CX, EX, K, S, Oladra, Antipodes, Owners Unite
Dec 4, 2020 at 8:21 AM Post #256 of 2,373
While we all eagerly await Clive’s review, here is one on six moons. It doesn’t make any comparisons to the existing CX/EX combo so not particularly useful.

https://6moons.com/audioreview_articles/antipodes3/

@Clive101 is being naughty and is tempting me towards a K50 and I admit I am interested. I have read this review (and which may have been mentioned already) and it does compare it to the CX/EX.

https://www.hifi-advice.com/blog/re...rk-player-reviews/antipodes-k50-music-server/

Interestingly this review talks at length about the differences in sound between Roon and other players and this resonates with my experiences of Roon in experimental mode on the Statement and where I prefer iPeng. By comparison Roon seems to have a very closed in sound.
 
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Dec 4, 2020 at 9:44 AM Post #257 of 2,373
Software does make a difference in my experience.
I used Minim Server with the CX EX which I found to be better than Roon with Squeezelite as the player.
Forget Roon with Roon Ready IMHO.
With the K50 Roon with Squeezelite was very good I wonder how much better it will be with Minim Server but alas the new models do not have this option.
Perhaps one day Minim server will be available.
I will cover this in a later post.

@Triode User We all look forward to your comments if you get a demo of the K50
 
Dec 4, 2020 at 10:03 AM Post #258 of 2,373
Following this thread for a little bit as I’m eyeing a New old stock EX or S30/40. Thanks all for the excellent information!

Does anyone have some recommended US Dealers to contact for purchasing? I wish Antipodes had a dealer list in the web site.
 
Dec 4, 2020 at 11:06 AM Post #260 of 2,373
Thanks @Clive101 for your honest findings on high end servers. I would love to hear the K50 but my humble EX is filling my needs for the present. Many say burn in is not a thing but I must say the EX really came into it’s own at about the 6 month mark. I have tried several roon cores and versions of win, osx, linux and the EX is the only one that removes the glare in the upper mids.
 
Dec 4, 2020 at 11:56 AM Post #261 of 2,373
I was surprised by DX. It did improve somewhat after a few hundred hours but was surprisingly deep and rich from the get go, then again maybe it was just coming from my ds gt
 
Dec 4, 2020 at 12:47 PM Post #262 of 2,373
@Clive101 Very interesting that the K50 is on par or perhaps slightly better than SGM depending on personal taste. That’s a win for the K50 since its at least £5k cheaper and does not require a custom rack. Looking forward to your comments comparing the K50 to the K30 and the CX/EX combo.
 
Dec 4, 2020 at 5:47 PM Post #263 of 2,373
Thanks @Clive101 for your honest findings on high end servers. I would love to hear the K50 but my humble EX is filling my needs for the present. Many say burn in is not a thing but I must say the EX really came into it’s own at about the 6 month mark. I have tried several roon cores and versions of win, osx, linux and the EX is the only one that removes the glare in the upper mids.

Im really close to pulling the trigger on an EX. Can you tell what others streamers you auditioned before going with the EX?
 
Dec 5, 2020 at 1:17 PM Post #264 of 2,373
Your CX performs exactly the same function as the Roon Nucleus. If you want to connect to your main system, you just need a Roon endpoint, not another Core.

From your signature, it looks like you have a Lumin U1. You should be able to leave the CX as is, running as core, and run your Lumin U1 as another Zone connected to the same Roon core. I don't understand why you would need another Roon Core, unless you want to run two separate libraries.

If I've misunderstood and you don't have a Lumin U1, and you just need another Roon endpoint, you should get that. The BlueSound Node is fine; but there are various other options from Auralic, and others. I'm not familiar with your Anthem receiver but it's possible (if it's relatively recent) that it works as a Roon Endpoint on its own.
Thanks for the reply, yes you are correct I no longer have the Lumin, I sold it mainly because I wanted to use roon on all my audio related gear.

So I now have the Cx/Ex in my headphone rig and the Nucleus in the speaker rig.

I have connected the Nucleus into my Anthem DAC (speaker dac) via USB and it plays fine. Do you think there are benefits of using the Cx as the core over the Nucleus as it is a "better" item than the Nucleus, or would in my case, taking out the Ex be logical since the Nucleus can be used as a Core anyways and just use the Cx in my headphone rig?

I hope you understand what I am trying to ask. Thank you in advance.
 
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Dec 5, 2020 at 3:11 PM Post #265 of 2,373
Im really close to pulling the trigger on an EX. Can you tell what others streamers you auditioned before going with the EX?
Before the EX I used pi 3’s with Allo DigiOne or Justboom toslink or various Macbooks and NUC’s usb into my Chord dacs. I really liked the idea of a roon core and hqplayer server in one box. @Whazzzup thread about his DX and it’s super quiet usb port helped me pull the trigger.
 
Dec 6, 2020 at 11:33 AM Post #266 of 2,373
Taiko VS Antipodes K50 Update

I have tried the miniDNLA server with MPD as the player on the K50 and was in the same ball park as the Taiko with regard to being crisp and having similar precision.
Looking at the review (link posted earlier) the reviewer preferred DNLA but it is unforgiving on poorly recorded tracks but there is the reward in SQ... if you prefer.
Personally I prefer with Roon server and Squeeze player but it is easy to switch back and forth.
 
Dec 6, 2020 at 11:48 AM Post #267 of 2,373
@Clive101 many thanks for your continuing updates. I feel the need for a conversation with Elite Audio . . .

regarding Roon, I am becoming increasingly dissatisfied with the sound of Roon with Squeezelite on my Statement. It seems to suck the life out of the music and give congested lower mids and recessed top end. The bass is also wooly and smeared. Most people might say it sound great but not compared to what I know the Statement can sound like.

I have been listening to Seasick Steve's latest 'Blues in Mono' (and loving it) but it all sounds so recessed on Roon but comes to life with real instruments when I turn Roon off and use iPeng or Squeezepad. I can tell in just the first few seconds of the Second track even before he starts playing and we are just hearing the background sounds. With iPeng/Squeezepad it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end it is so realistic.
 
Dec 12, 2020 at 8:43 AM Post #268 of 2,373
@Triode User I tried different setups and still prefer the Roon Squeezelite on the K50. not sure why we differ perhaps software hardware differences ?

Moving on.

As you may all know the fuse blow on the K50 in the recent demo and I started to use the fuses from the K30 which although were the same rating 2 amp fast blow 5mm x 20mm were from of a different manufacturer than those on the K50, both are generic fuses.

While I was waiting for new fuses to be delivered by the dealer (and still waiting) I ordered some new fuses.

Tony advised 1 amp slow blow owing to different countries voltage transformer etc.
So I ordered these Hifi Lab Audio Fuse Ceramic High-End 1A 250V: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics .....

WHICH HAS OPENED A CAN OF WORMS

The fuses sound different and are directional and it is not only me that can hear a difference...!

The new fuses I ordered one direction the sound on the instruments is very closed all jumbled together, the other way turn up the Bass Midrange and Treble full on, full on dynamics for me a little too much but if your are in the moon for that sort of thing bang on the money and the sound stage could be easier to hear..

The K30 Fuses also directional unknown make.

One way rubbish, the other bang on the money like a mellow version of the new fuses I purchased.

Can a few of you try changing the direction of the fuses in the input fixing where the mains cable fits in and get back to us if any change.

The arrow is for reference and does not indicate any thing else.


BE CAREFULL TO MAKE SURE THE VOLTAGE IS SET TO THE CORRECT VOLTAGE.
 

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Dec 12, 2020 at 8:48 AM Post #269 of 2,373
Fuses? Not putting any damper here but I went through a battery flip issue in my old dt gs, and really have been driven towards S/S over tubes and would love a fuse less product. That’s just me old school plug n play Apple guy. Tubes and fuses scare me.
 
Dec 13, 2020 at 1:47 AM Post #270 of 2,373
@Triode User I tried different setups and still prefer the Roon Squeezelite on the K50. not sure why we differ perhaps software hardware differences ?

@Clive101 on the Roon matter, I emailed Nuno a bit more and it seems that with the Innuos in Experimental mode and iPeng it loads the whole track to RAM and plays entirely from RAM without having to read the hard disk any more. With Roon Squeezelite mode the Innuos only loads part of the track to RAM and keeps having to read from the hard drive all through the track. This is not something that Innuos can correct with Roon because it is a Roon function. The difference in sound quality is sufficient for me to have abandoned Roon for the moment despite having a lifetime subscription and I am using iPeng.

Elite Audio have offered me a demo of the K50 and I have accepted so just need to sort out the timing now. I’m excited to hear it as everything seems promising for me to swop to the K50.
 

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