[hypnos1]

Hi hypnos1 I had the Oppo HA-1 which used the 9018 chip and I was not a fan I personally found it way to lean and bright but that could have been just that DAC I never tried another one with that chip, and to make matters worse I was using the HD800 at the time (ears bleeding) I liked the 9017 chip better... And the 9038 Pro chips does very well in my book. I am now comparing it with my new Holo Spring 2 KTE R2R DAC now so far it is a love hate depending on what gear you are using it with. And as of now the Spring 2 KTE does not pair very well with the Euforia, but with my Yamaha A-S3000 and Dynaudio Special 40's speakers sound really amazing and never sounded better. But too be fair to the Spring DAC only been using it for a couple of days still burning in and it is starting to sound allot better.

Yeah, L87...implementation was King with the Sabre 9018. And it would appear that not very many manufacturers got it right lol! And very dodgy for the likes of the HD800!! My Audiolab 8200CD managed it very well, and my subsequent custom tube-based DAC even better (long live tubes lol! ). But both surpassed by Hugo2...in my system.

And as with your Holo Spring....synergy is everything! Hope all stays together well with your Euforia...CHEERS!

 

[teknorob23]

Tellurium, trob? So it's not all "snake oil" after all then?!! (But its price does still seem rather OTT lol!...and prohibitive for headphone length cable I should imagine! ).

Soldering is indeed a different proposition to screw terminals, and does need a good bit of practice before tackling finer jobs in restricted spaces. But once got the hang of, shouldn't be too daunting a project! But as you say, baby steps at a time...(youtube is a good source of practical advice/demonstration).

My interest is peaked and this sort of DIY is quite satisfying and therapeutic distraction when a blocked head is prohibiting my indulgence in habit No.1.

2 questions and i promise to get back on topic, although this is all in the pursuit of improving my euforia. Which Neotech cable do you recommend the OCC pure copper of copper/ silver mix? and do you have any connector suggestions that fit the under endowed Hugo2's rca sockets.

The TQ RCA has had nearly as bigger an impact the on the SotM/ Euforia/ Hugo set up as its sister USB. The sound continues to get wider, deeper and more organised plus bass definition has lept forward. But its hard to say whether this is colouring from the cable or whether its just incredibly transparent and is just allowing the other components to shine even brighter... im worried this sort of thinking is where madness lies, but TQ dont help by giving zero away on there cables construction. That said i've never heard either a USB or RCA make such a positive and drastic difference so even if its bell wire, string and three taps of magic wand, they're on to something..... But maybe with a bit of neotech OCC we can all become alchemists too rob

 

[Scutey]

just a quick update for the Euforia/ Mains Power sub-thread. Having just come back from rainy Spain with stinking cold, my mood was lifted by the arrival of the Nene Valley Audio Mini Balanced mains unit as well as an assortment of connectors (Oyaide Silver IEC £15, MS Power Silver UK mains plugs £38 and cable (ElecAudio CS-361B OCC Double shielded £19 per metre). The cable seems a bit of steal but is ridiculously fat and proper pain to work with, but after a late night filled with industrial language i now have four conga eels running into each component out of the NVA BMU. Heads too blocked up to do much in way of listening and the power cables will need a couple of weeks if not more to properly run in, but i think i could get have found a new sub-addiction in cable DIY'ing thanks to @hypnos1 encouragement and advice. I'll report back asap on the effects on the performance of our Polish loved one, and i look forward to hearing more from @OctavianH and @Scutey on your new adventures in electricity

In the meantime heres some quick snaps of one of my slightly indecent looking creations...

Hi rob, that's a bummer having a cold, there's nothing worse than being kept away from our audio gear . Congrats on the cable, that looks pretty impressive and very well shielded!, I'll be definitely interested to know how you get on with em. Regarding adventures with electricity, I'm still off colour so haven't got in as much use as I would like, having said that, I turned on the Euforia yesterday for the first time in several days, and there was a quite marked improvement, which I assume is a combination of all the components bedding in, however the furman seems to have added some extra presence to the sub bass to the upper mids, along with more depth, so imo, the Furman is a worthwhile if anyone is in the market for a budget Power conditioner.

 

[Scutey]

Anyway, for the ones owning MCRU No75 and the Furman AC210A-E, has anyone tried :

1) to power Elise or Euforia from the Furman and from the No. 75 and compare?

2) to change the stock cable of Furman (that one fixed with that wire) with the No 75 and make a comparison?

I ask because I plan to change all my power cables with better shielded ones and I wonder if it makes sense to change also the Furman stock one.

More than this, I have 2 MCRU Linear Power Supplies (one for Qutest and one for 2Qute). Does it make sense to change the power cable at the input of an LPS? Or only the output matters?

Hi Octavian. In answer to your questions I've tried both ways.

1) both Furman and MCRU No 75 improved the sound, however the Furman, I would say had a greater improvement, Furman had more of everything, Imaging, micro detail, dynamics etc, No 75 also improved the sound, but to a lesser extent, wider soundstage, clarity, detail.

2) I have also changed out the stock cable on the Furman and replaced it with the No 75, I would say the difference is not huge, but there is some difference, the best way I can put it is the No 75 has added some snap to the sound and the wider soundstage.

Hope this helps!.

 

[OctavianH]

Many thanks @Scutey for your feedback. Just for curiosity, at the moment, you are keeping the No. 75 in the Furman? In my caseI guess I'll leave the stock one there...

@teknorob23 Those Tellurium Q look impressive, but 1000 EUR/ 1m are also impressive. I cannot afford them, and there are 100 more important things to upgrade in my system before interconnects, but I have to be honest that maybe one day I'll try them. Anyway, Black Diamond or Silver would be my choices.

 

[Scutey]

Many thanks @Scutey for your feedback. Just for curiosity, at the moment, you are keeping the No. 75 in the Furman? In my caseI guess I'll leave the stock one there...
Yes I'm keeping the No 75 in the Furman, as it does add a bit extra to the whole sound.

 

[Scutey]

Yes I'm keeping the No 75 in the Furman as it does add a bit extra to the whole sound.

 

[teknorob23]

Many thanks @Scutey for your feedback. Just for curiosity, at the moment, you are keeping the No. 75 in the Furman? In my caseI guess I'll leave the stock one there...

@teknorob23 Those Tellurium Q look impressive, but 1000 EUR/ 1m are also impressive. I cannot afford them, and there are 100 more important things to upgrade in my system before interconnects, but I have to be honest that maybe one day I'll try them. Anyway, Black Diamond or Silver would be my choices.

@OctavianH, Agreed they are expensive, but the Black Ultra 2 RCA isnt quite as rich as the Diamond USB at £450 or £375 after discount. Based on their performance they seem worth the price, but i'm hopefully that with my further explorations in audio diy, will mean that i can acheive something similar and the TQ will be on ebay shortly

@Scutey sorry to hear you're not well either and beginning to think this thread could do with its own dedicated nurse, at least for the sickly UK contingent! Great to hear the furman is making such a difference and sounds like a genuine bargain. I cant report much on my adventures with electricity yet, other than to say its all pluged in and i'm particularly impressed with "Oyaide" impersonator IEC plug, which fit both the Euforia and the Streamer far more securely than the more expensive Furutech plugs on my bought cables. The silver plating also appears to be very high quality too and £15 each they appear to be quiet a bargain. i bought them from UK based website recommended to me in another forum http://www.custom-hifi-cables.co.uk.

... ps seeing as i've gone DIY, i have a lover UK mains 1.7m MCRU no.75 which i'll happily trade for money

 

[OctavianH]

I will focus my efforts on improving the USB input. But before I will try any new cable I have to solve other problems like a decent USB regenerator/USB card in my PC. At the moment the USB cable is plugged in my motherboard which is, for sure, not the best setup for audio.
Since I use this PC for gaming and I like to read stuff on it while listening to music, I will not change it as a source for my system. What I have to do is to improve USB transmission and there are several paths to follow here but at the moment I am evaluating all of them from the perspective of price/performance.
After I will solve this I will start to think about USB cables and interconnects.

 

[hypnos1]

My interest is peaked and this sort of DIY is quite satisfying and therapeutic distraction when a blocked head is prohibiting my indulgence in habit No.1.

2 questions and i promise to get back on topic, although this is all in the pursuit of improving my euforia. Which Neotech cable do you recommend the OCC pure copper of copper/ silver mix? and do you have any connector suggestions that fit the under endowed Hugo2's rca sockets.

The TQ RCA has had nearly as bigger an impact the on the SotM/ Euforia/ Hugo set up as its sister USB. The sound continues to get wider, deeper and more organised plus bass definition has lept forward. But its hard to say whether this is colouring from the cable or whether its just incredibly transparent and is just allowing the other components to shine even brighter... im worried this sort of thinking is where madness lies, but TQ dont help by giving zero away on there cables construction. That said i've never heard either a USB or RCA make such a positive and drastic difference so even if its bell wire, string and three taps of magic wand, they're on to something..... But maybe with a bit of neotech OCC we can all become alchemists too rob

Looks like the DIY bug is hitting hard trob...be careful, it's highly addictive once you see the results you can achieve at a fraction of the cost of commercial products (plus, you can make your own concoction to suit lol! ).

Re. cable for interconnects, probably the safest, and easiest route is what I used for my own : Neotech 2001 UP-OCC silver : https://www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/neotech-nei-2001-interconnect-cable.html
This cable has three multi-wire conductors that can be used for either XLR or RCA....and has much more silver wire than the cable just for RCA at the same price (doesn't make sense really!). I personally hated the idea of that third trio of wire standing idle, so I used two for signal and added some more silver wire to the third as return. Plus, I added some copper wire to both directions! But I'm now doubting if it was really necessary lol. I would advise leaving that third conductor unused....you're still getting far more silver than in the "RCA" cable! (And I personally rate silver above copper any day...especially as the UP-OCC process definitely smooths out the treble, compared to 'ordinary' pure silver). I also like being able to buy it in 25cm lengths up to requirement...don't see the point of paying extra for 1 metre lengths when seldom really necessary lol! Plus, as with all cables...the shorter the better!

As for the vexed question of (good) RCA connectors that will actually fit inside Hugo2's sockets (bad design flaw IMHO!!), I can't really recommend any at the moment. But my hifi buddy, Olli, did find some for his DIY cable so I'll try and find out which ones they were and let you know. (I think they also had screw terminals, which is great for achieving metal-to-metal contact before soldering).

So, good luck with your new-found hobby......CJ

 

[teknorob23]

Looks like the DIY bug is hitting hard trob...be careful, it's highly addictive once you see the results you can achieve at a fraction of the cost of commercial products (plus, you can make your own concoction to suit lol! ).

Re. cable for interconnects, probably the safest, and easiest route is what I used for my own : Neotech 2001 UP-OCC silver : https://www.hificollective.co.uk/wire/neotech-nei-2001-interconnect-cable.html
This cable has three multi-wire conductors that can be used for either XLR or RCA....and has much more silver wire than the cable just for RCA at the same price (doesn't make sense really!). I personally hated the idea of that third trio of wire standing idle, so I used two for signal and added some more silver wire to the third as return. Plus, I added some copper wire to both directions! But I'm now doubting if it was really necessary lol. I would advise leaving that third conductor unused....you're still getting far more silver than in the "RCA" cable! (And I personally rate silver above copper any day...especially as the UP-OCC process definitely smooths out the treble, compared to 'ordinary' pure silver). I also like being able to buy it in 25cm lengths up to requirement...don't see the point of paying extra for 1 metre lengths when seldom really necessary lol! Plus, as with all cables...the shorter the better!

As for the vexed question of (good) RCA connectors that will actually fit inside Hugo2's sockets (bad design flaw IMHO!!), I can't really recommend any at the moment. But my hifi buddy, Olli, did find some for his DIY cable so I'll try and find out which ones they were and let you know. (I think they also had screw terminals, which is great for achieving metal-to-metal contact before soldering).

So, good luck with your new-found hobby......CJ

Thanks, I think CJ, i'm not sure i'm going to find my way back out of this rabbit hole for some while! This silver cable looks amazing, but due to keeping my Euforia at height beyond the reach and current climbing capabilities of the tiny marauders i share my house with, i need best part of a 1.5 metre RCA to run down to the hidden Hugo. I'm a bit scared to dive in with £500+ for my first attempt, so i'm going to give the 3001 mkIII. As for plugs i've stuck with what i know, KLE harmony silvers. They dont fit the Hugos' stupid holes, out of the packet but they have a really thick polymer case that can with stand a bit or careful sand papering down to size without any detriment to performance. Hifi collective are seem confident that i'll be able to work the 10.5mm 3001 in the end to the 9.5mm holes. i would still love to hear about these screw lock ones too. Sorry to everyone else on here, i'll take this now completely off topic journey into DIY DM from here, promise

 

[hypnos1]

Thanks, I think CJ, i'm not sure i'm going to find my way back out of this rabbit hole for some while! This silver cable looks amazing, but due to keeping my Euforia at height beyond the reach and current climbing capabilities of the tiny marauders i share my house with, i need best part of a 1.5 metre RCA to run down to the hidden Hugo. I'm a bit scared to dive in with £500+ for my first attempt, so i'm going to give the 3001 mkIII. As for plugs i've stuck with what i know, KLE harmony silvers. They dont fit the Hugos' stupid holes, out of the packet but they have a really thick polymer case that can with stand a bit or careful sand papering down to size without any detriment to performance. Hifi collective are seem confident that i'll be able to work the 10.5mm 3001 in the end to the 9.5mm holes. i would still love to hear about these screw lock ones too. Sorry to everyone else on here, i'll take this now completely off topic journey into DIY DM from here, promise

Apologies also to those not quite so into DIY cables...but perhaps the occasional intrepid 'tweaker' might just be lured down this rabbit hole also lol! ....and actually save themselves a lot of money in the long run .

I can understand your reluctance to spend that kind of money trob, and that 3001 does look extremely good as a copper cable. I look forward to your findings...but I doubt it will come close to your Tellurium alas...(I hope I'm very much mistaken!! ). A real shame you have to use such a long length...have you considered auctioning off the kids lol?!!! (but don't tell the missus!!!).

Those KLE Silver Harmony are the very plugs I used (also filing down those jaws!) before biting the no-connector bullet once more and taking my IC wires direct to H2's internal connections!! (those at the 6.3mm headphone out...much more impressive looking than the RCA ones! And with spring loaded metal-to-metal contact - no solder! So thank goodness power to both come direct from the FPGA chip ).

GOOD LUCK!...CJ

 

[Scutey]

@Scutey sorry to hear you're not well either and beginning to think this thread could do with its own dedicated nurse, at least for the sickly UK contingent!

It's a pain in the bum, I've been having trouble with migraines, when I get one, it's me pretty much done for the day. regarding a dedicated nurse, how about Crocked Euforia Owners Nurse Thread .

 

[ZRW0]

Hello,

Back to my tube rolling adventures with the Euforia, I recently discovered 6N12S from a Russian company named MELZ.

They are very well balanced, with plenty of details, tight, fast and "accurate" bass (neither overwhelming, nor "hollow"/lacking-of-meat as I eventually always feel with EL tubes as drivers).

Regarding my current collection of tubes, the 6N12S are actually the only tubes that can successfully be combined with both 6AS7 and EL families as powers.
Therefore, unlike with other 6SN7 drivers, they pair quite well with EL38. The volume can be set to a very high level without any distorsion.



For now, I'm actually fund of the 6N12S/EL38 combo.
My Kennerton planars sound like a dream, and I'm once again rediscovering my records with subtle details I never heard or paid-attention-to before.

Cheers,

Erwan.

 

[hypnos1]

Hello,

Back to my tube rolling adventures with the Euforia, I recently discovered 6N12S from a Russian company named MELZ.

They are very well balanced, with plenty of details, tight, fast and "accurate" bass (neither overwhelming, nor "hollow"/lacking-of-meat as I eventually always feel with EL tubes as drivers).

Regarding my current collection of tubes, the 6N12S are actually the only tubes that can successfully be combined with both 6AS7 and EL families as powers.
Therefore, unlike with other 6SN7 drivers, they pair quite well with EL38. The volume can be set to a very high level without any distorsion.



For now, I'm actually fund of the 6N12S/EL38 combo.
My Kennerton planars sound like a dream, and I'm once again rediscovering my records with subtle details I never heard or paid-attention-to before.

Cheers,

Erwan.

Hi Erwan.

Sounds like an interesting find...could well be 6N12S and Kennertons speaking Russian to each other perhaps lol!!

This tube is, of course, equivalent to the 6BL7, which is sometimes used as an alternative to the 6AS7G as power tube. So it's interesting that it works in the driver seat without any 'issues'.
I'm not sure if this would remain so with long term use, and would advise checking this out with F-A. I do hope it does prove OK, as it certainly seems to give you what you're looking for in your system. In my own setup - especially now with the Meze Empyreans - there's nothing lacking whatsoever in bass/mids...or anywhere else for that matter...simply superb! As usual, other elements in the system will also help determine tubes' performance.

Melz tubes do appear to have better emphasis in the lower frequencies than many other equivalents. I found this with their 6H8C driver compared to the 6SN7, but for me, somehow didn't quite match top flight examples of the latter...or some alternatives. Plus, I was unlucky that all three of mine developed problems alas (and which is why F-A themselves stopped offering them as an option). But I sincerely hope you don't have any such problems with the 12S...(but still advise checking with F-A, mon ami)....CHEERS!...CJ