CX, EX, K, S, Oladra, Antipodes, Owners Unite

[Clive101]

I thought I would start a thread were Antipodes owners could discuss tips and tricks.

 

[andrewd01]

Good shout. Whazzup also has a long thread in the dedicated source components section that is worth reading, but it is not specific to the CX/EX.

 

[F208Frank]

Antipodes owner here. Suscribed.

 

[andrewd01]

I retrieved the black ethernet cable from my Antipodes box and will give it a try tonight (into EX). I don’t like doing quick in- out comparisons, so I will give it several days to see if there is any noticeable change from the supra cable. I do have my Cisc 2960 in the chain as I thought it did make a small positive change compared to running ethernet straight from my Virgin hub.

 

[Clive101]

@andrewd01 it was @Whazzzup that mentioned the Antipodes in several threads so I tried one made the purchase the rest is history had it not been for him I would not have had a demo. I watch that thread as well. Do you have the CX along with the EX?

 

[F208Frank]

It saddens me a little that antipodes no longer provides the short ethernet cable from EX to CX, but no big deal each CX and EX unit comes with it's own ethernet cable.

I ended up getting the Vodka ethernet cables as that was what Mark Jenkins recommended but the stock ethernet cables that come with CX and EX are very very good already.

Between the ethernet cables provided when comparing with the vodka I was not able to hear a significant difference but I kept my Vodka cables already.

According to Clive he preferred the stock ethernet cables over AQ Vodkas.

 

[Progisus]

I though I would start a thread were Antipodes owners could discuss tips and tricks.

Great move. Subscribed. Maybe a little HQPlayer banter (as regards the embedded version) will be welcomed.

 

[Progisus]

Good place to post any updates as well. I don’t see any way for app packages update notifications without just trying it.

 

[andrewd01]

@andrewd01 it was @Whazzzup that mentioned the Antipodes in several threads so I tried one made the purchase the rest is history had it not been for him I would not have had a demo. I watch that thread as well. Do you have the CX along with the EX?

I have stand-alone EX. I got a months old used model from Elite Audio in the UK for a good price. They still have the matching CX but my budget for big ticket toys is blown for this year.

I mostly stream Tidal and some reports suggest the CX adds less when using streaming from Tidal/Qobuz.

My big spend item for this year was going to be an M scaler, but the idea of trying embedded HQP on a high end server appealed because I liked the idea of minimising the box count. I am still curious to test the M scaler at some point in the future, but I am hugely impressed by the performance of HQP with sincm and LNS15 into Chord TT2. It is interesting to read that @ray-dude is using HQP in his $100k system (see computer audiophile review of Taiko extreme), noting that he thinks WTA on M scaler is better but HQP is very close.

 

[Whazzzup]

Subbed, just cause

 

[Progisus]

I do most of my listening to 2.0 on cans or iems (but also have nice 5.2.1 Home Theatre). As you know I had the mscaler for about 6 months but I felt HQP was so close. Then came the chance to upgrade to the Antipodes. Partially based on @Whazzzup ’s findings and what else I could find , I decided to ditch the mscaler and take the Antipodes plunge. The EX is sooo silent and has all the power I need to run Roon core, HQP and still be a dlna server for 5.1 audio to the theatre. I would love a CX but for the time being I am running network 2 direct to my naa.

 

[Clive101]

@F208Frank I don't doubt that you find the standard black cable that came with the CX and EX and the Vodka similar. So I suspect the demo Vodka cable I had could be defective.
If you feel inclined would it be possible to try the Vodka again and try with some Japanese drum music from Qobuz paying particular attention to the drum skin vibration and decay? When I tried the Vodka all the bass detail was lost.
The difference is night and day and only tock me a few seconds to hear the difference and a few seconds A B for conformation.
Also did you find the black standard cable directional?

@andrewd01 I also am very interested in using HQ Player for the same reasons.

Has anyone done the comparison between the Mscaler and HQ player on the Antipodes CX and EX single box or combo?

As a few people mention using extra processing power on servers affects the SQ, hence I only run the processes I need.
@Progisus it may be worth trying to disable some process running that you do not need, is that possible to stop background services to reduce resources running making noise?

I found a huge difference changing from Twonky to Minim server on a Melco.

I prefer Roon than Squeezelite so different software different sound.

Has anyone tried Minim Server on the CX and or EX or combo compared to any other software?

 

[Progisus]

@Clive101 funny you should suggest that. I moved my core to another computer and removed the software from the EX. Very slight improvement in the soundstage. I do like having my core on the EX to drop the number of boxes. The core is a bit snappier on the Macbook Pro. Here is a little trick I have been using. Firstly I am the only user of HQP endpoints. I setup HQP with sdm, dsd256 to my rme adi-2 on its pi4 naa. I then setup HQP with pcm, sinc-m to my TT on it’s pi 4 naa. Then its a simple 2 clicks to change listening positions. Click 1 for sdm or pcm, click 2 for naa selection. Then apply.

BTW - I have done extensive mscaler / HQP comparisons but that was using different computers. Comparing HQP on the EX to HQP on a Macbook Pro to HQP on a nuc7i3 all to the same dac. There is definitely a difference. EX first, MBP second, Nuc last. All very very close but the EX opened up the midrange a touch more.

 

[andrewd01]

@Clive101, I thought you already had HMS-Dave? Or am I confusing you with someone else? If you already have the M scaler and Antipodes servers it is dead easy to install HQP and test using the free evaluation. It will play for 30 minutes on the trial license. I understand if you reboot the server the trial period resets, but it only took me 10 seconds to reach for my wallet and buy the license.

For installation I just followed the instructions from the Antipodes web site here:
https://antipodes.audio/roon-with-hqplayer/

The instructions say it can take a long time to install, but mine only took a minute or so.
When running 16x sinc upscaling from redbook to 705.6kHz my CPU load is 18% on the EX (which is also running my Roon core).
It is a myth that PCM upscaling needs a huge compute resource.

It would be good to hear more reports from people who have compared HQP to M scaler on Antipodes servers, especially with the Chord DACS supporting USB up to 768kHz. I suspect some of the people who have quickly dismissed HQP have tried it on lesser servers with a noisy USB output etc. There is certainly limited appetite for discussion of this topic on the M scaler thread!

 

[F208Frank]

"Also did you find the black standard cable directional?"

I did not even know the stock cables were potentially directional. Did not notice but my vodka cable has arrows going from one way to the other.

I no longer have stock cables so can not AB anymore sorry.