[Solrighal]

A little bit of OT too: try to avoid rear speakers. If what you're listening to is recorded in stereo, then you won't be able to reproduce the soundstage on your dashboard. You don't need to compete in IASCA or EMMA to have fun trying to get that, and a lot of it depends on proper installation and the processor.

You can read more about my take on car audio in this forum in this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/601490/car-audio-fi/60#post_10372421 But for course for the real car-audio specific stuff, best go to www.diyma.com    

Thanks for the link. The reason I'm putting speakers in the rear is purely for fill, nothing else. A pair of type-G's in the rear coupled with type-R comps in the front and two 12" type-R's in the boot.

My problems gong to come when I amp them. I still don't know where to go in that department. The amps will be Alpine though. My car is 12 years old now and I'm in grave danger of the tunes being more expensive than the ride. I can't bring myself to part with my Golf though. Bulletproof.

 

[SilverEars]

Anybody know of any desktop software that does something like the Neutron player?

 

[Solrighal]

That depends on what Neutron is actually doing. I assume Neutron is the cleanest player and adding nothing. Therefore all the other players are adding something and that something is bad. I honestly don't know.

If it's the case that Neutron is just a purer program then an equivalent on PC would be Foobar2000 because it adds nothing to the raw file (unless you make it). I have always used Foobar2000 since year dot and if I hadn't switched to osX I would still be using it.

I'm kinda out of my depth here to be honest. I have idea why Neutron should be so much better than everything else.

Unless... Me & you are both deaf

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Anybody know of any desktop software that does something like the Neutron player?

 
Which processor function do you need? Because I haven't seen a paremetric EQ that is as flexible as Neutron's, barring more expensive pro-audio software; I'm not sure if there's even a crossfeed feature or plug-in and whether they have customizable settings like NMP. You can always just use an Android phone as a desktop source, with a dock if the ergos and cable management would otherwise bother you.
 
 
Not NeutronMP there but you get the drift. I took this photo at the time when NMP was still hissing on my phone when the processing is activated.

 

[SilverEars]

 

 Wow, you use it as a source?  Does the doc provide line-out?  What is on the left under the headphones?

 

[Solrighal]

The phone isn't a source in this sense, it's merely a transport. The DAC is the source. And yes, what is that monster on the left?

 

[SilverEars]

The phone isn't a source in this sense, it's merely a transport. The DAC is the source. And yes, what is that monster on the left?

Oh, so can you use the desktop as a server for music to the Neutron player?  Is it the same bit-rate at the source?

 

[Solrighal]

Oh, so can you use the desktop as a server for music to the Neutron player?  Is it the same bit-rate at the source?

I'm not sure I understand you. I'm going to assume that the silver box in the picture is either an amp or a combined DAC/amp.

If it's the former then he's either relying on the DAC built-in to the phone (or via OTG USB to a separate DAC which isn't visible in the picture) and passing an analogue signal to the big box and on to the Senn's.

If it's the latter then he's using OTG USB to the DAC (in the big shiny thing) and internally on to the amp section of same. Either way the music is on the phone unless there's more than one input on the monster.

In other words, I don't know.

 

[Solrighal]

Right, hang on. The big shiny thing...

From the left...

Power switch. up = on, down = off. Current selection = on.

Headphone output. Balanced.

Gain switch (?)

Volume.

Input select. up = USB, down = other (?). Current selection = USB.

The logo in the centre shows a 'C'. Chord? Not sure.

The big shiny silver monster is a DAC/amp combo. And it's not so big either.

So he's feeding a digital from his Samsung Note 2 (?) to the DAC in the box and then on to the amp section. From there it travels via a balanced XLR output to his modded dual-entry Sennheiser HD600's

 

[Solrighal]

Just call me Columbo.

I still don't know who did it.

 

[Solrighal]

It's a Meier Audio Cora Cantate.2 and it's just an amp. He's either using the on board DAC in the Samsung Galaxy S or there's another DAC hidden somewhere else. Given the quality of the amp I'd imagine there's a DAC we're not seeing.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Quote:

 

 Wow, you use it as a source?  Does the doc provide line-out?

 
No, not as a line out. Like I said the Android phone only acts as a digital transport - with a USB OTG cable adapter it outputs digital audio through USB, straight into the USB DAC built into the amp.
 
 
 
Quote:

  What is on the left under the headphones?

 
The Meier Corda Cantate.2, designed by Meier in Germany but "mass" (because there aren't that many of them, and only two in this country) manufactured by Shan Ling. You might see Shan Ling products with a similar looking chassis, particularly the MC (Music Center).
 
Quote:

It's a Meier Audio Cora Cantate.2 and it's just an amp. He's either using the on board DAC in the Samsung Galaxy S or there's another DAC hidden somewhere else. Given the quality of the amp I'd imagine there's a DAC we're not seeing.

 
It has a USB DAC built into a section of the circuit board, built around the PCM2702, which in some other DACs is used only as a USB receiver (like the DIR9001) with another DAC chip. In this case it does both, so it's a simpler circuit, and doesn't even have the usual output stage - it feeds the signal into the amp's input section without the help of output HDAMs or the like. That's not necessarily a bad thing, since I've listened to a bunch of CDPs that cost more and sucked compared to this. They either screwed up the sound stage, or the response was too warm.

 

[Solrighal]

It's a nice outfit, very minimalist. In fact you had me trawling the net for most of yesterday evening try to find something similar I could use.

Can I ask something?

You say you're using OTG USB - where did you get either the dock or long cable or both to do this? The only docks I can find only allow a 3.5mm output.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

It's a nice outfit, very minimalist. In fact you had me trawling the net for most of yesterday evening try to find something similar I could use.

 
Nearly any DAC-Amp I think would work, but of course check the Android USB OTG thread here - DanBa updates every five pages (page numbers ending in 0 and 5) with a table or the link to a Google doc with the table. Of course, if you can land a Cantate or better yet the Symphony or Opera, that'll rock (same amp but better DAC, I think). Shanling I thnk has one that has USB inputs dedicated to iDevices and Androids (probably the same port for PC and Android).
 
I've been meaning to get a DAC for this set up too but I need to maintain its streamlined form factor. That means the DAC should be small enough that I can put the dock on it and it won't be that much wider, or the dock has a 'straight' form factor (digital inputs on one end, analogue outputs on the other end) that I can hide behind and between these two. I considered CDPs, but not only were they more expensive, some were really screwing up the sound. I just need to find the right cable to get the USB signal into the Schiit Modi that will have the appropriate splitter where I can hook up a battery charger that it will use as a power supply. The ODAC supposedly works with the S3, but I'd really much rather have a separate battery pack or PSU (or otherwise not use teh phone's USB power) to power the USB receiver, the DAC chip, and the analogue output stage. That and other expenses are getting in way right now.
 

You say you're using OTG USB - where did you get either the dock or long cable or both to do this? The only docks I can find only allow a 3.5mm output.

 

I looked for one that basically works like an iPod dock. Search for "sync dock (insert phone or tablet here)" on Amazon, and check that it has a microUSB port on the back. If it's not an Android-specific DAC, you'll need a USB On The Go adapter for it (you can get these from Amazon sellers too). I just picked the RND dock because it was white; I also picked up a Superleggera two-layer case, since the inner rubber case allows for frequent removal of the case without the plastic outer case scratching (as the plastic-only case on my original SGS did). Not a fan of using just a rubber or silicone case because from experience if dropped the phone tends to pops out of it after the first impact.
 
I actually just gambled on the dock and OTG adapter working as such, but before this I already gambled on using the iPad2 dock with the camera connection kit's USB adapter so I can also have it upright next to the amp/DAC.

 

[Solrighal]

Interesting post. I did originally consider the O2+ODAC as a source but something put me off that for reasons I can't actually define right now. Sailing is out of reach for me I'm afraid. My biggest problem is that I don't really have a fixed listening station. I'm sometimes in the living room, sometimes the bedroom or garden. Since we live out in the country (literally the middle of nowhere) I'll go out for long walks over the hills and around the lochs in these parts. I take the dogs and when I've got music it's amazing how much distance I can cover. Therefore I'd really like a seriously good portable DAC/amp. I currently use a Fiio E18 but something tells me things could be much better, maybe a JDS Labs C5D.

It was so simple when we only had to worry about records. Ironic I suppose. I'll have a look for a suitable dock later this evening.

Oh, btw, totally agree with you regarding phone cases. I'm using an Otterbox Commuter which is by a long way the establishment designed and built case I've very used. Along with a tempered glass screen protector it feels invincible.