Antipodes Owners & Discussion Thread

[ikhuong]

Hi Will @Further,

that would be awesome to hear direct user feedback from you, especially interested to hear the outcome of feeding Lumin X1 directly by K40 streamer ethernet out. lots of people has reported in disliking the thin sound of fiber optics and prefer copper connections as they believed copper ethernet sounds more organic.   
 

i hope Antipodes has done enough with secret sauce  into their ethernet output design to worth the price tag verus a $640 etherregen. Their CX/EX two boxes solution are quite pioneer but my burning questions are back to the high price tag if we use K40 as a server only and don’t hook streamerS to k40 USB outputs and it is a waste.

[Further]

Kevin,

 

I will provide feedback here on my experiences with the K40.  I have sent a down payment to reserve a unit for when the new batch comes in, reportedly this month.  The K40, as I understand it,  does not utilize USB as an output, essentially being a network input and output server.   I did confirm the K40 could be later updatable to K50, albeit at probable higher expense than the current pricing differential.   

 

After extensive break-in with the Lumin X1, I am very pleased with that unit.  I have experimented with it direct to active crossover to amps, but am currently using a preamp, Vinnie Rossi L2 Signature.  I purchased Single Mode SFP and cable from Amazon per recommendation from Chris Connaker, Audiophile Style website, who also did a review of the Lumin X1.   I find the expense, results and overall user elegance of optical fiber ethernet with the X1 very attractive.  I do not find the sound production thin, but my preamp has added a bit of desirable tone for vocals for me, but also liked direct to active crossover-amps , especailly with Lumin addition of Leedh volume control option setting on the X1.  I considered possibly selling my Vinnie Rossi after listening direct for a bit, but have it back in the chain and truly like the presentation.  I have not felt a need for now to go back to copper to test.    If I were to do so, I believe I would again need to make some changes to minimize the distance of the copper ethernet to my X1 from the Etherregen.  

 

I too hope the direct ethernet output from the K40 will be such that I will not add another Etherregen.  I am "trying" to simplify plus avoid the additional expenses.   I have read various reports on hours for Antipodes to burn-in.  I anticipate the newly designed power supply may require some hours and expect at least a couple weeks.  The Lumin X1 really changed to the better over considerable time--hope the K40 will not require as many hours.

 

Will 

[dbastin]

@Further

Hey Will, this may interest you ... includes experiments with Lumin X1:

 

1. Dela/Melco S100 > fibre> Lumin X1

 

But didnt try these:

2. Router > copper > media convertor > fibre > S100 > copper > X1

3. Router > copper > S100 > copper > media convertor > fibre > X1

 

Edited November 16, 2020 by dbastin

[Further]

dbastin

 

Dale, thank you.  This referenced thread and Melco S100 discussion is of interest to me, and I will research more.

[richardloh]

On 14/11/2020 at 11:40 AM, Stereophilus said:

I’m trying out some of that yellow cat 8 cable at the moment.  I also have AQ cinnamon, AQ Diamond (on loan) and Supra cat8 (with telegartner plugs).  Fortunately for me, I still can’t tell any difference between them, in my system.

 

Hi Stereophilus,

 

How is the cheap ofc yellow cable for you ?

 

I went all accoustic revive ones since I figured I wanted to invest a bit more and close the ethernet and i2s cable topic for my set up.

 

http://www.acoustic-revive.com/english/pcaudio/lan_cable.html

 

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

[Stereophilus]

1 hour ago, richardloh said:

 

Hi Stereophilus,

 

How is the cheap ofc yellow cable for you ?

 

I went all accoustic revive ones since I figured I wanted to invest a bit more and close the ethernet and i2s cable topic for my set up.

 

http://www.acoustic-revive.com/english/pcaudio/lan_cable.html

 

 

Cheers.

 

Richard

I’m not hearing differences in Ethernet cables.  The yellow ones are quite stiff and inflexible.  @Hydrology makes the best cat8 cables I’ve found so far.  He uses Supra cable and reterminates them with telegartner connectors.  They are nicely flexible but hold their position once attached.  

[dbastin]

On 29/11/2020 at 9:07 PM, Stereophilus said:

I’m not hearing differences in Ethernet cables.

The people at Mola Mola are genius to achieve that. Maybe Mr Jenkins should have a chat with them.

[Stereophilus]

12 hours ago, dbastin said:

The people at Mola Mola are genius to achieve that. Maybe Mr Jenkins should have a chat with them.

Might not be Mola Mola...

 

Did you read this....?

 

[Ingemar]

Hi all.

I'm trying to do this upgrade thing on my dx3 from 2.7 to 2.8 but all i get is this "nothing to do"Any ideas?

Kindly/Ingemar

Edited December 9, 2020 by Ingemar
Spelling

[TD19]

8 hours ago, Ingemar said:

Hi all.

I'm trying to do this upgrade thing on my dx3 from 2.7 to 2.8 but all i get is this "nothing to do"Any ideas?

Kindly/Ingemar

 

Please email support@antipodes.audio for information about upgrading to Version 2.8.

 

 

[Ingemar]

Hi again.

Problem solved,pilot error

[Further]

I had initially posted I anticipated purchase auditioning the K40 by the end of November.  Unfortunately that did not happen.  I made the decision yesterday to cancel my order.  This is not intended as a slight to Antipodes nor to their US Service and Distribution partner.  I had ordered the unit in Silver, and was later told there was some delay in the supply chain for it.  A Black unit was anticipated to come in, and the offer was made for me to audition it until my Silver unit came in.  However, that unit has not arrived to the US office--apparently missing and in limbo due to the US Postal Service.  I was offered the opportunity to audition a K50 demo unit  that had come back to them and was being post demo checked and serviced, but I declined.  The COVID pandemic undoubtedly has strained supply chains and product fulfillment for numerous manufacturers, and most probably more difficult for new product line fulfillment.  

 

However, the multiple and extended delays depressed my enthusiasm for continuing to pursue the unit.  I have elected to continue, at least for now, with my SonicTransporter i5 CDR unit and improve my local network--modem, router, WIFI, and switch.  I will also use existing LPS units I have for the new modem, router, and WIFI instead of the SMPS that are supplied.  I am receiveing a new LPS that I will use with the new switch.  I will delay replacing the music server for now--I do not know what direction I may go on that.  I had indicated here I would post my impressions of the K40 and wanted to report on why that has not happened.

 

Regards

[ikhuong]

@sonusfidelio can give some impression  to this interested group

 

[nagamas]

15 hours ago, ikhuong said:

@sonusfidelio can give some impression  to this interested group

 

Sure Kevin @ikhuong, happy to share anytime.

 

Will @Further, as for the K40, I can only say it's worth the wait. After living with my DX2 for some years I decided to place a deposit on the K40. Got mine more than a week ago, after about one and a half month wait (they also told me about supply chain issues). I ordered a silver but they shipped me a black unit. After such a wait I couldn't be bothered with yet another wait so I accepted the black unit. After all, it looks very cool.

 

After clocking about 200 hours so far, I can already hear quite a big difference between my old DX2 and the K40. The DX2 is quite a legend in its own right and I was quite happy to have lived with it for a long time, but comparing the K40 and the DX2 is like comparing high rez and MP3. Once you listen to music from the K40, you finally "get" how much the incremental improvements made since the DX2 has amounted to quite a different league of musical reproduction. Tonally the two are very similar and you can tell they are from the same stable, but that's where the similarity ends. With the K40, music is more organic, the soundstage is larger, airier, better timbre, better sense of natural decay. For instance, the Renaud Garcia-Fons' bass pluck on Paseo a Dos, you can hear subtle changes in string reverberations with every finger movement. The quality of the bottom octave is magnificent.

 

Listening to music from the K40 you get a much more 3D surround sound effect. You can hear the acoustic space around the musicians. To me the K40 is end-game stuff. With digital this good, I don't really see the point of vinyl.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Cheers

Andrew

Edited January 17, 2021 by sonusfidelio

[dbastin]

@sonusfidelio

It is interesting to get an idea of what $10k of server achieves.  I am having similar improvements upgrading and reconfiguring my ethernet system.  However you and I may not be experiencing exactly the same air and space around instruments, etc.  It is subjective and relative to past experience.

 

What is your endpoint, and network (cables, switches, etc)?

 

Incidentally, as I understand, the increments since DX2 where DX3, CX and I gather CX (and EX) was improved again to clearly outperform DX3.

 

[nagamas]

22 hours ago, dbastin said:

@sonusfidelio

It is interesting to get an idea of what $10k of server achieves.  I am having similar improvements upgrading and reconfiguring my ethernet system.  However you and I may not be experiencing exactly the same air and space around instruments, etc.  It is subjective and relative to past experience.

 

What is your endpoint, and network (cables, switches, etc)?

 

Incidentally, as I understand, the increments since DX2 where DX3, CX and I gather CX (and EX) was improved again to clearly outperform DX3.

 

Hi Dale @dbastin

 

Yes, I have done quite a bit of experimenting with ethernet stuff. Right now I have a EtherStream (Fidelizer) network switch connected (via Supra Cat8) to the main router and from that a ethernet cable runs all the way down to my living room. From the living room wall there is another Supra Cat8 to the Uptone EtherRegen. All cables from here are the SOtM dCBL-Cat7 (One from EtherRegen to Antipodes, one from Antipodes to the streamer, and one from the I2S port of the streamer to the I2S port of the DAC).

 

I have also tried daisy chaining two Uptone EtherRegens before, with the SOtM cable and with all manner of fibre optic cables and transceivers, but didn't find any significant benefit doing so. What a rabbit hole that was!  In fact, I found that too much of a good thing can become bad, ie. daisy chaining two EtherRegens can end up making the sound lose some natural bloom. Even combinations of fibre optic cables and transceivers affect the sound. Go figure! Upgrading the LPS to a Plixir BDC to power the EtherRegen also made a difference. There is more foundation to the bass notes and better clarity in the mids and top end.

 

You are right, the K40 is already 3 generations above the DX2, hence, you'd expect quite an improvement, and it sure delivers. My comments above is based on a 1-for-1 swap, out goes the DX2, in goes the K40. All else remain the same.

 

 

Edited January 18, 2021 by sonusfidelio

[dbastin]

1 hour ago, sonusfidelio said:

Yes, I have done quite a bit of experimenting with ethernet stuff.

 

Wanna put the K40 Direct Out to the test?  Put the EtherRegen between K40 and streamer (what is your streamer?). Just use it as an isolator, dont plug any other gear into it.  Share what you hear.

 

I have gradually put all my best ethernet things between my EX and endpoint (Devialet Pro).  There is now 2 Gigafoils, an ER, all on my best LPSs powered by $2k of power cords and $3k of ethernet cables. Each additional isolator provided an improvement.

[Snoopy8]

11 hours ago, sonusfidelio said:

Yes, I have done quite a bit of experimenting with ethernet stuff. Right now I have a EtherStream (Fidelizer) network switch connected (via Supra Cat8) to the main router and from that a ethernet cable runs all the way down to my living room. From the living room wall there is another Supra Cat8 to the Uptone EtherRegen. All cables from here are the SOtM dCBL-Cat7 (One from EtherRegen to Antipodes, one from Antipodes to the streamer, and one from the I2S port of the streamer to the I2S port of the DAC).

 

I have also tried daisy chaining two Uptone EtherRegens before, with the SOtM cable and with all manner of fibre optic cables and transceivers, but didn't find any significant benefit doing so. What a rabbit hole that was!  In fact, I found that too much of a good thing can become bad, ie. daisy chaining two EtherRegens can end up making the sound lose some natural bloom. Even combinations of fibre optic cables and transceivers affect the sound. Go figure! Upgrading the LPS to a Plixir BDC to power the EtherRegen also made a difference. There is more foundation to the bass notes and better clarity in the mids and top end.

Can you please post more details of your rabbit hole adventures in the EtherRegen owners thread; what worked, what didn't.  It will be good to get a perspective from someone who has found that a simpler ER setup is enough.

[nagamas]

11 hours ago, dbastin said:

 

Wanna put the K40 Direct Out to the test?  Put the EtherRegen between K40 and streamer (what is your streamer?). Just use it as an isolator, dont plug any other gear into it.  Share what you hear.

 

I have gradually put all my best ethernet things between my EX and endpoint (Devialet Pro).  There is now 2 Gigafoils, an ER, all on my best LPSs powered by $2k of power cords and $3k of ethernet cables. Each additional isolator provided an improvement.

 

Definitely agree with you that the network setup has a real and sometimes dramatic effect on the sound. I have found that to be the case as I tinkered with mine, the more I invested in this area, the more I can hear improvements. However, I have also found that too much isolation can also affect the "natural fabric" of the sound, as I alluded to above when I was experimenting with daisy chaining the ER's. My streamer and DAC are the Aqua LinQ and Aqua Formula xHD. The LinQ has a in-built network switch that provides some isolation. I will try as you suggested, but using the Direct Out into the Aqua components now is giving me quite an awesome result already. Of course this whole subject of audiophilia is very subjective. One man's "awesome" may be another's "ho hum", so please take my comments with a grain of salt.

 

 

Edited January 19, 2021 by sonusfidelio

[nagamas]

2 hours ago, Snoopy8 said:

Can you please post more details of your rabbit hole adventures in the EtherRegen owners thread; what worked, what didn't.  It will be good to get a perspective from someone who has found that a simpler ER setup is enough.

 

Sure. Happy to share my findings when I find some time.

[richardloh]

Hi,

 

Received my EtherRegen this afternoon here in Singapore much earlier than expected from Jan 2021 shipment batch ...

 

Was busy modifying my Bel Canto FM-1 tuner from green to blue led display with newly received vacuum desoldering kit for 72 pins of 4x 18 pins 8 segment leds but managed to hook up the EtherRegen with accompanying adaptor to my diy 2kVA isotrans in star topology and pulled out my unused Meicord Cat 6 ethernet cable to wired up my wifi mesh. From the EtherRegen, it is all Audio Revive metal shield ethernet cables to my Antipode EX+CX stack.

 

Wow ! Whichever and whatever limitation I had must had been serious and solved by having the EtherRegen because full flac internet radio station of HiOnLine, RadioParadize etc. as well as local lowly 64k AAC bitrate stations suddenly became more detailed, expansive and music just pops .

 

Highly recommended !

 

Cheers.

[dbastin]

5 hours ago, sonusfidelio said:

My streamer and DAC are the Aqua LinQ and Aqua Formula xHD

Man, SNA is like the discover function on Spotify.  Thats a brand/product I dont recall hearing about.  The internals of that streamer resemble a pc motherboard and expansion cards.

 

Curious about the inbuilt switch with only 1 RJ45 jack ... wot the?

 

Unfortunately there is no clear imagine of the whole board.

 

5 hours ago, sonusfidelio said:

I have also found that too much isolation can also affect the "natural fabric" of the sound

 

Maybe not enough isolation yet ... ?!

Edited January 19, 2021 by dbastin

[ikhuong]

On 19/01/2021 at 5:45 PM, dbastin said:

Man, SNA is like the discover function on Spotify.  Thats a brand/product I dont recall hearing about.  The internals of that streamer resemble a pc motherboard and expansion cards.

 

Curious about the inbuilt switch with only 1 RJ45 jack ... wot the?

 

Unfortunately there is no clear imagine of the whole board.

 

 

Maybe not enough isolation yet ... ?!

I guess lots of us in Australia only run into common brands with heavy marketing from US/UK but do not care much other brands in another part of the high-end world (Germany/Italia/France) which also offer respectful performance , innovation and engineering.

 

I have been luck to audition @sonusfidelio careful  matching system with  Aqua LinQ and Aqua Formula xHD on his Focal Sorpa 2 with Octave pre/amp combo,

Man, the dynamic is on the heaven end which makes me to come back to my system to ask why I have not been able to get there yet with my MSD Discrete DAC and its streamer, lol. For same money (actually more) and careful matching music taste and system energy, he has a really decent system. 

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by ikhuong

[richardloh]

On 08/10/2020 at 4:40 PM, richardloh said:

 

No going to spend much on tweaks and keeping diminished wallet for hopefully available OLADRA upgrade by end 2020.

 

Cheers.

 

Richard 

 

Looks like I am ready with the budget in Apr2021 for Oladra upgrade

Edited January 31, 2021 by richardloh

[Whites]

@richardloh have they announced the upgrade details?