[Thenewguy007]

I tried pressing the mode button but didn’t notice any difference. My hearing drops off at 13khz so I might not be able to tell.

No difference in slow or fast filters? Are those options available on NOS & OS?

 

[WilliamWykeham]

Update: I blind tested myself and got 10/10 correct discerning OS from NOS. I was able to tell immediately. I prefer NOS with pop music and OS with classical / acoustic. I have a super resolving system of dac direct to amp and sra1.

I still couldn’t notice a difference between the filters, which you switch by pressing the mode button, but I think that is because I can no longer hear the frequencies on which the filters have an effect. It would be nice in subsequent versions of the dac to have a means to know what filter you have landed on.

One additional observation - I have a few classical albums that with prior equipment have had a very digital sound (eg Festetics’ Haydn complete quartets, an album that has tended to also sound a bit flat to boot) and I don’t perceive that same digital quality with the Terminator and new DSP, which is fascinating to me.

 

[johnzz4]

Update: I blind tested myself and got 10/10 correct discerning OS from NOS. I was able to tell immediately. I prefer NOS with pop music and OS with classical / acoustic. I have a super resolving system of dac direct to amp and sra1.

I still couldn’t notice a difference between the filters, which you switch by pressing the mode button, but I think that is because I can no longer hear the frequencies on which the filters have an effect. It would be nice in subsequent versions of the dac to have a means to know what filter you have landed on.

One additional observation - I have a few classical albums that with prior equipment have had a very digital sound (eg Festetics’ Haydn complete quartets, an album that has tended to also sound a bit flat to boot) and I don’t perceive that same digital quality with the Terminator and new DSP, which is fascinating to me.

I can hear the NOS vs OS. Mostly, the OS sounds a bit more dynamic. I agree, William, that NOS helps tame more dynamic genres and OS highlights detail in classical and less impactful genres. I believe the directions on the filter leave out that you need to be in mute before pressing the mode button. Very quick listen between what I think is slow roll off (1x and 8x lit) is ever so slightly smoother treble and very slightly more relaxed. I think that just 8x lit is the fast cutoff filter.

 

[divertiti]

I got my DSP board on Friday, and had a few listening sessions. My Terminator is driving a Line Magnetic 508IA tube integrated and some Klipsch RP-6000F speakers.

OS/NOS
With the old DSP board, I always preferred using the NOS mode while upsampling in Roon using software. However after reading some other user's feedback, I tried turning off OS in Roon and using the OS mode on the DAC, and indeed it is a more natural sound. This is very apparent on songs with simple acoustic instruments, such as the beginning of Mozella's Light Years Away. The guitar was a lot more natural in OS mode than NOS + Software OS.

Slow/Sharp Filter
This filter is probably the star of the update. Again it might be because of my particular speakers, the old DSP Terminator sounded great, but there was a slight harshness to the treble, and I had to toe out my speakers more with grills on to compensate. Now with the new DSP, the slow filter noticeably tames the highs without losing detail. It actually allows me to play at a louder volume without the sound being unbearable. Without the treble shouting, my attention is now freed up to appreciate the air and sweetness of the mid range.

Flow
I'm convinced that in addition to the more supple treble, the slow filter does something to the flow of the music. Where there was a collection of notes previously now is a continuous stream of music. Whether it was Willie Nelson, Ella Fitzgerald or Michael Buble, I didn't want to stop listening. I had goosebumps and wow moments for the first time again in a long while.

Sound Stage
With the old DSP, the sound is bold and full, but lacked a certain intricacy. First impression with the new DSP is that it brings some of that to the table, while making a deeper and more 3D image. Now with the high tamed using the Slow filter, I was able to remove the grills and toe in the speakers more, which really locked in the imaging.

All in all it's been a great upgrade. Worth noting that a lot of my observations can be attributed to the synergy with the Klipsch speakers. I'm sure my preference on settings would be different if I were to still be using the Tekton Double Impacts that I had before. What is really the testament to the improvement is that I was pretty much ready to sell these speakers, because I no longer was looking forward to turning on my system and listenin. But now in OS mode with slow filter, the music again materializes in the room vs. pushes through the speakers.

Lastly I will report the anomaly as experienced by another user above, sometimes when switching OS/NOS modes as well as Slow and Fast filter, certain combination of actions will cause the stereo image to reverse, left to right and vice versa. It's very strange, and is fixed by turning the DAC off and on again.

 

[hontored]

Hi all,

I have a question about USB to those who have received the DSP board.

Do you use the USB input ?

Do you notice an improvement compared to the old amanero ?

I am currently going through a matrix x-spdif2 and I2S to the terminator which I feel is better than USB. (I have a NUC as a music server).

I am wondering if a Sotm txusbhubex to usb with the new board will be a better option. My DSP board is coming in a few days.

Best,
Sebastien

 

[Saleh84]

Hi all,

I have a question about USB to those who have received the DSP board.

Do you use the USB input ?

Do you notice an improvement compared to the old amanero ?

I am currently going through a matrix x-spdif2 and I2S to the terminator which I feel is better than USB. (I have a NUC as a music server).

I am wondering if a Sotm txusbhubex to usb with the new board will be a better option. My DSP board is coming in a few days.

Best,
Sebastien

no matter how you use the terminator - which ever input, which ever mode, overall sound has improved.

 

[Saleh84]

yesterday I tried Chord M scaler for the 2nd time with terminator. first time was a while ago, via single BNC. I noticed some favorable outcome, but I didn't focus much then as I was still working on other things in the system.
with the new DSP, in NOS mode of course, I tried first with single BNC again, using two Atlas Marvos BNC cables - one from aurender n10 to M scaler, one from single spdif out of M scaler to terminator. to my complete shock, it was playing at max up scaling possible (white light on M scaler) flawlessly. that means terminator was accepting up to 384 khz via the single BNC it has. first time I tried, I could not go more than 192 khz without dropouts.

then I did the main test, which I bought 2 Neutrik AES Male to BNC female in order to try it, using a 3rd Atlas BNC cable in dual BNC out from M scaler to Dual AES mode on terminator. to my surprise, also full scaling up to 7xx khz was possible!!! it played beautifully. I thought only 192 + 192 was possible, but obviously the dual AES input was accepting 384+384 khz. notice that this is possible only via BNC cables. AES cables can't carry such bandwidth from my experiments. how was the outcome? vs my current sound, taking into account that 3 Altlas BNC cables were introduced (which sound slightly different from Wel signature AES I currently use but very very good indeed) and of course the works on M scaler at max up scaling, I noticed during a very quick listen (my friend who brought the M scaler didn't have much time); that things sounded more smoothed out without any loss of details, in fact more details were present. vocals are more realistic and fuller, more 3d effect over all (not as if its lacking any, just got better). I cant say it was not Night and day change, just more of "further worthy improvement" to a very beautiful sound. I'm very inclined to add m scaler, but I have to find out what to do with wel signature AES first! maybe in the months to come. I have confirmed and tested that this works, initial impressions of sound was positive - certainly a nice addition, like having the best of both worlds. will try to get the M scaler again over here over the weekend for an extended session, which a must to get a true feel of the magnitude of change, maybe even record with a Zoom H6 to be able to compare quicker than connecting /disconnecting, i will try to share these recordings if I make them.

 

[hontored]

no matter how you use the terminator - which ever input, which ever mode, overall sound has improved.

Thanks for the precision but it does not completely answer my question.

Now the I2S through the matrix sounds better than USB direct from my nuc to the terminator (old dsp board).

I am wondering If the new USB signal processing will be of better quality than going thrgough the matrix. (provided the usb signal is of good quality)

I am interested to hear about this if somebody made some tests between usb and i2s input with the new board

 

[peteg]

I am interested to hear about this if somebody made some tests between usb and i2s input with the new board

Got the new board in Friday, running the USB input till this weekend and I will put my singxer su-6 back in using I2s to Termy and see how it sounds.


Using the Sharp/Slow filters is a very nice upgrade. But you have to press the" Mute" button then press the "Mode" button to select filters, I believe when the X1 lights up it's the Slow filter and X8 is Sharp but could be vice versa.

 

[Sage Encore]

Got the new board in Friday, running the USB input till this weekend and I will put my singxer su-6 back in using I2s to Termy and see how it sounds.


Using the Sharp/Slow filters is a very nice upgrade. But you have to press the" Mute" button then press the "Mode" button to select filters, I believe when the X1 lights up it's the Slow filter and X8 is Sharp but could be vice versa.

Hi Peteq,
Please do share your experience as I am also very interested to know if the new board has a better USB implementation. Waiting for my board to arrive as well. I am using the U16 btw. It will be interesting to compare the U16 vs the USB and SU-6 vs the USB. I am also looking to change my DDC to SU-6 if the is2 is still the best connection.

One more thing, do the filters work even when in NOS mode? How do we know what filter is on? Kinda confused as not much has been discussed about the filters and their settings. Maybe Alvin can pitch in. Thank you sir and sorry if I hijacked.

 

[peteg]

I still like NOS but on some music it's OS, neither one is wrong, same for the filters both are different and both are very good.

Both filters work in NOS, one thing I'll change is the "Slow" filter both X1 and X8 light up and on "Sharp" filter only the X8 light is on. Hope it's not confusing, when you start playing with it you'll see.

 

[Sage Encore]

I still like NOS but on some music it's OS, neither one is wrong, same for the filters both are different and both are very good.

Both filters work in NOS, one thing I'll change is the "Slow" filter both X1 and X8 light up and on "Sharp" filter only the X8 light is on. Hope it's not confusing, when you start playing with it you'll see.

Hi Pete,
Thank you very much. Please do let us know if USB or is2 is better.

 

[Dan Lee]

Hey all I just recieved my Gustard U16 for my Terminator. I tried using two different HDMI's to run I2s and something is not working correctly as the sound just pops and cracks like crazy. Does this happen for anyone else and were you able to fix it?

I was able to run AES just fine and could very easily hear a difference. It eliminated pretty much all noise though there wasnt much with the Terminator in play, but now it is black as can be which is quite nice. Also switching between NOS and OS and the filters I can clearly hear a difference now where I had a harder time distinguishing the differences before. For under $300 I feel the upgrade is absolutely worth it.

I would however like to get the I2S sorted out if any of you may offer some insight. AES sounds better then USB, but its always nice to have the ability to try all options and decide the best route.

Thanks

 

[alvin1118]

Hi @Dan Lee,

i2s has no industry standard. You need to configure the Gustard U16 i2s output to match with the Terminator HDMI i2s-A.

• I²S Pinout Configuration
  • To configure I²S Pinout, press "Phase" button while in Mute state
  • The 1X 2X 4X LED will turn on/off in a fixed pattern to denote '000' - '111'. One of the pinout configuration should match well with the U16

Hope it helps!

Best,
Alvin @ Vinshine Audio

 

[Whazzzup]

Filters? Nos? I2s? Is this thing plug n play USB and let my server do the upsample and talking?