[DaveBSC]

Quote:

 
Sounds good! 
 
Unrelated, but I just got the Auraliti PK90 set up yesterday. I'm powering it with the Nuforce LPS-1 power supply. I connected to the D2 and got..... nothing. No signal. Switched to my Violectric V800, and there is was clear as day. Interesting. Right off the bat it sounds better than regular USB from a laptop, but obviously I can't speak definitively on that yet.
 
I had zero time to troubleshoot the setup, so I maybe just screwed something up. That happens a lot 

. But I'm hoping it will work. I had assumed it would because other XMOS devices (specifically the SOtM dX-USB HD) are confirmed to work. 

Definitely keep us informed on what happens with the D2. XMOS is supposed to be Class 2, driverless with Mac and Linux. I'm also curious if they are planning to implement the new version of the SoTM card soon. I think Sonore just upgraded their server to the new PCI-e card.

 

[project86]

Definitely keep us informed on what happens with the D2. XMOS is supposed to be Class 2, driverless with Mac and Linux. I'm also curious if they are planning to implement the new version of the SoTM card soon. I think Sonore just upgraded their server to the new PCI-e card.

Will do. It could be something simple... Like I selected the wrong input on the D2. Yeah, I do a lot of goofy stuff like that when I'm in a hurry.

I also have another XMOS based device that I can try, the Izmo M1. So we will see what happens.

 

[Viper2001]

Quote:

So my D2 came back 3 days ago, and it has not dissapointed.
Without getting into a lot of hype & mumble jumble, these are my key observations so far:
- more detail & separation of instruments, without being analytical
- a bit more relaxed presentation
 
But honestly, those are not 'night & day' differences, and rather more on the subtle side (perhaps that may change with more burn-in?). And overall I'm drawn more into the music (i.e., the DAC keeps me on the couch for longer listening sessions, and it's more enjoyable)... Then, on the 'practical' side, one must consider cost (especially shipping back-&-forth); so, at the end of the day, perhaps adding a "Legato II" may be a wiser inve$tment?
 
Anyway, there's it is, for what it's worth. Thanks Viper, nice job!
LeoDuran

 
You're welcome.
 
Given D2's spectacular measurements, it is not something easy to improve upon.  But mostly I feel that I wasn't that drawn in or engaged with a stock D2, hence the mod.  Getting a more relaxed presentation and yet does not lose out on transient and dynamics is actually very hard to do

 
BTW, have you tried different USB cables and observed any differences?

 

[Viper2001]

Off topic:
 
Anyone here interested in selling his Anedio U2 converter?  PM me if you're interested.  Thanks.

 

[tme110]

Yea, I know everyone was waiting for the D2 and the new usb interface but did you think about getting the pk100 and connecting via coax at all?
Quote:

 

 

[DaveBSC]

Quote:

Yea, I know everyone was waiting for the D2 and the new usb interface but did you think about getting the pk100 and connecting via coax at all?

Unless I'm mistaken, the output of the PK100 is from an ESI Juli@. Jitter from that is going to be WAY higher than asynch USB.

 

[cky8]

I think 2 weeks past and I was pretty busy doing other stuff. I got my external U2 modded by Viper2001. Plugged into D1.
 
Overall I would say the presentation has gotten a certain calmness. The whole presentation is taken just slightly a row or two back being less upfront.  Because at first it was less edgy and glaring I felt underwhelmed. But once you start to appreciate the real deal, then this is more natural and analog sounding. The side effect was that I could focus more and engage with the music myself. Rather than the opposite way where it is smacked right into your face.
 
I think pursuing the very low jitter numbers will improve the soundstage imaging and layering of depth. But even more so important, ambiance. This is something I think it is really tough to achieve. Surreal sense of natural ambiance. Viper2001 his mods did just that, the way I perceive it.
 
I was less concerned with having deeper textured bass, analog mids etc. Not that they don't matter. The mods did slightly improve those major aspects. But what is worth noting is how all these elements blend together into a coherent presentation. That was the spotlight for me.
 
That said the stock U2 is nonetheless a decent performer for its price. But the modded U2 to me is worth the investment. And also a piece of mind the transport is simply low jitter.
 
Thanks Viper2001 

 

[LeoDuran]

You're welcome.

Given D2's spectacular measurements, it is not something easy to improve upon.  But mostly I feel that I wasn't that drawn in or engaged with a stock D2, hence the mod.  Getting a more relaxed presentation and yet does not lose out on transient and dynamics is actually very hard to do

BTW, have you tried different USB cables and observed any differences?

Viper,
Agreed on the transient & dynamics... I'll add that to my previous comments,

No, I haven't made USB cable comparions yet... I'll report back when I get a chance.
(I did so once before with the stock D2, using a friend's expensive cable, and could not appreciate differences... But, to be honest, I did not spend a lot of time testing/comparing).

BTW, in theory "Async USB", as opposed to to "Adaptive USB", should be USB cable agnostic. But I think that's more of a "jitter" statement, than a "noise immunity" statement.... So, what I think I'm hearing you say is:
- The stock D2 could benefit from a "better" USB cable for noise rejection
- The Viper-modded D2 isolates noise well enough to make the cable issue virtually irrelevant
Did I get that right?

 

[project86]

Quote:

Unless I'm mistaken, the output of the PK100 is from an ESI Juli@. Jitter from that is going to be WAY higher than asynch USB.

 
I don't think you are mistaken.
 
The Juli@ is a nice little card for a good price. It's got discrete clocks for 44.1kHz and 48kHz, rather than deriving them from a PLL as done in many other low priced options. Bryston even uses a slightly "modified" Juli@ in their BDP-1. But that doesn't make it a really high end card, and async USB clearly has the edge in terms of theoretical performance. That's why I went with the PK90. It makes sense because if one needed SPDIF, a good USB to SPDIF converter could be added down the road, which should also be superior to the PK100. 
 
Anyways... I did some more testing yesterday and I think I figured it out. My Anedio D2 has stopped working over USB. My laptop will recognize it when plugged in, and Foobar will report it as working/allow me to select it as an output device/play music. But the signal indicator on the front panel remains red and sound is not passing through. I'll have to contact James at Anedio.
 
In the meantime, I have the Izmo M1 to play with, also using the XMOS chipset. It does work with the PK90, no issues whatsoever, and it sounds spectacular feeding SPDIF to the D2. Preliminary impressions? This might be the best playback I've heard in my system to date. But it's still too early to say anything for sure. 

 

[Viper2001]

Quote:

I think 2 weeks past and I was pretty busy doing other stuff. I got my external U2 modded by Viper2001. Plugged into D1.
 
Overall I would say the presentation has gotten a certain calmness. The whole presentation is taken just slightly a row or two back being less upfront.  Because at first it was less edgy and glaring I felt underwhelmed. But once you start to appreciate the real deal, then this is more natural and analog sounding. The side effect was that I could focus more and engage with the music myself. Rather than the opposite way where it is smacked right into your face.
 
I think pursuing the very low jitter numbers will improve the soundstage imaging and layering of depth. But even more so important, ambiance. This is something I think it is really tough to achieve. Surreal sense of natural ambiance. Viper2001 his mods did just that, the way I perceive it.
 
I was less concerned with having deeper textured bass, analog mids etc. Not that they don't matter. The mods did slightly improve those major aspects. But what is worth noting is how all these elements blend together into a coherent presentation. That was the spotlight for me.
 
That said the stock U2 is nonetheless a decent performer for its price. But the modded U2 to me is worth the investment. And also a piece of mind the transport is simply low jitter.
 
Thanks Viper2001 

 
Thanks for the review on my U2 mod.  I couldn't have written it better myself

 
When I first listened to the U2, the sound was a bit glaring and edgy to me.  Certainly much better than products like HiFace, but it was a far cry from the Legato.
 
FYI, the downstream gear I used for testing (not D2) has little or no jitter rejection ability, so whatever was presented on U2, I heard it all.  The ambiance was not there and the sound stage was not coherent. There appeared to be "holes" in the sound stage, all because it was lacking in tone density here and there.  I could not listen to it for more than 15 mins.
 
What I learnt from my astute audiophile buddies in the last several years is that when you have the correct setup/mod, there should be nothing in the sound that would draw on attention by itself.  Coherent is the key.  Everything should sound natural and organic, and yet does not sacrifice transients and dynamics information.
 
You're in fact correct that when jitter gets extremely low, the improvement would be heard in the sound stage.  But since U2 doesn't really have very low jitter to begin with, you get more than a sound stage improvement (ie: a more analog presentation).
 
Sound stage was the first thing I noticed when I got my Legato.  Like they say in the opening of StarTrek, "Space, the final frontier".  Same applies to audio

 

[Viper2001]

Quote:

BTW, in theory "Async USB", as opposed to to "Adaptive USB", should be USB cable agnostic. But I think that's more of a "jitter" statement, than a "noise immunity" statement.... So, what I think I'm hearing you say is:
- The stock D2 could benefit from a "better" USB cable for noise rejection
- The Viper-modded D2 isolates noise well enough to make the cable issue virtually irrelevant
Did I get that right?

 
Async USB are just the buzz words.  The technology does not guarantee host or USB cable immunity.  Immunity is achieved via proper implementation.  So yes, I think my modded D2 should isolate well enough to render USB cable a very minor issue.  I wouldn't say I've achieved complete immunity.  If I were to design U2 from scracth, there are certainly more things I can do to achieve better immunity.

 

[LeoDuran]

Quote:

 
Async USB are just the buzz words.  The technology does not guarantee host or USB cable immunity.  Immunity is achieved via proper implementation.  So yes, I think my modded D2 should isolate well enough to render USB cable a very minor issue.  I wouldn't say I've achieved complete immunity.  If I were to design U2 from scracth, there are certainly more things I can do to achieve better immunity.

I won't dispute the "does not guarantee" part of your statement, but I certainly would not agree that 'Async USB are just the buzz words'...Async USB is "real" and different to "Adaptive USB". With Async USB the downstream device (DAC/converter) is the master (asking for data), not using the clocks from the source device (e.g., computer).
 
I also will not dispute your "proper implementation" argument: Yes, there are adaptive USB devices that outperform (badly implemented) "async USB" devices.

 

[john57]

Quote:

Unless I'm mistaken, the output of the PK100 is from an ESI Juli@. Jitter from that is going to be WAY higher than asynch USB.

 So you are saying that jittler from a PCI sound card will always be high?

 

[Viper2001]

Quote:

... but I certainly would not agree that 'Async USB are just the buzz words'....

 
Async USB device is certainly the way to go and is the way how CAS audio should be implemented.  Versus the old days where the clock in the DAC is the master and the word clock drives the CD transport for best performance.
 
What I'm saying is that async alone does not guarantee performance, so buying an async USB device doesn't mean you'll get good sound out of it.  We're lucky that D2 has high jitter rejection so the sound of U2 is alright.
 
Project86 just said the Izmo M1 sounds spectacular feeding SPDIF to the D2.  M1 is using a low jitter TCXO as clock.  I don't know the p/n of the clock M1 is using, it may or may not be better than the Crystek I used in your D2 mod.  In any case, TCXOs should have much lower jitter than the clocks Anedio is using in D2.  So one more data point to show that D2 has room for improvement if it is fed with a lower jitter async USB converter.

 

[john57]

There has been studies showing that having the clock in the DAC as the master and the word clock drives the CD transport clock like a PLL loop does not always sounds good. At last year RMAF there was a workshop on Jitter that may have some useful information.
 
http://audiofest.net/2012/video_player.php?video_id=39&Sid=cb6b9a578bb4707ec5247e0e09ae80fb
 
You may have to start in the middle of the video.