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Ok so I've been extremely impressed with my Mutec MC-3+ USB since I got it. Since it gave such a large improvement I've been wondering whether an external master clock would give an even larger improvement? I've been looking for solutions under the $3,000 mark and this kind of rules out Mutec own REF10 OCXO master clock. The Musical Paradise Cesium Atomic Clock looks rather nice and being black it can easily be hidden away out of sight under my entertainment unit. I'd love to get the experiences of others trying external master clocks with the MC3+USB as I'm trying to figure out if it's worth the expense. My Abbas Audio DAC does not have a dedicated BNC input for word clock syncing rather pulling timing from the PCM data in the coax connection.

Hi, I am currently setting up 2 PC's and 5 OS systems for a one on one comparison between sound quality and software. I tried a USB hub between the 2 PC's and my DAC but the hub is blocking the handshake between DAC and PC. I was wondering if anyone has tried this as well. I like to connect both PC's to the DAC without having to swap the cables. I am not sure if there is some control chip in, USB hubs, that is preventing the handshake. Any advise here?

I do not have a clear idea of where to go, starting this thread, since similar threads already exsist. But I like it to become an exchange of things tried and compared. A bit of a technical know how hub and a try before you buy gathering. I currently have 2 identical PC hardware systems (non hardware optimizations) and 5 operating systems, tweaked and non tweaked. I have the following comparison in mind: OS vs OS: Win 8.1 vs Win 8.1 CAD optimized Win 8.1 vs Server 2012 R2 Win 8.1 CAD optimized vs Server 2012 R2 Core Win 8.1 CAD optimized vs Server 2012 R2 AO Server 2012 R2 vs Server 2012 R2 Core Server 2012 R2 Core vs Server 2012 R2 Core AO If people are living near Sydney, they are welcome to message me for a meet up. I don't mind to organize a listen session for comparing OS systems or to have a chat about how things work or to try something new. I am only short on Phills AO script and hope to find a trial/temp or borrowed version to be able to include it in the listen session. The players I use are JRiver and JPlay (local and remote) Kernel Streaming via USB After finding the optimal OS and tweaks I like to start tweaking the bios and do another comparision. The step after that, would be hardware optimizations and comparison. All in all, a multi session comparison learning path, which I will use this thread for, to keep track and inform you guys. I hope to get more people to join in, so this does not becomes a one guy opinion. More to come on this. Update: I am going to place a couple of links and information that has been gathered in this topic here at the top and also some of my findings in tweaking down the PC. I have updated the Excel sheet about Windows services with my new findings. There a 4 Running services vital for Windows Server, and there are 4 services vital to run and control JRiver. This list is based on the list made by Black Viper. This minial of services is based on a PC with no Wifi http://www.blackviper.com/service-configurations/black-vipers-windows-8-1-service-configurations/ Here is a link with a free script to optimize Windows 8 and 8.1 and also disable the GUI during playback. You can find the scripts if you scroll down the window inside the page. http://www.computeraudiodesign.com/computer-setup/ Here is another free script with an Audiophile Server option posted by PXK http://www.windowsxlive.net/livetuner-2-0-improved-optimizations-with-more-features/ Version 3 posted by nothing 1 http://www.windowsxlive.net/livetuner/ Here is a link for another Audiophile player which also does a lot of tweaks to your PC mentioned by acg. http://www.phasure.com/index.php?board=1.0 The interesting aspect of people using this player is that they have under clocked their CPU for the best result. Something I like to try out. Here is a link for another Audiophile player mentioned by nik.d http://oryaaaaa.world.coocan.jp/bughead/index.html Here is a link to another Audiophile player mentioned by 24bit, and one that I can recommend as well. http://www.daphile.com Here is the link for JPlay. http://jplay.eu/ Here is the link for JRiver http://www.jriver.com/download.html Here is the link for the Audiophile Optimizer http://www.highend-audiopc.com/optimizer.html The following links are all computer related Turn on Auto Logon: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324737 The Difference between Server GUi and Server Core: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831786.aspx Changing IRQ priorities: http://www.petri.co.il/optimize-windows-8-audio-setup-jriver-media-center.htm# Turn on Wifi on Windows Server: http://blogs.technet.com/b/blainbar/archive/2012/09/14/getting-your-windows-server-2012-to-use-wireless-not-best-practice-but.aspx Turn on/off Server Features using Comands: http://blogs.technet.com/b/yungchou/archive/2013/12/19/windows-server-2012-r2-installation-options-and-features-on-demand-part-2-of-5.aspx List of Packages that come with Windows Server: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn452400.aspx Using command to tweak Services: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh849849.aspx Using PowerShell to tweak Services: http://4sysops.com/archives/managing-services-the-powershell-way-part-3/ The following links are worth to read if you are planning to tweak things yourself. Using a dual boot System is highly recommended and if you screw up your registry the ability to fix it from within another OS is a feast. Installing a dual boot system:http://windows.microsoft.com/en-au/windows/install-multiple-operating-system-multiboot#1TC=windows-7 Fix your Registry from a dual boot system: http://superuser.com/questions/145493/how-to-edit-registry-from-another-os-boot-up You have to change C: for D: because in a Dual Boot you current OS will always be C:, and you try to fix the registry on D:

I've been looking around for short (10-30cm) "type B" premade USB cables, but haven't found any.. although there are a lot around for mini and micro connecters, I haven’t seen any for the chunkier connector as used by a lot of outboard USB DAC units. Anybody seen a source for these? The closest I have seen are adaptors this, but this is maybe too short (I've ordered some anyway): http://www.ebay.com....tm/330458931183 this is so I can avoid having coils of messy USB cable lying about next to gear that is quite close together, or mounted inside an enclosure.

Has any one purchased one of these? Looking for thoughts and experiences. If find these units interesting as they utilise Burr Brown PCM5142 DACs rather than the popular Sabre chips P.S I'm not a fan of the Sabre sound. Link to the Emotiva website showing the Big and Little Ego Dac/amps. https://emotiva.com/products/emotiva/dacs Cheers Guys.

Hi, I currently use an iphone 4s, Neutron and a pair off Senheisser IE80 earbuds, but I would like to get rid of the iphone due to various reasons, and replace it either with a DAP, or an Android mobile rig. The budget is $250-$350 for a DAP or a mobile USB DAC and Amp, that works with an Android phone. Any suggestions about what is possible here? I am not really into head phone listening, but it has its uses, and I have to say that I am impressed with the iphone, Neutron and IE80 combination.

With the computer becoming more common as a digital source, and all the USB DAC's that pop up everywhere, the wait is for the first wave of multichannel DAC's. HDMI is now the only option for multichannel HD audio, at this point, except for some professional sound cards, unless you like to use your PC as an analog source. I came across a couple of reads and possibilities which really uses the strength of the PC to it's benefit. http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?13352-The-***Unofficial***-Multichannel-DAC-Thread Home Theatre http://www.acousticfrontiers.com/201366how-to-replace-your-home-theater-pre-pro-with-a-htpc/ Stereo http://www.computera...usb-dac-review/

After going through a process of software comparison and tweaks, I have come to the opinion that you can get all "Audiophile accepted" software players to output the same results. And there is only so much you need to tweak inside software to get to that result, where you can easily can get lost in all the tweaker options that are available. When it comes to hardware, there are almost as many options for upgrades but it's a lot more expensive to try them all out compared to tweaking your software. What I want to do with starting this thread is to find out which ones have been confirmed to work within which setup and how this has been tested. Ideally it would be great to organize some gathering (Audio LAN party) where different type of hardware can be tested or tried. I do have a PPA USB card where I cannot find a difference in SQ. Tested between 2 identical PC using the same software setup. I also had a short change to try an Audio Audiophilleo in a 1 PC setup. I didn't find a difference in SQ on this occasion either. I am using an Oppo 105 as a DAC and used CD quality files for playback. Where I am interested in at this time is to find out the influence of the power supply and the difference between a high and low power system. Please let us try to avoid any heated discussion about cables. If you want to have a debate about cables I am sure there other threads where you can do this. People can make up their own mind.

Hello everyone,I have KEF LS50 speakers connected to Cambridge Azur 651A amplifier. I am listening music via my Macbook and through a USB cable connected to the amplifier. I want to use my Macbook at 7-8 meters away from the amplifier without loosing any sound quality so I need a solution for that problem. I read that after 3-5 meters usb cable length the sound quality drops. There are some people suggesting to use USB hubs but I am not sure that is going to work or not?Any solutions, suggestions and comments?Volkan

Pedja has designed a board for feeding the AyaII or any TDA1541A DAC with simultaneous mode which allows the TDA1541a to receive discrete left / right data to attenuate jitter and glitch pulses. The board will be populated so it looks relatively easy for a DIY novice like me to wire up. The board uses the XMOS USB receiver chip, isolation, dual clocks, reclocking, inverted data options for dual differential designs and looks to include firmware options for right justified output needed for the Burr Brown PCM63/1702/1704 family. The design shows the usual excellence Pedja is known for. It looks like it will be around $250 landed . https://www.audialonline.com/topics/asynchronous-usb-to-simultaneous-data-interest-check/

HI All, I have just acquired an Auralic Aires LE and I thought it would be a good idea to start up a dedicated thread so other users can share their experiences, tips and tricks. I will take possession early next week and before I do I have been thinking of transferring my music collection onto a new HDD, should I buy a HDD with it's own power supply or should I buy one that uses the Auralic's power? I'm guessing buying one with its own power would reduce any interference. I will be connecting the Aires LE to my Chord Hugo DAC. I'm planning on using the Digital Coaxial over the USB, should I be considering the USB path? If so, why? Thanks for looking.

Marantz NA 11 S1 review Marantz has been the everyday man’s route to accessible hifi at a decent price for a while. With their equipment, you pay more than what you would at Costco or Harvey Norman, but you are far short of the stratospheric money that you would have to fork out for more esoteric gear, and yet you get a big proportion of the sound quality. A lot of this has to do with Mr Ken Ishiwata, the music genius who sprinkles his special magic on most of their range, and you get some rather fine equipment over the past 60 years. Here in their 60th Year, the Reference “11” series has a new member in the form of the Audiophile Network player / DAC – NA 11 S1. That’s a mouthful but your jaw will remain open when you sit down to listen to what this baby can do. Some links to the technical blurb: And some tips from Marantz about using digital music and their USB port: http://m.marantz.fr/DocumentMaster/UK/Marantz_Whitepaper_PC-Audio_NA-11S1.pdf And the info brochure: http://www.marantz.asia/ap/pdf/Mz_NA11S1_Productinfo_S_PDF_EN.pdf NA-11S1 PREMIUM Network Audio Player This latest rebirth of the Premium 11 Series not only sees the total reinvigoration of both player and amplifier but also the creation of an entirely new S11 separate – the NA-11S1 Network Audio Player. The NA-11S1 Premium Network Audio player is arguably the most advanced, next-generation player there has ever been. Its introduction to this year’s Premium collection is a true milestone in the Marantz history and is a momentous occasion for every audiophile. Why? Because finally, it is now possible to enjoy new media on the highest of levels, by utilizing the increasingly available high resolution downloads it creates ‘studio master’ quality right in your own living room. It produces such breath-taking audio quality because inside it includes the High Current Audiophile D/A converter DSD1792 as well as a Marantz original DSP and Digital Filter PEC777- a high-end algorithm previously used only in professional recording studios - we call it Marantz Musical Mastering. This type of filtering retains greater detail for an even wider sound stage and a perfect balance. Its analogue audio circuits feature Marantz HDAM®-SA2 and HDAM®, and the Toroidal transformer ensures that there’s always power in store the instant it’s needed, while the rigid copper-plated chassis with 5mm thick aluminum top cover minimize vibration and interference. Importantly, selectable digital filters allow you to tune the sound as you prefer. The USB-B port works in asynchronous mode and supports not only 192kHz / 24bits but also the DSD 2.8MHz and 5.6MHz for maximized versatility. You can play FLAC HD 192/24 files, WAV 192/24 files, Internet Radio and Streaming Services support via Ethernet, and AirPlay Music Streaming from iTunes or iDevices – as well as many other file types. It is also DLNA 1.5 certified, so Android integration is easy, and the USB-A port on the front panel also makes playback from an iPod/iPhone/iPad or USB devices just as simple. This player has the lot. What more could you dream of? The network hub The NA-11S1 gives you access to an unlimited number of music sources. You can play music from your own collections stored on PC / NAS or enjoy the world of internet radio. With AirPlay you can stream from your iTunes library or any iDevice such as an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch. All contents will be processed by Marantz Musical Mastering and carefully forwarded by the high-quality output stage. Marantz Musical Mastering The Marantz digital filtering with Noise Shaper and Dithering gives you two filter characteristics for CD and any other digital input. This filtering effectively eliminates digitalization errors, to ensure wide sound stage, perfect balance, pin-pint detail, and rich harmonics. Superior D/A converter The unit’s high-current audiophile DAC runs on 384kHz / 24 bit for the purest possible conversion of the digital signal processed by the Marantz DSP PEC777f3. Oversized Toroidal transformer The oversized transformer guarantees a high energy reserve to supply every power demand with ease and speed. The result is every detail and every nuance is faithfully and accurately reproduced. Superior Line Out terminals Constructed from highly pure copper and plated with gold, the NA-11S1’s line output terminals ensure long-term, highly reliable contact to transport the sensitive audio signal to the next stage of amplification. USB-A input (front) The front USB port gives you easy access to your music stored on portable devices and makes use of the NA-11S1’s high quality audio stage. And when you play a device it also recharges. Low-noise LCD Thanks to the high-contrast LCD playlists and other information is easy to read even from a distance, while the low-noise aspect ensures that the LCD never influences the sensitive audio signal. Solid metal chassis The 5mm aluminium top-cover and copper-plated chassis, reduces vibration to an absolute minimum. Also, this solid chassis provides a low ground potential for every point of the player. System control terminal System Terminal to connect the SA-11S3 and PM-11S3 so you can control the set-up with the Marantz remote App. Remote controller Easy operation of any function including the volume of the Marantz amplifier. Main Features - Premium-quality audio player for any digital media - Internet Radio and Streaming Service support (Spotify & last.fm) via Ethernet - AirPlay Music Streaming for easy playback of the entire music library from iDevices or iTunes - DAC Mode with three digital Inputs (USB-B, Coaxial, Optical) for standard resolution and high-definition audio streaming - USB-B Asynchronous Mode for minimized jitter and unadulterated audio streaming - Marantz Musical Mastering and high-quality DAC to reproduce music details naturally - DSD2.8 MHz file native playback via USB-B for SACD audio quality - ALAC (Apple Lossless), FLAC 192/24, WAV 192/24 files playback Some important technical info: High-current DSD1792 DAC chip Marantz Musical Mastering technology, which is currently used by professional recording studios, to deliver greater detail and more-balanced sound. A toroidal transformer supplies cleaner power to the onboard electronic circuits An armored 5mm-thick, copper-plated chassis to block and minimize external interferences XLR-type balanced audio output typically used by high-end hi-fi systems. Other key specifications: Coaxial and optical digital audio output RCA and XLR analog audio output Comes in black and gold 440 x 127 x 417mm (W x H x D) 14.6kg

Hi, New to the forum../ Simple question.. Is there such thing as an All-in-one system? I'm after a mid to large sized system that can play/has - Vinyl / CD's / USB / Bluetooth / 3.5mm output jack. Have found a couple small hifi systems on eBay but these have built in speakers with low wattage. Would prefer cabled speakers, preferable setup (1sub - 4/6 speakers) like a home theatre, but no necessary. Appreciate any links if such a thing exists. Am hoping to spend no more than $1000 ish. Cheers in advance

I have started a new system streaming from QNAP NAS using Roon. What is a good quality USB cable to use and how would that help?

Hi All, Over the last couple of years I've bought a few USB DACs (the bare circuit board kind) from eBay, and this is the head-to-head review. These DACs are all ready to be used, so apart from a case, they're fully functioning units. Here's the lineup: DAC 1: XMOS PCM5102 TDA1308 DAC 2: PCM 2704 (showing converter cable also used on DAC 5) DAC 3: PCM 2706 (X-DA4) DAC 4: PCM 5102A / BRAVO SA9227 (X-DA3) DAC 5: PCM 2704 (Modified) Test system The test system comprised of: 2012 Mac Air laptop running iTunes playing various media. It was running on battery power throughout the test. Cheap USB cables Test USB DAC boards TKD stepped attenuator volume control DIY interconnects (perhaps equivalent to $500+ commercial pair) 3-chassis 300B SET amp DIY copper stranded speaker cables Speakers comprising: RAAL ribbon super-tweeters (6dB crossover somewhere above 10kHz - tuned by ear) with teflon caps Coral Beta 8s in ported box run full-range Coral Beta 10s in sealed box to augment low end of 8's (6dB low-pass crossover somewhere in the upper bass) All the equipment in the system is very well run in, and I ran in all of the DAC boards (attached to my laptop / office system for weeks at a time, so they should be run in too. Test music 11:59 by Blondie, Down on the Corner by Credence Clearwater Revival and Elanor Rigby by The Beatles These songs test the speed of the system and also test how forgiving the system is of old and not-great recordings. The first two are both recordings that aren't great, either in the modern sense with beautiful recording the way Sting might record something, and they're not great in the purist sense like the high-end analog recordings from Nashville using those ridiculously expensive high-speed tape machines they used to use. If a piece of audio equipment makes two-thirds of recorded musical history unlistenable because of the recording equipment used then it has no place in my home. Dos Gardenias by Buena Vista Social Club This is a great test of imaging depth - the trumpet can sound like it's coming from 8-10m behind the system, despite there being a wall there. I've heard systems do this, so I know it's on the recording. Brothers in Arms by Dire Straights This takes the imaging depth test from Dos Gardenias and expands it to see how good the depth is on the left and right, and also what resolution there is. The best recreation of this recording I've heard on a system made the thunder sound real, revealed that there were multiple strikes occurring at once from different directions, and rendered the texture of them to be both deep and powerful and also crackling and brittle. If something passes the Dos Gardenias test then it gets tested on this track. Sultans of Swing by Dire Straights This song has very good pace, and is very neutral in terms of tonal balance. I've used this track for almost 20 years to design crossovers and have listened to it on high-end headphones as a reference during extended crossover fine-tuning sessions and it's burnt into my head. If you are aware of time passing during this song then your system is slow. Come Away From It by Ani Difranco This track is all about tenderness and delicacy. The track opens with very sparse instrumentation and Ani soulfully trying to sing her lover back from his drug addiction. If the system isn't able to communicate subtlety and nuance then this song is dull and boring, but if it is then it is deeply engaging. A system can have speed and imaging and still fall flat on its face with this one. High Roller by The Crystal Method This track has synth lines that have been overdriven and processed with real subtlety, processed with expensive reverbs and spatial positioning plugins, layered up and then had huge breakbeats and deep sudden bass notes put over the top. If a system has problems with how it manages its power supply then it can take simple folk songs and sound wonderful, but this song will make it sound like mush. Being able to hear delicate textures located in one place in the stereo image while there are monstrous things happening elsewhere makes it obvious if something can't cope with complex music. I used to write electronic music so I'm particularly attune to hearing problems with this kind of music. Slam by Pendulum This track is an excellent test of both speed and complexity because it has all kinds of things in it that just stop. In the physical world when something gets hit it will continue to make noise for a time afterwards, even if the musician puts their hand on it to stop it making sound, the sound continues for a time. In electronic music this rule does not apply and the system should show that sounds are full on one millisecond and then the next they should be gone like they never existed. Systems that are good enough to pass the Crystal Method test can be shown to be weak on a song like this. In short, I want equipment that can do absolutely everything, because I want to be able to listen to whatever music I choose to, and appreciate the music for all of its attributes, not just some of them. Round one of listening I listened to the DACs in the order below for the first round. DAC 1: As this was the first DAC I'd tested and one I'd also spent over a year listening to, I pretty much just acclimatised myself with it. My impressions were that it wasn't very refined in terms of imaging, but did a good job overall. It wasn't stunning in speed, but not painfully slow either. I thought it was relatively good at subtlety and delicacy. Its tonal presentation was detailed but not etched, the information is there, but isn't unpleasant. This was a good DAC to compare the others with. DAC 3: This DAC was immediately disappointing playing Blondie, and my mind wandered off almost immediately. So to with Sultans of Swing. It had quite good imaging, and was relatively forgiving of the older recordings, but I couldn't live with this DAC and music sounding like it was trying to run knee-deep in goo. DAC 4: This DAC was quite significantly louder than the other two, so I had to adjust the volume quite significantly. This was quite a lot faster than the other two, and also bettered them in imaging, being forgiving of old recordings, and subtlety and delicacy. At this point I knew that this one had made it through to round two, that the others hadn't, and that perhaps nothing else might which would mean this was the winner. DAC 5: Slow. Painfully slow. Dire Straits have never been so resentful to play the next note, and the next, and the next. Like they know playing music is dragging them one step at a time on a slow march to their deaths. I'm perhaps being a bit dramatic, and my notes suggest that #5 was as slow as #3, but #3 didn't give me this sense of it, and I didn't bother directly comparing, who cares if this comes last or second last? Unfortunately, it had better imaging than the others, and was as good or better at everything else. What a pity, it's not you it's me, goodbye now. DAC 2: I left this one to last because I had to change USB cables as it had the different connector and I don't have a converter. I was completely prejudiced about this DAC because of its size, lack of filtering capacitors and other such things, so I was quite surprised when it turned out to be just as fast as #4. It was just as forgiving, and potentially had better imaging. In terms of tonal balance it seemed to be slightly more laid back than #4, but I could have been wrong. It proved me wrong and was the only other one to make it through to round two. Round two of listening I swapped straight back to DAC 4 after DAC 2 and struggled to really pin point huge differences. I contemplated going back and forwards to get a winner, but I think I'm going to go a different direction with this review and call them both winners, but for different reasons. Some technical discussion In order to tell the difference between DAC 4 and DAC 2, we need to understand what we're looking at here. DAC 2 is a single chip and a timing crystal. It has almost no other circuitry on the board - nothing to filter the USB power coming from the laptop (which is probably filthy with all kinds of digital noise on it), nothing to 'protect' it from the outside world in a way. This chip has to talk to the computer over USB and deal with all the transfer of audio from the laptop to the chip, then it has to take that audio and turn it from digital to analog, and then it has to amplify that audio so it can go through my volume control, down my interconnect cables, and into my power amp. It has to do all that with the same power source, so when one of those devices does something the others will all suffer because the power supply will inevitably be contaminated slightly. DAC 4 is quite different. It has the BRAVO SA9227 chip that handles the USB connection to the computer, but then the Digital to Analog conversion and amplification of the output is handled by the PCM5102A chip. To add further complexity, there is another chip there that is a small data buffer, which handles the duties of receiving the audio data in bursts, but supplying them to the DAC chip in a steady stream. Separating these functions to specialist chips can mean that each chip is less stressed, and also less impacted by other things. Think of trying to pat the dog with one hand while the other hand repeatedly throws up and catches a bowling ball. You might be good at both activities separately, but doing both at the same time means you're not going to do a good job at either one. This also has other chips and components on the circuit board to filter the power coming in from the USB, which will also provide a level of protection between the different chips as well. In this sense, this is why these two DACs are both winners, but perhaps for different purposes. If I was looking for a USB DAC to plug in my headphones into my laptop, the tiny DAC 2 has many advantages over the larger DAC 4, but if you were looking for something to drive an amp (especially a valve amp) or if you were looking for something to use inside a chassis with some other circuitry (for example if you wanted to add a valve output stage) then the larger circuit board would be useful for mounting and soldering things onto etc. Round three of listening As the power supply filtering is such a different between the two DACs, I decided to connect DAC 4 with the USB external power supply module from AQVOX. It improved the sound slightly, which made me wonder what it would do for the smaller DAC 2, but unfortunately the USB socket types are different and I don't have the required adapters, so I couldn't try it. Enter DAC 6 At this point I wanted to return to a baseline, and plugged back in my current (second-best) DAC. It's the circuitboard from a SoundBlaster Live 24bit External mounted in a chassis with a custom valve output stage. I've been using this setup forever, and only replaced it when I got serious and built my current best DAC, which was assembled with electrical tape (literally) and got taken apart when I moved house once and hasn't been put back together again. My impressions on the DAC 6 were that it rendered textures much better than the other DACs. The strings in Elanor Rigby were much more real, other instrumentation was similar. The imaging was much worse with this DAC, it passed Dos Gardenias, but the thunder in Brothers In Arms was distant but all mushed together. Overall it felt like it was less harsh - it still had high end detail but you felt that it could be turned up a lot more than the other DACs. More technical discussion The DAC 6 effortlessness and rendering of texture could be that the DAC chip on the SoundBlaster circuit board is driving the input to my valve output stage directly - not having to drive a volume control like I made all the other DAC boards do. It may seem trivial to drive a volume control, and electrically they're not a particularly difficult load, but if you're a 1cm x 0.5cm chip that has to decode USB, convert Digital to Analog, and amplify that signal then you might not still be meeting your 93dB signal-to-noise spec, or 112dB dynamic range specifications. In hifi, everything matters at least a little bit, and the better your system the more audible the little things are. Hope you enjoyed this article! Kye.

Hi there, I am setting my system up to include an OPPO 105D to fulfil the role of disc player and DAC. I have seen some nice USB cable advertised in the Classifieds section and was wondering if I need a "powered" USB cable to the OPPO 105D or not. Most of the USB cables advertised (specifically for audio use) are NOT powered, so I assume they would be ok, but just wanted to check. Many thanks!

TV viewing in total darkness can cause eye strain and some ambient lighting will help relieve this. For folks who are interested to add bias lighting to their TV, here's something you can try: http://peteswrite.blogspot.sg/2014/03/creating-ambient-lighting-for-tv-viewing.html

I ordered some power and speaker cables, to go with the new Grandinote amp and DAC I am getting from Mike Lenehan, from Keith at KLE. He said no problem, I will bring some over and you can see how they go. Also, he mentioned, I have been thinking about a USB cable for a while, do you mind if I borrow your Mac-book as a source to develop it. I said sure. When finished, and bring the Mac-book back, can I bring it over, as well as the other cables, and see what you think. I said sure - should be interesting. Before going on I need to disclose I know Keith, having been with him at many GTG's, he is a fellow member of the Queesnslnd Audio Club, and have been with him during many listening sessions tweaking the Lenehan Audio ML5's, and hearing what his cables do. OK - power cables easily better than the standard ones I had in my system. Very analogue like and more revealing - sort of like a layer of grunge removed. But its hardly a fair comparison, as I said the cables I had were simply standard HW store stuff. The speaker cables were more interesting. They were replacing 10 year old Lenehan Audio Ribbonflex. Sound stage widened, much more harmonically rich and analogue like, more depth. Spoke to Mike and it didn't surprise him, things have moved on a lot in his cables - his new ones are a lot better. Trouble is at the moment Mikes cables have trouble with the Grandinote amp that Mike needs to sort out. But now to the USB. In the future when I have the Grandinote I will not be using USB - with that DAC you either stream or direct connect a USB Drive. At the moment I am using a small Curios from an ISO Regen into a Direct Stream. Generally the Curios has the edge on other cables. Well I was stonkered - here Keith's Cable was up there. Again more analogue like, the sound stage widened with greater depth. It was more organic. Was it better - maybe the Curious had some better detail - I don't know. Rawl99 calls texture and a organic type sound better harmonic resolution so maybe that's what it had. What I can say for sure is its one fine USB Cable. Like all things in Audio best to listen to it first to make up your mind - and do it blind if you are into that sort of thing. And please if you think cables make no difference watch the following where Rob Watts explains things that you can barely measure the difference between even with the best state of the art equipment are clearly audible, things other engineers say obviously would make no difference: Also some say - regarding power cables - with all the cable before how can the last bit make any difference? Does a filter in the cable make no difference? As Rob mentioned above about experiments with cables - power and otherwise - RFI effects of different cables, again barely if at all measurable, make clearly audible differences. And if you want to hear it for yourself all the cables will be at the GTG on the 4th of August at Mike Lenehans. Thanks Bill

I went into Myer Maroochydore today to see some of the current Panasonic HD TV sets in use. They had a L55ET50A which I persuaded a salesman to let me try out for a while. Unfortunately all these stores tend to daisy chain their sets to broadcast SD commercial TV through some antiquated and tortuous video plumbing with poor quality amplifiers and cables (probably hangovers from the analogue era), so any assessment of picture quality can only be comparative between the various brands and models so lumbered with such poor quality source imagery. To get around this I brought along a portable USB HDD with a range of different video files and still images to try out. My USB powered HDD required 2 USB ports to boot up (using supplemental power as I expected) but was then recognised by the TV. Both my FAT32 and NTFS partitions worked ok. As I use a Mac computer, I tried out a few MOV H264 files that I had made myself. A P&S 640x480 file was pretty well unwatchable scaled up to full screen (as expected but worth a try), although there is the option to view at original size - so best seen on a PC screen anyway. A bunch of 720p H264 MP4s played OK, but as these had been down sampled from 1080p to upload to YouTube, they did not look that great either. I had a 1080p MOV straight out of Final Cut Pro X, but the TV would not recognise this. A shame, as that was the equal of broadcast HD. I then tried out a variety of older AVI format DIVX and XVID type movie encodes from DVD. As long as the bit rate was up there (i.e. video file of at least 1.5Gb or bigger) they were acceptable to watch at armchair distance, although some macro blocking and artefacts were seen. Finally I tried out a few 720p MKV files at 4Gb or bigger encoded from blu ray. These all looked great on the screen and upscaled quite well. I imagine a good quality blue ray player with original disc would produce stunning results on this set but I was unable to try this out. I did not try out the 3D capability either. The menu file navigation system on the set was able to move about a bunch of folders within folders and then the files within those ok. I then tried out viewing photos on the TV. I was immediately disappointed to find that when viewing JPG images, the file structure is totally ignored. The display just dumped thumbs of every JPG image found on the HDD with no way to discriminate and only see a small collection in one folder. This is a severe limitation as I had hoped to be able to have my entire photo library available to selectively view, maybe there are options to deal with this, does anyone know? (The inelegant solution is to load up a thumb drive with those pics desired to be seen). When viewing the JPG files however, the results were exceptionally good. The source images were all well over the 1920x1080 size (many were 21MP from my Canon DSLR) and these downscaled for the screen and displayed extremely well. I am a photographer and being able to view my photos on such a large screen is actually quite important to me. So thumbs up for this, if only the folders containing the images were respected by the TV viewer firmware. I have been looking more into these sets and now will probably wait until June for the release here of another model, which has even better specs, although a slightly smaller screen size. The Panasonic TH-L47WT50A looks to be my choice. Anyone have comments on the above?

Some time ago i received a USB spdif converter from @NKMA (thanks!). While trying it out i noticed that the output coax was nice but the optical wasnt the best sounding. I subseqently broke the dust cover for the optical port so a fix was on the cards. The long and short of it: 1. The stock optical transmitter (TX141L) did not match the part number on the PCB. Although similar, the items are not identical (says the datasheets). 2. TX147 installed. No discernible difference now between optical / coax. 3. Transmit power and / or port design might have something to do with it. (The port was different on the stock item to replacement transmitter). If anyone is using one of these, check the transmitter. The model reference is on the back of the plastic housing. If its not a TX147 (and especially if its a TX141L), there might be gains to be had with swapping the optical transmitter. I went with the option of a removable dust plug.

A new and improved version of the Curious usb cable has been released (Curious Evolved), has anyone heard it yet? How does it compare to the original?

So this was a little relatively inexpensive experiment. It’s a Raspberry Pi audio server. The main OS is RuneAudio (http://www.runeaudio.com) which is a web based OS. Once the OS is installed onto the RPi you can control it all via a web browser that is on your home network. It works with an iPhone/iPad or anything that has web browsing capabilities. What’s great is that it’s freeware so your setup costs are really low. While it has a headphone socket for audio output, I wouldn’t recommend it at all, the quality is really low. It really excels when it is connected to USB DAC. I’m fortunate enough to have an excellent DAC built into my Amp, which is why I tried this experiment. It plays pretty much anything - MP3, AAC, AIFF, FLAC. Apparently it will play DSD but I haven’t really tried that because the music I mostly listen to isn’t available in that format. I have a large (128gb) USB drive plugged directly into it with the majority of my music. It will also connect to a NAS music server as well. But I mainly use it to stream Tidal and through a bit of experimenting it works really well. You’ll need an additional piece of software as RuneAudio doesn’t natively support Tidal, it does support Spotify, but I don’t use that so I can’t vouch for how all that works. For the iPhone I use an app called McConnect which fully supports Tidal. There’s a free version which works fine, but I got rid of the ads and went for the main version, and its reasonably cheap at under $10nz The RuneAudio OS is really quite easy to install and even for a complete novice I had it sorted quickly. Side note: I did have issues with the wifi but the RuneAudio forum guys were really helpful and I had it resolved quickly. If you have a USB DAC or input into your system it is a cheap little experiment to try. A raspberry Pi 3 board is around $60-70, I bought a complete starter kit from PBTech for $100ish. Which comes with a Micro SD Card, power supply and case. It does have Wifi built in, but if you want a stronger signal I would recommend a USB Wifi Dongle which are around $20+ Once I had that running then I started to experiment with accessories, every audio enthusiasts dream. I started with a Wireworld Ultraviolet 7 USB Cable which a: looks cool and b: helps get the best signal out of the Raspberry Pi. I upgraded the power supply to iFi Power Pack which is specifically designed for the Raspberry Pi, that has made the most significant difference. It may not look like much but it takes the background noise to virtually nothing. I also went for a iFi iPurifier 2 USB connector which galvanises the signal so it is a strong and as pure as possible. How does it all sound now? Stunning - Tidal will play FLAC master files and the clarity is great and the added accessories just help that clarity even more. You probably don’t need the iPurifier but a good USB cable and the iFi Power pack are well worth the investment. I think in total (minus the iPurifier) I spent around $300. So for sound for pound so to speak its a winner in my books.

Item: Pro-Ject Phono Box USB V Location: Hobart Price: $150 Item Condition: like new Reason for selling: no longer required Payment Method: Pickup - Cash, Paypal, COD Only Extra Info: This unit hasn't been used as it wasn't suitable for my purposes. Pictures:

Item: Intona IsolatorLocation: Glen Waverley, VictoriaItem condition description: Excellent.Price and price conditions: $195Reason for selling: No longer usedPayment Methods: Paypal (add 3%), Cash - Pickup, Bank Transfer. Extra info: Excellent for cleaning up the signal, reducing noise floor and subsequently improving audio quality. Used it until I sold my Schiit Gungnir Multibit. Now no longer need them. Many users prefer the Intona to the regen and similar products.

Item: USB cables by Analysis Plus and Curious USB Location: Melbourne Price: See below. Item Condition: Excellent Reason for selling: Surplus Payment Method: Pickup or bank transfer. Extra Info: See my feedback here and buy with confidence: http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/profile/147696-em84/?tab=node_feedback_Feedback 2-meter Analysis Plus Purple Plus Double Shielded USB cable - $140 pickup plus $10 postage Australia wide - See more info here: http://www.analysis-plus.com/product/home-audio/digital-cables/purple-plus-usb/ 0.2-meter Curious USB Link - SOLD AND POSTED - $90 pickup plus $10 postage Australia wide