[HFFan]

For those of you who are lucky enough to have received the A26 already, have you had a chance to compare the performance of built-in streamer to external streamers?

I am curious about the new upgraded Wiim Pro and especially Volumnio Rivo, which advertises the following:

Filtering and isolation have been meticulously designed by employing multiple 1:1 OFC copper grain-oriented transformers, which guarantee the galvanic isolation of the digital outputs (SPDIF and AES/EBU) + USB Digital outputs with power filtering and a dedicated clock... Power supply is separated for each section, with one dedicated to the internal clock that has its own stabilizer

Even if you have other streamers, please share if you can as I am interested in knowing if external streamers do make A26 SQ better or we should exclusively use the built-in A26 streaming capability for best performance.

 

[Dandoudou]

Even if you have other streamers, please share if you can as I am interested in knowing if external streamers do make A26 SQ better or we should exclusively use the built-in A26 streaming capability for best performance.

I have the R26 that has the same streamer, so my experience should be relevant for the A26.

My streaming setup is highly optimized. It is made of a NUC running GentooPlayer and Diretta Host, and of an AlloUSBridge Sig running GentooPlayer and Diretta Target.
Both devices are powered by good LPSs.
In this setup, the streamer is connected to an Audio-GD DI-20HE, and between them, I connect an iFi iGalvanic 3.

If I listen with the speakers, the sound with this streaming setup is in perfect parity to the built-in streamer of the R26.
With the headphones, I can hear that the sound of the GentooPlayer/Diretta streaming setup + the Audio-GD DI-20HE is slightly more refined. So I was surprised how good is the streamer of this DAC.

 

[Jake2]

I have the R26 that has the same streamer, so my experience should be relevant for the A26.

My streaming setup is highly optimized. It is made of a NUC running GentooPlayer and Diretta Host, and of an AlloUSBridge Sig running GentooPlayer and Diretta Target.
Both devices are powered by good LPSs.
In this setup, the streamer is connected to an Audio-GD DI-20HE, and between them, I connect an iFi iGalvanic 3.

If I listen with the speakers, the sound with this streaming setup is in perfect parity to the built-in streamer of the R26.
With the headphones, I can hear that the sound of the GentooPlayer/Diretta streaming setup + the Audio-GD DI-20HE is slightly more refined. So I was surprised how good is the streamer of this DAC.

I realise you, like me, have the R26 external clocked, which I expect it is likely to benefit not only the R26's DAC section but the precision of its streamer too.

If you remove the OCK-1 from your system (not clocking any devices) how does the R26 internal streamer fare vs your NUC/Diretta/DI20-HE chain then?

 

[Dandoudou]

I realise you, like me, have the R26 external clocked, which I expect it is likely to benefit not only the R26's DAC section but the precision of its streamer too.

If you remove the OCK-1 from your system (not clocking any devices) how does the R26 internal streamer fare vs your NUC/Diretta/DI20-HE chain then?

Later today, I'll disconnect the clock, and I will A/B compare the streamers without the clock at all.
I'll post my findings.

 

[sajunky]

In this setup, the streamer is connected to an Audio-GD DI-20HE, and between them, I connect an iFi iGalvanic 3.

Can you replace iGalvanic with iDefender or just remove it completely from the chain and re-test? DI-20 depends on asynchronous USB transfers, as for the best SQ there is no reclocking on the USB port. I am afraid iGalvanic interfere with USB protocol, iDefender do not. If asynchronous transfers (which guarantee zero added jitter on the interface) are not negotiated, sound will suffer on DI-20, unlike other DDCs that always reclock, whether it is needed or not.

 

[Dandoudou]

Can you replace iGalvanic with iDefender or just remove it completely from the chain and re-test? DI-20 depends on asynchronous USB transfers, as for the best SQ there is no reclocking on the USB port. I am afraid iGalvanic interfere with USB protocol, iDefender do not. If asynchronous transfers (which guarantee zero added jitter on the interface) are not negotiated, sound will suffer on DI-20, unlike other DDCs that always reclock, whether it is needed or not.

I don't have iDefender which is a small gadget, and can't be compared to the quality of iGalvanic.
IGalvanic does not interfere with anything. It was made to be used this way. It is as good as Intona.

 

[bodiebill2]

For those of you who are lucky enough to have received the A26 already, have you had a chance to compare the performance of built-in streamer to external streamers?

I am curious about the new upgraded Wiim Pro and especially Volumnio Rivo, which advertises the following:

Even if you have other streamers, please share if you can as I am interested in knowing if external streamers do make A26 SQ better or we should exclusively use the built-in A26 streaming capability for best performance.

The A26's internal streamer performs better than expected in my setup, which has an upstream chain that is somewhat similar to @Dandoudou 's. However I definitely prefer the external streamer input (even though this is limited to PCM) as follows:

Audirvana Studio on mac M1 > UPnP > Diretta host with GentooPlayer on NUC > CAT7 > Afterdark SFP > fiber > EtherRegen > Blue Jeans CAT6 30 cm > Delock 62619 > Blue Jeans CAT6 30 cm > Afterdark Rosanna streamer > USB Phasure Lush > SOtM tX-USBhubEX > USB Phasure Lush^2 > DI20HE > I2S Phasure hdmi^2 > A26
(where the Mutec clock is connected to ER, Rosanna, DI20HE and A26).

Admittedly this looks ludicrous on paper so I fully understand that some prefer the simplicity of the A26's LAN input. However with the external streamer I get this utterly beguiling ear-popping immersiveness, free of all digital artifacts, that I am enjoying so much, and that makes me value the A26 so highly.

 

[Dandoudou]

However I definitely prefer the external streamer input, even though this is limited to PCM

Since our setups are so similar, I think that my external streamer will outperform more clearly the built-in streamer of the R26, when I'll be able to connect both to the R26, and the DI-20HE to a 10 mHz clock. At the moment, I can not do it, because my OCK-1 has a single 50 ohms output.

 

[sajunky]

I don't have iDefender which is a small gadget, and can be compared to the quality of iGalvanic.
IGalvanic does not interfere with anything. It was made to be used this way. It is as good as Intona.

This is your assumption based on the other gear, not DI-20, right? You didn't say you tried. My opinion on iGalvanic is different. If you want galvanic separation which DI-20 already has, better use ground loop redirectors like iDefender.

I don't intend to argue, just pointing out that a conclusion you drawn can be defective.

 

[Jake2]

The A26's internal streamer performs better than expected in my setup, which has an upstream chain that is somewhat similar to @Dandoudou 's. However I definitely prefer the external streamer input (even though this is limited to PCM) as follows:

Audirvana Studio on mac M1 > UPnP > Diretta host with GentooPlayer on NUC > CAT7 > Afterdark SFP > fiber > EtherRegen > Blue Jeans CAT6 30 cm > Delock 62619 > Blue Jeans CAT6 30 cm > Afterdark Rosanna streamer > USB Phasure Lush > SOtM tX-USBhubEX > USB Phasure Lush^2 > DI20HE > I2S Phasure hdmi^2 > A26
(where he Mutec clock is connected to ER, Rosanna, DI20HE and A26).

Admittedly this looks ludicrous on paper so I fully understand that some prefer the simplicity of the A26's LAN input. However with the external streamer I get this utterly beguiling ear-popping immersiveness, free of all digital artifacts, that I am enjoying so much, and that makes me value the A26 so highly.

Au contraire, I think it looks awesome on paper!

I hadn't appreciated you had a Rosanna. Cool.

I'm getting an inreasingly beguiling sound now too (added a second grounded switch this evening), so so I'll just have to use my imagination to envisage how your system must sound...

 

[Dandoudou]

This is your assumption based on the other gear, not DI-20, right? You didn't say you tried. My opinion on iGalvanic is different. If you want galvanic separation which DI-20 already has, better use ground loop redirectors like iDefender.

I don't intend to argue, just pointing out that a conclusion you drawn can be defective.

In addition to reducing noise, iGalvanic also performs ground loops redirections. It has a selector with three settings for that.
I have iGlavanic, and iPurifier 3. When I use them together before the DI-20HE, the improvement is very slightly greater. But the difference is tiny, so I keep iPurifier for a mobile usage.

But since you insist, I'll order iDefender on Amazon, and will try it in my system next week.
I will report feedback.

 

[Dandoudou]

USB Phasure Lush > SOtM tX-USBhubEX > USB Phasure Lush^2 > DI20HE >

What's the benefit of using the SoTM tx-USBhubEx before your DI-20HE?

 

[sajunky]

I have iGlavanic, and iPurifier 3. When I use them together before the DI-20HE, the improvement is very slightly greater. But the difference is tiny, so I keep iPurifier for a mobile usage.

But since you insist, I'll order iDefender on Amazon, and will try it in my system next week.
I will report feedback.

I don't ask you to purchase iDefender, while this inexpensive piece should be present in every setup. It doesn't harm. But you can remove iGalvanic for testing. IGalvanic, iPurifier and any other device which theoretically interfere with USB protocol can do harm, especially with DI-20 which is optimised for asynchronous transfers. You may even get an improvement because or reducing ground loops, but a final effect can be negative.

 

[Dandoudou]

I don't ask you to purchase iDefender, while this inexpensive piece should be present in every setup. It doesn't harm. But you can remove iGalvanic for testing. IGalvanic, iPurifier and any other device which theoretically interfere with USB protocol can do harm, especially with DI-20 which is optimised for asynchronous transfers. You may even get an improvement because or reducing ground loops, but a final effect can be negative.

It's not a problem, if iDefender is not useful, I will send it back to Amaon, and get a refund.

I was using the DI-20HE during a longtime without anything ahead of it, though I had iGalvanic and iPurifier, before even buying the DI-20.
So, I did not put iGalvanic before the DI-20HE without a reason. I posted three months ago a very detailed report on the DI-20 thread what made me try these devices with the DI-20HE.

 

[sajunky]

It's not a problem, if iDefender is not useful, I will send it back to Amaon, and get a refund.

I was using the DI-20HE during a longtime without anything ahead of it, though I had iGalvanic and iPurifier, before even buying the DI-20.
So, I did not put iGalvanic before the DI-20HE without a reason. I posted three months ago a very detailed report on the DI-20 thread what made me try these devices with the DI-20HE.

So I keep arguing on the same matter?