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Post by Clive on Jun 13, 2023 14:22:15 GMT
I was of the understanding that WiFi extenders are notorious for injecting more noise into the network but if it works for you that's great. I'm very happy with ethernet but 4g is tempting for convenience in my set up and the potential for lower noise levels. I think they can be beneficial but they create a subnet which is some configurations creates havoc. Not all software copes with the resultant addressing. You may also end up with another switch if you need a server on the same subnet. It ends up be horses for courses…very specific configurations so no hard and fast rules.
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Post by Clive on Jun 12, 2023 16:55:06 GMT
You may still want a short fibre link for the 4G router to your streamer, you won’t need a 10m fibre run but you’ll still want media converters and their power supplies. Sounds like a good plan. Hi Clive, much as I like the fibre optic idea, the two extra boxes and psu's are not so appealing. I might give the 4g router a go first with ethernet, not decided yet ... I sympathise, I’ve tried cutting down my box count but when I manage to remove one I find I “need” another two! The 4G router will hopefully help you, though it’s and extra box plus you’re bound to want an LPS 🤔 There are times when I give up chasing absolutely the best SQ to try to retain what’s left of my sanity 😂
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Post by Clive on Jun 12, 2023 13:46:11 GMT
I'm having a rethink to incorporate a 4g router into my plans. This would avoid the 10m optical cable run through the flat which I wouldn't be able to leave in place all the time. Data is getting cheaper all the time and having a dedicated router for audio would save a lot of faff for me. You may still want a short fibre link for the 4G router to your streamer, you won’t need a 10m fibre run but you’ll still want media converters and their power supplies. Sounds like a good plan.
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Post by Clive on Jun 1, 2023 8:36:57 GMT
Good catch John. Some of his words are useful. What I take from this and what Tony has said is the the 10MHz clock is reference for the internal clock which is still in use…and as it’s for long term stability then a GPS synced clock seems like a good idea. Even with a DAC on its own connected with an external clock, we are hearing benefits. Perhaps this is unexpected but we hear it even if some think it shouldn’t happen. “A 10Mhz clock cannot be cleanly divided by 44.1khz or 48khz, and it cannot and does not directly run the DAC. Instead, the DAC uses a PLL system with the 10Mhz clock as the input reference, to output a 49.1520/45.1584Mhz (or whatever the required rate is) using its OWN clock internally. Your DACs clock is still the clock feeding the converter, it’s just being kept in time long term with the 10Mhz clock.
10Mhz clocks were never intended to improve jitter performance. They were intended to keep many devices in sync and prevent ‘clock drift’ over time in professional situations where you may have potentially dozens of DACs, ADCs, Processors etc running simultaneously and you do not want one to be running slower than the other and causing desync over time. As this could potentially cause issues in production or recording/outputting from several devices simultaneously.”
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Post by Clive on May 30, 2023 11:54:09 GMT
I’d guess it’s down to the quality of the SFP modules, less jitter, possibly fewer spikes from the lasers (?) finding their way back into the electronics.
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Post by Clive on May 28, 2023 21:43:00 GMT
Thank you for the clock explanation Tony. That’s the first time I’ve seen the internal/external clock functions properly explained.
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Post by Clive on May 28, 2023 8:11:20 GMT
How much of this correlates with Gustards and their K2 Synthesiser? I can’t help feeling there’s something in the way the K2 works that means external clocks, and possibly the LB in particular benefit. I can’t speak for how external clocks work out with other DACs that have an external clock facility.
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Post by Clive on May 25, 2023 19:05:31 GMT
It looks like I saw her in Feb 84. It was cold but it was Aberdeen!
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Post by Clive on May 25, 2023 17:19:58 GMT
She was mega. I saw her on her Private Dancer tour in Aberdeen when I was working up at BP Dyce managing the helicopter ATC systems. Bryan Adams played too.
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Post by Clive on May 19, 2023 19:50:09 GMT
I’ve been living with the improving sound of the R26 for quite a while…it keeps getting better as I optimise the setup. Of course the LB clock, its PS and clock cable are vitally important also, Colin Wonfor’s pre/power too are a massive factor.
Running the LAN streamer on the R26 and NOS mode are critical too as is fibre optic isolation and the Bastanis grounding box.
My Bastanis Sagamatha OBs and Vic’s bass setup were already astounding. If I go back a few years to my previous Bastanis with 300Bs I had an astounding sound with vocals and jazz. I’ve finally exceeded my previous elixir. Not only this but the sound now works for anything from Tracy Chapman to LED Zep III. I can reach out and touch the band, it’s so full of life. I could say more but that’s enough for now.
Happy, happy, happy 😀🍾
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Post by Clive on May 18, 2023 8:36:09 GMT
Good luck with customs Luciano. It could be worse…imagine the LB clock being illegal. It is in some countries!
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Post by Clive on May 16, 2023 11:02:49 GMT
I have an update on my using the LAN input on the R26. First of all I apologise for taking everyone on my journey with my sorting out the LAN / streamer on R26.
I can now finally say that even the unofficial streamer 1.42 firmware is rock solid. The instability with my local files (DLNA) was caused by my using a WiFi extender for the DLNA server and having the R26 on the main network. It should be possible to resolve this and I certainly improved stability but in the end I capitulated…I now have an old laptop in the listening room on the main network serving my files. There are no stability issues. Qobuz is now fine too, even this got messed up with the subnet at times as sometimes it couldn’t see the renderer due to bubble sometimes connecting to the subnet.
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Post by Clive on May 14, 2023 17:35:57 GMT
My GPS antenna is 2m from a window in my basement. Surprisingly it acquires a satellite within a couple of minutes.
I use an LMR400 50 ohm cable, it's 20cm and sticks straight out of the rear of the DAC with the clock being supported by a block of wood. I also use a linear PS.
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Post by Clive on May 13, 2023 12:09:42 GMT
Sounds a bit like my subnet ip address issue. I get the impression the Wi-Fi dropped momentarily and a new ip address was then allocated..just a guess re my setup.
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Post by Clive on May 12, 2023 13:35:22 GMT
I'm still learning about configuring my media server to work with the R26 streamer...
I had music playing then it stopped. It seems my inconsistency issues are to do with my subnet.
The R26 is ethernet connected to my router.
The Twonky DLNA media server is connected via a WiFi extender as it's 2 floors away from the R26.
I had been connecting the server to the extender via wifi. To get a better connection I did this: - wifi extender connected to my router via wifi - wifi extender ethernet connected to the server (the wifi extender has an ethernet port)
I then had a problem with the Twonky license key...it turned out it was an IP address problem.
I'm reading that DLNA doesn't work when on a subnet with the renderer on the main network. So...I've reserved the IP address of the server and it's all working again. I hope this resolves it.
Let me know if anyone has any magic bullets for all this! Maybe it needs a diagram...
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Post by Clive on May 12, 2023 12:16:28 GMT
I’m sure it measures well at ASR 🤣 I think a pre and power need to match well, the design parameters for bandwidth, speed (slew rates) etc need to gel if you are to achieve synergy. You would have thought that being made by the same manufacturer, they could / should have been designed to match perfectly. Yes you would! That’s certainly the case with my pre/power but I know for sure Colin designed both.
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Post by Clive on May 12, 2023 11:20:37 GMT
Fascinating. Thank you!
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Post by Clive on May 12, 2023 9:41:23 GMT
I bought a Topping Pre90 to use with my Topping DAC as was touted by the hoards as being uber transparent etc etc ... It wasn't. The sonic advantage of going DAC direct in my system was massive, not even close. As Clive says, YMMV. I’m sure it measures well at ASR 🤣 I think a pre and power need to match well, the design parameters for bandwidth, speed (slew rates) etc need to gel if you are to achieve synergy.
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Post by Clive on May 12, 2023 8:32:22 GMT
I returned to using a preamp when I bought Colin’s latest power amp, his preamp is great too and my system is better with it but this is very much YMMV territory. The simplicity of no preamp is appealing, it’s the configuration I ran for a couple of years.
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Post by Clive on May 11, 2023 18:55:56 GMT
Unfortunately the fixed output prevents me from trying Yes, that’s a ball ache. What I’m getting is great resolution, transparency, crystal clear treble, strong presence. In comparison the previous sound could be described as a trace soft without NOS but some of the improvement comes from the internal streamer but that’s a hunch. I need to compare with the Lindemann but not now, this is so good that I don’t care.
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