Documenting: My SDA-1c upgrades from start to finish

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Comments

  • @BlueBirdMusic

    Those rings look AMAZING.

    Where are they from?

    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,176
    ^ If I’m not mistaken I believe it’s from the varsity in Atlanta.
    A true monument hot dog joint.
    Nathan’s of Coney Island of the south 😬

  • Whoa.

    [goes to research Varsity (I figured it was NC and south because of the peach pie... but really had no clue)... and Google says...]
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • Need some help, I either can't find parts or I'm having a Rona stroke

    I thought I was going to remove 2 pieces from the crossover and wire in jumpers or somesuch... but I can't find the entries in my project notebook.

    There are 2 different things you lot have shown me. I think some of these images I saved might be from @joebass3 @VR3 @westmassguy and/or @audioluvr (or maybe someone else).

    So mine are like this:

    2sjg59sbossh.png

    and the 2 versions I see are either with jumpers (or maybe even one jumper and one not...):

    u523nmvxarjh.png

    and 1 that has more resistor action going on:

    c3ftybly6v8x.png

    I think I'm confusing the 1C parts with a secondary parts buy with some help @F1nut gave me on my Monitor 12... but I don't know.

    And I don't know about the rest of you who had mild Rona, but it's kicked me in the head with a brain-busting boot this past year. From not finding my words (which sucks, you know I loooooove words), to my CPU running quite a few cycles slower, this thing blows.

    v3 of my crossover bracket is a go, and I'm printing The one for the right side tonight. I've got everything out on my bench for the left crossover: cut pads, bent leads, and it's ready to assemble. EXCEPT FOR THIS HOLE IN MY BRAIN WHERE THERE USED TO BE INFORMATION.

    3kkpc173s6oa.gif


    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,603
    edited January 2023
    c3ftybly6v8x.png

    The resistor next to "P1" is the replacement for the poly switch. Some people just use a jumper but it will enhance the treble a lot
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • @audioluvr

    What's the value on it?

    Did you jumper the c4 slot, or leave it empty?
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • audioluvr
    audioluvr Posts: 5,603
    Leave C4 empty. Use a 0.5 ohm resistor.
    Gustard X26 Pro DAC
    Belles 21A Pre modded with Mundorf Supreme caps
    B&K M200 Sonata monoblocks refreshed and upgraded
    Polk SDA 1C's modded / 1000Va Dreadnaught
    Wireworld Silver Eclipse IC's and speaker cables
    Harman Kardon T65C w/Grado Gold. (Don't laugh. It sounds great!)


    There is about a 5% genetic difference between apes and men …but that difference is the difference between throwing your own poo when you are annoyed …and Einstein, Shakespeare and Miss January. by Dr. Sardonicus
  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,662
    ^ This ^
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."


    President of Club Polk

  • westmassguy
    westmassguy Posts: 6,850
    Need some help, I either can't find parts or I'm having a Rona stroke

    I thought I was going to remove 2 pieces from the crossover and wire in jumpers or somesuch... but I can't find the entries in my project notebook.

    There are 2 different things you lot have shown me. I think some of these images I saved might be from @joebass3 @VR3 @westmassguy and/or @audioluvr (or maybe someone else).

    So mine are like this:

    2sjg59sbossh.png

    and the 2 versions I see are either with jumpers (or maybe even one jumper and one not...):

    u523nmvxarjh.png

    and 1 that has more resistor action going on:

    c3ftybly6v8x.png

    I think I'm confusing the 1C parts with a secondary parts buy with some help @F1nut gave me on my Monitor 12... but I don't know.

    And I don't know about the rest of you who had mild Rona, but it's kicked me in the head with a brain-busting boot this past year. From not finding my words (which sucks, you know I loooooove words), to my CPU running quite a few cycles slower, this thing blows.

    v3 of my crossover bracket is a go, and I'm printing The one for the right side tonight. I've got everything out on my bench for the left crossover: cut pads, bent leads, and it's ready to assemble. EXCEPT FOR THIS HOLE IN MY BRAIN WHERE THERE USED TO BE INFORMATION.

    3kkpc173s6oa.gif


    I sometimes mount the resistors on the underside of the board
    Home Theater/2 Channel:
    Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
    Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
    Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
    Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
    Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer

    dhsspeakerservice.com/
  • @BlueBirdMusic

    Those rings look AMAZING.

    Where are they from?

    A little more info for you. There was a glass-enclosed room where the preparation of the onion rings could be observed in the 60 and early 70's. I remember the 60's with all the wonderful cars that would drive through with engines blasting. Always lots of Corvettes, GTO's, etc.; so many cars circling in and out, it was impossible traffic jam. The Varsity had different areas/rooms where one could eat while watching on of the 3-4 TV stations of the day. The Varsity was the number one outlet in the world for Coca-Cola.

    I had Chili Dog, Glorified Steak, Onion Rings, Peach Pie about two weeks ago. GREAT!


    85iwbdf69a7y.png
    gnl3ua81zk5k.png
    jz8fcpvcdh4w.png


    Frank Gordy opened the Varsity as “The Yellow Jacket” in 1928, catering to students of nearby Georgia Tech.

    Eighty-eight years later, the Varsity claims to be the “world’s largest drive-in” and is a must-do for locals, tourists, and visiting dignitaries. Everyone is still greeted with the Varsity’s signature welcome, “What’ll ya have?” and on game days the restaurant serves over 30,000 people.

    Over the years, the drive-in’s “curb men” have become part of the Varsity experience. The most famous was Flossie Mae who sang the menu to customers for fifty years. Television and movie star Nipsy Russell got his start at the Varsity as car hop #46.

    The ordering lingo for this Atlanta icon is another part of its charm:

    Naked dog walking – plain hot dog on a bun

    F.O. – frosted orange

    P.C. – plain chocolate milk always served with ice

    Glorified steak – hamburger with mayo, lettuce, and tomato

    But the Varsity is perhaps best known for its chili dogs and onion rings.
    "Sometimes you have to look to the past to understand where you are going in the future"

    Anger is just anger. It isn’t good. It isn’t bad. It just is. What you do with it is what matters.
    You can use it to build or to destroy. You just have to make the choice.
    Jim Butcher




    Harry / Marietta GA
  • I sometimes mount the resistors on the underside of the board

    Aha! I have that image saved, too. I thought I had it all tied to the threads/posts, but I lost track of what was from whom.

    I really like that placement.

    I had a hard time pulling the wires down enough to reach the holes on the vertical placement. Was afraid I'd break it.
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • A little more info for you.

    Wow, that's wonderful.

    Thank you for the great write-up.

    Anyplace that serves chocolate milk with ice has got to be great (it's how I grew up drinking it).

    Next time I go to Florida, I'll put it on my side-tracked route =)

    Wait. My supervisor lives in Atlanta...
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • A little more info for you.

    Wow, that's wonderful.

    Thank you for the great write-up.

    Anyplace that serves chocolate milk with ice has got to be great (it's how I grew up drinking it).

    Next time I go to Florida, I'll put it on my side-tracked route =)

    Wait. My supervisor lives in Atlanta... I'll see if he's been, too.

    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • txcoastal1
    txcoastal1 Posts: 13,306
    2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
    Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
    Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
    Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC

    erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,176
    The Varsity looks like a great place to start for eats then off to some Club Polk houses for an audio listen….
    I’ll bring frosty beverages.
  • plastic_avatar
    plastic_avatar Posts: 708
    edited January 2023
    @txcoastal1

    Yum. Sounds kind of like the hotdogs at a place in Johnstown PA... I forget the name.

    I didn't check out the whole site. Do they sell the weiners in a pack?


    Hey!

    The Left crossover is done!

    Jumper'd, until I get a couple of resistors.

    It's not the prettiest, but fair for a first try at this bracket mod. Took me 3 iterations and 2 proto prints to get it right.

    Yes, my corkscrew connection is too wide, but I don't have great fine control out in fingertip land.

    So, I'll do the Right later.

    IT'S HAPPENING

    vf5hl1l2ughf.jpeg
    o84ry9fezkek.jpeg
    owegwcl7fv95.jpeg
    csamfclh4b66.jpeg
    ivm2o9z4j2gv.jpeg

    It might look like the big'un is hanging off the board. It's not. It just extends beyond the board.

    Everything is tight and sturdy. I might do a test mount later.
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • And I Trotsky's icepick'd the back of my skull on this corner right here, picking up a screw I dropped.

    oa5byfq6xzmm.jpeg

    [sonofa...]

    Might wait to do the Right til tomorrow =(
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,583
    I had a hard time pulling the wires down enough to reach the holes on the vertical placement. Was afraid I'd break it.
    Bending resistor leads that sharply that closely to the body can also damage them. You shouldn't bend any leads whether resistors or caps that sharply. It's advisable to use needle nose pliers to hold the lead at the body and then bend after the needle nosed pliers jaws.
  • plastic_avatar
    plastic_avatar Posts: 708
    edited January 2023
    Post assembly review #1: Potential mishaps

    @pitdogg2

    I did as suggested, but couldn't get it as close as the pics on other crossover pictures. I needed mere millimeters.

    I pulled them gently and slowly. On crossover 2 I'll likely use a piece of cut lead on each and extend them.

    I did mess up and bend the cap leads too close. They'll either work or I'll sell another ebay item to cover my mistake. That's another story, but it's done =)
    Post edited by plastic_avatar on
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • plastic_avatar
    plastic_avatar Posts: 708
    edited January 2023
    I have a heartbeat.

    Question, before I put in the passive on the Left.:

    Playing one speaker on the 1C, no SDA cable... should all 4 woofers be playing?

    Based on how it looks to an SDA n00b, I expect them to, but the SDA signal won't feed back through the SDA drivers without the cable.

    Seems different than the 2-board crossovers.

    Am I wrong?

    Did I somehow wire them wonky? Not sure how I could where it would cause all 4 mw to play...

    Thoughts?

    Added 34 minutes later:

    Put the passive in to see if everything is churning as I expect.

    All 4 mw playing. Just running it while I prep for tomorrow.

    - Transition from mw to tweeters is harsh.

    I think that^ might be the SDA drivers. I covered them and it took most of that harshness away. Whew.

    - Low is crazy tight and defined (My City Was Gone).

    - Snaps are sharp and sound like snaps (Lido Shuffle).

    - Highs are really a lot better than I expected from testing the tweets in the 5B. Experiments are fun, guys!

    - Sitting 3 feet from the speaker. Can't make comments on much else. Bass needs some space. Tomorrow, if I'm able, I'll put together the Right one.

    Disclaimers:

    1) I know crossover burn-in will make a difference.

    2) I know I may have to change out my dome backers for plain ol' felt/wool.

    3) I know the plugs are an unknown for this speaker.

    4) I know they were not meant to be played without the cable.

    5) Bench tests are on my AX-596. It doesn't have the oomph or tone of the stereo, but it works.
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • westmassguy
    westmassguy Posts: 6,850
    The 3rd, 4th, and 5th generation SDAs all have the "Sub Bass Drive" circuit. It feeds the in-phase low frequency stereo signal through the large spool inductor, to the dimensional woofers. Otherwise they'd be canceling the lower frequencies. With the cable disconnected, no difference, or opposite channel signal is being fed to the dimensional woofers, only the low bass in-phase stereo signal. The 1st and 2nd generation SDAs used additional bass woofer(s) to compensate for the out of phase cone movement produced by the dimensional woofers
    Home Theater/2 Channel:
    Front: SDA-2ATL forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/143984/my-2as-finally-finished-almost/p1
    Center: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/150760/my-center-channel-project/p1
    Surrounds & Rears: Custom Built forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/151647/my-surround-project/p1
    Sonicaps, Mills, RDO-194s-198s, Dynamat, Hurricane Nuts, Blackhole5
    Pioneer Elite VSX-72TXV, Carver PM-600, SVS PB2-Plus Subwoofer

    dhsspeakerservice.com/
  • dromunds
    dromunds Posts: 10,018
    Don’t forget you’ll need quite a long break-in period. During break-in, the sound quality will go from crap to good to crap to good. Put the tuner on and just let it play at low volume continuously for 100 hours or more. As you mentioned, you’ll also need better power before a proper judgment can be made
  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,197
    edited January 2023
    Also, these speakers were designed to be their best when run together, not as a single speaker. I understand the excitement to hear just one speaker since they weren't both finished at the same time. But to try and analyze them with a single speaker playing and probably not even set-up properly, doesn't really mean much.

    I know you wanted to make sure everything was hooked up/soldered properly so the above is more of a general statement.

    As mentioned, break-in is very important as is a LOT of listening time after break-in. It'll be 6 months or so before I do a review on the L600's. It'll take me that long to judge them. A big indicator for me that a product is going to work in my rig is if I still get the same or more enjoyment over a long period of time (after the honeymoon phase).

    When something is new, there's a level of excitement because, well, it's new. Plus your bias is you want it to sound spectacular so you need to get passed the "honeymoon phase" before real evaluation can start. Sometimes there are pieces of gear right out of the gate that you know aren't going to work, end of story. But most take time to properly assess.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
  • Break-in report

    @westmassguy: Thank you for the knowledge. I appreciate it! With the cable, much better, but haven't heard them properly set up yet.

    @dromunds: We're at 105'ish hours today. Even on bench, I can tell there's a difference. Will definitely do this for my 5B, too. Thank you.

    @heiney9: I'll keep the extended break-in on my mind. I know the Monitor 12 have only gotten better over the past 2 years. I didn't think about it deeply until today (I'll explain more of that below). I took a step back from the bench eval until yesterday. because I was just struck by how nice they sounded =) Luckily, I expect failure (which is sad, I suppose), so success is a welcome surprise. It was a coping mechanism I got stuck with. So my honeymoon phases are full of critique and skepticism [laughs]. The real test comes this week!

    Break-in observations from the bench

    - The Wuhans don't grate on me like the 2000s. Much smoother to my ear. Curious to see if I keep my backwave diffuser as is, or if I decide to switch to pure felt/wool. Made a super rigid new plate with 6 additional screw points. May try that, just to make it sturdier. Working on a cover that conceals the screws.

    - When streaming, I hear distortion in very loud sections of music with a lot going on. Might be compression. It was less noticeable on Amazon files, compared to Spotify. It is not noticeable on CD going through rca jacks.

    - The Left speaker has the pipe wrap lining the passive chamber. The Right does not. I was curious how it would perform compared to the Noico in my Monitors. It's not a perfect example, but this sounds great nearfield, to me (posted yesterday on Gardenstater's foam mod thread):

    https://youtu.be/TUlij8U4oKU

    - The BH5, complete Armacel, and passive chamber wall coating appear to be working as I hoped. I'll be able to tell more when they're in place, but no audible red flags on bench. Example of some oomph that isn't affected negatively:

    https://youtube.com/shorts/Sk9TmIRIIGU?feature=share

    - No looking forward to disconnecting the crossovers to install that resistor I didn't put on the tweeter circuit. My bracket works great, but it's a YUGE p-i-t-a to latch the crossover on when the bracket is attached to the cabinet floor. I'm going to tweak the design for outboard screws, so you can mount the board to the bracket outside, then screw it in as one unit.

    - The wrap, metal, and extra plastic adds a few pounds to each speaker. My back already hates me for the upcoming journey from bench to stereo placement. I don't know how you bug SDA owners manage!

    - Trying to decide how best to mount Vr3's felt tweeter pad. I have little velcro thingies to try.

    My streaming setup sucks. I need help figuring out something to get... cheap... that will get me closer to what I experience on CD

    I tried streaming from my phones to the analog on the big stereo. Wanted to do some proper ratings on the M12 before swapping. Nothing sounded right. Everything was concentrated in a 3-4ft wide area in the middle.

    Switched to CD, compared Walking in Your Footsteps by The Police. Streaming was a narrow sound field with little depth and subdued voice. The exact opposite happened when on CD. The difference was gigantic. I want my streamed music to sound as good as my CDs. How to manage on a budget?
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • About the my streaming setup thoughts:

    - I have a lot of flac files of my own stuff.

    - I have Macs w/ optical outs.

    -Thus far, the Amazon files have less of that distortion I really pick up from Spotify. I have fiber internet. Speeds are more than adequate for streaming.

    - The change in width and depth, separation and placement, between CD and streaming is night and day. Another song on my eval list is Ramble On. It is reduced to a musical smear. Where on CD, the pinpointing of all elements is easy, wide, and pleasant.

    - Does a good DAC really change that?

    - Showing my hifi DAC ignorance here, but is there a DDC-type interface? Like optical to digital magic restoration to optical?
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • xschop
    xschop Posts: 5,000
    I'm not well-versed on DAC set-up either, but I get CD quality sound from my flac-recorded tracks played thru my LG-G7 or LG-V60 "quad-dac" phones. Whereas I get sub-par quality from the same Flac-recorded tracks played through a Samsung tablet or Windows micro PC.

    I've dedicated my LG-G7 to the main rig when streaming most of the time.
    Don't take experimental gene therapies from known eugenicists.
  • Gardenstater
    Gardenstater Posts: 4,502
    My streaming setup is: Internet Router Gateway --> Ethernet Cable (or wifi) --> Squeezebox Touch --> USB cable --> iFi nano iDSD DAC --> RCA plug interconnects --> Amplifier. I am getting a super low noise floor that I never got when using the computer USB outputs directly into the DAC. That had all sorts of noise pollution going out even over the USB and even when I used a separate power supply to power the DAC instead of the power from the computer.
    George / NJ

    Polk 7B main speakers, std. mods+ (1979, orig owner)
    Martin Logan Dynamo sub w/6ft 14awg Power Cord
    Onkyo A-8017 integrated
    Logitech Squeezebox Touch Streamer w/EDO applet
    iFi nano iDSD DAC
    iPurifier3
    iDefender w/ iPower PS
    Custom Steve Wilson 1m UPOCC Interconnect
    iFi Mercury 0.5m OFHC continuous cast copper USB cable
    Custom Ribbon Speaker Cables, 5ft long, 4N Copper, 14awg, ultra low inductance
    Custom Vibration Isolation Speaker Stands and Sub Platform
  • plastic_avatar
    plastic_avatar Posts: 708
    edited January 2023
    DAC comments above = [thumbs up]

    I'll do more reading today [sigh]. SO MUCH RESEARCH THIS YEAR...

    Speaker/crossover burn-in technique

    I found this and thought 'Why the Hazmada didn't I think of that?'



    Cambridge Audio:

    The most basic way to run in your speakers is to set them up with your system and use them normally. Usually the speakers will be sufficiently run in after a total of 20-30 hours of normal use and they will often continue to develop and improve for the first hundred or so hours.

    There is however a slightly more convenient and quicker way to achieve the same result without having to annoy the neighbours for a whole weekend.

    Firstly, position your speakers facing each other with about an inch of distance between them and connect them to the amplifier as normal. Then simply reverse the polarity on one of the speakers. This means that at one end of the speaker cable on either the left or right channel, you swap the positive or negative connections over. (See diagram)

    rf6xe1z1zc8i.jpg

    How To Run In Speakers

    Reversing the polarity and playing the speakers facing each other helps them cancel each other out, meaning you will only be able to hear the highs so you don’t have to vibrate your room with bass. This gives you the ability to increase the volume and bass thus increasing the movement in your drivers to improve the running in process. This isn’t an excuse to crank it up to 11 however, we recommend keeping the volume at only a little higher than listening level. Playing at high volumes can damage the speakers and also overheat the amp if done for an extended amount of time.

    You will often read lots of disputes on the internet over how long you should run in speakers for and honestly... there isn’t a definitive answer. Our advise to run them in for approximately 36 hours.


    I'll set up my 5B like this when I do them and just let them run for 100+ hours like the 1C.
    The Thrifty Setups in Mah House Big thrifty stereo in the basement w/ my custom SDA-1C (built with help from kind forum members) * Beautiful 1966 MCM GE console upgraded w/ Bluetooth, Dual turntable, and Paradigm speakers in family room * Swanky 1980 Realistic system and great TEAC eq with dancing colored lights in the living room * custom 5B on a system for my Dad * Ye Olde college stereo in the garage
  • skipshot12
    skipshot12 Posts: 1,176
    I recently installed a blue node into my system and have only streamed, so far, from the wife’s iPhone.
    I cannot play the system as loud as when spinning discs. At loud levels I can end up with what sounds like mild clipping thru the iphone.
    Pretty sure it’s the source as I know I’m not clipping my amp.

    Never notice a compression of the soundstage or imaging thru the phone source.

    My wife uses one of the equalizer settings on the iPhone and would bet that’s the source of clipping sounds.
  • invalid
    invalid Posts: 1,373
    It's definitely the source, phones are terrible as a source.