[onsionsi]

Intel Purchases FPGA Company 
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-purchases-altera-fpga-company,30830.html
 
And here is the quit interesting things in the future
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-altera-stratix-10-fpga-cpu,32850.html

 

[romaz]

Very inpressive post Roy, most have taken all night to wright down?

Just to summarise how much better do you feel the Uptone LPS-1 is vs Litium battery packs, like i am using a the moment?

Is it woth to order a few LPS-1 insted?

I like my sound, but a slight more timing is always nice to have

Thanks, Fredrik.  Regarding the LPS-1 vs lithium battery pack I was using, it was almost a doubling in the performance, something I was not expecting although my lithium pack was very low quality.  There are many types but LiPo (LiFePO4) batteries reportedly have the lowest output impedance of all the lithium batteries.  Supercapacitors are supposed to have even lower impedance.  If you are using raw lithium batteries (unregulated), they can reportedly sound very good but as these types of batteries discharge, their impedance rises and so you will probably notice changes in SQ as these batteries discharge and so this could be frustrating.  
 
If your lithium battery pack has a regulator, almost certainly it will be a noisy switching regulator similar to what I was using.  I am unaware of any regulated lithium packs that you can buy that have linear regulators.  The LPS-1 uses a linear regulator.
 
The other problem with raw lithium battery packs (if that is what you're using) is they can discharge large amounts of current when fully charged leading to possible shorts and large amounts of heat generation.  It is well reported that raw lithium batteries are fire hazards.  
 
For $400, I think it would be very difficult to beat the performance, convenience and safety of the LPS-1.  The way the supercaps are utilized in the LPS-1, John Swenson has suggested they should last 50 years and so this is not a PSU you should ever have to replace unlike a lithium pack.

 

[STR-1]

Thanks, Attorney. Yes, you're right about the length. I won't be placing the mRendu on top of the LPS-1 as I currently have it connected to the DAVE using the supplied usb hard adapter, and I have the supposedly better Sonore/Cardas hard adapter coming in a couple of days. I'll ask mcru if they can do a six inch cable, which should sound better and hopefully be a little cheaper.

Unfortunately, MCRU don't feel they can do the cable shorter than 0.5 metre, which is still significantly shorter than the stock LPS-1 cable (0.7 metre). I might still try it but am also interested in the Sonore DC-4 cable (copper), which is only 12 inches. I wonder if the DC-4 would be a little warmer than the MRCU cable and maybe offer a more attractive tonal synergy with the DAVE. I understand that silver is a better conductor than copper but am worried that too much silver in my system will leave it sounding too bright. I already have (on loan) an AQ Diamond ethernet cable and should soon recieve the DHC Silver Complement4 cable for my HE1000. Will the length of the DC power lead affect the sound quality that much between 12 inches (DC-4) and 28 inches (LPS-1 stock)?

 

[Beolab]

  Thanks, Fredrik.  Regarding the LPS-1 vs lithium battery pack I was using, it was almost a doubling in the performance, something I was not expecting although my lithium pack was very low quality.  There are many types but LiPo (LiFePO4) batteries reportedly have the lowest output impedance of all the lithium batteries.  Supercapacitors are supposed to have even lower impedance.  If you are using raw lithium batteries (unregulated), they can reportedly sound very good but as these types of batteries discharge, their impedance rises and so you will probably notice changes in SQ as these batteries discharge and so this could be frustrating.  
 
If your lithium battery pack has a regulator, almost certainly it will be a noisy switching regulator similar to what I was using.  I am unaware of any regulated lithium packs that you can buy that have linear regulators.  The LPS-1 uses a linear regulator.
 
The other problem with raw lithium battery packs (if that is what you're using) is they can discharge large amounts of current when fully charged leading to possible shorts and large amounts of heat generation.  It is well reported that raw lithium batteries are fire hazards.  
 
For $400, I think it would be very difficult to beat the performance, convenience and safety of the LPS-1.  The way the supercaps are utilized in the LPS-1, John Swenson has suggested they should last 50 years and so this is not a PSU you should ever have to replace unlike a lithium pack.

 
I am using the most simple solution consisting of 6x 1,5 volts Litium Verta batterypack (9v) without any regulators, and i can hear a significant improvement, from a normal linear 9 v supply today, but i was interested if the LPS-1 can improve the clarity/timing even further.

 

[jlbrach]

A question regarding the use of Dave alone or with an external amp.....obviously,it seems to me that if possible the Dave should sound its best as a stand alone device especially with HP's.....I have both the LCD-4 which is a power hungry beast and the Utopia which is incredibly efficient and easy to drive.I go back and forth in terms of the use of my Moon Neo 430 with my Dave....with the Utopia i never use the 430 but with the LCD-4 I go back and forth between using the amp and going straight from the Dave because there are certain recordings that simply need the power the 430 provides,in most case the Dave is up to the task
Here is my question,I read over and over people suggesting that the Dave sounds best in a speaker setup as the Dac in a system...In this case the Dave will have to be attached to and driven by a power amp in order to play through the loudspeakers yet somehow that coloration that the amp with or without a pre-amp provides seems not bother anybody and simply be the norm yet when it comes to HP's people tend to try to avoid the Headphone amp...Is there a reason for this other than the fact that the Dave couldnt drive a loudspeaker system on its own?....I cannot come to a final decision regarding amp vs no amp and look for some guidance....thanks

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Every piece you add in your chain adds distortion - interconnects, amps, etc. - so if you are looking for purity, there is no substitute for 'nothing'.  You Moon adds colouration but with the perk of added gain.
 
Speaker guys use power amps because, well, they have too.  Us headphone folk have an option.  Romaz has done an excellent job of finding a way to remove one as much as possible with the DAVE (see earlier in this thread) but his speaker options are limited to very high efficiency ones only, and even then.
 
So in adding an amp you will lose some detail and distortion will be added - the better question is is it worth the trade off?  And the answer may be 'yes'.  Ultimately you are listening so you have to like it best, and who cares what anyone else thinks!

 

[Crgreen]

Re: DAVE direct, I think Roy is driving speakers directly from his DAVE, and is pleased with the result, though obviously, it's very much speaker dependent.There's been much discussion about DAVE in preamp mode into a power amp, and reasons why this might be preferable. I've tried it with my Audio Research Ref 75, which only has balanced inputs. More transparent, but rather lacking body, but I'm not sure if the current match is optimum. For some, like cleanliness, transparency is next to Godliness, but I'm not quite so hardline. I actually prefer the intervening Ref 3 preamp and it's tube colourations. It's a matter of taste and preference, which won't of course, prevent some people from telling you you're daft for preferring chicken to steak!

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Chicken over steak? That is crazy talk.

 

[jlbrach]

The Chord 2qute has no amp section to drive HP's so one has to connect it up to an amp of some sort just as one would have to do with the schiit Yiggy....in those cases is the coloration the same as with the Dave or the TT?....does the amp/Dac of the Dave produce a different output to an amp than would a DAC that is only a purel  DAC?

 

[Beolab]

Thanks, Fredrik.  Regarding the LPS-1 vs lithium battery pack I was using, it was almost a doubling in the performance, something I was not expecting although my lithium pack was very low quality.  There are many types but LiPo (LiFePO4) batteries reportedly have the lowest output impedance of all the lithium batteries.  Supercapacitors are supposed to have even lower impedance.  If you are using raw lithium batteries (unregulated), they can reportedly sound very good but as these types of batteries discharge, their impedance rises and so you will probably notice changes in SQ as these batteries discharge and so this could be frustrating.  

If your lithium battery pack has a regulator, almost certainly it will be a noisy switching regulator similar to what I was using.  I am unaware of any regulated lithium packs that you can buy that have linear regulators.  The LPS-1 uses a linear regulator.

The other problem with raw lithium battery packs (if that is what you're using) is they can discharge large amounts of current when fully charged leading to possible shorts and large amounts of heat generation.  It is well reported that raw lithium batteries are fire hazards.  

For $400, I think it would be very difficult to beat the performance, convenience and safety of the LPS-1.  The way the supercaps are utilized in the LPS-1, John Swenson has suggested they should last 50 years and so this is not a PSU you should ever have to replace unlike a lithium pack.

Placed an order on two Uptone LPS-1ś tonight, and will expect delivery @ the 9th of Dec, so we have to wait and see for the final result

So your conclusion is a pretty huge improvement overall and timing / clarity gets even better than Lihium battery's!

That sounds very promising!

 

[bigfatpaulie]

  The Chord 2qute has no amp section to drive HP's so one has to connect it up to an amp of some sort just as one would have to do with the schiit Yiggy....in those cases is the coloration the same as with the Dave or the TT?....does the amp/Dac of the Dave produce a different output to an amp than would a DAC that is only a purel  DAC?

 
The DAC output is the same as the headphone output.  Simply put the DAC itself has enough juice to drive headphones.  The DAVE doesn't have an 'amp' and people who say that don't understand.  
 
Romaz and others did this with other DAC's:
 
 

(Bricasti M1 DAC with He1k's connected directly to the balanced outs)
 
Prior to the DAVE.  The DAVE just added a 1/4 jack on the front to make it easier.

 

[GryphonGuy]

  A question regarding the use of Dave alone or with an external amp.....obviously,it seems to me that if possible the Dave should sound its best as a stand alone device especially with HP's.....I have both the LCD-4 which is a power hungry beast and the Utopia which is incredibly efficient and easy to drive.I go back and forth in terms of the use of my Moon Neo 430 with my Dave....with the Utopia i never use the 430 but with the LCD-4 I go back and forth between using the amp and going straight from the Dave because there are certain recordings that simply need the power the 430 provides,in most case the Dave is up to the task
Here is my question,I read over and over people suggesting that the Dave sounds best in a speaker setup as the Dac in a system...In this case the Dave will have to be attached to and driven by a power amp in order to play through the loudspeakers yet somehow that coloration that the amp with or without a pre-amp provides seems not bother anybody and simply be the norm yet when it comes to HP's people tend to try to avoid the Headphone amp...Is there a reason for this other than the fact that the Dave couldnt drive a loudspeaker system on its own?....I cannot come to a final decision regarding amp vs no amp and look for some guidance....thanks

 
Well I am driving my Krell FPB-400cx amplifier direct from the DAVE. The interconnects are Nordost Valhalla. The sound is stunningly awesome this way (if I do say so myself). I haven't tried my pre-amp because it is currently playing silly buggers in this humid climate. 

 

[jlbrach]

In my speaker system I have Macintosh MCD1100 as my CD player directly into my Mcintosh 452 amp driving my B&W802D's...I havent connected my Dave to the system,I have been using it as a headphone only system which is why I have asked about headphone amp or the Dave directly into HP's....

 

[halloweenman]

Question for Rob Watts. Is it possible that a DAC can have too much sound stage depth, too three dimentional? Over egging the pudding so to speak?

I currently own the TT and after the positive posts and reviews I've read about Dave I thought I would try it. Auditioning Dave was a flustrating experience. I never expected anything other than to like it. The soundstage is deeper and more three dimensional than anything else I have ever listened to. It has a lovely warmth to it. Instruments sound remarkably realistic and separate. All the inner details, such as reverb decay, starting and stopping of notes, are clearly rendered.

For me though, it's the gift of the deep, three dimentional soundstage that comes at a price. The price is the lead vocal is reduced, less forward, smaller, the overall mix becomes less coherent. It reminded me of when when we got our new 3D TV. I was sitting there with my wife with our Roy Orbison glasses on waiting for the Strictly special 3D transmission. It started. I looked at my wife and said, the ballroom looks like a miniature version, like a dolls house. It wasn't what we were used to, it was strange and didn't look right. It looked like a scene from The Borrowers.

Perhaps it's my room or speakers but it didn't work out for me. The TT adds a touch of this magic but it doesn't OD on it.

I also detected the Dave just has a touch more bottom end in the 40-50 Hz region.

 

[Rob Watts]

Not when you listen to live un-amplified music - real life has very much more depth to it.
 
As to vocals - close miked vocals with no added reverb will sound flat on Dave, i.e. no depth - exactly as it should do. But because Dave is more precise in sound-stage, vocals are indeed more tightly focused - but it very much depends upon the recordings used. You could try adjusting speaker positioning - Dave will allow a bit wider width of speakers without the central image collapsing.
 
I would try it if you can for longer, then you will find that you can't go backwards to TT! There is a lot more to Dave than just imagery - speed and impact being one.
 
Rob