[ProLoL]

I have an early production 2017 R2R11 if anyone's seeking to purchase.

 

[Telin]

Got a message from Magna HiFi today that they experienced the same issue as I have with the unit. They replaced the Amanero USB module with a new one and now doing a long test. So far 5 hours in without any problems or issues. It still (too) early to jump to conclusions but so far it seems to be a faulty Amanero module that caused my problems.

 

[Telin]

Little update..
My DAC has been playing nonstop for 48 hours over at Magna without problems. Guess you can say that the new Amanero module fixed the issue I had.
It's now on the way back to me. Still kinda curious to see if it will also behave properly in my system.

ps.

On the Audio-GD website they state:

2. All our products undergo more than 100 hours of burn-in, listening and thorough testing.

Makes me wonder how come they didn't catch the faulty Amanero module during this testing.

 

[CJG888]

If anyone is interested, I am also selling my R2R-11 (mint condition, based in EU). Please PM.

 

[Telin]

If anyone is interested, I am also selling my R2R-11 (mint condition, based in EU). Please PM.

How come you sell your unit?

 

[CJG888]

I have just ordered a Topping DX7 Pro. I need something more compact with a balanced output.

 

[sajunky]

Finally I got my Amanero board upgraded with a pair of Crystek CCHD-575 oscilators. I initially replaced only one, responsible for the 48kHz sample rate family. Using SoX I could switch frequency between 44.1 and 48, having immediate response. New oscilator brought an instant improvement in transparency and lowering harshnes. Complex sound is opening proper harmonics, making it more enjoyable. It is not a jaw dropping effect, but considering it is $30 upgrade, highly recommended.

BTW, My R2R-11 can sound good and not so good at times. Now while I could instantly compare two oscilators, I found that during a night I couldn't hear a difference. I know that our power lines are overloaded, especially during peak hours, but it is surprising that noisy power line can destroy improvements from a good oscilator. It is repeating during peak hours, now is clear why sometimes I cannot enjoy the sound.

Sound is still improving during the last few days, will post an update.

 

[Telin]

Question for the more technical people..
The NFB-11.38 uses 1x femtosecond Accusilicon 318B while the DX7Pro uses 3x femtosecond Accusilicon 318B
Just for my curiosity what is/are the design philosophy to use 1 clock over 3 clocks or opposite, using 3 instead of one?

 

[sajunky]

Question for the more technical people..
The NFB-11.38 uses 1x femtosecond Accusilicon 318B while the DX7Pro uses 3x femtosecond Accusilicon 318B
Just for my curiosity what is/are the design philosophy to use 1 clock over 3 clocks or opposite, using 3 instead of one?

General answer. Three high performance oscilators is wrong, a marketing bull. Two is right: one for 44.1kHz and one for 48kHz families. The third one is usually present, its use is different - for the internal microprocessor operation (not related to the audio timing), it can be a standard type. One can be also right, depends on the internal electronics.

What I see on the picture of NFB-11.28/38 Performance Edition, there is one large oscilator next to the ESS chip. It means that ESS chip use its own ASRC (asynchronous sample rate conversion), PLL (or both) to synchronise incoming data with the high quality internal clock. ASRC requires very complex mathematical operations and I think it is a built-in feature of ESS chip. Better from dual precision clocks? Very close, but in my opinion two separate clock oscilators are better.

I can't comment on DX7Pro, but Topping D30 was supposed to come with expensive SiTime clocks (it is how it was measured on ASR), but I received 20c no-name clocks. A pure cheat. You don't get the same treatment with Audio GD. On the other side, NFB-11 is old design, I suggest to look at two new models:

As seen on the photo, D-77 2021 has three large clock devices, but only two are a high precision Accusilicon type. It means that Kingwa found a way to bypass the internal ESS chip clock synchronisation and FPGA is deployed for this job (similar to the DI-20 and 2021 versions of R2R DACs). No three Accusilicon clocks, no marketing bull. There is no photo of AS-1 internals, but based on the description I expect exactly the same.

 

[Telin]

General answer. Three high performance oscilators is wrong, a marketing bull. Two is right: one for 44.1kHz and one for 48kHz families. The third one is usually present, its use is different - for the internal microprocessor operation (not related to the audio timing), it can be a standard type. One can be also right, depends on the internal electronics.

What I see on the picture of NFB-11.28/38 Performance Edition, there is one large oscilator next to the ESS chip. It means that ESS chip use its own ASRC (asynchronous sample rate conversion), PLL (or both) to synchronise incoming data with the high quality internal clock. ASRC requires very complex mathematical operations and I think it is a built-in feature of ESS chip. Better from dual precision clocks? Very close, but in my opinion two separate clock oscilators are better.

I can't comment on DX7Pro, but Topping D30 was supposed to come with expensive SiTime clocks (it is how it was measured on ASR), but I received 20c no-name clocks. A pure cheat. You don't get the same treatment with Audio GD. On the other side, NFB-11 is old design, I suggest to look at two new models:

As seen on the photo, D-77 2021 has three large clock devices, but only two are a high precision Accusilicon type. It means that Kingwa found a way to bypass the internal ESS chip clock synchronisation and FPGA is deployed for this job (similar to the DI-20 and 2021 versions of R2R DACs). No three Accusilicon clocks, no marketing bull. There is no photo of AS-1 internals, but based on the description I expect exactly the same.

Can't say I understand everything but very interesting none the less.

So the ESS chip uses it's own internal clocks, correct? So in that case what is the function of the one femto clock right next to it? It's the main part of the "performance" edition so should be something important.

 

[Telin]

Something else I just realized and now wondering about..
Audio-GD uses Amanero Combo384 USB interface module while the majority of other known manufacturers using the XMOS xu208/xu216 USB interface module.. Why does the majority go with XMOS and why is Audio-GD going with Amanero instead?
What are the pros and cons of one and another?

 

[sajunky]

This is because XMOS is cheaper to licence in volume. Audio GD was also using XMOS before switching to Amanero.

 

[FredA]

This is the new r2r 11 mkii, a more expensive but more refined r2r 11. I am getting one for my office setup.

It's got options for a usb isolator and Crysteks on the amanero. A display, a remote, and a relay volume control are standard.

The essence is still the same, it remains an NOS design with a very short digital signal path. So the sound will be much similar, but better.

http://www.audio-gd.com/R2R/R11MK2/R11mk2EN.htm

 

[jimmychan]

Upgrade the crystal and usb isolator is highly recommend.

 

[FredA]

Upgrade the crystal and usb isolator is highly recommend.

Définitely. It adds much more value than the money spent.