Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

All general audio posts go here.
User avatar
CN211276
Posts: 6522
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:29 am
Location: Cardiff
Has thanked: 1401 times
Been thanked: 976 times
EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by CN211276 »

George Hincapie wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 6:48 pm

The DAC has been on the 'to upgrade' list for a while. Not sure what to go for though.

Image

I have had this for over three years and it is my end game DAC. On its own it is very good, but I have discovered that through a transparant system it can be taken to a much higher level. The dual BNC inputs enable it to receive the maximum 768kHz from the Mscaler which I found to be a game changerover two years ago. I think Chord have really skimped on the power supply. Until recently I was using a MCRU which improved things, but I have recently found that the Sbooster has brought about a far greater leap in performance.

The facilities are minimal but very important. I have had to adjust the filter setting following changes to the furnishing of the listening room which affect the tonal balance. The adjustable output voltage is also very advantageous. I found 1v to be most suitable for the P90sa, but with the Mscaler 2v sounds best. There is also a 3v setting.
These users thanked the author CN211276 for the post (total 2):
Latteman (Wed May 12, 2021 7:47 pm) • George Hincapie (Wed May 12, 2021 11:33 pm)
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

User avatar
George Hincapie
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:46 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire, England
Has thanked: 252 times
Been thanked: 176 times
Great Britain

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by George Hincapie »

antonio66 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 3:15 am
slinger wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 12:23 pm Yup, you're old and grumpy. Allow me to welcome you to the "Old grumpy blokes on HFS" club. :lol:

Daft question (what else would you expect from me?) But is it possible you tried and failed, or tried and forgot, signing up some time in the past? Perhaps it was a "thought about it, but never actually completed the sign-up" sort of thing?
You are of course correct, I am old and grumpy. The strange thing is, I have a lot more patience over people making mistakes, which I never had a few years ago, and yet for somethings I just see red, get me to the nearest quack. :grin:
As for forgetting using Audirvana, I can assure you I have never signed up before, look at my previous posts and you can see I'm not too good with computers, and in any case, the first time I went onto the Audirvana site was 2 weeks ago.

Hello George, now what's this Vit OS, going to have to look that up since I've never heard of it, maybe I will come back with some questions. Upgrading the Metrum, what about the Magician Pegasus, someone on another forum likes his very much, it's the one I'd go for if I had the money. Don't know if you've ever heard of this company before, some what pricey though but I'm sure you always like to see something new https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/164652091319 ... Swg5lgBYZC.

Just had a quick look at Vit OS, seems like it is made for Pi 4 users, I'm using a mini fanless pc, using Windows 10 and Foobar2000, don't know if I could use Vit OS
Hello 👋

From what I've read, the Pegasus is quite a capable device. I will look into it further.

I am considering the DAC that @Fretless bought; we are on the same page when it comes to DACs, and he seems happy with it.

The Metrum Pavane is on the short list, with the new Transient DAC 3 modules. As is the new super DAC that Cees is making at Sonnet.

There are so many options now...
Headphone Amplification
Linear Tube Audio MZ3

Headphones
HifiMan Sundara • HiFiMan Arya Stealth Edition • ZMF Vérité Closed Ltd (Stabilised) • ZMF Atrium Open Ltd (Hawaiian Koa) • ZMF Aeolus Ltd (Mexican Bocote)

Digital
Audial S5 • Pi2AES 2.0

Cables
Forza Audio Works • Blue Jeans • DH Labs • Periapt

Power
Farad • Tomanek

Sources
Roon • Tidal • Qobuz

User avatar
George Hincapie
Posts: 321
Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2019 7:46 pm
Location: Buckinghamshire, England
Has thanked: 252 times
Been thanked: 176 times
Great Britain

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by George Hincapie »

CN211276 wrote: Wed May 12, 2021 5:25 pm
George Hincapie wrote: Tue May 11, 2021 6:48 pm

The DAC has been on the 'to upgrade' list for a while. Not sure what to go for though.

Image

I have had this for over three years and it is my end game DAC. On its own it is very good, but I have discovered that through a transparant system it can be taken to a much higher level. The dual BNC inputs enable it to receive the maximum 768kHz from the Mscaler which I found to be a game changerover two years ago. I think Chord have really skimped on the power supply. Until recently I was using a MCRU which improved things, but I have recently found that the Sbooster has brought about a far greater leap in performance.

The facilities are minimal but very important. I have had to adjust the filter setting following changes to the furnishing of the listening room which affect the tonal balance. The adjustable output voltage is also very advantageous. I found 1v to be most suitable for the P90sa, but with the Mscaler 2v sounds best. There is also a 3v setting.
That's on the shortlist too. Thanks.

Simple. Perfect for a headphone system.
Headphone Amplification
Linear Tube Audio MZ3

Headphones
HifiMan Sundara • HiFiMan Arya Stealth Edition • ZMF Vérité Closed Ltd (Stabilised) • ZMF Atrium Open Ltd (Hawaiian Koa) • ZMF Aeolus Ltd (Mexican Bocote)

Digital
Audial S5 • Pi2AES 2.0

Cables
Forza Audio Works • Blue Jeans • DH Labs • Periapt

Power
Farad • Tomanek

Sources
Roon • Tidal • Qobuz

antonio66
Posts: 1006
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:16 am
Location: Grimsby/Phnom Penh
Has thanked: 1449 times
Been thanked: 408 times
Great Britain

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by antonio66 »

Unsure where to put this, well it's all digital to me:-

Firstly there is a Topping D90 on ebay if anyone is interested: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304005478415?_trksid ... 5478415%3F

Would be interesting to compare it to this one though: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284086430834?hash=it ... Swhodfq7a-

While I was just looking I've also seen another D90: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/324640779272?_trkpar ... 841%26meid%

The one I thought might interest a few is a Mojo Audio ladder dac, looks to have only one input BNC, I did google it and apparently it came with either a usb input or BNC. It was on my watch list and I've just been offered a discount of £175, making £675 so I'm sure if you were interested send him a message. He also has for sale a matching LPS, I'm not sure how that fits in since the dac has a normal AC input: www.ebay.co.uk/itm/194131766974?&ul_noa ... fresh=true

User avatar
CN211276
Posts: 6522
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:29 am
Location: Cardiff
Has thanked: 1401 times
Been thanked: 976 times
EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by CN211276 »

CN211276 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:07 am I am surprised how much better the Sbooster sounds than the MCRU powering my Qutest, costing less than £100 more. Think you would need to spend silly money to beat it. Am wondering what it would add to my MicroRendu, currently connected to a MCRU.
I did not wonder for all that long as a Sbooster is now powering my MicroRendu. It is the same model as for the Qutest, but set to 6v instead of 5v. If anything the leap in SQ is greater than it was with the Qutest. Again it is the bass which has improved most and I have discovered how low the Cube 1s can go. What I am hearing has been verified by my observations on. the RTA Analyzer app. It has become ceiling penetrating even at low levels and I am having to reduce the volume during my wife's zoom meetings, roll on the end of restrictions :lol: . Am glad we have a detached house. :grin: Bass definition has also improved as has seperation. On much of the heavy rock I listen to the bass can be low in the mix and drowned out by guitars. This is not the case now. First impressions were not that favourable as the additional bass lacked control and there was some harshness. I feared I might have to move the Cubes away from the wall but this was not the case as things settled down after a few hours. I have also noticed that the MicroRendu becomes less warm. The Sbooster does not heat up at all, unlike the MCRU.
These users thanked the author CN211276 for the post (total 2):
CycleCoach (Sat May 29, 2021 2:04 pm) • antonio66 (Sun May 30, 2021 1:02 am)
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by karatestu »

CN211276 wrote: Sat May 29, 2021 10:44 am
CN211276 wrote: Mon May 10, 2021 8:07 am I am surprised how much better the Sbooster sounds than the MCRU powering my Qutest, costing less than £100 more. Think you would need to spend silly money to beat it. Am wondering what it would add to my MicroRendu, currently connected to a MCRU.
I did not wonder for all that long as a Sbooster is now powering my MicroRendu. It is the same model as for the Qutest, but set to 6v instead of 5v. If anything the leap in SQ is greater than it was with the Qutest. Again it is the bass which has improved most and I have discovered how low the Cube 1s can go. What I am hearing has been verified by my observations on. the RTA Analyzer app. It has become ceiling penetrating even at low levels and I am having to reduce the volume during my wife's zoom meetings, roll on the end of restrictions :lol: . Am glad we have a detached house. :grin: Bass definition has also improved as has seperation. On much of the heavy rock I listen to the bass can be low in the mix and drowned out by guitars. This is not the case now. First impressions were not that favourable as the additional bass lacked control and there was some harshness. I feared I might have to move the Cubes away from the wall but this was not the case as things settled down after a few hours. I have also noticed that the MicroRendu becomes less warm. The Sbooster does not heat up at all, unlike the MCRU.
Is the MCRU psu the one designed by Nick Gorham ? You better give David Brooks a buzz and tell him his psu's are left wanting.
DIY FREE ZONE

User avatar
CN211276
Posts: 6522
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:29 am
Location: Cardiff
Has thanked: 1401 times
Been thanked: 976 times
EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by CN211276 »

karatestu wrote: Sat May 29, 2021 6:12 pm

You better give David Brooks a buzz and tell him his psu's are left wanting.
:lol:
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

antonio66
Posts: 1006
Joined: Mon Jul 29, 2019 8:16 am
Location: Grimsby/Phnom Penh
Has thanked: 1449 times
Been thanked: 408 times
Great Britain

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by antonio66 »

For anyone interested in following CN's route there is a S Booster 5/6v for sale on Wigwam

User avatar
Fretless
Posts: 9290
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 12:15 pm
Location: Somewhere in Holland
Has thanked: 1487 times
Been thanked: 2280 times
Netherlands

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by Fretless »

SBooster LPSU's are made for specific voltages. The 5/6V model will be ideal for USB-powered devices like a DAC or Pi-style streamer.

For my Cambridge DAC I have the 12/13V model.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

User avatar
CN211276
Posts: 6522
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:29 am
Location: Cardiff
Has thanked: 1401 times
Been thanked: 976 times
EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Tinker, Tailor, Streamer, Pi.

Unread post by CN211276 »

I am planning to get the 15/16v one for my Mscaler. Should be a big improvement on the one which came with it.
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

Post Reply