[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

Kinda neat but is there any info (instead of assertions) available about the audibility of the things discussed in his article?
 
I wonder what it really means too with chips doing jitter reduction and all that jazz nowadays like with the Ref - 7.   :/
 
Can't sat I wouldn't want one of those C.E.C transports had I the cash lol.

Did you look at the scope traces ? Ole Lampy knows what he's doing. I'd love to get a hold of his DAC (2.5 Level 5) ...did you check that out ?
 
Peete.

 

[Currawong]

The Toslink scope traces were rather scary. Makes me want to get a decent scope myself so I can measure these things.

 

[SP Wild]

SPDIF output on commercial players are not as square because, from what I understand, there are laws regarding RF limitations on any electronic component, and such a perfect square produces a heap of RF noise.  SPDIF is intentionally crippled to pass these regulations.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

Quote:

SPDIF output on commercial players are not as square because, from what I understand, there are laws regarding RF limitations on any electronic component, and such a perfect square produces a heap of RF noise.  SPDIF is intentionally crippled to pass these regulations.

Yup......some of the gear sold has atrocious digital out quality while others have half decent SPDIF output. RF is a problem no doubt about it. None of my conventional spinners comes anywhere close to the CD7 transport in SQ which is not a surprise considering how bad a lot of SPDIF outs are compromised in most cheap CDP's or DVDP's. Hell even in players above 1K the same problems exist. Cheap transformers are an issue alongside outdated thinking in terms of treatment of the digital out. As Lampy points out in the beginning a certain method was adopted and then used without a lot of questioning of the performance or any possible alternatives that would make for improvement. TBH a lot o manufacturers concentrate on the DAC/Analog outs rather than spend any time on the dig out.......some manufacturers have taken the time to really look at a better way for the dig out something which a dedicated transport concentrates a lot more time, effort and resources on from the get go. Some transports are clearly better than others...just like CDP's or DVDP's used as transports. It's interesting to read about Guido Tent's X03 DAC card which works in conjunction with the X03 clock module, The X03 clock board takes the feed from the servo chip (inside your CDP/DVDP) reclocks the SPDIF output which is then processed by the X03 DAC card inside your DAC. It's a semi expensive way to turn a CDP/DVDP into a decent transport but it's far less expensive than buying a purpose built HQ spinner...certainly a viable option worth looking into.
 
Peete.

 

[Dynobot]

Well although I now have a following of haters, I shall still post my impressions of 3 digital cables.  Each at a slightly different price range and with different construction, only 1 is true bnc [or can be]
 
First up:
Stereovox XV2 - $150 for 1m
 
The Stereovox comes with a silver-ish metal shield over the entire cable.  The ends come of so that the cable came be use as a 100% BNC cable.
This cable takes an awful long time to break in [if you believe in such things] However brand new is real lean and light on the bass, its a fast cable and very clear.
Trying it out with different Dac's and computers it seems to let all the brightness and everything else through untouched, again holding back a bit on the low-end.
Everything is clear and at some times can sound metallic.  But with further breaking in and listening it was determined that the metallic nature of the sound actually
went away and was replaced with just more clarity.  However if a front end is suffering from digititis the cable will let it show.  Otherwise after a long time of break in
the Cable reaches down pretty deep in to octaves and brings out the music just right, all the emotion from the original recording comes though with ease and clarity.
 
Second:
Oyaide DR-510 $175 for 0.7m
 
The Oyaide [pronounced [O-Ya-E-de]..not O-ya-e-day.
This cable is shielded from end to and and has a nice clear jacket over it.  It uses RCA which fit nicely.  This cable takes relatively little time to break in, it comes right out
the box kicking butt.  It tames all the highs, and jittery edgy sounds, all in all it does a good job at making digital sound like analog.  However to my taste it does so too much
When I moved it around to different gear it sounded the same, smooth and mellow, forgiving of all the sins of digital and glare.  Perhaps the cable is a Buddhist at heart and
easily forgives while trying to bring harmony into the world.  Well personally I like like roses as well as my lumps thank you. End the end I regarded the Oyaide as flavoring
or coloring the sound, to an albeit pleasing sound, but colored non the less.  If you have a glaring system this might be the ticket.  It lest the music through nicely and polishes
the sound knocking off all the edges that might cut you, in this way it gives you beautifully defined vocals.
 
Third:
Valab Silver $70 for 1m
 
I must say, like other Valab products it performs well above its class.  And its construction can be picked apart as less than perfect by anyone I guess.  It uses RCA connectors
that screw which allows you a very tight fit.  The silver wire is has layers upon layers of shielding which should prevent anything from getting through to the cable including vibrations.
Construction is solid.  Sound wise the cable is very smooth on the upper end, the mids make themselves known without their digital buddies, just as clear as the Stereovox but not as buttery
smooth as the Oyaide, instead more of a silky texture.  All that shielding actually makes the cable really have a dark background to it because sounds can at times appear to pop
out of nowhere. The lows are not as deep as the Stereovox in terms of the 'hit' factor but do go as deep in a more mellow way.  Kind of like ss vs. tubes with regards to the bass difference.
 
 
I like them all in their own special way....

 

[notThinking]

As we are OT and this was discussed briefly a couple of pages back. I've installed and tested Soundcheck's SB Touch Tollbox 2.0. I can confirm that nearly all the suggested mods do have sonic impact. I'm not finished evaluating but can tell that Alsa buffer size do have a BIG impact on SQ. But I'm still not sure if a small buffer actually better the sound or just add a layer of details that are fatigue and less musical. There are for sure albums I'm no longer able to play with minimal Alsa buffer.

 

[Dynobot]

Quote:

As we are OT and this was discussed briefly a couple of pages back. I've installed and tested Soundcheck's SB Touch Tollbox 2.0. I can confirm that nearly all the suggested mods do have sonic impact. I'm not finished evaluating but can tell that Alsa buffer size do have a BIG impact on SQ. But I'm still not sure if a small buffer actually better the sound or just add a layer of details that are fatigue and less musical. There are for sure albums I'm no longer able to play with minimal Alsa buffer.

For me it was just a matter of fine tuning ALSA buffer to get the sound you liked.  Lowest my not be best, depending on the system.
 
Can you compare the SB-Touch to other front ends please???

 

[notThinking]

Quote:

For me it was just a matter of fine tuning ALSA buffer to get the sound you liked.  Lowest my not be best, depending on the system.
 
Can you compare the SB-Touch to other front ends please???

No, not really. Stock it is already way better than A-gd DAC-19DSPv5 USB interface. I think it is fair to say that with Soundchecks's Toolbox installed (or the same parameters tweaked manually) the flexibility i sonic differences are close to many Linux setups. But with much less hassle. And with it's price tag it's hard to go wrong.
 

 

[Dynobot]

Thanks for the info...

 

[ccschua]

Quote:

Well although I now have a following of haters, I shall still post my impressions of 3 digital cables.  Each at a slightly different price range and with different construction, only 1 is true bnc [or can be]
 
I like them all in their own special way....

do give Grover a try and its cheaper. In my system, other than the ACSS cables, it is basically Grover. The patents talk a lot about this guy and the mastering engineer Steve Hoffman.
 
http://www.groverhuffman.com/interconnects
 
How big the effects this cable gives, its like upgrade gears vertically. do take this with a pinch of salt, YMMV.

 
 

 

[Dynobot]

My next purchase will likely be a CD7, however I am always on the look out for some good wire.
 
I might try the Grover speaker cables, since I am running mono's I will need a very short run.  But then I am debating running some wire straight from the speakers x-over out the box like a Pig-Tail to plug straight into the amps.  This way I can get rid of some connectors, keep a short run and also have just one type of wire from the x-over to the amp.  I re-wired my powered Dyan's with Kimber 8TC for a great improvement.  These amps sound so good I might even just hard wire them to the speakers and do away with connectors all together.

 

[sokolov91]

Quote:

My next purchase will likely be a CD7, however I am always on the look out for some good wire.
 
I might try the Grover speaker cables, since I am running mono's I will need a very short run.  But then I am debating running some wire straight from the speakers x-over out the box like a Pig-Tail to plug straight into the amps.  This way I can get rid of some connectors, keep a short run and also have just one type of wire from the x-over to the amp.  I re-wired my powered Dyan's with Kimber 8TC for a great improvement.  These amps sound so good I might even just hard wire them to the speakers and do away with connectors all together.

That sounds pretty risky for no reason to me...
 
Shorter is indeed better but is the sonic difference really worth all that DIY and compromizing the future resale of components?
 
Id do some real tests with my equipment before venturing that far... but best of luck with the results if you do!

 

[ccschua]

Quote:

My next purchase will likely be a CD7, however I am always on the look out for some good wire.
 
I might try the Grover speaker cables, since I am running mono's I will need a very short run.  But then I am debating running some wire straight from the speakers x-over out the box like a Pig-Tail to plug straight into the amps.  This way I can get rid of some connectors, keep a short run and also have just one type of wire from the x-over to the amp.  I re-wired my powered Dyan's with Kimber 8TC for a great improvement.  These amps sound so good I might even just hard wire them to the speakers and do away with connectors all together.

Well my grover speaker cables use direct termination. check the grover forum. u can gain something there.
 
 

 

[SilverCans]

.

 

[Pricklely Peete]

That sounds pretty risky for no reason to me...
 
Shorter is indeed better but is the sonic difference really worth all that DIY and compromizing the future resale of components?
 
Id do some real tests with my equipment before venturing that far... but best of luck with the results if you do!

That kind of mod can be reveresed easily if need be.

Peete.