies and the network audio player that had I inadvertently discovered that just an Ethernet cable can make a major impact on. I also was thinking about listing my Richard Grey 400 pro PS up for sale, since it has been sitting in the closet for about a year or so.

Then it dawned on me to (before I put it up for sale), try it out in the system again. This time, not for the amps but strictly for the TT PS and the Auralic Vega G2 PS's. It is, after all, a power supply of sorts.

I originally took it out of the system after getting the Canary pre and the KW-750, as I discovered that it no longer helped the system, it actually held it back. Restricted it, if you will. This was absolutely not the case many moons and systems ago. It greatly improved many different aspects of the rig(s) I had over the years.

So, I was thinking that while it probably wouldn't do a damned thing....it might.

I went ahead and installed it, back behind the system, out of sight. Prior to installation, I had been listening to music since the waking hours of the morn'. I went ahead and played (as the final song), Marianas Trench, "The Killing Kind". I have mentioned this before as a great NAP test track, as it will let you know in a heartbeat of anything is amiss or if something needs attention within the system/NAP and associated upstream/downstream setup thereof.

I'll be damned. It did make a difference, and a most pleasing one as well. I played the same song again and during the soft passages, it seemed just a tad bit, "clearer" and the upper frequencies had a shimmer and a naturalness to them that I hadn't gotten yet out of the NAP. As I kept listening, I discovered that as the passages got heavier, it most definitely sounded cleaner. It was as if something that was there before was no longer there, which in turn, offered you more to the music.

As I listened the first time at a level of 30, there was a kind of annoying glare to the lead singers voice during one of the slower parts of the song, as it was building up to one of the busier passages. This time, it was not annoying at all even though it remained at a level of 30. In fact, I didn't even notice this until I was half way through that passage.

One other thing I noticed was that the micro and macro dynamics were also more enhanced. This was cool! I don't mean by just a little bit, it was clearly and easily distinguishable. The imaging and spatial locationality cues were also slightly enhanced, even more "in focus", if you will.

Now, when the lower registers started to awaken, it was very easy to tell that the texture had been improved and was more precise and tight, yet with a realism that was also enhanced. It's like the PS "cleaned up" the playback. Not a night and day difference, like the Ethernet cables had but it was definitely a successful test and introduction into the rig.

As I listened to more and more music after its install, I noticed all of these aspects on almost every selection I played. I gotta say this, I have only been "truly" on my Hi-Fi version of my NAP journey for not even two months now and to have 3 items that were just laying around make as much of a difference as they have?

Man, I am really looking forward to introducing new things I have already discussed into that part of my system. This is sounding really good! How good, you ask?



Tom

jbreezy5

Clipdat wrote: »

jbreezy5 wrote: »

Picked up a Kimber Kable DV30 coaxial cable to run between transport to tubedac.

Going to find out how PE outer jacket and Ultraplate connections compare to the PVC outer and gold-plated connections on my Philips PXT1000 coax cable.

Better dielectric constant and greater conductivity should yield better results, in theory. I shall hear. 👂

Have fun! Big, easy to her difference in digital coaxial cables, in my experience.

@Clipdat — You weren’t kidding!
@erniejade - you are partially to blame for this 🤓

Kimber Kable is 3-for-4, in my systems. So far, only Hero ICs didn’t work for me. Thumbs up on 8PR and 4PR speaker cables and DV30 coax cable.

Just installed the DV30 coax cable tonight, and right out of the gate image focus is tighter, clarity/detail resolution higher, and deeper/harder-hitting bass are the standouts moving from Philips PXT1000. Currently sounds more caffeinated than the Philips, but have to allow for burn-in to listen for changes over time.

Just when I thought I was done comparing cables…

Polkitup2

I replaced my Wyred for Sound DAC 2v2 SE with a T+A DAC 200. I thought the Wryed DAC sounded pretty darn good, but this thing is in a different league. Still burning it in.

erniejade

T+A makes some legit stuff. I enjoyed the T+A integrated I had . Congrats on a great dac!

gmcman

Milito wrote: »

Just purchased a used Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, nice improvement in sound from my DAC1 and Bluesound Node2i. More detail and wider soundstage.

I picked up a Silver Shadow last year, definitely a nice cable with good detail.

treitz3

Polkitup2 wrote: »

I replaced my Wyred for Sound DAC 2v2 SE with a T+A DAC 200.

Do you know what DAC it utilizes?

Tom

Clipdat

"Our T+A True 1-bit converter is unique, as it forms a break with a paradigm: conventional converters process DSD signals by converting them into PCM, and reproducing them using the PCM mode. But this conversion contradicts our principles, and caused us to develop the True 1-bit converter, which processes DSD files in their native form, without detrimental conversion processes, and reproduces them in totally pure form as genuine 1 Bit Stream.

Our PCM Quadruple Converter features a double symmetrical circuit design comprising the eight 32-bit Burr-Brown converters, thereby providing above-average compensation for non-linearities in the sound, and reduces the already minimal background noise by a further 6 dB. This sophistication results in amazing dynamism and linearity combined with an equally amazing freedom from distortion. Although we believe in unadulterated music reproduction, the Bezier filters - another in-house development - in the quadruple converter can be exploited by the listener to fine-tune the sound characteristics to his individual taste. The application of polynomials results in perfect timing behavior for each of the six available filters, two of which are NOS stages."

gmcman

I have been toying with the idea of giving Anthem a try, so I finally came across one for a fair price. I was after something a bit newer, but I still hear great things about this series.

This one is the MRX-510, only downside is I need to source the mic, but not overly concerned at the moment.





I was using a Marantz SR5012 for my HT AVT for the center and to pass through the McCormack RLD-1 to the mains (2.3TL)


The SR5012 will likely go upstairs and replace an older Denon 2113CI but wanted to compare the Anthem to the McCormack as a preamp as well.

I was able to listen to a few tracks before it got too late and the SQ is definitely excellent. Right now I'm trying to A/B the DAC from the SA8005 (Cirrus CS-4398) to the MRX-510 (Cirrus CS-42528)

I recently tried the Steller Gain Cell DAC, and while very smooth sounding, I feel the Anthem has that beat. This is giving the SA8005 a run for it's money right now but need some more time, also sounds VERY good against the RLD-1.

The McCormack really shines with soundstage depth and an overall large stage presence, while being very detailed. The Anthem is really close but I need more time to evaluate.

I don't think the Anthem will replace the RLD-1, that may be slated for an upgrade before too long.

The MRX-510 seems to be a great preamp/processor that serves as an AVR, not just a good sounding AVR.

DaveHo

Picked up a mint Parasound P/HP-850 for the shop system.

jdjohn

Added a DIY anti-skate assembly for the ATP-12T tonearm on my Technics SP-25 turntable.

It always bugged me that no anti-skate was incorporated into this very fine turntable/tonearm combination. The Audio Technica ATP-12T tonearm was a stock option for the Technics SP-25 turntable, which is basically a transcriptor/studio setup. The thinking was that an MC cart with low-compliance, and high VTF, would be used, and thus no anti-skating was needed. The science (supposedly) shows that when VTF is 2+grams, there is no need for an anti-skating force.

I can't really comment on that, but since most (all?) of my carts utilize a VTF setting below 2g, I wanted a little peace-of-mind that I wouldn't be putting excess/unbalanced wear on one side of my styli, so I came up with this DIY solution.

The 'guide' is a large paper clip that has been straightened, and then bent into the desired shape. One end has a larger loop, acting as a base, which wraps around one of the tonearm mounting screws. The other end has a smaller loop, set at an angle, through which some monofilament fishing line is routed.

On the end of the line, I crimped four 1/64 ounce fishing weights. Each 1/64oz weight is equal to approximately 0.5g, so four of them equals just under 2g. I may take one of them off in order to get a 'lesser' anti-skate force, but I like the option of adding/subtracting as desired.

Astute observers may also notice that I have added an aftermarket cue lifter to the tonearm. The stock ATP-12T is totally manual, with no lifter.

EDIT: The initial line I used was 10lb, but it seemed too stiff, so I switched to 4lb. The 4lb is more flexible...better.

jbreezy5

Ordered quads of new production Tung-sol, Mullard, and Electro-Harmonix 12au7.

Saw the periodontist for gum grafting of the lowers today; the sutures have helped reduce EMI/RFI between my ears.

DaveHo

jdjohn wrote: »

Added a DIY anti-skate assembly for the ATP-12T tonearm on my Technics SP-25 turntable.

It always bugged me that no anti-skate was incorporated into this very fine turntable/tonearm combination. The Audio Technica ATP-12T tonearm was a stock option for the Technics SP-25 turntable, which is basically a transcriptor/studio setup. The thinking was that an MC cart with low-compliance, and high VTF, would be used, and thus no anti-skating was needed. The science (supposedly) shows that when VTF is 2+grams, there is no need for an anti-skating force.

I can't really comment on that, but since most (all?) of my carts utilize a VTF setting below 2g, I wanted a little peace-of-mind that I wouldn't be putting excess/unbalanced wear on one side of my styli, so I came up with this DIY solution.

The 'guide' is a large paper clip that has been straightened, and then bent into the desired shape. One end has a larger loop, acting as a base, which wraps around one of the tonearm mounting screws. The other end has a smaller loop, set at an angle, through which some monofilament fishing line is routed.

On the end of the line, I crimped four 1/64 ounce fishing weights. Each 1/64oz weight is equal to approximately 0.5g, so four of them equals just under 2g. I may take one of them off in order to get a 'lesser' anti-skate force, but I like the option of adding/subtracting as desired.

Astute observers may also notice that I have added an aftermarket cue lifter to the tonearm. The stock ATP-12T is totally manual, with no lifter.

EDIT: The initial line I used was 10lb, but it seemed too stiff, so I switched to 4lb. The 4lb is more flexible...better.

Interesting. Similar to the factory anti skate on my Pro-ject. Not sure as to the mass on mine, but that split-shot sure looks like it would be more. I have the VTF the set to a shade over 1.5 g for my AT 440mla. You have me curious. I might just have to go and weigh mine. One difference is the Pro-ject has multiple notches on the tonearm for the line. Again, not sure how all that plays out. I will say that my set-up sounds great with no IGD. Stylus does not seem to be getting tugged whilst playing. Do you notice any difference in sound or tracking?

rebelsoul

Thinking on adding this , since the Ethernet cable tom recommended did a noticeable difference. Audiophiles OCXO router
LINEAR POWER SUPPLY
PROPERITY DESIGN CIRCUIT
Our Engineer study the switch and design the linear circuit that best provide ultra-low noise power to feed the switch and oscillator module.

DUAL RAIL PARALLEL OUTPUT DESIGN
Not usually seen in regular linear supply, it requires additional cost and design in mind. However, this sure to provide constant feed as needed in sudden voltage drop or unstable power environment

HARD CRAFTED RECTIFIERS DIODE AND SUPER-FAST DIODE
Which work hand in hand with AC-DC conversion system to provide stable working environment.

LINEAR POWER SUPPLY - Specifications
▪ AC 120V, 60Hz
▪ 12V Ouput
▪ Mundorf Cap 20,000 μF
▪ Oyaide DC connectors
▪ Furutech IEC

OCXO CIRCUIT
ULTRAHIGH PRECISION OCXO
The unit core features an (Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator) OCXO. This OCXO was designed for high audio quality in mind to provide extreme precision frequency (+-10ppb) and reduces phase noise.

ADDITIONAL AUDIO CAPS
Adding additional audio grade is needed in order to provide exceptional sound on network audio over traditional router design.

24K GOLD CIRCUIT TRACE
The 24K circuit trace on our PCB is needed to match our power supply which able to provide extra stability for the oscillator module.

ULTRA STABLE REGULATOR DESIGN
With our new design, we are able to achieve the measure we needed for the oscillator.

ZERO GROUND CIRCUITRY
It continuously drives the ground signal and greatly reduces noise (jitter) caused by unstable volts

OCXO CIRCUIT - Specifications
▪ Military Spec OCXO
▪ 2oz Copper PCB +/- 10ppb
▪ Ultralow Jitter <1ps RMS
▪ 12V DC input 2.1mm x 5.5mm

WIRELESS ROUTER - Specifications
▪ AC1900 Dual Band
▪ Gigabit Ethernet
▪ Dual Core
▪ Smart Beam Forming
▪ High Power Amplifier



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treitz3

What is it? I am currently researching sBoosters right now.

Tom

rebelsoul

treitz3 wrote: »

What is it? I am currently researching sBoosters right now.

Tom

The linear solutions OCXO audiophile router

rebelsoul

It also has a separate power supply. If the cable makes a difference and the cable plugs into the router then the router has to make a difference? Right?