Resonessence Labs Concero discussion/review thead
Aug 23, 2014 at 12:52 PM Post #1,846 of 2,486
  Oh alright,
good to know although asio4all does lock out other sounds for me.
but then again as long as it runs bit-perfect it's all good.
 
anyway believe it or not the sound from the concero became definitely better, i notice this because of the rendering of the voices AND i've noticed i don't switch the songs so often but rather stay listening through the whole song. The sound became more addictive.
Little transients of sound are now portrayed more accurate.


It does? No ASIO driver has ever done that for me.
 
Aug 23, 2014 at 1:14 PM Post #1,847 of 2,486
yep, just tried it out. although recently flash plugin has given me crashes when watching youtube videos with wasapi or asio4all enabled playing in foobar.
 
Edit: updating flash player now doesn't give me crashes anymore. asio4all still mutes the video
 
Aug 25, 2014 at 7:36 PM Post #1,848 of 2,486
I'm playing with the idea to buy a "ifi micro usb power supply" to complement my Resonessence Concero SD.
Anyone has experience with it? I've read that it has a pretty positive effect on the Concero.
 
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/iFi-Micro-iUSB-Power-Supply-/231276576096?pt=Turntable_Parts_Accessories&hash=item35d9287d60
 
Is it worth it? Darko (i think) says yes in an article.
 
Aug 25, 2014 at 7:59 PM Post #1,849 of 2,486
Can't say anything specific about iFi iUSB power,
But in my environment a Schiit Wyrd didn't do anything noticeable to my Concero HD.
(Yah I know, not your exact DAC)

YMMV
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 4:39 AM Post #1,850 of 2,486
I've looked at the Concero circuit board and there isn't too much filtering or isolation going on so I definitely think you will benefit from a USB power source. I received one with the AP2 I bought 2nd hand but unfortunately I couldn't get it to work with the Concero. Don't expect major gains though if your USB source power is pretty clean to begin with.
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 9:12 AM Post #1,851 of 2,486
Thanks for the advices guys.
Hmm, i guess trying it out wouldn't hurt.
 
on the other hand i'm really satisfied with the Soundquality so i don't know if this would be necessary.
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 10:18 AM Post #1,852 of 2,486
  I've looked at the Concero circuit board and there isn't too much filtering or isolation going on so I definitely think you will benefit from a USB power source. I received one with the AP2 I bought 2nd hand but unfortunately I couldn't get it to work with the Concero. Don't expect major gains though if your USB source power is pretty clean to begin with.

 
 
Looks can be deceiving though. It's all about precision implementation rather than a brute force approach. Your theory runs contrary to what people in this thread have pretty much universally experienced.
 
But, of course, there could always be counter-examples. So it certainly doesn't hurt to try. For one thing, how are we to judge quality of USB outputs between several laptops? We could judge by overall price of each device but that's not necessarily any indication of a superior USB port - in fact, a fast system based around a powerful quad core i7 seems more likely to cause trouble as compared to a more basic i3 setup. The faster CPU requires more thermal management, makes more noise (of all types), strains the power supply system to a greater degree..... I'm sure these issues can be overcome but how do we know one way or the other? 
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 12:46 PM Post #1,853 of 2,486
I've used my Concero in lot of systems and it really doesn't differ that much in sound quality. For me that is quite an endearing quality compared to some other more finicky DACs I've used in the past. I'm sure other people will hear more differences than I do, but I'd really say it is close to splitting hairs. The protection I've seen on the Concero is more geared towards voltage drops and inadequate current delivery.
 
My Concero has been connected to following devices:
- Powered USB hub on my Dell monitor
- Core i7 PC with Seasonic Platinum PSU which has extremely low ripple
- Macbook Air/Retina Pro (adapter and battery powered)
- Apple USB power adapter
 
If you do the math, spending from $100-200 extra on your Concero is adding another 16-33% on top of the original purchase price. For that kind of money you could purchase the HD. With a filtered supply you could expect a performance gain from anything between 0-5%. It only makes sense if your current system is feeding it garbage power and you are not getting anywhere close 100% of its performance which implies that your money might have been better spent on a DAC not dependent on the quality of the USB power.
 
Aug 26, 2014 at 1:01 PM Post #1,854 of 2,486
The issue that gave me the idea of upgrading to a usb power supply was because i was listening to music yesterday and got listeners fatigue.
But then i switched from Analog Output to Power on State and the fatigue causing sound gone away as far as i can tell.
 
So yeah i still have some issues which i have to figure out. But thanks for the help everyone.
Beside that i really love the DAC.
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 3:20 AM Post #1,856 of 2,486
  I've used my Concero in lot of systems and it really doesn't differ that much in sound quality. For me that is quite an endearing quality compared to some other more finicky DACs I've used in the past. I'm sure other people will hear more differences than I do, but I'd really say it is close to splitting hairs. The protection I've seen on the Concero is more geared towards voltage drops and inadequate current delivery.
 
My Concero has been connected to following devices:
- Powered USB hub on my Dell monitor
- Core i7 PC with Seasonic Platinum PSU which has extremely low ripple
- Macbook Air/Retina Pro (adapter and battery powered)
- Apple USB power adapter
 
If you do the math, spending from $100-200 extra on your Concero is adding another 16-33% on top of the original purchase price. For that kind of money you could purchase the HD. With a filtered supply you could expect a performance gain from anything between 0-5%. It only makes sense if your current system is feeding it garbage power and you are not getting anywhere close 100% of its performance which implies that your money might have been better spent on a DAC not dependent on the quality of the USB power.

have you try a external power supply for concero and cut off 5v line from your computer?
ie, search for teradak u9va, it comes with a USB cable for power transfer, and you can cut the 5v from main usb cable
to me its about 20%+ improvement on concero sd
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 4:40 AM Post #1,857 of 2,486
  have you try a external power supply for concero and cut off 5v line from your computer?
ie, search for teradak u9va, it comes with a USB cable for power transfer, and you can cut the 5v from main usb cable
to me its about 20%+ improvement on concero sd

 
I really have to try that PSU some time.. At $44 it seems an incredible value. Does it come standard with the split USB cable?
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 5:53 AM Post #1,858 of 2,486
   
I really have to try that PSU some time.. At $44 it seems an incredible value. Does it come standard with the split USB cable?

yep the usb cable is included
the psu has been measured on another forum with very impressive result
less than 2mV noise, but the case is 2mV is the limitation of measure equipments :))
 
you can have a look here
http://www.stereo.net.au/forums/index.php?/topic/57902-teradak-low-noise-linear-power-supply-cheap-and-clean-5v-usb-power-source/
 
Aug 31, 2014 at 10:32 AM Post #1,859 of 2,486
+1 
 
I'm also very pleased with the Teradak PSU.  
 
The splitter cable alone is worth the price, when you consider how much some other companies are charging for a USB Y-cable that allows you to pull only data from one port while getting power from another.
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/TeraDak-TeraLink-X1-X2-DC8-5V-1A-USB-DC5V-port-Linear-Power-Supply-/181467993450
 
Mike
 

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