radiohead99 said:

  What I2S cable you guys are using with SU-1? I am guessing the quality of the cable matters.

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classfolkphile said:

  I've had the Singxer SU-1 for a while and have about 115-120 hours on it now, so I'll share my impressions. The unit replaced an AR-T Legato (original). The rest of my system is as follows:
 
2010 Mac Mini (8GB RAM, SSD, LaCie 5TB HD)>USB Cable>Singxer SU-1>PAD Aqueous Aureus Praesto Digital IC (BNC)>Eastern Electric DAC Plus (Dexa op-amps and modded)>Kaplan GS Mk2.5 ICs>Rogue Cronus Magnum (modded, with KT66s and NOS signal tubes)>Kaplan GS MKII SCs>Aural Acoustic Model B speakers. Furutech dedicated outlet, TWL PCs, and PI Audio Digi-Buss & Buss-Stop power conditioners.
 
On first hookup the SU-1 immediately conveyed a much blacker background and much more micro detail, image separation and powerful dynamics. It was also very dry, glassy, lean and, most noticeably, tight sounding, with a more constrained lateral soundstage although depth was increased. After 10 hours, the glassiness went away.  
 
On the plus side, the SU-1 conveyed accurate and extended bass, and prominent (but not overdone) leading edge transients. Trailing edge transients were just adequately long. The held note, however was slightly truncated, the midrange lean/recessed. 
 
At around the 40 hour mark the PS Audio LanRover arrived and was added. This provided an even blacker background, more prominent bass and a fuller midrange. Interestingly the Uptone Regen by itself did not improve the sound of the SU-1 (although it had made an unalloyed major improvement with the Legato). Placed after the LanRover the sound also deteriorated; placed before it, it added some additional needed fullness to the sound.
 
At this point it would be useful to mention that I could not get the SU-1 to consistently work with my longer (.75m) PI Audio USB cable: either direct from the Mac Mini or from the Mini to either the LanRover or Regen. The inexpensive included cable worked every time. Because it has ferrite cores on it? I don't know but it is strange because, as long as I used the included cable out of the Mac, I was able to use two short PI Audio USB cables out from the LanRover and/or Regen into the SU-1 without any problems. And yes, I checked that the longer cable worked on other equipment. I have a query into Dave Elledge of PI Audio to see what light he can shed on this.
 
It took around 70 hours for the tightness from the SU-1 to subside and the soundstage to open up but the leanness remained. Finally, at over 100 hours, the mid-range filled out and aligned with the treble and bass and harmony was restored.
 
To check on the effect of each piece of gear, I then removed the Regen and LanRover (individually and together). To my great surprise I preferred the sound without either of these units. They both added an overly weighty and bloomy bass and an artificial "hi-fiish" quality to the music. Without them the sound is very revealing, neutral and balanced: to the extent that it's made more obvious some pre-existing weaknesses in my system that need to be addressed.
 
IMO, the Singxer SU-1 is an excellent bargain.

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classfolkphile said:

  I should have noted that I did use the BJC CAT 6 cable which did make a nice, though relatively small, difference. I also should have noted that utilizing the LanRover to move the Mac Mini out of the audio room also made a subtle difference: a bit more smoothness and a slightly quieter background. But ultimately - having limited funds - I decided that the money for the LanRover and a LPS would be better spent on upgrading my DAC. I've just ordered a Lampizator Amber II.

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kazsud said:

How many hours on the pro3z?

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occamsrazor said:

  Can someone kindly clarify something for me about the Singxer SU-1: Does it support DSD512 over the i2s output or only DSD256?

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ldp216 said:

  So, can you use a data-only usb cable with the pro3z, if you power it externally? It'd be awesome if it was battery powered, too! And, then, if you used a dac that didn't require 5v usb bus power... that might make for a really good overall feed into your speakers or headphones.

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taz23 said:

  I was inclined to say it can be done, but I thought I should check...  
 
I just tried using a USB adapter that removes the power signal, and that causes the pro3z to be undetectable (even when it is powered by a 5v LPS).  So the answer is you still need the 5v for the handshake.
 
I am very impressed with the pro3z currently, but I have not tried SU-1 or F-1.  Anyone with these devices and the pro3z can do a brief comparison?  Many thanks!

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mhztweaker said:

   
No
 
Only DSD256, but.....
It does it VERY well.
 
In my opinion the extreme bit rate DSD sampling rates for the sake of higher bit rates is overrated.

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occamsrazor said:

   
Thanks, I'm making no judgement as to the different rates, just was looking for a clear answer as to the capabilities of the SU-1.
 
What really confuses me is the whole DoP thing with Macs that don't do native DSD. When using the SU-1 with a Mac that requires DoP, and the SU-1 connected to a DAC that can do DSD256/512... do you happen to know what would be the rate you can actually get?

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