What did you do to your stereo rig today?

gmcman · May 14

The Oppomod I2S card arrived today for the 103D. Going to try this option to feed the Directstream. I wish the Marantz had this feature, bit will obviously need to use the Oppo as the transport if all works out. So far the Directstream has been sounding very good but I need to exploit this feature before I can give it a final verdict.

Clipdat · May 15

Tried the Luxman tube pre and amp combo. CL-38uC and MQ-88uSE.

GlennDog · May 15

Clipdat wrote: »

Tried the Luxman tube pre and amp combo. CL-38uC and MQ-88uSE.

and I bet it gets high marks . . . rock On

Clipdat · May 16

I might not be able to go back to solid state.

nooshinjohn · May 16

Clipdat wrote: »

I might not be able to go back to solid state.

You call this a review? Come on man….

gmcman · May 16

I put the Oppo 103D under the knife for the Oppomod I2S board. Easy to do, just tedius getting the mounting holes drilled in the right spot, then filing the opening for the HDMI socket after drilling the opening.

The next time I'm inside the Oppo, I might widen the RH side a tiny bit..but OK for now. I bought it used and it had a few scuffs on it, but I have no idea where these marks came from as I taped it before I started...grrr.

I have been using a Nordost Silver Shadow digital coax the past week to feed the Directstream from the Marantz SA8005. This has resulted in a better overall SQ than the SA8005's analog out to the preamp, but didn't blow me away, the vocals however have been wonderfully rendered through the DS.

After the install, I tried a few redbook CD's to ensure all was working and I was immediately surprised at the separation of instruments and vocals, on a level I haven't experienced from my gear. The DS shows PCM with redbook but I need to verify if that is correct. Either way, this is so far the most clarity of vocals I have heard, everything gets out of the way.

SACD stereo from the 103D does show DSD 64 1-bit on the DS and also sounds fantastic. Currently I am using an older AQ Forest HDMI cable for the I2S, not the best cable but will try a few others.

I have also noticed improvent from the Aries Mini streamer into the DS via USB over the SA8005, and while the DS converts all the inputs to DSD, the I2S is surely on a different level. In my brief experience it appears it's the best way to utilize the DS.

I have to wait till the house is awake to turn it up but so far I think the DS might be here to stay....more to come.

SCompRacer · May 16

Nice I2S mod.

I've been feeding my DAC's PCM and DSD via I2S since 2012. My first DIY I2S out player mod was a Denon 3910.

Now I use Roon to convert everything to DSD512 to DAC.

Clipdat · May 31

I dipped my foot into the world of SET amplifiers. I've been enjoying 8 glorious watts of 300b power. No problem at all driving my 87db sensitivity Usher bookshelf speakers.

It's a one of five of these particular 300b amplifiers designed and built by Sean Casper.

"NOS Tango XE-20 OPTs, Takman, Kiwame, and Carbon Comps resistors, Miflex copper PIO coupling caps. TJ FullMusic 300b, NOS 5Z3 rectifier, Siemens C3M drivers"

Really digging it so far!

pitdogg2 · May 31

😎

Emlyn · May 31

Clipdat wrote: »

I dipped my foot into the world of SET amplifiers. I've been enjoying 8 glorious watts of 300b power. No problem at all driving my 87db sensitivity Usher bookshelf speakers.

Really digging it so far!

If I ever decided to get back into tubed audio gear the 300b route would be the only way I'd go.

Clipdat · May 31

It's certainly a different presentation than my EL34 and KT88 tube amps. I hesitate to call one tube/amp "better" than another, they're all just different and have their own character and performance attributes.

The 300b has more midrange "bloom" and greater realism with vocals and instruments, in my limited experience. The mids are expansive and deep, with plenty of motion. Just about perfect tonality too. Really nice stuff.

bcwsrt · May 31

That amp is gorgeous!

bcwsrt · May 31

What you got goin' on there, @pitdogg2?!

pitdogg2 · May 31

bcwsrt wrote: »

What you got goin' on there, @pitdogg2?!

Super secret XO mod.....

newbie308 · June 2

I compared a Jolida JD-9 (factory stock) to the internal preamp on my Threshold SL-10. It was no comparison at all. The clarity, frequency range, and musicality of the SL-10 was so far superior to the JD-9 that it made me laugh as I was disconnecting the JD-9 to box it back up. Wow! I was surprised. I had read so many good reviews about the JD-9 and my expectations were smashed by its lackluster performance.

treitz3 · June 2

What tubes were in the JD-9?

Tom

newbie308 · June 2

I don't know what tubesare in it. Whatever is stock. I didn't lift the lid. I know that there are a lot of upgrades that can be done, and I may explore that avenue. As is, with a LOMC cartridge, the background noise and loss of fidelity was too blatant for me to enjoy what I was hearing.

gmcman · June 3

My first time with a Revelation Audio Labs cable, I added their Prophecy CryoSilver Reference HDMI i2s digital link cable from the modded Oppo 103 to the Directstream. I'll make a seperate post on the cable but...wow. I've only used a few silver cables but my thought process on them being "bright" has changed, especially when you get one that performs like this.

xschop · June 3

Copper donuts mod

bcwsrt · June 4

I continue to be impressed with the Degritter Mark II, which I wrote about some pages ago here. This is the filter after cleaning the half dozen brand new high-end pressings I got at AXPONA. No wonder they were all so quiet on the first play.

Coming up on 200 runs, so just about time for the first cleaning with 10% acidity vinegar, per the latest guidance from Degritter. Been 100%, so far.

pitdogg2 · June 4

Brah, you sure that is not the ear plug you used on our last shooting adventure?

YIKES!!

bcwsrt · June 4

The last thing I shot with you was BS at Kuma’s Corner!

pitdogg2 · June 4

bcwsrt wrote: »

The last thing I shot with you was BS at Kuma’s Corner!

I'm still cleaning my shoes...💩

treitz3 · June 6

So, not what I did to my stereo rig today......this is more so what I am planning on accomplishing. Those of you who have read about my acoustical panels know that I love just about every aspect of them but one thing has bewildered me and I can't quite put my finger on why.

Over the next couple of hours, I am going to remeasure the location of the speakers, in relation to the listening spot, check toe in, levelness, and the percentage of where I am at in relation to Jim Smith's "magic" starting ratio of 0.83 (for ear to tweeter/tweeter to tweeter distance).

Gonna try to figure out why that center image went from being able to "see" the lips and face of a singer (dead center) to something a tad bit smeared after the panel installation. I haven't moved anything or added anything to the streaming rig (other than another SR PC - which helped but did not solve this issue).

I want that image I had back. Along with everything else the panels have offered me.

Tom

marvda1 · June 6

Ear wax buildup.

treitz3 · June 6

Could be....but I doubt it. I think I have found the culprit already.

Tom

treitz3 · June 6

So, it has been an hour of listening to demo tracks and reference tracks and I can say wholeheartedly and without reservation that the acoustical panels had nothing to do with the smearing of said center image.

I will explain this on the acoustical panels thread I created, sometime this weekend when I can find the time. Right now, just listening.....and enjoying the fact that I found out what the issue was.

It only took me about 30 minutes to figure out what the issue was. About an hour plus (maybe two) to correct it and listening is back to bliss.

Tom

nooshinjohn · June 6

Make sure you submit your results in proper, unbiased scientific format to ASR for peer review.

treitz3 · June 6

Measurements "while important", are not the be all to end all. They are more than welcome to go.....never mind. I will keep it civil here.

In this case? It was actually measurements that led me to the issue. It will all be explained on the acoustical panel thread I started.

A 16 point laser led me straight to the issue. From there? It was (time consuming) but an easy fix.

Here is a teaser...

That line should be visible all of the way to the top of the room. This is what led me to the issue. Again, it had NOTHING to do with the acoustical panels.

Tom

bcwsrt · June 6

Glad you got it sorted out, Tom! Looking forward to your follow-up post this weekend!

What did you do to your stereo rig today?

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