[alexdemaet]

Ah, gotcha. The only way is to get back into their digital domain which is the use of the AD converter. Lake People makes a good AD converter. As does MiTech, the Joplin which is pricey but awesome but what I've read.

I am currently using the Wiim pro as AD converter and it sounds better then the previous converter. Now I can begin my experiment with the dsp on my analog records. Please note that I am only capable to get 16 bits with 48 kHz. Even if I set the wiim pro on 24 vits and 192 kHz.

 

[Slim1970]

Is there anyone using the tone controls to eq some headphones? For example, the HD800S could use some bass. Then you could dial the 1st tone control a few times clock wise. Or the he1000 v2 could use some less treble.

Yes, I use them to tweak just about every headphone I pull into it. The EQ changes are subtle, but they are noticeable with hi-res headphones.

 

[alexdemaet]

Yes, I use them to tweak just about every headphone I pull into it. The EQ changes are subtle, but they are noticeable with hi-res headphones.

I have recently ordered a minidsp Flex digital. I found out that the Wiim pro is not that good as AD converter. And above all, I will be able to import an EQ for my living room when I use speakers. And I hope I will also be able to import Autoeq headphone profiles into the minidsp device when I listen to a headphone.

 

[OM hawk]

Does the Corda Soul have any latency? My current dac/amp is a Chord Hugo 2, and I'm considering upgrading to a Hugo TT2, but it has around double the latency, and I worry I would start to notice the audio delay when watching shows and playing videogames.

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear OM hawk,

Like any DA-converter the SOUL does have a latency. Question is, how large is it!

There are various stages that delay the digital input signal till an analog output signal is created.

The S/PDIF receiver chip normally adds only 1 fs or 2 fs signal delay (fs is the sampling interval time of the incoming signal).

The DSP-chip (ADAU1452), when it uses its asynchronous sampling rate converter, adds another 24..48 fs signal delay. However, with the SOUL the ASRC is not used and there is no real delay of the input signal, maybe 1 or 2 fs.

The signal processing of the SOUL uses IR-filters that do add phase shifts, but these are normally far less then 90 degrees.

The AD-converter chip adds, depending on the sampling frequency of the input signal and on the filter setting, another 10 .. 48 fs.

Even with a "low" frequency 44.1 kHz signal the total delay thus is less then a few milliseconds.

I personally use the SOUL in my television setup and I'm very sensitive to proper lip-synchronisation. However, never experienced any problems (except with some internet television applications where the apps do not work properly).

Hope this helps a little bit,

Jan

 

[OM hawk]

Dear OM hawk,

Like any DA-converter the SOUL does have a latency. Question is, how large is it!

There are various stages that delay the digital input signal till an analog output signal is created.

The S/PDIF receiver chip normally adds only 1 fs or 2 fs signal delay (fs is the sampling interval time of the incoming signal).

The DSP-chip (ADAU1452), when it uses its asynchronous sampling rate converter, adds another 24..48 fs signal delay. However, with the SOUL the ASRC is not used and there is no real delay of the input signal, maybe 1 or 2 fs.

The signal processing of the SOUL uses IR-filters that do add phase shifts, but these are normally far less then 90 degrees.

The AD-converter chip adds, depending on the sampling frequency of the input signal and on the filter setting, another 10 .. 48 fs.

Even with a "low" frequency 44.1 kHz signal the total delay thus is less then a few milliseconds.

I personally use the SOUL in my television setup and I'm very sensitive to proper lip-synchronisation. However, never experienced any problems (except with some internet television applications where the apps do not work properly).

Hope this helps a little bit,

Jan

Ah, that's great to hear! Thanks for the detailed answer, Jan. It honestly astonishes me that I had never heard of the Soul until a few weeks ago, considering how much time I have spent researching audio gear over the past couple of years, but I'm glad I finally stumbled upon it.

 

[geoffalter11]

Ah, that's great to hear! Thanks for the detailed answer, Jan. It honestly astonishes me that I had never heard of the Soul until a few weeks ago, considering how much time I have spent researching audio gear over the past couple of years, but I'm glad I finally stumbled upon it.

I can humbly state that it is the best AIO I have ever heard and it is an absolute revelation on a daily basis. It is a brilliant piece of gear with no compromises of any kind.

 

[OM hawk]

I can humbly state that it is the best AIO I have ever heard and it is an absolute revelation on a daily basis. It is a brilliant piece of gear with no compromises of any kind.

Have you ever used the crossfeed function of Chord or iFi gear, and could you offer comparisons with the crossfeed implementation in the SOUL? Chord and iFi have very different built in crossfeeds, but I find them both very impressive in different ways.

 

[geoffalter11]

No but @Slim1970 can answer as he owns both a Soul and a Mojo 2. And used own a Hugo 2 and has a DAVE/HMS. He is also more into EQ than I am. I just plug and listen. I do use the tone controls though.

The Soul is proper in every sense of the word. It makes every headphone sound its best. Especially high impedance dynamics. But it is equally as good with Planars. It is fast, and the treble extends forever with no etch or grain. Bass is tight and fast. It saturated notes properly leading to superior resolution.

 

[alexdemaet]

I haven't figured out what the "emphasis" indicator is for. You can find it just below the 4th tone control knob.

 

[MRC001]

The Redbook CD standard has a feature called "pre-emphasis". It's like Dolby B for digital audio. Before A/D conversion, high frequencies are boosted. Then on playback D/A conversion, they are attenuated. You can Google this to read more about it.

The Redbook CD standard specified 2 ways to indicate tracks that use this feature. One is in the TOC of the CD, the other is in the track itself. Some CDs didn't set these flags properly, and some CD players don't recognize them properly. So sometimes, if you are playing a CD that used pre-emphasis, it won't apply the de-emphasis curve on playback. When this happens, the CD sounds very bright, way too much treble.

If the digital input audio data to the Soul sets the emphasis flags, the Soul will apply de-emphasis and illuminate the blue light that you mention. This won't happen very often because emphasis was used so rarely. Also, the lowest setting of the 4th tone control knob applies the de-emphasis curve manually. If a CD source you are listening to sounds excessively bright, it might have pre-emphasis that isn't being decoded, so you can turn the knob to apply it.

PS: this is explained in the Soul manual.

 

[MRC001]

PS: when I measured my Corda Soul, I captured the shape of the 4th tone control knob. The de-emphasis curve is the blue line and has the same shape whether triggered automatically or manually. If you compare it to the Redbook spec you will see that this is a very accurate de-emphasis curve.

The other lines (brown, green, purple, red) will be different from yours because Jan programmed different center frequencies for my tone control knobs; mine are evenly octave spaced at 80, 320, 1250, and 5000 Hz.

 

[alexdemaet]

The Soul connected to an electrostatic headphone energizer.

 

[Slim1970]

The Soul connected to an electrostatic headphone energizer.

How does it sound and can you use the EQ and other features?

 

[alexdemaet]

It sounds very good. Yes, of course you can use the Dsp (just like you can use the crossfeed with speakers). I don't have Stax headphones but I do have Kingsound. I can also connect the Stax energizer to the speaker amp, but I prefer to use the Soul instead.