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Post by SteveC on Oct 27, 2019 8:02:33 GMT
The system as of today, with more natural lighting in the photo.  You should have put a "Focus" track on!  |
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Post by MartinT on Oct 29, 2019 10:20:04 GMT
The system is still improving as the uprated QP-1, Mutec and cables finish their burn-in. I rush home, put the heating on and power up the system (just the regenerator and power amp, everything else stays on) straight after work to get some listening in around 20 minutes later.
That old cliched 'hearing more than ever before' is there, as well as a soundstage that envelopes me in music. A milestone in my system's development. I should start a thread on that subject.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 30, 2019 5:47:52 GMT
Martin, can you remind me of how many donuts you placed in your system?
And if there was a point of either:
1.diminishing returns
2.too much of a good thing?
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Post by MartinT on Oct 30, 2019 5:57:06 GMT
I have two Donuts in the LKS DAC, two Max Donuts in the Belles power amp and one Donut on the Coherent QP-1. I also have a sprinkling of the Discs and Magic Tubes on cables and the Graphene Contact Enhancer on all contacts.
Yes, there are diminishing returns but the whole does add up to quite a difference in SQ. No, I never reached "too much of a good thing" if there is such a point. They simply enhance the musical communication without losing anything that I can hear.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 1, 2019 6:59:54 GMT
I received my second ifi iSilencer3.0 and plugged it into a spare USB port in the Asus. To my surprise, it did make a small improvement in tightening everything up.
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Post by John on Nov 1, 2019 8:29:31 GMT
Not a surprise to me 😀
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Post by MartinT on Nov 7, 2019 21:42:43 GMT
Just to scratch an itch, I tried taking the USB cable out of the ifi iSilencer and putting it straight into the Asus. It sounds better to my ears, even more snap and immediacy. I then took both ifi units out. Not quite as good. Put one back in place - optimal! So a single ifi it is, in a different socket. AQ USB cable straight in.
The Pi was different, probably because its USB outputs are so much noisier. Good discovery.
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Post by John on Nov 7, 2019 21:55:33 GMT
I try that at the weekend
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Post by MartinT on Nov 7, 2019 22:16:24 GMT
Let me know what you find, John. I was quite surprised at the difference.
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Post by mattspl on Nov 7, 2019 22:30:40 GMT
Hi Martin,
Good to hear all the new tweaks are working out, particularly the Donuts and Graphene Contact enhancer, I will get round to trying these eventually.
Can I ask what way are your speakers setup in relation to the listening position, is it an equilateral triangle? I’m very restricted in speaker placement due to Sofa being on the back wall and speakers being where they are on the cabinets. I can’t quite get an equilateral triangle, I’m too far away from the speakers.
Thanks
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Post by Slinger on Nov 7, 2019 22:56:47 GMT
Just to scratch an itch, I tried taking the USB cable out of the ifi iSilencer and putting it straight into the Asus. It sounds better to my ears, even more snap and immediacy. I then took both ifi units out. Not quite as good. Put one back in place - optimal! So a single ifi it is, in a different socket. AQ USB cable straight in. The Pi was different, probably because its USB outputs are so much noisier. Good discovery. That's how I'm running mine, except with a Jitterbug instead of your iFi device. The AQ Carbon is running direct between the ATB and the DAC, and I've got a single AQ Jitterbug in a spare socket on the ATB. |
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Post by John on Nov 8, 2019 20:00:30 GMT
Gosh that quite a surprise Martin I was expecting a subtle difference but definitely a bit more than subtle
More depth and punch for sure
With my SOtM it benefited more from having them connected together
Perhaps cleaning up more noise on the board
I have one on a cable and 1 on a separate board rather than both on the USB cable
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Post by MartinT on Nov 8, 2019 20:40:41 GMT
Can I ask what way are your speakers setup in relation to the listening position, is it an equilateral triangle? I’m very restricted in speaker placement due to Sofa being on the back wall and speakers being where they are on the cabinets. I can’t quite get an equilateral triangle, I’m too far away from the speakers. It's very close to an equilateral triangle. The speakers are about 3.5m apart and toed in with the inside faces pointing straight at me. They are about 1m away from the rear wall (hard to be precise as they are very deep). I would say you should try not to haver your listening position against the back wall if at all possible. Try to put an absorbent panel behind you. Also, if you can, a panel centred on the wall between the speakers which helps imaging. |
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Post by mattspl on Nov 8, 2019 21:26:23 GMT
Can I ask what way are your speakers setup in relation to the listening position, is it an equilateral triangle? I’m very restricted in speaker placement due to Sofa being on the back wall and speakers being where they are on the cabinets. I can’t quite get an equilateral triangle, I’m too far away from the speakers. It's very close to an equilateral triangle. The speakers are about 3.5m apart and toed in with the inside faces pointing straight at me. They are about 1m away from the rear wall (hard to be precise as they are very deep). I would say you should try not to haver your listening position against the back wall if at all possible. Try to put an absorbent panel behind you. Also, if you can, a panel centred on the wall between the speakers which helps imaging. Thanks Martin. Unfortunately it’s an L shaped sofa which has to be against the wall, we’ll almost, except for a double radiator behind it. I have a canvas picture on the rear wall which I put insulation behind in the frame. The Tv is on the front wall centred above the fireplace. I plan to build bass traps in the front corners eventually. |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 12, 2019 17:09:07 GMT
I'm trying to scratch another itch in the direction of further system and signal path simplification. I'm using a full featured preamp as a single input volume control and driver for the power amp. It works really well but I have a DAC with a volume control staring me in the face. However, it doesn't drive the power amp very well - I've already tried that.
What if I could use my DAC for remote volume but use a buffer driver between it and the power amp? I have my eye on a Burson AB160 XLR unity gain buffer which would do exactly that. They are as rare as hen's teeth but I've found one in Canada and am talking to the seller at the moment. It would be an experiment - no harm done if it's not successful but the possibility of even more transparency if it works. We'll see.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 12, 2019 17:34:27 GMT
My suggestion would be you will gain a bit of detail and drive but loose depth, texture and tonal quality imho
Wadia's I/V stages were legendary but still a quality pre brought more to the party
Worth a go for itch  |
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Post by MartinT on Nov 12, 2019 18:18:59 GMT
Interesting thoughts, Tony. It's a trade-off between the Pass' obvious great drive to the power amp versus the needless complexity of a two-box preamp. I will try it provided I can secure the Burson, which looks like a very nice unit indeed. The XLR version has no volume control and accepts XLR input, using the better of the LKS outputs.
First, I have to work out how to do a bank transfer to Canada.
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Post by MartinT on Nov 13, 2019 20:36:48 GMT
I've made the deal and this nicely made piece of Oz equipment will be on its way to me from Canada shortly. A Burson Audio AB-160 XLR unity gain line buffer.  I have no idea if this is going to work, but the essence of it is that the LKS DAC has a digital volume control based on 32-bit data words inside the ES9038 chips. Therefore there is no data loss at low volumes. However, the LKS doesn't drive my power amp very well - the sound lacks the welly that my system delivers via the Pass preamp. But the Pass is a full featured two box preamp being used with a single input and providing volume adjustment. What if I could buffer the LKS at unity (or low) gain to drive the power amp hopefully as well as the Pass? That's what I'll find out soon enough. |
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Post by julesd68 on Nov 13, 2019 21:18:50 GMT
I'll be interested to see how this works out ...
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Post by MartinT on Nov 14, 2019 20:26:53 GMT
I tried a few permutations of USB arrangement at the back of the Asus and I've settled on two ifi iSilencers plugged into spare sockets with the AudioQuest Carbon USB going into its own socket. It's a squeeze as the ifi units are quite wide but it all fits OK. Playing a very sibilant recording I know well shows it's working optimally - less sibilance than before.
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