What did you do to your stereo rig today?

CH46E

Wow, those are next level man. Look incredible!

Geoff4rfc

treitz3 wrote: »

Got a little sumphin' delivered today.

Tom

LOVE the CD rack

gmcman

Crossover parts arrived today, I want to experiment with changing out my tin pins to tinned copper, as well as the 4 and 5 pin header from phosphor bronze to copper alloy.

New copper pin on right, tin on left




Tin on bottom, male and female copper above.



No 6-pin tweeter header avail in copper, so I may just use the male and female under heatshrink.

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Gardenstater

To me, "copper alloy" could mean anything from brass to bronze to tellurium copper. Too vague for me.

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Gardenstater

pitdogg2 wrote: »

Gardenstater wrote: »

To me, "copper alloy" could mean anything from brass to bronze to tellurium copper. Too vague for me.

Well we all can't be as drool cool as you George.

Ahh you misunderstood me Ivan. I see many sellers, especially Chinese, using that "copper alloy" and it is a pet peave of mine. Not criticizing gmcman in the least.

gmcman

pitdogg2 wrote: »

The copper looks a bit bigger, how do you plan on crimping that down on the wire? Where did you pick them up and stock number would be cool...

I think the angle of the pic is making it look larger than it is, I will solder the pin then close the tabs.

My original female pins that are tin are Mouser P/N 571-3505501
New copper female pins are Mouser P/N 51-926901-3
New copper male pins are Mouser P/N 571926900-3

The new copper alloy header does not have a split opening so it cannot apply tension to the pins so this might be a no go.

Gardenstater wrote: »

To me, "copper alloy" could mean anything from brass to bronze to tellurium copper. Too vague for me.

I was thinking the same, could be just an expensive way of selling a piece of bronze, but I feel the material has a fair bit of copper in it. Either way, the header pins are solid and not split so it barely has tension. I will still change the pins on the harness to the copper on the input and I have enough length on the new internal wiring to possibly allow me to solder to the board.

Gardenstater

I checked out the datasheets and they are saying those female and male pins are actually made out of CuSn4, which is phosphor bronze. BUT the datasheet ALSO says the contact zone is supposed to be 0.8um gold plated over nickel?





Beryllium Copper is probably the best material for spring contacts as far as I've been able to determine so far:

gmcman

Gardenstater wrote: »

I checked out the datasheets and they are saying those female and male pins are actually made out of CuSn4, which is phosphor bronze. BUT the datasheet ALSO says the contact zone is supposed to be 0.8um gold plated over nickel?

Interesting find, I see that the copper content states "remains" possibly signifying the remaining 90+% of materials?

Haven't looked up my original tin pins, but the new ones are tinned copper so could explain the data sheet.

Given the added length of internal leads I may scrap this idea and remove the headers and solder all the leads to the board. I don't have any plans to remove the crossover unless I upgrade the large inductor.

Gardenstater

Datasheet just linked to a Tyco catalog. Old ones were brass with tin plating. Unspecified brass alloy



Brass has pretty good electrical conductivity (better than phosphor bronze) but not as good for keeping a tight grip in a spring contact(?):

gmcman

I decided to solder the crossover harness to the pcb.

Thanks Trey @VR3 for giving me the push to do this. I wanted to for awhile but just wasn't ready to commit, I have no plans to remove the crossover anytime soon but removing will be easier than this was.

It was a pita for sure, but once I had it setup, it went somewhat quick, the Panavise was definitely a huge help.




To answer a couple possible questions, the Erse in the background was/is for A/B testing, and the .5 ohm Path resistor is mounted under the pcb.





I figure with the labor involved in fabricating the Cardas Litz harness, it's worth the try to take 3 connection points of bronze and tin down to 1, including removing a friction fit, the speaker tabs were soldered as well when I installed the harness.

One down, one to go.

gmcman

Quick update, still only have the left speaker done but....wow.

Back when I changed the internal wiring, the difference was substantial, to the point you couldn't listen to both at the same time with only one upgraded, completely different synergy.

The level of clarity now on the left with the soldered connections is way more than I expected. Same as before, the synergy is off again. Best I can describe is the tweeter sounds like it plays lower and the stereo drivers reach higher to the point of being seamless. The highs have a faint level of low end grit while being smooth, like they are on tubes. Tweeters reach high and clean.

I left the passive out while I tested for proper function, and ended up listening to a few songs as I was in awe.

The right speaker with the grill off, sounds slightly more dull than the left with the grill on. I was searching DAC's and preamps prior to this but that may be on hold now. More to come.

michaeljhsda2

I like the idea of directly soldering to the crossover boards. Molex connectors are convenient but too much relies on the tension of the pins, etc.

gmcman

On the right speaker, I realized I made the harnesses a little longer than stock and zip tied the extra to the cross braces. This allowed me to work outside the cabinet, I forgot about that on the left speaker....sigh...lol.



Getting close.

Jetmaker737

After 11 years I have changed out my speakers.

My beloved Sonus Faber Cremonas have been pushed aside by a pair of KEF Reference 1's (non-META version). The Cremonas are very good speakers, but they've never really been happy in this smallish Craftsman bungalow type house we moved into 6 years ago. So I set my sights on some standmount speakers. I was looking for smaller form-factor, 8 Ohm, higher sensitivity.

These KEF's are none of that, lol. And you wouldn't want them any closer to the front wall than where I've had to place them. Also, they're being driven by an integrated with 30 Watts class A (60 into 4 Ohm), though it does go much higher in AB after that. So after I'd pulled the trigger I was really wondering if I was crazy and made a blunder. But, as some of you can relate to I'm sure, I just got locked in on wanting these speakers (after tons and tons of research).

The verdict? Just amazing. The imaging blows my mind... pinpoint, palpable, deeply layered. Textures just draw you in. It's a cliche by now to say so, but I'm hearing things in familiar music I'd never noticed before.

I've only had them running for two days, and I had determined before-hand to give them two weeks of audition, but I can't see going back at this point. I never expected such a huge difference.

Clipdat

Congrats, they look great.

Wardsweb

Upgraded the Auralic Altair.

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marvda1

Luther, we miss you. :'(

Wardsweb

Here is another system. The is for "house music". Bluetooth to a Nelson Pass DIY B1 Korg preamp and a pair of Gilmore Raptor d-class amps driving some DIY speakers I built. The AR's I gave away as a door prize at my last get together.

Wardsweb

Here is the back room. I am running out of room to put stuff.

treitz3

Same situation here bro'...

Real estate is at a premium...wowzers...

Tom

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treitz3

Good mornin', folks.

This post isn't so much about what I did to my stereo rig today, it's more about what I am going to do with the rig today.

Gonna reconfigure some things and when I am done? Gonna check out Mark Knopfler's new album, "One deep river" on Qobuz. I looked yesterday and it is available in high resolution. Knowing the care that he puts into the mastering and recordings, along with his stellar performances?

I'm looking very forward to it!

Tom

DarqueKnight

I went much deeper into the digital domain rabbit hole. Completely replaced my digital front end:

1. dCS Debussy DAC replaced with dCS Rossini Apex DAC.
2. Bryston BDP-3 digital player and Synology DS718+ NAS replaced with Aurender N30SA digital music server.
3. dCS Puccini U-Clock replaced with Mutec MC3+USB.
4. AfterDark Giesemann Emperor Double Crown 10 MHz reference clock replaced with Mutec REF10 SE120 10 MHz reference clock.
5. Windows 10 Dell tablet replaced by Samsung Android tablet to control Rossini DAC and Aurender server. dCS and Aurender don't do Windows. The Rossini DAC and N30SA server can also be controlled with apps on my Android phone.

With this clocking setup, all my digital gear, including the EtherREGEN switch, is now tied to a single clock reference. The result with the former gear and the Mutec clocks was like sending the Debussy DAC and Bryston player to military boot camp. The result with the Rossini DAC and Aurender server was not as dramatic, but still a substantial improvement over running with no external clock reference. With the former gear, I compare it to sending recruits of above average physical fitness to military boot camp. With the new gear, I compare it to sending recruits of excellent physical fitness to military boot camp.

The Mutec REF10 SE120 clock has an excellent internal linear power supply. The Mutec MC3+USB had an internal switch mode power supply. Since my main stereo rig is a "SMPS Free" zone, I had to replace the MC3+USB's SMPS with a linear power supply kit from AfterDark. The AfterDark kit included a 6V Farad Super3 linear power supply. With the LPS mod, the Mutec combo took my stereo system to Seal Team training.

The N30SA server has an internal 8 TB solid state drive. With the replacement of the Synology NAS and its 6 TB hard disk drive, I am now completely "disc free"!

With regard to detail, clarity, bass response, and dynamics, the digital upgrades put sound on my vintage (seriously hotrodded) 35 year old Polk Audio Signature Reference System Stereo Dimensional Array speakers that I hadn't thought possible.

In the future, when I am more dedicated to audio than I am now, I will replace my SDAs.

Clipdat

What are those weighted slabs/stones on top of the components?

DarqueKnight

Granite slabs to add weight to more rigidly couple the components to the isolation platforms below them.

treitz3

Alex had eluded to me that someone "a prominent member of AS" had purchased an SE 120 and the first person to come to mind was you..... but I hadn't heard anything. Congratulations!

Being able to clock the entire digital chain to one master clock is one of the reasons I wanted it. Clarify something for me though, please. If the DCS and Aurender both have BNC 75ohm digital cables, what is the purpose of the Mutec MC-3 plus USB? Couldn't you have just hooked them straight up to the SE120, or does the word clock serve another purpose? If so, what does it do or what is it utilized for in your system?

I will soon be losing my Marantz Reference SA-7S1 shortly (can't hook it up to the SE120) and replacing it with an Esoteric P-01 transport. I planned on hooking that directly up to the SE120 via a BNC/BNC 75 ohm digital cable.

Tom

DarqueKnight

treitz3 wrote: »

Alex had eluded to me that someone "a prominent member of AS" had purchased an SE 120 and the first person to come to mind was you..... but I hadn't heard anything. Congratulations!

Yes, Alex was speaking of me.

treitz3 wrote: »

Being able to clock the entire digital chain to one master clock is one of the reasons I wanted it. Clarify something for me though, please. If the DCS and Aurender both have BNC 75ohm digital cables, what is the purpose of the Mutec MC-3 plus USB? Couldn't you have just hooked them straight up to the SE120, or does the word clock serve another purpose? If so, what does it do or what is it utilized for in your system?

10 MHz reference clocks and word clocks are both master clocks, but they serve different purposes. A reference clock synchronizes (or replaces) the clocks of other devices. A word clock synchronizes the timing of individual data samples flowing between devices.

A reference clock, such as the REF10 SE120, serves as a clock reference for the clocks in other devices, or, in some cases, the reference clock replaces the clock in other devices. When connected to a reference clock, the device's internal clock synchronizes with the external reference. This reduces jitter because all devices are synchronized to the same clock reference.

A reference clock serves the same purpose as a conductor in an orchestra. He/she sets the pace timing and rhythm of the music. The supervision of the conductor results in a more coherent sound. The more complex the music, the greater the need for a conductor.

Another example is, I have four watches that periodically synchronize with the clock reference radio signal generated by radio station WWVB. WWVB's reference clock is a cesium atomic clock. All four watches always show the exact same time down to the second.

A word clock, such as the dCS Puccini and the Mutec MC3+USB, synchronizes each sample (word) coming from a source component to a receiving component. This reduces jitter since the timing relationships between samples will theoretically be the same at the transmitting and receiving end. The word clock frequency must be identical to, or some exact multiple of, the data stream sample rate. In my case, the word clock frequency is 44,100 kHz. All my music is DSD64 with a sample rate of 352,800 samples per second, or 8 times 44,100.

Referring to the last chart in my previous post, the REF10 SE120 feeds a 10 MHz reference clock signal to the MC3+USB, which then generates 44,100 kHz word clock signals based on the 10 MHz reference signal. It then sends the word clock signals to the Rossini DAC and Aurender server. The Rossini DAC and Aurender server DO NOT accept 10 Mhz reference clock signals. The EtherREGEN switch can use either its internal 10 MHz clock or and external 10 MHz reference clock that will replace the internal clock.

treitz3 wrote: »

I will soon be losing my Marantz Reference SA-7S1 shortly (can't hook it up to the SE120) and replacing it with an Esoteric P-01 transport. I planned on hooking that directly up to the SE120 via a BNC/BNC 75 ohm digital cable.

Looking at page 25 of the Esoteric P-01 manual, it appears that it accepts word clock signals and not 10 MHz reference signals. I did not find any mention of the P-01 being compatible with 10 MHz reference clocks. Check with Esoteric to make sure.