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Stello U3: async USB to coax & AES/EBU transport <Impressions updated> - Page 10

post #136 of 273
6/16/12 at 2:20am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Patu View Post

I received U3 for testing yesterday. Initial impressions are very positive. Very revealing and transparent sound. What I wish is maybe slightly more forgiving top end. It's very revealing at the moment, I'm not sure if it gets smoother while burn in. I guess the unit which I got is brand new. 

 

I have one question. I use the device with Naim DAC and I have Naim DC1 digital cable (BNC-BNC). So naturally I want to use BNC input on Naim DAC. Now I have a simple BNC female to RCA male adapter which I use with U3 RCA output. Is this solution better than to buy AES to BNC adapter? They're quite expensive, for example a Neutrik one costs almost $50. 

 

http://www.neutrik.com/en/accessories/aes/ebu-impedance-transformers/naditbnc-fx

 

I also have Audio GD DI-DSP at the moment but it's suffering of driver issues on win7 64bit. I hope they get it fixed soon.

 

BNC to RCA cable would be good. The signal may degrade when used with a transformer.

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post #137 of 273
6/16/12 at 2:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by uelover View Post

 

BNC to RCA cable would be good. The signal may degrade when used with a transformer.

 

I do have Chord Prodac RCA-RCA coaxial cable but it's inferior to Naim DC1. Also I don't want to go and buy DC1 with BNC-RCA connection before I make up any decisions.

 

I currently use this kind of adapter:

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAPLIN-PHONO-PLUG-RCA-MALE-TO-BNC-FEMALE-SOCKET-ADAPTOR-BRAND-NEW-SEALED-/160820192219?pt=UK_CCTV&hash=item2571a163db#ht_1550wt_1369

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post #138 of 273
6/17/12 at 4:40pm
Thread Starter 

BTW, the 1.48 XMOS drivers are available at http://www.ibasso.com/download/D7_v1.48.0.rar

 

you can't use any driver newer than 1.45 on the U3 due to a firmware incompatiblity, so 1.43 is as good as it gets for us.

 

I've cut/pasted the revision history of those drivers at http://pastebin.com/nmWumqPK

 

You can see that a lot happened between 1.22 and 1.43 wink_face.gif

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post #139 of 273
6/17/12 at 7:33pm

I use the U3  between a DIY custom PC music server and via XLR to an AudioNoteKits DAC4.1 - works superbly.  Not sure why I would futz with the firmware since everything works fine.

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post #140 of 273
6/18/12 at 12:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post

BTW, the 1.48 XMOS drivers are available at http://www.ibasso.com/download/D7_v1.48.0.rar

 

you can't use any driver newer than 1.45 on the U3 due to a firmware incompatiblity, so 1.43 is as good as it gets for us.

 

I've cut/pasted the revision history of those drivers at http://pastebin.com/nmWumqPK

 

You can see that a lot happened between 1.22 and 1.43 wink_face.gif

Why won't Stello release update to their drivers? I read your posts about the newer drivers and already downloaded and edited the CA drivers (1.43 IIRC) but haven't installed them. I'm not sure if there's any sense updating when the original 1.22 drivers work perfectly for me?

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post #141 of 273
6/18/12 at 6:23am
Thread Starter 

Dunno why they don't update, maybe because the 1.22 "work" indeed......but these drivers have gone through a lot of improvements as you can read from the revision history I provided. I also like the noobish GUI of the 1.43 DacMagic+ drivers.

 

Soon enough, I guess April Music will update to the latest firmware and provide +1.5 drivers...only a matter of time.

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post #142 of 273
6/23/12 at 6:28am

I guess i am the first who has an external power supply for the U3...i asked Kingwa of Audio-gd to make me a custom psu with usb output for my Stello U3. Then i bought a DIY USB cable from a well known company here in China, it has a dual USB A connector and a single USB B connector. One cable is for providing DATA to the U3 and the other gets plugged to the PSU USB out for power.

 

Guess what happened next??? confused.gif

 

EVERYTHING suddenly becomes better. The most noticeable differences is in the Instrument separation, Layering and a clearer sound it makes the have U3 a darker background somehow. sound stage slightly become wider, lows more tight mids and highs also have a noticeable improvements. I really recommend this MOD for U3 users

 

Pics,

 

DSC08721.JPG   DSC08724.JPG   DSC08725.JPG   DSC08723.JPG

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post #143 of 273
6/23/12 at 6:46am
Thread Starter 

Very nice! Where did you source this USB cable from if you don't mind me asking? So it's got a shared ground between the 3 plugs but the +5V wire only goes from the DI PSU to the U3?

 

I already talked to Kingwa concerning his DI PSU, but it's out of ATX specs as it'll drop as much as 10% voltage when it's warm...ATX allows 5%, I hope you won't underpower/fry your U3 redface.gif


Edited by leeperry - 6/23/12 at 10:15am
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post #144 of 273
6/24/12 at 8:14am

I got the USB cable from Taobao ( chinese Ebay ) and its not that expensive it cost 35$ for a 0.6m USB cable. i am sorry i don't know about the cable configuration.

 

Kingwa told me there will be only 5% maximum so around 4.75v to 5.25v. but this is much better, cleaner and stable than the standard 5v coming out of our computer.

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post #145 of 273
6/24/12 at 1:40pm
Thread Starter 

Glad to hear that it works perfectly! Have you been running this combo for a while?

 

It's Kingwa who warned me about the 10% voltage drop for the DI-V1 PSU, maybe he improved it in the DI-V2 PSU if that's what you're using.

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post #146 of 273
6/24/12 at 2:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post

Glad to hear that it works perfectly! Have you been running this combo for a while?

 

It's Kingwa who warned me about the 10% voltage drop for the DI-V1 PSU, maybe he improved it in the DI-V2 PSU if that's what you're using.

 

I have used it for about 4 days now. When i contacted him he told me the Voltage will be 4.75v to 5.25v which is 5%. hmmm yup i guess this is the PSU V2 that im using since the internal is quite different with my brothers DI-V1 and PSU V1...but as always the PSU is amazingly HOT after just 30mins of usage..

 

Since the PSU controls the power and my Laptop controls the Data now every time i switch off the PSU the U3 turns off too...which means the power is 100% provided by the PSU YEAH!!!! more clean and stable power and dont forget the HUGE improvements...

 

Since my U3 is only 2weeks old it needs more burn-in time but day by day its getting better.

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post #147 of 273
6/24/12 at 4:29pm
Thread Starter 

Well, the good side is that it's got very low ripple thanks to its Class A design, the bad one is that you could almost cook an egg on it....I see that you kept it open in those pics, but anyone w/ kids or cats around wouldn't be able to do this.

 

You don't have a multimeter by any chance? I'd love to know how the USB cable has been wired, but I guess it's got all the grounds shared and the +5V only going between the PSU and the U3. I plan on doing the same kind of trick on the U3 that's embedded inside my DP-1 soon. I'm also considering isolating the ground from the computer via a DC-to-DC converter, need to run more tests normal_smile%20.gif


Edited by leeperry - 6/24/12 at 4:31pm
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post #148 of 273
6/24/12 at 4:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by leeperry View Post

Well, the good side is that it's got very low ripple thanks to its Class A design, the bad one is that you could almost cook an egg on it....I see that you kept it open in those pics, but anyone w/ kids or cats around wouldn't be able to do this.

 

You don't have a multimeter by any chance? I'd love to know how the USB cable has been wired, but I guess it's got all the grounds shared and the +5V only going between the PSU and the U3. I plan on doing the same kind of trick on the U3 that's embedded inside my DP-1 soon. I'm also considering isolating the ground from the computer via a DC-to-DC converter, need to run more tests normal_smile%20.gif

 

Well i do have a 7kg British Shorthair roaming around my house hehe but she never gets on my audio set-up's ( hopefully never )...Yup Class A very very HOT..

 

i do have a multimeter but its been borrowed by a friend of mine, i will try to take some tests later. Well let us know about your testing too biggrin.gif..

 

For now im happy with the U3 and the PSU, imo it beats the AP2 for sure ( i got a loaner form a someone here in Beijing ) or maybe even AP1 since i have not tried  AP1...but maybe because my DAC is also a Stello so its a Combo just like your DP-1 with a U3 inside hehe...

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post #149 of 273
6/24/12 at 5:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by keph View Post

 

For now im happy with the U3 and the PSU, imo it beats the AP2 for sure ( i got a loaner form a someone here in Beijing ) or maybe even AP1 since i have not tried  AP1...but maybe because my DAC is also a Stello so its a Combo just like your DP-1 with a U3 inside hehe...

 

AP1 and AP2 will sound the same except for some other extra features I believe.

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post #150 of 273
6/25/12 at 1:50am

What do you guys think about this AQVOX PSU?

 

http://www.aqvox.de/usb-power_en.html

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