[gefski]

Empirical Audio (has made great USB solutions for years) is really pushing their Interchange Ethernet box over on AudioCircle in their mfg thread "Ethernet vs USB". The huge performance improvement he describes sounds like exactly what we experience with Dante. It's $3k plus extras. Can't wait for those who "snake-oiled" us Dante enthusiasts to "discover" what Ethernet file delivery can bring.

 

[Muziqboy]

He must have secretly been browsing this thread for awhile and had to find out for himself what we all here are experiencing with the Dante stuff.

And now he’s a convert. lol

 

[Tand2016]

Hi

Has anyone considered or even installed a SOtM sCLK-EX clock with a Master Clock (10 MHz input) in your Rednet?

I recently bought a Mutec Ref10 and connected this to my Mutec MC3+ USB. This gave a very nice improvement in sound quality, Recently I came in dialoge with May at SOtM regarding my interest in a clocked switch and she said they could probably install a sCLK-EC in my Rednet 16 R - if there was space enough internaly. My Rednet 16 is LPS converted with a UpTone LPS-1 so the original PSs could be removed.

I have read with interest Romaz "digital" journey and this is something I like to dive into

Any feedback is much appreciated.

Well, my Rednet is now on its way to Korea for sCLK-EX upgrade. Will be interesting to get it back and see if it is worth it

Tommy

 

[Iving]

Well, my Rednet is now on its way to Korea for sCLK-EX upgrade. Will be interesting to get it back and see if it is worth it

Tommy

How much is it costing you to have SOtM fit a 10 MHz Master Clock to your 16? Can't wait for your verdict!

 

[Tand2016]

How much is it costing you to have SOtM fit a 10 MHz Master Clock to your 16? Can't wait for your verdict!

Not exactly sure yet, depends on if SOtM can do further upgrades beyond the sCLK-EX card but in the ballpark of 1250 USD for the card and intstallation.

 

[bexi]

Great news! I sent my D16 to Focusrite few weeks ago and now I am getting it back. Finally they have been able to reproduce that "Not present on the network" bug on their own setup. That bug is likely firmware related. There are no timescale for a fix though. Let's wait.

 

[JayNYC]

Hi again Dante experts. I just ordered an Arrakis Simple IP-8D for my primary playback system.
+ Din 5pin DC input
- No JetPLL
- No word clock IO
They tell me it uses a MeanWell GP25 SMPS. Can the awesome people of this thread help me understand what specs for an LPS I would need for this? I'm not familiar with 3 different voltages for a single power supply.

Thanks!

 

[gefski]

Sounds like a job for @johnjen.

 

[johnjen]

Say there @JayNYC
It looks like it has a +5vdc, and +12vdc, and -12vdc, all with a common ground.

This is a triple output power supply.

The rated voltages of ±12vdc and +5vdc are fairly common.
The trick will be in finding either a single ps with a triple output with 2.5amp output on the +5vdc leg, along with 1amp on the +12vdc and the -12vdc legs,
or you can use 2 power supplies that can share a common ground, one for the +5vdc and the other for the ±12vdc output.
And yes the -12vdc doesn't need 1amp but almost all ±12vdc supply's will have equal current output on both the + and - sides of the output.

And you can use a power supply with greater output current, but not less than the rated current as listed on your stock ps.
And while you can use a ps with greater output current capacity it's usually not 'wise' to go overboard, like 10 amps (or greater) for any of the outputs.

Also, when I was considering replacing the ps in my RedNet 3, which used +5vdc and ±15vdc I found out that the ±15vdc voltages weren't needed.
This means all I had to provide was the +5vdc to power my RedNet3 box.

So you might want to find out if the Arrakis Simple IP-8D actually needs the ±12vdc to operate.
Because if you don't need all 3 voltages, your options for a replacement ps becomes much simpler and less expensive.

IOW just because the SMPS is providing all 3 voltages doesn't necessarily mean the Arrakis Simple IP-8D actually uses all 3 of them.

A call or email to their tech or pre-sales support should answer this question.

JJ

 

[Golfnutz]

I don't think there's a simple plug and play replacement for what you're asking (JJ's post confirms this).

Before you run out and buy an LPS, what about this?

If you can build your own adapter, you could make a cable (female to male) with pins 3, 1 or 2 (or both 1 and 2 for this cable). This will give you 5v only from the Mean Well supply. Basically, your not passing ±12vdc to the unit.

If you don't have the means to build your own cable, you could contact a company like https://www.redco.com/ and have them build you a 1 foot cable based on the above. Or you could buy a ready made cable, cut it in half and manually twist wires 3, 1 or 2 (or both 1 and 2) back together, assuming you can figure out which wires belong to which pins (a multimeter would be helpful for this). Make sure you terminate the wires for pins 4 and 5 from the Mean Well supply (you don't want to short anything out with loose wires).

This will tell you if you only need 5v to power the unit. If it doesn't work, just stick with the Mean Well supply. Otherwise, you're going to pay through the nose for something custom, and it probably won't be worth the cost.

Assuming it works, you could purchase a LPS (5v, =>3A, >30VA). However, you would still need a different custom cable that would have a DC connector on one end and 5pin Midi on the other (using pin 3, and pin 1 or 2 only). This assumes you don't want to change the 5pin din connector on the unit to a DC connector.

If you call Tech support, and they tell you the ±12vdc is needed, make sure you ask them why. You might get someone who thinks it's easier to just say ±12vdc is needed, rather than look up the schematics to determine if/where it's used.

Edit: Actually, I forgot to mention, the very first thing I would do is open the unit up and see if the wires to pins 4 and 5 could be removed easily. If they can, than you don't need to the first cable I mentioned, you could just use the existing cable that comes with the Mean Well supply.

 

[mourip]

Hi again Dante experts. I just ordered an Arrakis Simple IP-8D for my primary playback system.
+ Din 5pin DC input
- No JetPLL
- No word clock IO
They tell me it uses a MeanWell GP25 SMPS. Can the awesome people of this thread help me understand what specs for an LPS I would need for this? I'm not familiar with 3 different voltages for a single power supply.

Very interesting. I agree with johnjen that they may have just chosen a good quality generic SMPS that happened to have 3 outputs but only uses +5v. It is also possible that they also use this SMPS for the Simple IP-8A which has analog outputs that probably require a regulated bipolar supply.

I am a bit curious as to why you would choose this over Rednet 3. The only advantage I can see is that it has two ethernet ports like the more expensive D16. Nice that it goes to 24/192 unlike some of the other less expensive AOIP units.

Looking forward to hearing about how it sounds!

 

[JayNYC]

@gefski @johnjen @Golfnutz @mourip
So I've just asked Arrakis and will see what they come back with.

It's funny, it was the OP @rb2013 of this thread that surfaced this Arrakis product I think back in 2016 when it was first announced. It uses the 'better' Brooklyn II Dante card and features a stock DC input. In theory, since I have no hands-on electrical skills, this seemed like a good and easy way to connect a LPS and 'solve' the power challenge. Then direct connect this to my DVS PC, etc.

I already own a stock RN3 and stock D16 for my home theater setup: adjacent to my projector, I have an Oppo203 feeding an RN3 which then sends 24/48 across my home LAN to my audio rack on the other side of the room where a D16 receives and feeds my DAC.

I thought I would (a) try a new Dante product and (b) make my life easy since I have no mod skills-- I never considered the Arrakis could use a complex SMPS that might be difficult to substitute an LPS for (I always knew I would be giving up JetPLL and future word clock optionality compared to the D16).

Based on what Arrakis comes back with, that will inform my next action.

Thank you so much to all/each of you here. Without this thread, I would be in the USB dark ages and my current home theater design would never have been viable.

 

[JayNYC]

...and Arrakis just replied

"We do not use the +/-12vdc on the IP8D.  We use the standard 3 rail supply across several product lines rather than having a bunch of different supplies."

I think I can breathe a huuuuge sigh of relief right now.... if I understand this correctly, it means I now have a green light to go shopping for an LPS, right? <rubs hands together>

@johnjen and @Golfnutz I think you suggested I'm looking for an LPS which outputs 5V @ >=3A?

 

[Golfnutz]

...and Arrakis just replied

"We do not use the +/-12vdc on the IP8D.  We use the standard 3 rail supply across several product lines rather than having a bunch of different supplies."

I think I can breathe a huuuuge sigh of relief right now.... if I understand this correctly, it means I now have a green light to go shopping for an LPS, right? <rubs hands together>

@johnjen and @Golfnutz I think you suggested I'm looking for an LPS which outputs 5V @ >=3A?

Yep, 5v, =>2.5A, =>28W (you can see it all on the back of the Mean Well picture you posted above). I don't think it would hurt to go 5v, =>3A, =>30W. You'll need a special cable made that goes from the LPS (2 wire DC connection) to the 5pin din unit using pins 3, 1 or 2 (common).

There are many, many LPS to choose from. As an example, this is the one I'm using (you could use it too). https://www.ebay.com/itm/100VA-Ultr...485038?hash=item1eb3ea236e:g:MzMAAOSwWWxY-A~u
It supposed to be ultra low noise...

 

[phile1]

Hello,
I've seen this thread since a while, but I found the Dante devices a bit pricey and did not go that way. And I admit I didn't understand everything about Dante.

The news from Arrakis, with a Dante device less pricey, with AES3 output seems interesting.
Coudl you please answer these basic questions :
- the Arrakis Simple-IP-D is an interface between a computer and a DAC (with AES input) ?
- the Simple-IP-D acts like a combo sotm-SMS200 + the USB>spdif interface SU-1 (for instance) that use UPNP protocol ? A Simple-IP-D sounds better than a SMS200+SU-1 or not ?
- using Dante device, we can stream all the sounds of the computer to the hifi setup ? without latency (unlike the UPNP protocol) ?
- On my PC, I use EqualizerAPO, that enable active correction through convolution. Can I keep using my active correction if I stream the PC sounds to a device like the Simple-IP-D thru Dante protocol ?

Thanks in advance for your reply
Rgds