Audiophilleo 1 and 2 USB to S/PDIF transport - Page 2

I just pulled the trigger on the Audiophilleo2 tonight. I'll be pretty slammed with finals over the next week and a half, but will definitely post some preliminary impressions to try and convey the magnitude of improvement it brings to my Audio-gd NFB-10WM, which I am currently using through USB direct from my PC (WyreWorld Ultraviolet cable). I think it will make a big difference and am really looking forward to it.

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Thanks Currawong, a new DAC is actually in my plans. I think I post you refer to was about my experiences with the new EE Minimax DAC with the DI and the dropout problem I had which prompted me to start looking for alternatives to the DI.. It seems the problem was related to the  ESS 9018 chip in the Mimimax being too sensitive to the jitter that the DI relays. Thus my interest in the Audiophilleo 2, especially for use in with future DAC choices. Good luck with the move and looking forward to your comparisons.

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Ive got a mates Audipophilleo2 (AP2) feeding a REF7 at the moment and its running off battery power with a $4 DIY mod using four AA NiMH batteries

I also have a DI with the Audio-gd power supply but it doesn't have the upgraded TXCO clock.

When using USB as source I like the AP2. Its a bit clearer with sharper imaging. I can hear deeper into subtle layers. The effect is subtle even with good gear. I hear it better with these speakers http://www.sgraudio.com.au/products/convex/cx4f.html  that image really well and with no preamp getting in the way

But the DI's performance improves markedly taking a SPDIF feed eg cleaning up a CD or DVD players coaxial digital out or SPDIF out of a motherboard.

The DI should go better again  upsampling SPDIF to 96kHz with the upgraded clock.

Anyone tried that?

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Originally Posted by Currawong 

Did you find much improvement running off battery power?

Ditto.

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Originally Posted by Currawong     Did you find much improvement running off battery power?

Well I had to admit that for $4 (not including batteries - he already had them) it was a radical value for money upgrade. I must admit I was disappointed that such an expensive item could be improved with some rechargable batteries but my fantasy that the Audiophilleo was so well designed it could turn v-bus power into clean voltage is probably just a fantasy.

Three users with their systems have heard the same improvement. I doubt its a placebo effect.

So I guess you want to know what I heard?

Well at this level of refinement its hard for me to put in words. It was like the goodness just went up another little level. The smoothness, clarity and sharpness all went into better focus. Before I couldnt imagine it could sound better and then the brain has to readjust its standards. This raises for me the question of where the limit is? Im not sure but its fun....That impossible perfectionistic striving just  got another chunk of positive reinforcement. Is this healthy? Im definitely not sure but....

.. what if we could get an Audiophilleo MarkII with separate ultra clean rechargable battery feeds to the USB receiver, clock and SPDIF generator.

Then how about an Audiophilleo I2S for skipping the SPDIF debacle altogether.

Then for the Ref7 the SuperAudiophilleo putting out ultra upsampled I2S at the maximum rate the PCM1704 takes of 768kHz to bypass the entire DSP processing . Then the SuperAudiophilleo II which will put out eight discreet I2S into each individual PCM1704 chip at 768kHz with only 1ps jitter running on a super TXCO clock.

Then lets run the thing off an atomic clock with .00004ps jitter..........

or perhaps back in the moment just get this instead : http://www.exadevices.com/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nada 

Well at this level of refinement its hard for me to put in words. It was like the goodness just went up another little level. The smoothness, clarity and sharpness all went into better focus. Before I couldnt imagine it could sound better and then the brain has to readjust its standards. This raises for me the question of where the limit is? Im not sure but its fun....That impossible perfectionistic striving just  got another chunk of positive reinforcement. Is this healthy? Im definitely not sure but....

Very true. Are we addicted from dopamine shots that each another upgrade brings? Audiophilleo is a strong kick then alone, even without power modding 

The audiophilleo 1 is an improvement over the new audio-gd DI or the old RE-3 with V5 dsp-3 chip or both?

I just got my Audiophilleo2 in. Unfortunately I'm slammed studying for finals next week so I won't be able to do any critical listening comparisons for a week or so. For now, I'll say that 24/192 files are sounding great and drop a few cell phone pics of the unboxing. :)

The Audiophilleo is an example where design theory actually gives the expected results. The correct implementation of asynchronous USB is predicted to give lower jitter then adaptive with all other things being equal.

What I heard with the AP2 was a sweetness and smoothness and clear imaging that is apparently what a low jitter asynchronous device with excellent clocks and square wave can produce. The Audiophilleo is an outstanding SPDIF design in my little experience.

The question I cant get out of my mind is that theory predicts that an asynchronous USB to I2Sdevice will be even better!

SPDIF I understand is an inherently flawed format as the timing signal is mixed in with the data in a way jitter is bound to be produced by the SPDIF reciever in the DAC.

Has anyone tried a direct I2S fed into their DAC?

Those with a Ref7 should be able to feed I2S into the DSP-1 as its clearly marked for that?

Anyone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nada 

.. what if we could get an Audiophilleo MarkII with separate ultra clean rechargable battery feeds to the USB receiver, clock and SPDIF generator.

 

Then how about an Audiophilleo I2S for skipping the SPDIF debacle altogether.

The latest Empirical Off-Ramp already does both battery power and I2S. Compatible DACs besides Empirical's own Overdrive are pretty rare (Northstar, Perpetual, some of the Stellos, maybe M2Tech?) but they are out there. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really understand the appeal of the Audiophilleo, not when the OR4 starts at $800, and the Wavelink HS sells for $900, with built in battery power. Where is the money going with the Audiophilleo?

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Originally Posted by DaveBSC 

The latest Empirical Off-Ramp already does both battery power and I2S. Compatible DACs besides Empirical's own Overdrive are pretty rare (Northstar, Perpetual, some of the Stellos, maybe M2Tech?) but they are out there. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really understand the appeal of the Audiophilleo, not when the OR4 starts at $800, and the Wavelink HS sells for $900, with built in battery power. Where is the money going with the Audiophilleo?

For me it's the other way around: OR4 costs $300 more and it is not clear if it is worth the money over Audiophilleo. Empirical does not publish OR4 jitter measurements, as there are available for Audiophilleo -- and that does not help. On A-GD NFB-7, USB-powered Audiophilleo via SPDIF is substantially better than Evo via AES/EBU powered by a high quality linear psu. This tells me that for Audio-GD dacs at least, jitter reduction is way more critical than connection interface and that power supply is not that much of an issue for Audiophilleo, since even on usb power it already betters another asynchronous usb interface at the same price tag. But you are correct that it should have an option to plug an external psu.

Btw, did you see any credible reviews claiming OR4's (using SPDIF) sonic superiority over Audiophilleo? Or maybe did you happen to compare the two directly?