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Post by Clive on Apr 2, 2023 8:56:21 GMT
We are in a deep hole environmentally. EVs are just one piece of mitigation. There isn’t enough we can do to fix the environment…we can only slow the rate of deterioration. The real issue is that the planet is overpopulated and we consume too much of everything. We can help with the latter but the former… It’s too hard to come up with a viable solution. It might have been Covid but it wasn’t, it might be Putin and nuclear war but that trashes the planet anyway. I can’t think of a humane and acceptable way to halve (or more) the population of the planet.
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Post by Clive on Apr 2, 2023 5:26:12 GMT
Woohoo, hi Col!
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Post by Clive on Mar 28, 2023 13:05:58 GMT
The Gustard K-2 synthesiser chip is a really great PLL circuit and makes the best of an external clock, for sure. It's not necessarily the case that other DACs use an external clock in this way. Indeed, it seems dCS make great play of using a PLL to supplement the internal clock. Some of their documents talk about jitter from external clocks being unavoidable and therefore simply replacing an internal clock for an external one would decrease quality. I wonder which other DACs that include an external clock option operate in a similar way to dCS and Gustard DACs.
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Post by Clive on Mar 28, 2023 11:21:09 GMT
I comforted by the logic of the external clock (LB in my case) working in conjunction with the internal clock. When I’d assumed the internal clock would be disabled when running an external clock I struggled with the logic that a clock plus cable with two connectors would be often better than an internal clock. Often great play is made of how good internal clocks are. Now I understand that an external can be additional reference for the internal clock, finally I’ve grasped a little of what’s going on 😀.
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Post by Clive on Mar 28, 2023 9:40:17 GMT
The DAC should not display EXT ERR (looks like a Gustard) if the external clock is indeed a 10MHz clock. I’d better clarify - Usually my Gustard R26 does not display EXT ERR this only occurs if I unplug the LB or move the LB which one of my stiff LMR-400 cables connected - there’s one cable where the BNCs are a little slack and have to be very well aligned to ensure a good connection.
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Post by Clive on Mar 28, 2023 9:05:55 GMT
An interesting aside re external clocks…it is for me anyway. I originally assumed an external clock would replace the functionality of the internal clock. Probably everyone else was more clued in! It seems than an external clock can work as a reference for the internal one. This explains my confusion when my R26 running with my LB displayed EXT ERR and the DAC still played music, I now understand how and why this happens.
How a DAC or reclocker handles an external clock therefore is an important factor and may explain why sometimes the results aren’t as expected or do all external clock inputs work in conjunction with the internal one?
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Post by Clive on Mar 26, 2023 12:45:08 GMT
Thanks Martin, that's helpful.
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Post by Clive on Mar 26, 2023 12:15:52 GMT
Martin, the Zero One…how much range does the voltage adjustment give? The blurb mentions fine adjustment but no absolute range. I’m could get the 9V version for my clock, for which 8V works best. If the 12V version of the PS could be adjusted down to 8V then that would be a more long-term flexible unit.
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Post by Clive on Mar 24, 2023 18:04:19 GMT
The “more forward sound” comment was my way of trying to describe in what way the vocals stand out more with the new BW and current settings. I prefer the sound like this, it wasn’t a criticism.
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Post by Clive on Mar 24, 2023 17:56:54 GMT
Clive,did you like the results, maybe some wouldn't like the forward sound? John didn't mention the sleep mode,someone on here brought it to our attention. Mind wasn't in sleep as once you power LB off and then power up again,sleep mode resets to off Yes, sleep mode is how I usually run but it sometimes it’s too much hassle for a short listen. As you say it needs to set at every power-up. I think I’m the “someone” 😀
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Post by Clive on Mar 24, 2023 17:23:49 GMT
I’ve tried BW set to 9 and current at 16mA. There’s certainly greater clarity & separation with a more forward sound. I’ve not run in sleep mode yet.
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Post by Clive on Mar 22, 2023 17:49:37 GMT
Well….I’ve just tried some small speakers, markaudio-sota.myshopify.com/products/viotti-oneThey sound MASSIVE with the EWA amp. They almost have the scale of my crazily-sized OBs. I’m happy with the bass too, without my bass subsystem. If I didn’t already have my OBs I’d struggle to justify buying them though the OBs are better. Other amps haven’t been anywhere near as expansive with the Viottis. Interesting.
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Post by Clive on Mar 22, 2023 15:30:13 GMT
Clive is enjoying his amps so much he's gone AWOL! Probably locked in his music room for days ... It’s something like that. There are two additional factors: 1) I had micro suction on a blocked ear yesterday and now I’ve a high frequency tizz when sounds are a little loud. It’s improved by 50% overnight so hopefully I’ll be back normal soon 2) Even with my reviewing hat on I’m struggling to come up with much more than I said in my post on 20th March. I’ll try to add a little more colour… With my OBs the pre/power delivers exactly what I wanted and more. I wanted great imaging, bass, mid to die for, treble….well I’m 66 so less critical than I used to be. I certainly wanted a natural sound with meat on the bones….by this I mean not a hyper-clinical sound, which dare I suggest that some class d amps have been guilty of in the early days. As the preamp arrived first I could assess this in isolation. My setup involves driving powerful class d amps with dsp for bass below 100Hz. Input impedance for the each bridged amp is 10k. The M40A handles this superbly, much better than amps I’ve previously run. The preamp overall brought a significant lift in SQ, indeed I felt…do I need the M40A when the sound with the Quad 306 is this good? Then the M40A arrived. The power amp brought a much more effortless nature. Stunning bass - clearly quality above 100Hz matters a lot. Imaging improved further. I’d need a musician to meaningfully comment on timbre. For me the sound is just wonderful. Next I’ll hook up some more traditional speakers - MarkaudioSota Viotti One…It’ll be interesting to hear how these work out, my expectation is that they will grow in stature.
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Post by Clive on Mar 20, 2023 16:03:22 GMT
I'm no longer expectant, the new babies arrived a few days ago. The Elsdon Wonfor Audio (EWA) M40P preamp arrived first so I was able to get to hear this as a single change in my system. A week later the M40A power amp arrived - that's just 2 days ago. I'm over the moon with the sound, it's everything I'd hoped for and more. I should correct what I typed originally about power - the M40A delivers 40W into 15R, 80W into 8R and 155W into 4R - both channels driven. Tyhe amps are Class A/B with a decent about of Class A sliding bias so a few watts are in Class A, with my 16R 100db open baffles I doubt I hit A/B at all. The photos below include the preamp board under test in Colin's workshop. All the other photos are ones I took soon after delivery. Colin has delivered his usual magic. The preamp running into my Quad 306 more than hinted at what was to come when the full EWA pre/power pairing would be running. I'm still very munch in the honeymoon period so I'll try not go too OTT but...characteristics that stand out so far are: - Control: my twin 12" OB drivers whilst sensitive need controlling and the M40A really control the drivers well - Bass: with my OBs running down to 100Hz before the bass sub-system takes over, you'd think bass quality could change much, but it does. So power, tight and tuneful - Imaging: organised, expansive, well separated - Resolution: excellent, yet natural, not drawing undue attention to detail in a false or tiring manner - Phono: The MM and MC stages are really good too, for now I'm weaned off my digital phono stage currently I have my Ortofon 2M SE Mono and Transfiguration Spirit III setup - Line: my wonderful Gustard R26 DAC sounds magnificent
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Post by Clive on Mar 10, 2023 14:25:42 GMT
SOLD
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Post by Clive on Mar 8, 2023 12:55:19 GMT
I was being too cautious about preferring not to ship the Kirmuss. Having packed it into the original box I'm now confident in shipping it. You can see the Kirmuss in the box below (dog not included...). I'm now setting the asking price to £650 including UK shipping.
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Post by Clive on Mar 5, 2023 22:04:05 GMT
I’ll give an update asap. The pre/power has been in the works for sometime; Colin had been unwell but is better now and has been chasing his chassis supplier who have finally come up with them. It should be week or so when the amps are shipped. Much anticipation!
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Post by Clive on Mar 5, 2023 19:08:58 GMT
The chassis for my new preamp and power amp have finally arrived. I await the arrival of the finished amps in a week or so. They are to drive my Bastanis - 100db / 16R OBs. The speakers soundl like an easy load but with two 12” drivers per side they need an amp to grip them. Colin Wonfor is building thevpreamp an power amp for me. The preamp is his latest version with a balanced input / output plus 3 x SE and a SECA headphone amp too. The power amp is his M40 with a special PTX to give move drive into 16R. It’ll be 75W into 16R, 135W into 8R and 210W into 4R. More importantly it’s 7W class A into 16R.
I’ll post photos when they arrive. I have great expectations!
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Post by Clive on Mar 4, 2023 10:30:40 GMT
Great stuff guys 😀👍 John for context, can you tell us what your previous cable was?
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Post by Clive on Mar 3, 2023 22:39:23 GMT
It’s not surprising that the clock cable exerts such influence….the clock is the beating heart of a digital source/system. Anything that influences this heartbeat is bound to be critical. The worry is that a short cable can be so critical, maybe it’s a lot to ask for a clock signal generated externally and then to be transported to the DAC without corruption. What if we could hard wire the LB inside the DAC?
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