[preproman]

And if I don't use the USB port on the DAC would the firmware upgrade still benefit me?

 

[Clemmaster]

Has anyone tried the latest firmware 7 and drivers 2.0? I installed everything yesterday and encountered small SQ differences. May be the bass has improved??? Please post your feedback.

I tried it with the NFB-27. I think the sound is thinner than #3 and not particularly more technical. I'm switching back to #3.

@prep: the firmware is for the USB input only

 

[preproman]

Thanks Clem..

 

[drez]

Quote:

If I where you 

 
I would upgrade to the Master 7 and use the ACSS connections betwen the two.  
 
Then wait like me for the realease of the Off Ramp 6 later this year.
 
The Off Ramp 6 will give you the XMOS USB interface and a Galvanic USB input.

 
I'm thinking of doing this with the NFB7 also, do you know if the I2S schemes rae compatible between OR5/6 and AudioGD DACs?

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
I'm thinking of doing this with the NFB7 also, do you know if the I2S schemes rae compatible between OR5/6 and AudioGD DACs?

 
upon ordering the DAC,  I ask that the pin out of the DAC match the pin out of the converter.  Kingwa said that was no problem.

 

[Currawong]

Quote:

Quote:

 
I'm thinking of doing this with the NFB7 also, do you know if the I2S schemes rae compatible between OR5/6 and AudioGD DACs?

 
upon ordering the DAC,  I ask that the pin out of the DAC match the pin out of the converter.  Kingwa said that was no problem.

 
Even if it were wrong, the internal plugs are fiddly, but not too hard to re-order. You just need a thin screw driver to push each female pin out of the connecting plug and re-order them as necessary.

 

[drez]

Quote:

 
upon ordering the DAC,  I ask that the pin out of the DAC match the pin out of the converter.  Kingwa said that was no problem.

 
Quote:

 
Even if it were wrong, the internal plugs are fiddly, but not too hard to re-order. You just need a thin screw driver to push each female pin out of the connecting plug and re-order them as necessary.

 
Ahh I see, thanks for the information.  I haven't really been able to open my NFB-7.32 as the lids a bit stiff, but hopefully I won't have to.  Kind of wonder why they would use a different pinout though when quite a few DAC's are just the same RJ45 scheme as Empirical.

 

[preproman]

Quote:

 
 
Ahh I see, thanks for the information.  I haven't really been able to open my NFB-7.32 as the lids a bit stiff, but hopefully I won't have to.  Kind of wonder why they would use a different pinout though when quite a few DAC's are just the same RJ45 scheme as Empirical.

 
 
What other DACS besides the W4S?

 

[drez]

Apart for W4S and PWD it looks pretty hit and miss with I2S. Main issue seems to be single ended vs balanced signals with the RJ45 connection and the pinout. It seems the AudioGD scheme is similar to the HiFace Evo scheme, but others are different. Wrongly accused I guess. Anyway it would be interesting to hear how the combination works out. I'm tempted to hold out for OR6 and also see if any other converters show up with this functionality. I'm not all that keen on rewiring the RJ45 hookup inside the DAC as I worry about impedance matching (I might be able to get away without messing up the impedance too much), and just getting the thing open (tried recently with no luck). I could always change the termination of a CAT5 cable or something but his would not be ideal long term as CAT 5 is not the best cable.

 

[Benny-x]

Quote:

Apart for W4S and PWD it looks pretty hit and miss with I2S. Main issue seems to be single ended vs balanced signals with the RJ45 connection and the pinout. It seems the AudioGD scheme is similar to the HiFace Evo scheme, but others are different. Wrongly accused I guess. Anyway it would be interesting to hear how the combination works out. I'm tempted to hold out for OR6 and also see if any other converters show up with this functionality. I'm not all that keen on rewiring the RJ45 hookup inside the DAC as I worry about impedance matching (I might be able to get away without messing up the impedance too much), and just getting the thing open (tried recently with no luck). I could always change the termination of a CAT5 cable or something but his would not be ideal long term as CAT 5 is not the best cable.

 
You could always make a small pigtail that has the audio-gd pinout on one side and crossed around to the "correct" pinout on the other female side. That way as long as you were using Empirical style RJ-45 converters you'd still be able to upgrade or roll LAN cables and not worry about fiddling inside the DAC. 
 
As for the issue as a whole, didn't someone convert the DI-v3 to I2S already and connect it to the Master 7 in this thread? I really wonder how that would sound. I'd love to have the gear to try BNC, USB, and I2S/RJ-45 on the Master 7 just to see if and how the sound changed and what I liked best. Haha, I don't see that one coming anytime soon though. 

 

[drez]

Quote:

 
You could always make a small pigtail that has the audio-gd pinout on one side and crossed around to the "correct" pinout on the other female side. That way as long as you were using Empirical style RJ-45 converters you'd still be able to upgrade or roll LAN cables and not worry about fiddling inside the DAC. 

 
I think if I do go the I2S road then I will probably just have to get my DAC open, hopefully without any cosmetic damage.  Terminations are a big factor in digital cables as far as I know, so if the I2S cable termination is a mess it would possibly kill any performance advantage.
 
 

As for the issue as a whole, didn't someone convert the DI-v3 to I2S already and connect it to the Master 7 in this thread? I really wonder how that would sound. I'd love to have the gear to try BNC, USB, and I2S/RJ-45 on the Master 7 just to see if and how the sound changed and what I liked best. Haha, I don't see that one coming anytime soon though. 

 
Yeah that would be a unique opportunity.  I have a feeling though that a lot would have to do with the implementation of each of these and the quality of the cabling.  At this point I know I have a well sorted coax spdif cable courtesy of Belden and Bluejean Cables, a no-name CAT 5 cable might not be at the same level of performance and therefore add more jitter than the SPDIF conversion.  

 

[colour97]

Quote:

 
You could always make a small pigtail that has the audio-gd pinout on one side and crossed around to the "correct" pinout on the other female side. That way as long as you were using Empirical style RJ-45 converters you'd still be able to upgrade or roll LAN cables and not worry about fiddling inside the DAC. 
 
As for the issue as a whole, didn't someone convert the DI-v3 to I2S already and connect it to the Master 7 in this thread? I really wonder how that would sound. I'd love to have the gear to try BNC, USB, and I2S/RJ-45 on the Master 7 just to see if and how the sound changed and what I liked best. Haha, I don't see that one coming anytime soon though. 

yes, i do convert di-v3 to 12s and connected it to m7.
 
i like this more than usb input very very much. much more quiet , darker background, and clearer.
 
next step,  buy another di-v3 with bnc or rca and usb input, then connect my cd transport.  

 

[ztsen]

I just bought iFi iUSB. Now using the M7 USB input is so much better compare with HiFace coaxial input. Before that I always think the USB input is lag of body and sounds thin. I didn't buy the Gemini cable. The power supply from iUSB really help a lot. I am happy with it.

 

[seaice]

Quote:

I just bought iFi iUSB. Now using the M7 USB input is so much better compare with HiFace coaxial input. Before that I always think the USB input is lag of body and sounds thin. I didn't buy the Gemini cable. The power supply from iUSB really help a lot. I am happy with it.

 
Is there any difference in using the iFi iUSB and cutting/isolating the power wires in the USB cable?

 

[ztsen]

I believe there is a subtle improvement that's why the iFi come out the Gemini cable.

However, I have not try that.