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Post by MikeMusic on Sept 22, 2024 18:06:35 GMT
I've found some more performance! Background information: When I first bought an EtherREGEN I was using it in its conventional direction with the 'A' side as input and the 'B' side as output. Eventually I upgraded my ultraRendu to a Signature Rendu Deluxe and that, of course, takes only SFP input into its cage. So I reversed the EtherREGEN and thought I had got the power supply routing right. But I forgot an important point about which side of the moat the input, output, clock and power supply connections lie when used in reverse. So I was inadverdently shorting the moat with one of the power supplies. For the event yesterday, I drew a diagram for the connections and realised my error when I came to rebuild the system this morning. All the time I had been powering the router and ER together and the clock separately. Wrong! It's the ER that needs its own separate PSU (but in normal configuration it's the clock that needs its own PSU). After much irritation with myself (it was a learning moment), I built the system correctly so as to not short the moat. Well, I now have a seemingly 'quieter' presentation but with more clout in dynamics, background detail even more evident and amazing punch in the bass. All for swapping a couple of cables around. I'll take it! Works for me too. No big surprise. Took a while due to the off, wait, reboots. A step up in detail, width, treble and mid. |
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Post by nicholas on Sept 22, 2024 18:44:11 GMT
Funny how so many of us had it wrong. Correct connection clearly adds mo' magic.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 22, 2024 18:53:32 GMT
Funny how so many of us had it wrong. Correct connection clearly adds mo' magic. My excuse is that all the isolation advice given is for the EtherREGEN used standard way round, and I consulted this useful diagram when light dawned!  |
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Post by MartinT on Sept 23, 2024 9:40:51 GMT
Everything is thoroughly warmed up now and sounding really good. Trying to describe it gives me the usual issues, but here's what I am hearing as far as I can relate. There is obviously another drop in noise floor from having an effective isolation moat in the EtherREGEN over and above the moat in the U18 DDC and using air-gapped 4G+ internet.
This drop in noise has made the sound at once more relaxed, more flowing, less harsh, but with greater dynamic attack and tighter, punchier, bass. Sounds impossible, right? All I can say is I played a bumper selection of different music last night and so far this morning without a trace of fatigue. Even testing music recorded quite hot is very much easier to listen to, while picking up extra detail and placing it in a well formed soundstage. There is depth, width (with a couple of recordings imaging well outside of the speakers) and my large speakers have completely disappeared.
If this sounds like Nirvana, it is. I'm playing Jazz at the Pawnshop at the moment and the live club feel is highly realistic. So far, so good and I can't hear any downside to having rebuilt the system yesterday.
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Post by John on Sept 23, 2024 10:04:51 GMT
At least it compensates for the effort of dismantling and re-connecting.
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Post by MikeMusic on Sept 23, 2024 10:41:39 GMT
Bonus points from dismantling well worth the grief !
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Post by palace on Sept 23, 2024 12:49:21 GMT
Everything is thoroughly warmed up now and sounding really good. Trying to describe it gives me the usual issues, but here's what I am hearing as far as I can relate. There is obviously another drop in noise floor from having an effective isolation moat in the EtherREGEN over and above the moat in the U18 DDC and using air-gapped 4G+ internet. This drop in noise has made the sound at once more relaxed, more flowing, less harsh, but with greater dynamic attack and tighter, punchier, bass. Sounds impossible, right? All I can say is I played a bumper selection of different music last night and so far this morning without a trace of fatigue. Even testing music recorded quite hot is very much easier to listen to, while picking up extra detail and placing it in a well formed soundstage. There is depth, width (with a couple of recordings imaging well outside of the speakers) and my large speakers have completely disappeared. If this sounds like Nirvana, it is. I'm playing Jazz at the Pawnshop at the moment and the live club feel is highly realistic. So far, so good and I can't hear any downside to having rebuilt the system yesterday. MartinT: Wrote "I'm playing Jazz at the Pawnshop at the moment and the live club feel is highly realistic" I whole heartedly agree & I'm not a jazz aficionado, Thank you for another album to listen again to. |
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Post by speedysteve on Sept 23, 2024 16:44:20 GMT
That's good Martin.
I see that Jazz at the Pawnshop festures bassist Georg Riedel.
He was a star of his time.
Only passed this year, aged 90!
He played with Jan Johansson on many albums and of course many many more.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 25, 2024 9:23:13 GMT
Corrected system diagram (with the EtherREGEN and clock correctly powered).  |
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Post by MartinT on Sept 26, 2024 9:06:56 GMT
When I returned from the event on Saturday, one of my Coherent 6D power cables suffered a "rapid disassembly" of its IEC plug, which fell to bits in my hand when I was unpacking the kit. Luckily, Tony had an Oyaide IEC cryo-treated plug in stock, of the type fitted to my other 6D cables, but not this one.
So after a quick trip to his, and a good chat about things audio while he carried out an expert repair, I returned with the upgraded 6D, treated the IEC end with graphene and put it back into service powering my Rendu streamer. He told me to give it 40-50 hours, which I have done, and everything is sounding marvellous.
Thanks, Tony!
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Post by MartinT on Oct 6, 2024 8:57:23 GMT
I had a good listen to the system last night and the sound remains excellent, despite what my line noise meter says about the new mains noise I'm seeing. Suspicious of the meter now, I've ordered another different one for correlation. More on that when it arrives.
Meanwhile, the system continues to perform at its new level and I'm deliriously happy.
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Post by MartinT on Oct 11, 2024 12:35:19 GMT
I think the system is finally settled from the disruption a couple of weeks ago. Possibly the latest JS-2 power supply still had a bit more burning-in left, as did the SR Orange fuse in it. Also, I received some Jabdog giant croc clips with 4mm sockets for the grounding boxes, the same as used by Mike. I replaced the two at either end of the DAC cable SFPs where they need to open wide and grip well. Treated with graphene, of course.
All this is giving me a fab performance, wonderfully smooth and detailed but still with the dynamics and slam that makes it real. No complaints here at all.
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Post by MartinT on Oct 18, 2024 17:40:42 GMT
There's a certain organic togetherness about uncompressed digital music decoded from a noise-free signal. Easy to say things like lower noise floor, wider and deeper soundstage, out-of-focus ethereal detail, lack of harshness. It's much harder to say what it does sound like.
Of course it sounds analogue, which is just another way of saying it sounds real. No, it doesn't sound like LP or home tape, it's better than those formats. Nor does it sound like CD as I remember CD players to sound. It really doesn't sound 'like' anything except music. Less a facsimile and more a virtually complete reconstruction within the limitations of recording and playback technology.
I'm trying to say that it defeats all attempts to analyse as you are always and quickly returned to the music. It is simply impossible to listen to it and think of it as a stream of data. I know it is, but the brain doesn't accept so easily.
Ultimately, it doesn't matter. The source of my utter bewilderment is that I can choose to listen from a selection of a vast amount of the world's music like this in my home. Instantly, on demand. Unthinkable just 20 years ago.
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Post by nicholas on Oct 18, 2024 18:04:03 GMT
Well stated...
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Post by stellabagpuss on Oct 18, 2024 18:15:59 GMT
There's a certain organic togetherness about uncompressed digital music decoded from a noise-free signal. Easy to say things like lower noise floor, wider and deeper soundstage, out-of-focus ethereal detail, lack of harshness. It's much harder to say what it does sound like. Of course it sounds analogue, which is just another way of saying it sounds real. No, it doesn't sound like LP or home tape, it's better than those formats. Nor does it sound like CD as I remember CD players to sound. It really doesn't sound 'like' anything except music. Less a facsimile and more a virtually complete reconstruction within the limitations of recording and playback technology. I'm trying to say that it defeats all attempts to analyse as you are always and quickly returned to the music. It is simply impossible to listen to it and think of it as a stream of data. I know it is, but the brain doesn't accept so easily. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. The source of my utter bewilderment is that I can choose to listen from a selection of a vast amount of the world's music like this in my home. Instantly, on demand. Unthinkable just 20 years ago. So true Martin, and exactly what l have been struggling to express on my blogs, you use the usual cliques, but they are only half of the story. l see many other Audiophiles chasing the latest DAC etc, but they seem unaware that by sorting your power supplies out,and making things as clean as possible is a all round upgrade, that a DAC change would not do on its own. Kick back and enjoy the music... You've earned it. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Oct 18, 2024 18:25:35 GMT
Main reason I didn't go streaming a lot longer ago was the poor amount of albums available
Changed substantially now to be the odd album or two in a discography missing rather than most missing or even nothing from certain artists
It has changed far more than I thought it would
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Post by MartinT on Oct 18, 2024 18:41:38 GMT
l see many other Audiophiles chasing the latest DAC etc, but they seem unaware that by sorting your power supplies out,and making things as clean as possible is a all round upgrade, that a DAC change would not do on its own. So true, Damien, and I keep that very much in mind. I have to pass many internal checkpoints now before I will buy any more kit. I grew weary of two steps forwards and one back. Now I am happy with half a step forwards. |
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Post by MartinT on Oct 29, 2024 19:56:51 GMT
Listening afresh to my system after a week away, I am struck by just how much soundstage and depth has become apparent since my last fiddling with the plug-in filters. Listening to Buzzcut Season by Lorde in 24/192, the opening soundstage is very large with out-of-focus swathes of sound matched up with laser etched percussion that then moves backwards at points during the song. Lorde's voice always cutting through. Meanwhile, driving bass underpins the proceedings with wonderful solidity. Never harsh but always hard hitting, the hi-res mastering does this song great justice. open.qobuz.com/track/14876251I am pleased that my noise filtering approach is reaping rewards. Using the very best filter at the mains power point of entry, followed by the next best filtering at the ring/radial powering the system, and finally having other filters perform local suppression duties around the house is working well. Taking a scientific approach to killing noise where it hurts the most has improved my system. Job done. |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 8, 2024 16:55:08 GMT
Just to let you know, the system is sounding wonderful and it's hard to think that the X26 III might give me any more. However, nicholas tells me about the X30 and how much more he is getting from it. Granted, the circuit is a bit different but I'll be happy with just a small improvement. I'm long past expecting big changes as the law of diminishing returns applies. |
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Post by nicholas on Nov 8, 2024 17:02:27 GMT
It's worthy to note that I find it difficult to describe the differences with the X30 because the usual descriptors fall a bit short.
Suffice it to say that on the whole it just sounds better.
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