[DACLadder]

  does the master 7 hdmi works with standard TV hdmi cable to the OR5/DI-2014?

Yes, both version 1.3 and the latest 1.4 cables work fine. 

 

[SilverCans]

http://www.audio-gd.com/HE/HE-7/HE7CH.htm
 
Looks interesting. Wonder how does it effect the sound? How does it effect the bass texture and detail. I asked Kingwa but just got a link.
 
 
Also, what is currently being developed. I don't want to spend $3200 on the HE-7 only to find out that a HE-7+ (or Master 7+) is coming out. Last time I bought a Ref7 and the 7.1 came out shortly. 

 

[ciphercomplete]

That thing is huge.  I have my wallet set on a trial of the Schiit Yggy as well so I won't have room in my budget to try this one out anyway.  Would love to read some reviews though.

 

[preproman]

  http://www.audio-gd.com/HE/HE-7/HE7CH.htm
 
Looks interesting. Wonder how does it effect the sound? How does it effect the bass texture and detail. I asked Kingwa but just got a link.
 
 
Also, what is currently being developed. I don't want to spend $3200 on the HE-7 only to find out that a HE-7+ (or Master 7+) is coming out. Last time I bought a Ref7 and the 7.1 came out shortly. 

What is the HE-7?  So it looks like the same things are not sold to all places?  I'm confused..  

 

[Tom W]

I thought at one time the HE-7 was an upgraded REF-7 with a separate power supply but from the photo this unit is different from what I remember it being so perhaps there are different products for different markets.

 

[wmedrz]

It seems they were just released, so maybe they're released to the Chinese consumer before American. 
 
I would like to hear differences between M series and HE series!

 

[evillamer]

 Hi there Dacladder,
 
This is something worth try experimenting with
 
Disconnect the M7 VIA USB board connection(since we are using the I2S input and usb is not required).
 
Somehow this has improved sound quality on my end(more bass depth). It may be due to reduced EMF/RFI Noise/Power draw.
 
Do let me know what's your result on your end.

 

[Revogamer]

Looks like the new HE series it the "Regenerative power supply series"

 

[SilverCans]

HE was always A-GD's regenerative psu series. You could order their top dac as HE in the past, typically in a 2 box solution.
 
Question is, how does it improve the Master 7 sound. Kingwa please tell us
 
 

 

[evillamer]

Tried the following settings:
 
1x Sampling Mode
-60db roll-off
Dither ON
PLL OFF (running HDMI I2S from Hydra X)
 
the above setting sounds more natural than the default 8X -130db setting. 8x oversampling seems to add "glossiness" sound(which sounds more refined but at the expense of add un-natural decay). 1x mode sounds most realistic although it has a much more rawness to the sound(i.e. all the artifacts from a badly compressed mp3/youtube video will be highlighted).
 
Again YMMV, especially when so many other components are involved in the chain.

 

[ccschua]

i wonder how would the hydrabyte x vs or5 comparisons ?

 

[evillamer]

  i wonder how would the hydrabyte x vs or5 comparisons ?

 
It's pretty hard to get a comparsion. Given that the OR5 with all bells(turboclock, hdmi reg, mute mod) wil cost USD$2399 vs the more afforable ~USD$854 for Hydra X.
 
though I must say my biggest sound quality upgrade for Master 7 was ditching the onboard VIA32 USB(which sounds good, but not outstanding) and switching to using the HDMI I2S Hydra X. Schitt Wyrd in the chain also helped to improve the focus(without adding coloration).
 
Hydra X to Master 7 via Coax SPDIF or Optical don't sound as "focused" as using the I2S, coax also has a more warmish sound(this is with audio-gd factory BNC cable). Also by disabling PLL, the tuddy sounding bass via I2S was gone.
 
And switching to NOS/-60db roll off, the Master 7 > ACSS > Master 9 > Balanced > HD800 combination is pretty much neutral and pure analog sounding as I can perceive.
 
Played around with the "Data Dither" switch, and I find that it's best to leave it on, M7 sounds more "higher resolution" with dither on.

 

[DACLadder]

   Hi there Dacladder,
 
This is something worth try experimenting with
 
Disconnect the M7 VIA USB board connection(since we are using the I2S input and usb is not required).
 
Somehow this has improved sound quality on my end(more bass depth). It may be due to reduced EMF/RFI Noise/Power draw.
 
Do let me know what's your result on your end.

I've been away on holiday with only a rental car radio for audio entertainment.  But you disconnected the internal USB32 cable at the USB32 board to remove its power and I2S connection?  I'll give that a try next time I'm in the M7.
 
I haven't listened to my system in 6 days but did remove the dithering jumper this morning so now running 1X, -90dB, and PLL bypass.  Sounds really good!   You are correct - very analog like.   Even before removing the dithering jumper I swear I could hear more lower level detail like reverb tails and even tape hiss from older recordings.  And this is with speakers versus head cans.   

 

[evillamer]

 
I've been away on holiday with only a rental car radio for audio entertainment.  But you disconnected the internal USB32 cable at the USB32 board to remove its power and I2S connection?  I'll give that a try next time I'm in the M7.
 
I haven't listened to my system in 6 days but did remove the dithering jumper this morning so now running 1X, -90dB, and PLL bypass.  Sounds really good!   You are correct - very analog like.   Even before removing the dithering jumper I swear I could hear more lower level detail like reverb tails and even tape hiss from older recordings.  And this is with speakers versus head cans.   

 
I simply disconnected the multi-pin plug(that came from the USB32 Board) from the main DSP board. There's still some other tiny cables linking underneath the USB32 that links to the DSP board that I didn't remove as it seems rather risky to do so.
 
 By using a more slower roll-off filter setting, there's seem to be an increase in hiss/HF noise(which often more noticeable in bad recordings/tape transfers) , though the fluidity of the music has improved quite abit. I think the trade-off is worthwhile, I feel that music flow is key to realism.
 
It's kinda perplexing in that by defeating/reducing functions(i.e. PLL, Oversampling, Filtering) resulted in a more realistic(as in for my own judgment) sounding output.
 
Other mod on my M7 was the use of 3M AB5100S EMI absorber cut and pasted on all semiconductor chips(Altera DSP, PCM1704, Opamps, I2S Receiver chips). So far no problems with heat.

 

[Benny-x]

 
Other mod on my M7 was the use of 3M AB5100S EMI absorber cut and pasted on all semiconductor chips(Altera DSP, PCM1704, Opamps, I2S Receiver chips). So far no problems with heat.

I have a couple sheets of AB5100(non-S), but I have next to no clue what to do with it. I've also got an 8"x11" sheet of Mu-Metal, a couple sheets of ERS paper, and some copper foil tape; yes, I kinda went to town on buying that **** up. Let's hope the dollars add up to some sound improvement.
 
Anyway, I don't have my system together right now so I can't actually do anything, but I'd appreciate anyone's advice on where the best places to put those things would be and any combinations that you've found useful