@Diet Kokaine looks great. Have you considered removing the voltage selector jumpers & directly soldering wires in their place? I don't have a wavelight, but bypassing the voltage selector on my dac gave a small but worthwhile improvement for the small amount of work required.

Fun little Saturday morning project -- made up a 3mm carbon fiber bottom plate for the SW-8. Took inspiration from SR's switch chassis (though the compartmentalized SW8 chassis is nicer)

How long did you let it run in your system? If you really don't like it, you can always send it my way, my secondary/headfi setup could use one:wink:

Had an older Synergistic Research power cable that I'd upgraded from, so after tearing it down to see what was inside I decided to experiment. The result is 10awg SR copper, cotton to space out the shielding, re-applied Synergistic Research's UEF compound, added a layer of carbon/teflon...

My ULPS runs at around 37v loaded. Your mention of GaN-based ATX supplies has interested me over the last year or so. I'd like to try one someday in my head-fi setup. The Taiko DC/ATX is also GaN-based & interests me, even though I have no complaints about the 800w. Saligny is also making a...

Agree to disagree on that one. The dynamics & transient response of this 2 channel system w/ purpose-built computer still spooks me sometimes. But hey, individual systems, ears, preferences, etc :beerchug:

With $2k+ Nenon v3 unregulated lps + hdplex 800w, jcat USB xe, etc....that elfidelity card still made improvements in my system. I tried taking it out, but had to put it back in. If/when I upgrade the hdplex 800w to the Taiko dc/atx, I'll try removing the elfidelity card again.

Also not a fan of power line, injecting noise directly into the AC line. Switching to mesh worked out better for both sonics & network speed

Carbon fiber is still worth trying, since it behaves differently to copper with regards to absorbing rather than reflecting high frequencies.

I also prefer to shield my usb card. In this case carbon fiber over the Jcat USB XE. An second plate was added to the back of the card sometime after this pic was taken

I recently upgraded from Neotech NEI-1002 to NEI-1001, keeping the same ETI Kryo connectors. Having moved up through a few different models of Neotech bulk wire now, each step up really does continue to give improved performance. The NEI-1001 has great tonal weight. Aside from the imaging &...

Stumbled across this post while looking for info on one of the more esoteric, voodoo-ey audio topics. I wish more people took the balanced approach described below; and I wonder what changed between 2011 and today.

1m is totally fine for i2s. There's a couple schools of thought on digital: one saying shortest is best, the other saying 1.5m is ideal to avoid reflections. Personally, I'm a Tubulus Concentus fan -- once received there was 0 desire to try anything else. On the cheaper end, the Furutech...

Interesting, good idea on bypassing the brass & using a star ground. I have mine connected to a dedicated ground box, but no star grounding as of right now. I'll have to try putting it on the SR Active Ground Block, since that's a star ground. Litz is a good idea, or even cheap pre-braided IEM...

I'll take observed & repeatable experiences with my magic boxes over a random-internet-person's credential wagging every day of the week. I'm just here to improve my stereo & have some fun in the process. Not sure what's going on in your head, but you took an off-the-cuff joke wayyyy too...

I've tried a number of so-called "perfect" USB devices. Many were good, none have offered complete immunity IME. I respect that may not be everyone's experience, hence my recommendation to test in your own system.

@SecretAgent cite your sources please.

Same dudes who wouldn't believe how piezoelectricity is used in a simple quartz watch. Or their dac....or computer....

Some people prefer I2S over USB on Holo products, others don't hear a difference. The majority seem to use USB. I'd worry about the quality of the source more than the output format, and try to demo a couple different devices to see if you notice any improvements. And don't forget I2S vs USB...

@Ian S thanks for providing that level of detail on both parts lists & pics!

I upgraded to 1401 on this morning. I don't remember what version from, but it was probably about 3 months old. Very pleasantly surprised with the SQ uptick.

@George Hincapie you really got in the time machine, went back two years, took that post out of the context of the discussion and wildly misinterpreted the point. I wasn't bashing anything in that post. Different means different, nothing more nothing less. I happily own both Denafrips and...

You need to open the power supply chassis to change two voltage switches. It's easier than it looks. This guide should help https://www.kitsunehifi.com/quick-instructions-on-how-to-open-the-spring-dac-chassis/

Link-up cat8 on Amazon is a nice, weighty budget option. I've been considering messing around with other, more expensive options than the Furutech cable, but more out of pure curiosity than anything. No complaints or feeling like anything is missing with the Furutech cable.

I use Furutech lan8 ncf