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Post by nicholas on Jun 9, 2022 13:24:39 GMT
Above my pay grade but differences in ground cables might not be as apparent as differences in signal cables.
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Post by MartinT on Jun 9, 2022 14:53:25 GMT
Above my pay grade but differences in ground cables might not be as apparent as differences in signal cables. Well, I have at least established that the AliExpress copper grounding cables (as also used by QA) are very good and better than the cotton covered SGS cables. However, I find footers under and weights on top of the grounding box have more effect. |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 9, 2022 19:24:02 GMT
No music tonight. The BT mast is down, so no 4G signal to the music room router or our phones.
No problem with the main house on Three, though!
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Post by speedysteve on Jun 12, 2022 17:13:01 GMT
No music tonight. The BT mast is down, so no 4G signal to the music room router or our phones. No problem with the main house on Three, though! Couldn't you have an 'emergency' extension reel of Cat5 or 6 handy. Distance 100m enough? Audiophile quality of course🙂 |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 12, 2022 18:03:06 GMT
All sorted, the service came back the next day.
I think I've already mentioned that music sounds better over 4G than cable broadband? It's the ultimate in air-gapped isolation. Works for me.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 12, 2022 20:29:10 GMT
To confirm for little old me
Mobile broadband better than BT and similar ?
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Post by MartinT on Jun 13, 2022 5:08:41 GMT
Your semantics are off, Mike.
To confirm: mobile 4G data (ours is BT which is really EE) sounds better than telephone-line based VDSL, like Infinity.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 13, 2022 9:13:29 GMT
Thought so
Another reason to go mobile broadband then
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Post by MartinT on Jun 13, 2022 10:12:07 GMT
It seems to me that the air-gapping provided by 4G services cuts a lot of noise present in land-based broadband.
A well-known dealer completely agrees with me and uses a TP-Link MR6400 for his demos, too.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 13, 2022 12:20:20 GMT
Cool
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Post by MartinT on Jun 23, 2022 19:09:04 GMT
Something was off last night and the start of tonight's session. I couldn't put my finger on it but it sounded less detailed and a little shouty. I checked all the grounding boxes, powered the whole system off and re-made every connection. Left it last night thinking it was just me. Tonight I went over the system again. Finally, I thought to look at the U18's display. Damn it - it had reverted to INT clock. Switched to EXT clock and all was well again. I MUST remember to check it after any power cut!!!
It does prove to me, though, that I know how my system should sound and can recognise the improvement using the excellent AfterDark master clock.
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Post by MikeMusic on Jun 23, 2022 19:14:54 GMT
Technology
The default setting you didn't want
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Post by MartinT on Jun 24, 2022 21:52:33 GMT
My redesigned system diagram.  |
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Post by MartinT on Jul 4, 2022 15:58:52 GMT
I was asked a question in the Head-Fi forum that turned out to be insightful, so I put it to the test.
The question was: now that I have the Signature Rendu SE, with its precision clocks and extremely good USB output, do I have a need for the Gustard U18 DDC any more?
My knee-jerk reaction was "of course"! However, what it really boils down to is whether the USB input on the X26 Pro DAC is as good as that on the DDC, and whether the additional level of reclocking with the DDC is noticeable? Not easily predictable, so tonight I put it to the test. I took the U18 out of circuit, connected the USB to the DAC, connected the master clock to the DAC, and selected USB input with external clock.
It's an interesting comparison. The DAC's USB input is clearly very capable and seems to have all the detail and soundstaging. However, it sounds louder with slightly less dynamic range, it slightly accentuates the treble and, crucially, seems to suffer from more sibilance. For those things alone, I prefer the U18 in circuit.
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Post by nicholas on Jul 4, 2022 16:47:00 GMT
With the Afterdark clocks on both sides of the equation what you're testing is the difference between the I2S connection and USB... the galvanic isolation of the U18 likely comes into play as well.
Appreciate your effort to confirm my biased suspicion, thanks.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 4, 2022 16:56:10 GMT
Interestingly, I didn't think it could be galvanic isolation since I'm feeding the Rendu with an optical feed. However, isolation from the Rendu could be a possibility.
You might think that USB direct to DAC should sound better than USB converted to I2S and then to DAC, but things are never that simple.
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Post by julesd68 on Jul 4, 2022 17:33:55 GMT
Useful findings, thanks Martin - I'm looking forward to getting to know my U18's abilities better in due course.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 5, 2022 19:23:04 GMT
Follow-up actions because the Signature Rendu SE has been so successful:
1) I dropped off my Gustard U18 for Tony @ Coherent to breathe his magic on it. The areas to concentrate on are noise reduction and power supply. In measurement reviews, the U18 never comes out particularly well for noise, yet it sounds superb in I2S mode with an external clock. There should be a lot more to come in view of the Sonore's claimed -155dB noise floor. Getting the U18 noise lower won't be wasted effort.
2) I have scoured the internet for Finisar FTLX1475D3BTL SFP modules and there are none, with next stock availability quoted as September. However, I have found a possible superior compatible, the BlueOptics BO35J13610D. These 10Gbps single mode SFPs are the industrial (best) performance grade with real lasers, not LEDs. I've gone to the trouble of feeding the Rendu with fibre, so I might as well use the best SFPs I can get.
3) Similarly, I have sourced true glass (not plastic) optical fibre cable at 4m length, exactly the length I need. The BlueOptics LC-LC OS2 single mode cable fits the bill and comes from the same German supplier.
The above little lot should give me more of the abundant goodness that I've been hearing of late.
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Post by nicholas on Jul 5, 2022 20:01:01 GMT
Very curious to see exactly what Tony does to your U18 and what impact it has on your superlative system's performance.
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Post by MartinT on Jul 5, 2022 20:31:31 GMT
Very curious to see exactly what Tony does to your U18 and what impact it has on your superlative system's performance. He has his own special capacitors made to bulk order for all the modifications and repairs he conducts and they have consistently improved products I've had him mod in the past. I'm hopeful and I'm pretty certain the U18 will come off sounding better. It's inevitable that a relatively low cost component is not going to be able to use high performance capacitors in its BOM. It comes down to whether the basic circuit is good. If it is, then better components will make it sound better. |
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