[supersonic13]

I really appreciate the ideas guys, I did the following today:
 
1. Rearranged my desk and moved the Pan Am about 2 feet from my computer
2. Took extra care to route my USB cable away from other electronics and their power supplies
3. Switched USB ports on my computer
4. Added the tube covers
5. Unplugged the Passport from charging while in use (I feel like I had tried this earlier, so I'm not sure if this is actually helping)
 
Some combination of the above seems to have significantly reduced the problem, unfortunately I did all of the above at once so I can't say which of them helped the most. I think I may have heard the sound once today thus far (again with no music playing), but it was much lower in volume and pitch and also much shorter in duration. It is definitely a large improvement over last night, when it was much louder and occurred frequently, so I think I can live with things as they are now. All I can say is I've learned an important lesson: Never underestimate the impact of electronic interference from other devices.
 
Now time to relax and really enjoy the HD650's.

 

[koolas]

A question: Is there any benefit of having Gateway if you have Passport? Will Passport charge quicker? If Passport is plugged to kit charger (small one) do you hear anything worrying in sound?

 

[koolas]

I have created my own USB cable. It's four twisted stranded wires each in isolation. It has around 20cm length. Before I used cable from Lexmark (printer) and with my custom cable I see significant improvement of SQ. Probably jitter was significantly reduced.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

So if you are brave enough and you are not afraid of burning your laptop, I would encourage you to build your own USB cable. However be aware that by doing so you may destroy your laptop and if that happens I am not responsible for that

If you're still interested then what you need is four wires in four colors and two plugs one of type A and one of type B, and to connect their pins. To see which pins see this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Pinouts. You will also need good soldering skills, because you must ensure there is no short between pins.

 

[Currawong]

  My PassPort is near death, any suggest?
 
Replace battery in PassPort or external power-pack.
 
Thanks!

 
Have you tried contacting ALO to see if they can't do something for you?

 

[BoxerOrBag]

I just got the Pan Am with Passport last night, nifty little toy
 
Quote:

I have created my own USB cable. It's four twisted stranded wires each in isolation. It has around 20cm length. Before I used cable from Lexmark (printer) and with my custom cable I see significant improvement of SQ. Probably jitter was significantly reduced.

Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!

So if you are brave enough and you are not afraid of burning your laptop, I would encourage you to build your own USB cable. However be aware that by doing so you may destroy your laptop and if that happens I am not responsible for that

If you're still interested then what you need is four wires in four colors and two plugs one of type A and one of type B, and to connect their pins. To see which pins see this article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB#Pinouts. You will also need good soldering skills, because you must ensure there is no short between pins.

 
1) in all my years of using USB to transfer data, not one byte was ever lost
2) in most modern DACs, the USB transfer is async, afaik, that means the timing is control by the DAC
 
base on the above points, where no information is lost and timing doesnt matter, I'm wondering how there could be sonic differences in functional USB cables.
 
 

A question: Is there any benefit of having Gateway if you have Passport? Will Passport charge quicker? If Passport is plugged to kit charger (small one) do you hear anything worrying in sound?

 
why don't you try using the 1) Pan Am with wall wart, 2) Pan Am with just the Passport and no wall wart attached, 3) Pan Am with Passport and wall wart attached. And draw your own conclusions. I regret not getting a Gateway myself

 

[R Scott Ireland]

A question: Is there any benefit of having Gateway if you have Passport? Will Passport charge quicker? If Passport is plugged to kit charger (small one) do you hear anything worrying in sound?

I often recharge the Passport with the wall charger while still playing music, and I've not had any issues with the sound.

 

[BattousaiX26]

Anyone with experience on RCA 6ak5w with pan am?

 

[NZheadcase]

Got my hands on an Apple 30-pin CCK with an iPad two. Testing out if it can hook up directly with the PanAm.
 
So far no go. Running the latest firmware; tried the passport and the gateway. Both no go. iPad is saying the PanAm user too much power. I seem to remember someone saying it works. Has anyone been successful at doing this? Is a jailbreak necessary as well as a specific app? 
 
I got it to work with no problems on a Sony Xperia Z Tablet. Sucks if there's no way to do it on an iPad though. 

 

[NZheadcase]

Bummed that it's not working. I thought with that latest update, that the compatibility would be better. The PanAm is self-powered, so I don't know why it's not working. The Bifrost works just fine. Oh well, you live, you learn.  

 

[koolas]

I was able to feed Pan Am USB from Nokia N900 using OTG adapter and H-E-N package. Must say this combo gave best SQ compared with USB in my laptop, and my desktop and desktop in the office. Probably because N900 is powered by battery, it runs on ARM A8 and OS is more real time. I thought connecting iPad or iPhone would be a piece of cake though... BTW N900 sells ~$200 and has 32GB memory, and works perfectly without SIM.

 

[NZheadcase]

Good on yah koolas.
 
Yeah I thought it would be straightforward as well. Shigzeo mentioned he has an iPad first gen and it works for him. 
 
I can use the iPhone and iPad with the 3.5mm line in on the PanAm, and it works ok. I just wanted to use the USB to squeeze the last bit of performance from the iOS > PanAm chain. It's back to the 'ol drawing board for me for now. 

 

[shigzeo]

  Bummed that it's not working. I thought with that latest update, that the compatibility would be better. The PanAm is self-powered, so I don't know why it's not working. The Bifrost works just fine. Oh well, you live, you learn.  

It's not the self-powered bit that matters, it's how much electricity it takes to run its DAC. I have used a LOT of battery-powered DACs, even from very small amp/DAC units that simply won't work from iPads. Then, there is the Pan Am, which works from an iPad 1 and iOS 5 or 6. It would be great if the USB port would get more power again with a firmware update. That is possible. But if Apple aren't made aware of it, the hope will fall on deaf ears.

 

[NZheadcase]

It's not the self-powered bit that matters, it's how much electricity it takes to run its DAC. I have used a LOT of battery-powered DACs, even from very small amp/DAC units that simply won't work from iPads. Then, there is the Pan Am, which works from an iPad 1 and iOS 5 or 6. It would be great if the USB port would get more power again with a firmware update. That is possible. But if Apple aren't made aware of it, the hope will fall on deaf ears.

 


Yeah, I realised as much. Lesson learnt. Focusing on finding an alternative solution now. I really don't want my solution to be - sell the PanAm and get something else. I like this amp.

Will try a powered USB hub. Failing that, I might try that new iFi dac/amp or a microstreamer.

 

[NZheadcase]

Two cans I like on the PanAm. Very satisfying.
 

 

[BattousaiX26]

  Two cans I like on the PanAm. Very satisfying.
 

Wow! I want that beyer too! Btw did pan am tame highs of T1? Do you think it has less sibilance now?