Antipodes Owners & Discussion Thread

[Whites]

29 minutes ago, RCZR said:

 

I still don’t quite know what to say. This is such a dramatic change to listing to digital in so many ways. 

 

@RCZR That's great news, what did the Oladra replace?

[ICUToo]

39 minutes ago, RCZR said:

still don’t quite know what to say. This is such a dramatic change to listing to digital in so many way

What were you using prior to the Oladra, RCZR

[RCZR]

Yes, it’s important to know where I’m coming from. I had Auralic Sirius 2.1 and Aries 2.1 hooked up with Audioquest Firebird. This was an amazing combo and I went out on a limb to invest in source at the time. It sent me on quite a focussed path to arrive at the Oladra. Really, tonight I am listening to an entirely new system and it’s not digital any more, it’s Oladra.

[dbastin]

16 hours ago, RCZR said:

it’s not digital ... it’s Oladra

You could make a fortune selling the rights to use that phrase to Antipodes marketing.

 

How about the 2 biggest sources of noise:

• Are you still using the Powercell SX?  What power cord are you using?
• Aries G2.1 was wifi, what ethernet cable is connected to your Oladra, and what is the switch it comes from?

[RCZR]

Just settling in for night with Oladra. I think I can now start to comprehend why I have been overwhelmed by this  product. All I’ve done is plug in the power and an AES cable. No tweaks, no thought of doing anything but listening to music. Oladra is an orchestrator not a server, streamer or player. 
 

As you can see, my room is stripped down to a few core components now with Stuart’s active speakers. The bass with his 6.5 woofer is now utterly remarkable. With the MSB DAC, I get a new dimension to its capabilities. 
 

Dale, I’m sorry I want to stick with Oladra comments and insights for a while. I’ll post answers in other topics soon with power and switch changes I’ve made. I hope you don’t mind. 

 

I think Oladra is a very important product in the development of digital audio. I want to stress that for me, this isn’t another component. Oladra is a ‘thing’ that reaches out and connects my brain to music. 

 

Right now it’s a beer and melting into the sound of Hilary Hahn’ s violin. 

[dbastin]

2 hours ago, RCZR said:

Dale, I’m sorry I want to stick with Oladra comments and insights for a while. I’ll post answers in other topics soon with power and switch changes I’ve made. I hope you don’t mind. 

I was really only asking so people understand the context in which you have inserted the Oladra and therefore context for your comments about it.

 

For instance, the Powercell SX is no entry level conditioner (my Powercell SE is crazy good), and if your network connection to Oladra performs better than wifi to Aries G2.1 the combination of your network and wired connection to Oladra must be pretty special (for instance, I recall you had Shunyata Omega).

[richard_crl032]

Hi,

 

I would like to share a mere usd50 tweak with ifi idefender and idefender+ in hope to benefit more Antipodes users in an unusual low cost improvement via usb output especially like my oladra upgraded cx and ex stack ... who knows if it may even benefit oladra owners

 

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/cx-ex-k-s-oladra-antipodes-owners-unite.932942/post-17088289

 

Enjoy and cheers.

Edited August 21, 2022 by richard_crl032

[richard_crl032]

On 20/05/2022 at 11:31 AM, dbastin said:

Yes, let's get back to the main topic.

 

Many thing in audio of a personal taste kind of thing.  Even the difference in flavour between components. I try to only share what seems a fundamental shift.  But please excuse my enthusiasm because sometimes these trade off something others value more than me.

 

 

Correct, and I am not surprised LinQ performs better for you.  Referring to your comment was not intended as a criticism, I was just highlighting for others that it could be interpreted as more of a put down of Antipodes than some were implying I was doing.

 

 

 

 

Thank you, I didn't doubt that.

 

Yes they are different experiences that depend on their context.  I have done hard yards to do things many would not have considered let alone be bothered to implement.  This creates a context that is probably quite unique.  Sorry to mention network again, but for example:

• I don't know if anyone has installed a SFP+ device as  a router - for me that was a fundamental shift of reasonable magnitude by removing a good performing 1Gbe router which in hindsight was a weak link or bottle neck in my network.
• I have a $35 WAP powered by a battery as the last ethernet link to my endpoint, connected to the network by a US$1200 cable (nuts, perhaps, but great results, yes) - another fundamental shift.

Fuses and different powercords can by comparison be flavouring to personal tastes.  TIDAL v Qoboz, Roon v Lightning DS, flavour?

 

I try not to state things as fact, however I am not surprised if my adamant conviction and compelling personal experience overwhelms the tone of my statements about what seems to me at the time a fundamental shift, even  one that is smallish in my system and not apparent in others. 

 

Equally, I don't have access to the range of equipment you do through your business.

 

I wont bet because I agree.   I don't recall saying they would be better than upgrading (I will have another look and review) and some are not so cheap as to be called cheap shots (collectively the cost can be similar to upgrade).  My point is, if one has a fixed budget, 'tweaking' (or fundamentally improving) what they currently have might be better value, and I have no vested interest in selling those tweaks even if my conviction causes some personal bias on my part.

 

 

I gathered you are ignoring me.  I think what you are saying is you don't want to back up your statements and opinions.  I am not offended by that, however ...

 

My responses to your statements are not jibes (I will review and edit), frankly it is offensive to accuse me of that.  It could be said that making that accusation is an insulting or mocking remark.

 

 

Yes, let's do that rather than keep making unfair accusations about me and then effectively denying a reply by saying let's move on. I wonder if that is what SNA is intended for.

I have oladra upgraded cx and ex stack.

 

I have rather complicated 2x Etheregen with oxco clocks before cx and between cx and ex that I enjoy in my hifi journey in my fairly resolved system albeit not uber expensive.

 

Upgrades or upgraded models in Antipodes are fine but shared tweaks to me on already "invested" equipment is also very important since I also cannot keep spending to upgrade models .. especially into ever increasing big $ latest and greatest every 1, 2 or 3 yrs in Antipodes lineup ... else I better stay with my 60 yr old Garrard 301 and 30 yrs old SME3012R.

 

While I can understand the need for new products in the challenging environment of many bountique hiend companies like Antipodes for survival especially with quick ongoing digital improvement, I will skip a couple of upgraded model in every 5 yrs for major breakthru and not incremental improvement to part with always limited $ in my case and treat myself and family to some nice meals and trips.

 

Hope some (and more) will find the same obvious improvement in my usd50 ifi idefender+ finding shared.

 

Cheers.

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by richard_crl032

[RCZR]

Oladra update after 4 days. I am using Roon with the following outputs:

 

1. AES (Digital audio on dashboard) Oladra as Zone with AQ Wel Sig

2. USB (USB Audio MSB on dashboard) MSB as Zone with MSB ProUSB with Habst USB

3. Direct Stream (Digital audio on dashboard) MSB as Zone with RendererV2 and Aim NA7 ethernet

 

All really outstanding with minor differences in presentation. All have that brilliant new bass and timbre that I didn’t get with previous system. USB has brought in some micro details that I have enjoyed with classical. At this stage, I prefer AES overall. I keep coming back to this. 
 

 

Edited August 29, 2022 by RCZR

[dbastin]

2 hours ago, RCZR said:

2. USB (USB Audio MSB on dashboard) MSB as Player to MSB ProUSB with Habst USB

I am not familiar with MSB inputs, but surely USB input needs USB output from Oladra's Player (ie. MSB is not Player, just DAC).

 

2 hours ago, RCZR said:

3. Direct Stream (Digital audio on dashboard) MSB as Player to RendererV2 with Aim NA7 ethernet

This option seems to use Oladra as server/core only, therefore not using Oladra player or digital output  reclocker.

 

2 hours ago, RCZR said:

All really outstanding with minor differences in presentation. All have that brilliant new bass and timbre that I didn’t get with previous system. USB has brought in some micro details that I have enjoyed with classical. At this stage, I prefer AES overall.

4 days is probably too early to judge.  The differences could be just the different cables or USB v Ethernet v AES formats.

 

My observatipn is that the MSB Renderer V2 must be up there with Oladra player if there is only minor differences.

[RCZR]

1 hour ago, dbastin said:

am not familiar with MSB inputs, but surely USB input needs USB output from Oladra's Player (ie. MSB is not Player, just DAC).

In MyAntipodes dashboard USB Audio MSB is selected. In Roon, MSB is selected as Zone Player not Oladra. 
 

Yes, Oladra reclocker is bypassed with USB out. It sounds amazing and totally out performs the Sirius + Aries combo that was also using USB to ProUSB module. 
 

Yes, MSB RendererV2 and of course ProUSB with the ProISL module are very good with DAC doing it’s job. There are several options of quality combinations here. 
 

 

Edited August 21, 2022 by RCZR

[dbastin]

@RCZRIt may be worth refreshing knowledge of roon and Antipodes architecture ... https://antipodes.audio/solution-architecture/

 

As I understand, USB is streamed output (not packets like ethernet) which is the output of what Antipodes calls 'player', so the DAC is not player/renderer but is the roon zone output.

 

However, if you have ethernet and USB connected to the MSB DAC simultaneously, roon might 'read' the DAC's RendererV2 as the player.  I recall someone did something like this testing different outputs of K50 in combination with a Mola Mola DAC and needed to make correct selections in the DAC software.

 

Given you said "In Roon, MSB is selected as Zone Player not Oladra" indicates roon is using the MSB as its 'output' either as DAC or using the MSB renderer as player rather than streaming digital signal via USB.

 

Further, I suggest only connecting the cable of the connection you are testing to eliminate the possibility of degradatiin due to interaction between multiple connectons.  Similarly put caps on all unused inputs/outputs to reduce noise.  In the absence of caps, use coins (which are mostly copper) and blu tak.

 

I hope this is food for thought.

Edited August 21, 2022 by dbastin

[RCZR]

For clarity in the Roon environment, I should have just said Zone and not Zone Player. My apologies to all and thanks Dale for picking me up on that. 

On RendererV2, that is interesting. I disconnected ethernet and MSB zone dropped off in Roon. I could now play USB through the Oladra zone. I could not do that before when using RendererV2. 
 

What I could do when it was connected, was toggle MSB input from ProUSB to RendererV2 but, as you say, there could be an issue there. 

I’ll go back to sessions without the USB and Direct Stream connected at the same time. Thanks Dale for this pick up too. 

 

To take advantage of Oladra reclocker with my DAC it’s AES. There are not the I2S options such as HDMI available as modules with MSB. MSB  does have a legacy product I2S RJ45 module input that was designed for their older models. Not sure if I want to try that.

 

As mentioned before, AES with Oladra reclocker is what I keep coming back to and leaving on with each listening session. 

 

I will delve into reading experiences with MSB RendererV2 and K50. 
 

 

[GentCan]

@RCZR can you share your experience about the AQ Aes ebu cable? Why you choose it over others such as Jorma, Siltech Golden Ridge etc? I’m looking for one. Thanks 

[RCZR]

My digital system experience has been tied up in ethernet and USB cables. AES/EBU was never really on the radar, but now it's one of the most crucial cables in my system. I guess I might be on that journey now! I was using Audioquest Firebird HDMI cable, and the AES Wel Signature came up in SNA a little while ago. I thought it would be a good start. So, I'm with you, a bit of an adventure into these brands over the next while. 

[TerryO]

I’m really enjoying running the Oladra in and there are already noticeable improvements in SQ. I’m basically impatient so rather than wait until it is fully run in I decided to make some changes and swap out the Meridian 7200SE’s for the ATC SCM100 Actives and the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC, which allowed me to try various connections between the Oladra and the DAC, sorry I didn’t take a pic of the ATC’s with the Oladra but I did take a pic of the cables all plugged in last night, yesterday a friend came around for a listen to the Oladra at 2pm and ended up going home at 10pm, man what a interesting listening session that was. 

 

Below are the connections and cables I was comparing

 

USB … Atlas Mavros Grun

SP/DIF … Atlas Asimi

Ethernet … Vertere Pulse

HDMI … (i2s) AQ Dragon

AES EBU … Argento Serenity Master Reference.

 

By the way for those wondering Antipodes are saying the Oladra needs 200 hours up on the clock to start to be settled.

 

 

 

Then this morning I swapped out the ATC’s and plugged the Oladra in to the Kii 3’s with the BXT Bass modules to see how that combination worked. To date when it comes to speakers I have tried the Oladra with the Meridian 7200SE’s, the ATC SCM100 Active’s and the Kii 3’s with BXT’s. My intention is that early next week I will swap in the Fyne F704’s.

 

Edited August 22, 2022 by TerryO

[Analogueage]

Terry,

Any 'immediate' thoughts on Oladra v K50?

Rob

[TerryO]

18 minutes ago, Analogueage said:

Terry,

Any 'immediate' thoughts on Oladra v K50?

Rob

 

While not even close to fully run I will say from the many hours of listening so far that my first impression is that they are two very different beasts.

My advice to anyone that is considering either is they should compare them both together and then make up their own mind which one best suits their budgets, system and listening preferences.

 

While I said I would wait for others to comment I am tempted to say the following, if I had to sum up the Oladra in the least amount of words possible then it would be the following … Game Changer!

 

I’m looking forward to hearing others listening experiences with the Oladra once their ones, that they will receive very soon, are run in over the next couple of weeks. Then I will add my personal experiences that I have found while running it in.

 

Cheers,

Terry

Edited August 22, 2022 by TerryO

[Analogueage]

Terry,

A wise and diplomatic reply. 

Rob

[TerryO]

7 minutes ago, Analogueage said:

Terry,

A wise and diplomatic reply. 

Rob

 

Rob, just remember … Game Changer. …  

[GentCan]

2 hours ago, RCZR said:

My digital system experience has been tied up in ethernet and USB cables. AES/EBU was never really on the radar, but now it's one of the most crucial cables in my system. I guess I might be on that journey now! I was using Audioquest Firebird HDMI cable, and the AES Wel Signature came up in SNA a little while ago. I thought it would be a good start. So, I'm with you, a bit of an adventure into these brands over the next while. 

Thanks mate. Maybe I need to audition your Oladra after burnin period.

[GentCan]

52 minutes ago, TerryO said:

I’m really enjoying running the Oladra in and there are already noticeable improvements in SQ. I’m basically impatient so rather than wait until it is fully run in I decided to make some changes and swap out the Meridian 7200SE’s for the ATC SCM100 Actives and the Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC, which allowed me to try various connections between the Oladra and the DAC, sorry I didn’t take a pic of the ATC’s with the Oladra but I did take a pic of the cables all plugged in last night, yesterday a friend came around for a listen to the Oladra at 2pm and ended up going home at 10pm, man what a interesting listening session that was. 

 

Below are the connections and cables I was comparing

 

USB … Atlas Mavros Grun

SP/DIF … Atlas Asimi

Ethernet … Vertere Pulse

HDMI … (i2s) AQ Dragon

AES EBU … Argento Serenity Master Reference.

 

By the way for those wondering Antipodes are saying the Oladra needs 200 hours up on the clock to start to be settled.

 

 

 

Then this morning I swapped out the ATC’s and plugged the Oladra in to the Kii 3’s with the BXT Bass modules to see how that combination worked. To date when it comes to speakers I have tried the Oladra with the Meridian 7200SE’s, the ATC SCM100 Active’s and the Kii 3’s with BXT’s. My intention is that early next week I will swap in the Fyne F704’s.

 

So which connection sounds the best Terry? I2S? Thanks 

[TerryO]

12 minutes ago, GentCan said:

So which connection sounds the best Terry? I2S? Thanks 

 

Hi Kevin,

 

To my ears anyway, it depends on what genre of music I am listening to. I will end up, as I did with the K50, with multiple cables plugged in at once and switch between them depending on what artists and albums I am listening to, to date though I do really enjoy and mostly switch between AES EBU and HDMI (i2s).

 

cheers,

Terry

Edited August 22, 2022 by TerryO

[RCZR]

16 minutes ago, GentCan said:

Thanks mate. Maybe I need to audition your Oladra after burnin period

Canberra local, right? Any time. 

 

[TerryO]

15 hours ago, TerryO said:

 

Hi Kevin,

 

To my ears anyway, it depends on what genre of music I am listening to. I will end up, as I did with the K50, with multiple cables plugged in at once and switch between them depending on what artists and albums I am listening to, to date though I do really enjoy and mostly switch between AES EBU and HDMI (i2s).

 

cheers,

Terry

I thought it best that I provide some clarification on what and why I have written various comments to date.

 

While I attempted to answer Kevin’s question I should have explained better that I only tried these various connections between the Oladra and the Tambaqui for one day over the weekend, plus some cables I used are either brand new or only a few hours old.

 

So at best these are initial and very limited listening comparison experiences and really need to be taken with a grain of salt, especially given the Oladra is still being run in and has not yet settled down.

 

My guess is not a lot will change going forward regarding the connections and cables I prefer, but with more running in time and with a far longer comparison period than one day it is possible they might. Plus once the Oladra is run in I’ll need to try it with other DACS to get a better handle on what connections in my opinion work best with what.

 

Yes I’m very excited about the Oladra given what I have experienced since it arrived Tuesday last week, but like everyone else who purchased one prior to their release it was for me an expensive gamble and a leap of faith in Antipodes to lay down a large amount of money on something with no track record.
In major part that is why I said first up once I first heard it that I would leave it up to others to comment on what they experienced once they got theirs as I didn’t want my excitement about what I was hearing with the Oladra to possibly be interpreted as some sort of clandestine waxing on marketing pitch.

 

Yes I have since stated that I consider the Oladra as a game changer in the music server/player world and I’m sticking with that opinion, but equally I can’t wait for those, who should get theirs soon, to finally be able to share their experiences of what they hear. 

 

cheers,

Terry