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Post by Clive on Jun 24, 2024 16:12:34 GMT
I now have 2 DAC cables. A 0.2m iPolex and a 3m gnodal. I saw a nice price on an a supposed opened but unused gnodal. With some burn in on the gnodal I find I prefer it to the iPolex (thank you Martin!). My scenario is different to some hereas I’m running a pair of 10gtek media converters powered by Supercap power supplies, the media converters feed Ethernet to my R26.
The iPolex is better than the very good Cisco AOC but it’s a little uneven in that not all instruments are improved and vocals can be a trace subdued, yet the sound overall is excellent. What the gnodal brings is a more upfront and intimate sound with very clear definition and placement for all instruments. The music somehow just drops into place. Really excellent.
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Post by Clive on Jun 19, 2024 11:12:17 GMT
Effectively are we now doing something very similar to using a switch but just via a protocol converter vs switching signals/cables? So simpler than a switch. Agreed, but remember this only works because the EtherREGEN has an extremely good, low noise flip-flop at its feed to the SFP cage, further enhanced with an external clock. It also has the galvanic isolation moat. The DAC cable is going to pass this through hopefully unmangled. Since we are using our EtherREGENs 'backwards', from B to A side (because it only has one SFP cage), it's still not as low noise as it might be. This is where I look forward to EtherREGEN Gen 2, because we'll be able to use it right-way-round with an SFP cage on the B side and further improved noise levels. I’m not using an EtherREGEN (yet) but I hear similar results. When I have more miles on the DAC I’ll swap back to the AOC. I have been using the Tara Labs track. |
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Post by Clive on Jun 19, 2024 10:54:27 GMT
Presumably what we are now doing with the DAC cable vs AOC is to forego the galvanic isolation of fibre for a direct cable connection. This trades off isolation vs jitter from lasers etc.
Effectively are we now doing something very similar to using a switch but just via a protocol converter vs switching signals/cables? So simpler than a switch.
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Post by Clive on Jun 17, 2024 17:47:34 GMT
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Post by Clive on Jun 15, 2024 10:15:38 GMT
I see the gnodal…4 available, 1 sold 😀
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Post by Clive on Jun 15, 2024 9:19:37 GMT
Just a quick note: I tried finding a uGreen DAC cable but they don't do one. One cable arriving is a gnodal and the other a Cisco compatible, both SFP+ DACs. Is this the Cisco compatible one? www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BY8GGHMJ?ref=emc_s_m_5_i_atc&th=1It’s interesting that some others from the same company are a third to a half the price….they vary quite a bit but aren’t expensive. |
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Post by Clive on Jun 15, 2024 8:10:54 GMT
I’m super interested to know how the DAC cable works out…easily available and low prices, my sort of thing!
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Post by Clive on Jun 14, 2024 16:58:09 GMT
Which CAT level are you guys using?
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Post by Clive on Jun 10, 2024 14:02:18 GMT
My two racks are about a 18 inches clear of the side wall. I’m prefer this as each rack has a TT on top, I find that a TT too close to a wall boundary can pick up vibrations. Possibly this would be the case too with electronics but to a lesser extent. Not something that I ever thought about. The more I learn the more I find I don't know It won’t make a difference in every case but if you sit or stand near a boundary, often you perceive a significant boost in bass energy. My room is particularly problematic as it’s nearly square (except for a bay window) and the ceiling height is half the room length (very bad too). Standing waves have needed a lot of work in this room. |
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Post by Clive on Jun 10, 2024 8:05:16 GMT
My two racks are about a 18 inches clear of the side wall. I prefer this as each rack has a TT on top, I find that a TT too close to a wall boundary can pick up vibrations. Possibly this would be the case too with electronics but to a lesser extent.
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Post by Clive on Jun 5, 2024 19:24:59 GMT
Just to qualify this, i voted for the last one. i work from home and go into my office 1 day a week. My teenage kids are always in. I cant listen to music while i work because it breaks my train of thought and concentration so i just dont or i dont get anything done. When ive finished work my teenage sods are all in shouting and bawling and making a row, so the only time i get to sit down infront of the main system when there isnt loads of noise is usually saturday and sunday mornings before anyone is up. So, when cooking or mooching around on an evening, there is usually a youtube playlist on either my phone or my wifes phone. Or if sat down later, ill use my b&w p7 cans and the phone with tidal. Closed back so i cant hear whatever shite is on the telly. And for my once weekly commute i use public transport, so a couple of hours using my old sennheiser momentum 2 over ear cans while sat on the bus. My tale of woe is probably exactly the same as most people who have noisy obnoxious little gits in the house, but its wether you accept it and find another way other than the main system to enjoy music. And actually when you strip it back to bare bones, the genesis of the obsession will have been hearing something on a radio however many years ago... tapping my foot on a bus with some cans on is no different in essence than tapping my foot sat on my sofa in front of some wooden boxes in my living room.. Your tale of woe reminds me of my strange situation when we had teenage kids. Our house has 4 floors…3 floors plus a cellar. My listening room is in the cellar. I used to get complaints about my loud music from our kids who were on the top floor. It’s one way to stay young! |
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Post by Clive on Jun 5, 2024 8:31:57 GMT
It’s good to see Sophie Zelmani referenced. I lost track of her after 1995 so I’ll now listen to her later music. I still have her CD single You and Him, it’s a high energy track which is great fun. open.qobuz.com/track/5042623The track is from her first (eponymous) album. |
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Post by Clive on Jun 3, 2024 15:09:17 GMT
I voted for the middle option - sound quality matters but I can enjoy at different levels. Depending on my environment and of course mood I have different requirements for the genre and artists I select. Driving can be one mood of music, browsing or reading and listening to my main system is yet another scenario. My main system is used for when I want to be immersed in the music, perhaps at times wanting to be a little fooled into feeling I’m at a performance.
Whilst driving or reading I can play music that changes or at least develops my mood. With my main system I really need to be in the mood to listen before switching the system on. This is partially due to the room being dedicated to listening but also it’s because the sound is so immersive that I have to want it, I can’t easily switch moods to get into it. My mood will develop in a positive way as I listen if I select suitable music.
Quality matters but more from there being nothing unpleasant, eg unnatural sibilance, droning bass, piercing treble. From my main system I need a certain level of dynamics & life, imaging too. Radio and car sound qualities are less demanding but again it’s more about there being nothing particularly bad. I can more easily forgive sins of omission. I chase “perfection” far less than I used to, indeed not at all nowadays. I’m content with my streaming and two record decks. Between the three sources I have great options for my listening pleasure. Yes, it is about the music. I can still be analytical when helping someone tweak or assess a new design, that’s fun in its own way.
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Post by Clive on May 26, 2024 11:37:16 GMT
I hope to come down for ASBO…all the way from Cheshire, it’s very much area I used to frequent when working, staying at The Wellington Arms on the A33 by Stratfield Turgis. It’s in late sun holiday time for retirees but there’s a decent chance I’ll be around. I could bring my EWA pre/power amps or some other of Colin’s creations.
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Post by Clive on May 21, 2024 8:52:32 GMT
Is Bubble being put off by the switch ? Pull the switch out and try again ? It works fine without the switch. Renderer recognised on network through the switch, but seems the switch is blocking something. Trying to reset manually, but looks like I might need a cable to get into the software When I had my music server on a subnet elsewhere in the house and the streamer and Bubble on the main network direct into the router I had similar issues. In the end I moved the server to the main network. Edited…because I originally quoted the wrong post |
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Post by Clive on May 17, 2024 23:40:13 GMT
I’ll take a listen. The closest I have is the live double 10” - Christmas at the Patti - recorded in 72. It’s a lot of fun though the Man content isn’t as much as it should have been.
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Post by Clive on Apr 29, 2024 11:51:43 GMT
Are those internal covers a form of shielding? They don’t look to be copper but might still be for RF.
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Post by Clive on Apr 25, 2024 7:43:02 GMT
I’ve stopped using NOS mode as it will occasionally trip my preamp with spurious high frequencies that the filters are intended to prevent.
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Post by Clive on Apr 19, 2024 20:47:35 GMT
I built a prototype A40 and it's an exceptional amplifier. Been playing around with Cols designs for decades and used to retail them in the late 80's. I've just completed one of the new 3 state kit amps, configured as a hybrid push pull and SECA design and it's running in nicely and sounding beautiful. Presumably Paul it was your prototype A40 that had photos on the net. They helped get me hooked. I’ve been listening to Colin’s new 30W A/B amp. It’s ridiculously good. |
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Post by Clive on Apr 4, 2024 19:09:07 GMT
Why would you want physical Pete ? Party because I like stuff (as people who have visited me soon realise!), but mainly, and especially in the case of LPs, I like the ritual of it. To many it doesn’t matter but to others physical provides some soul. There is no right or wrong, just preferences. |
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