Cypher Labs AlgoRhythm Solo - Discussion and Impressions Thread - Page 73

The -R is out on the market already!

Yeah, TTVJ had the Solo -R this week.  I got the CLAS -dB from Todd two weeks ago.

http://www.ttvjaudio.com/Cypher_Labs_Algorythm_Solo_R_p/cyp0000003.htm

 

 

 

?...? Thanks! and a merry x-mas to you too!

 

 

cool thanks for the link, I forgot about Todd at TTVJ! thought it was spossed to be lower cost wise though? thought I read somewhere it being around $350.00? oops nope $499.00, it's on the other CLAS thread, oh well even though I don't like Nestea I will take the plunge!

 

thanks!

well spent some of my bonus at TTVJ! wish I had ordered it when it came out, might have gotten it before the new year? will be hear soon enough,

 

I will post some feedback after a bit? not sure if I will beable to discern the audio differences? too many concerts, will be nice to have the lower output, and I-charging features, my iPods battery is getting low, I hope it will have the dual battery posts? so I can throw another one in there! 

Just got mine today in the mail!

awe dawg, very nice, 

 

how is it paired with the Cv2? I bet it is awesome, and you have some great headgear to pair it with!

So I thought I'd share my thoughts on the CLAS -dB with a few different balanced amps and using different transports and ear/headphones. These are very early impressions and therefore not a full review of the CLAS -dB.

 

Left: CLAS -dB (pre-fix) + self-custom (workaround) ALO balanced IC + ALO Rx Mk3 + balanced FitEar 000 + FitEar TO GO! 334

Right: CLAS -dB (post-fix) + ALO balanced IC + RSA SR-71B + balanced Beat Audio Cronus + Unique Melody Merlin CIEM

 

 

 

Fostex TH-900 in single ended 1/4" -> 1/8" adapter :-

 

 

The Good Things

 

Balanced All The Way Throughout

Oh my, once you've gotten balanced to work nicely, it's almost hard to go back! I'm a definitely a believer of portable balanced despite in theory it may not necessarily make sense. Even with IEMs I hear an improvement of "bigger sound" - bigger soundstage, tighter yet deeper bass, and airy trebles. And with the TH-900, it's even easier to discern despite using being single ended. If I dare say especially for IEMs, I find that the backend IC of SE vs balanced to be a greater difference than with IEM cables SE vs balanced. In other words, at least in my experience if you own IEMs balancing IEM cables yields less rewards than balancing the IC between the DAC and amp.

 

Some tracks such as HDTracks Buena Vista Social Club at 24/96 via PC USB sounds so involving. I've not compared to my iDevice version of the same album but despite iOS's 16/48kHz limitation, I don't think it'll make too much of a difference in this respect.

 

Some Thoughts Of Rx Mk3 vs SR-71B

I've mentioned on some other posts that despite owning the SR-71B I've never really been a fan of it and that's mainly because I've been using it in SE mode. In the past few months, I've tried balanced cables for my IEMs and I still wasn't satisfied with the SR-71B. So finally when the CLAS -dB appeared I finally could try a fully balanced setup with the SR-71B and it's only then that the SR-71B started to shine more. It seems to benefit more from a backend balanced IC than from the frontend balanced earphone cables. Or maybe the SR-71B is simply not so IEM friendly.

 

On a fully balanced setup of Rx Mk3 vs SR-71B, I think it's now more a merely of personal preference of taste rather than which one is more superior than the other. To me the Rx Mk3 still has the more modern Hi-Fi sound of great bass and treble emphasis whilst the SR-71B has a stronger mid focus. I'd consider my listening to be still somewhat more immature so for me, I'd go for the easy Rx Mk3 as my preferred sound for all the genre of music I listen to. However if I'm listening to specifically strong vocals such as Adele or Lana Del Rey, then I may enjoy the SR-71B a tad more (but not by much).

 

iDevice Battery Recharging

The battery recharging to me is an absolute bonus. So often my iPhone 4S battery drains quickly (especially on Tapatalk checking Head-Fi so regularly!!). So this battery charging is a huge blessing. But how is this different from my Go-DAP 4.0? The Go-DAP 4.0 (or X for that matter) runs out of juice in an hour despite having a 2200mAh battery whilst the iPhone 4S having a 1432mAh. This means David at CypherLabs has gotten something right about charging the iPhone. I don't know what size battery he uses but I think I'm more inclined to to think he's placed some thought and logic to charge the iPhone intelligently rather than just brute battery size.

 

Regardless, all the requests and questions potential customers have asked of how to switch off charging, to me it's no harm having the phone charging all the time. With a full iPhone 4S battery charge and the CLAS -dB plugged in, it lasts for 14 hrs. If the iPhone 4S is empty, the CLAS -dB charges the iPhone in 2 hrs 15 mins and still continues running to play music for a further 3 hrs at least (in my trials). So to I don't care if there's no switch to disable charging.

 

EDIT: I've snipped off the issue I had about the hum I got in high gain when using PC USB -> CLAS -dB -> Balanced IC -> Rx Mk3 -> headphone when touching the Rx Mk3 chassis. I think this hum is specific to my setup after talking to a few ppl. In addition, I don't use high gain for my setup, nor do I use the PC USB as much as I do with an iDevice.

 

Conclusion for Personal Use

 

When I've got my rig setup properly, I'm actually very happy with the setup and a fully balanced portable rig truly works. Balancing isn't for speaker or long cable setup but it seems even portable setups can benefit from it.

Thank you AnakChan for the impressions,

 

I too have this volume pot static in SE mode with my CLAS -dB + Portaphile 627 + cMoyBB.  

 

In USB mode I do not have your issue with the hum in conjunction with the 627 or cMoyBB.  

 

I have not been blown away by the use of the CLAS but I have a feeling I will need to explore other IEMS or headphones.   In USB mode or with the iPhone 4s as transport I am not hearing a significant improvement ("synergy") with the CLAS in the chain.  It could very well be that this DAC is just not to my liking or I have yet to find the right amp and/or headphone/IEM to pair with it.  This is a little different from my past DACs in which a good DAC is good no matter the pairing with amp/headphones.  Any shortcomings in those situations was due to the end of the chain.  Does this make sense or I am expecting too much from a $700?  I don't think so and based on what I read about the original CLAS I figured the new CLAS would be a step up in performance.  The new CLAS is a bit more pickier with amps?

 

WNBC, actually thank you for helping me clarify. That hum issue is again only in balanced mode, not SE. That's why you don't hear it with your Portaphile 627.

 

Also I double-checked the touching of the chassis. It's amplified if I touch the Rx Mk3 rather than the CLAS -dB. I'm testing the same thing with the SR-71B and the hum is a lot fainter when touching the chassis. Maybe it's an Rx Mk3 shielding issue but there's no hum on the Rx Mk3 on it's own, it's definitely something passed via the USB -> DAC -> balanced ICs, but from iDevice -> DAC -> balanced ICs, or in Single Ended mode.

 

I wish I had the iBasso PB2/DB2 to try to mix and match with the CLAS -dB & Rx Mk3 to see what's going on.

Hmmm...I have NO hum issue with CLAS-db and MK3B touching either housing. And I listen to my Ultrasone Sig PROS on high gain. Entire chain is balanced throughout.

Edited by raelamb - 12/25/12 at 9:55am

 

Thanks raelamb. Is that with an iDevice or with PC USB? As mentioned above, my case is with USB (e.g. either my Macbook Air or iMac USB into the CLAS -dB). Thanks for helping me with the debugging.

I have not tried the CLAS-db with USB. Only using it portable with Ipod Classic.

Thanks for your impressions AnakChan.

 

I am running the CLAS -dB > Pico > ES5.  Single Ended - but with USB I can generate low level static and hiss if I touch the volume pot of the Pico.  If I am touching my MacBook Pro at the same time - no static or hiss.  I can not create any static / hiss using my iPhone 4s as a source.  The static / hiss is only noticeable during very low level listening.   As it only happens when I actually touch the Pico, it is a non issue for me.

@AnakChan,

Try test with PC (Vaio) USB -> dB1 Hirose Balanced out to KobiConn balance in Rx Mk3 B-> headphones balance out Lcd2
NO hum issue with dB1 or Mk3-B touching either housing
RxMk3-B gain Medium/high, low level or medium vol listening.

Pistel,

Thank you for doing the test. I guess Rudi reached out to you after I PM-ed him.

I see. Ok so with the DB2 it sounds like a clean signal. I don't suppose you have a pair of sensitive IEMs to test with? The IEM side doesn't need to be balanced.

Thank you so much for this test.