[Voltot]

   
 
Today I opened my U12 again and soldered a wire from GROUNDPIN IEC320 inlet to NEGATIVE lead of one of the Panasonic FC's, which is GROUND for whole U12 circuit.
Then i cut GROUND and black NEGATIVE wire from USB cable at PC-side.
 
This works! So, now we have clean ground (i have mainsfilter and ground is "clean"), no ground noise from PC, and 5V wire is only used for turning on relay U12.
No need for batterypower anymore 

 
Again, more airy, more black around voices, bigger wider soundstage.
 
 
Cheers 

Alex

 
Damn... i dont have ground wire at my apartment.

 

[abartels]

   
Maestro,
 
Congratulations on your new finding, this must be the greatest ever open up for Gustard U12. 
 
Cheers  

 
Riemann

 
You're too kind 

 
I didn't took a picture, but i did draw a red line where i connected the wire:
 

 
For those who don't have earthwire available at home, you can try making a ground connection to some sort of heater radiator or waterpipe, at least if they aren't made from PVC but from copper.
It's not the best grounding solution but it comes close and it's better than no grounding at all.

 

[Jamiee]

 
You had better ask them directly.  They are closed from 30 April to 03 May.

Just got word that my MX-U8 is shipping today.
Very much looking forward to it...

 

[Alexsander]

   
 
Today I opened my U12 again and soldered a wire from GROUNDPIN IEC320 inlet to NEGATIVE lead of one of the Panasonic FC's, which is GROUND for whole U12 circuit.
Then i cut GROUND and black NEGATIVE wire from USB cable at PC-side.
 
This works! So, now we have clean ground (i have mainsfilter and ground is "clean"), no ground noise from PC, and 5V wire is only used for turning on relay U12.
No need for batterypower anymore 

 
Again, more airy, more black around voices, bigger wider soundstage.
 
 
Cheers 

Alex

"cut GROUND and black NEGATIVE wire from usb cable"
 
http://i.imgur.com/wt6ha.png
In scheme usb cable:
black wire = GND
 
You too cut off the shield in cable?
Interestingly how works +5V without GND (-) and shield?

 

[abartels]

  "cut GROUND and black NEGATIVE wire from usb cable"
 
http://i.imgur.com/wt6ha.png
In scheme usb cable:
black wire = GND
 
You too cut off the shield in cable?
Interestingly how works +5V without GND (-) and shield?

 
Yes, cut black wire (some call it just -, and others GND) AND ground shield.
 

 

[Alexsander]

I had an idea!
to use Teralink ADuM4160 USB Isolator board, but D+ and D- to connect separately direct from computer.
http://www.ab-system.hk/index.php?route=product/product&path=73&product_id=63
 
In this case will be isolated : usb Vcc (+5V) and shield and GND!!!

 

[hgpsemaj]

In fact, Noratel do offer primary input voltage 110V/60Hz, but quite dear:
 
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Noratel-Toroidal-Transformer-110V-N10373-/301107269466?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item461b644f5a

 

[m0reilly]

  Hey, new 2.26 XMOS driver sounds much different then Luckit 2.24 WaveIO for me.
More natural, richer tones, deeper soundstage but little less transparent.

is this with the u12? if so, how did you get the u12 to be seen by your OS? i tried several times but no luck getting windows to recognize the u12...

 

[prot]

For the DYI-ers around here, there are other XMOS boards which look pretty good:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/upgrade-TCXO-0-1ppm-XMOS-U8-chip-DSD-USB-to-coxial-optical-I2S-spdif-ASIO-384k-/131488336528
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCM-DSD-192K-24BIT-XMOS-U8-USB-to-Fiber-Coaxial-Output-I2S-Asynchronous-TCOX-wlx-/151625833761
Since you are opening and replacing all sorts of stuff in your convertors, those could be better/cheaper solutions.
(disclaimer: did not try the boards and no idea who the sellers are)

 

[abartels]

For the DYI-ers around here, another XMOS board which looks pretty good.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/upgrade-TCXO-0-1ppm-XMOS-U8-chip-DSD-USB-to-coxial-optical-I2S-spdif-ASIO-384k-/131488336528
Since you are opening and replacing all sorts of stuff in your convertors, this could be a better/cheaper solution.
(disclaimer: did not try the board and no idea who the seller is)

 
Hi Prot,
 
Could be an option, it's not cheap if you compare with U12 including psu and enclosure,,,,
But I agree, it's more convenient to use seperate pcb's and build your own DDC in enclosure.
 
Maybe I will, some day,,,,, 

 

[zaccio]

I have one of them and it work very well if feed by 9v regulated battery. I ordered NDK NZ2520SD but I don't think I'm able to solder them (2x2.5mm I need microscope...) but this board is very promising TanlyAudio design 

 
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=0.0.0.0.li1MtV&id=18075891198&b=danpin_zhutu_up1

 

[prot]

Hi Prot,

Could be an option, it's not cheap if you compare with U12 including psu and enclosure,,,,
But I agree, it's more convenient to use seperate pcb's and build your own DDC in enclosure.

Maybe I will, some day,,,,, :wink_face:

For someone who wants a device which "just works", the U12 is definitely the cheapest/best solution. But you guys are replacing all those extras anyway (enclosure, trafo, regulators, caps, etc) and those simple boards should be a better start.

 

[Hun7er]

Hi,
 
Where can I download the 2.26 version ?

 

[hgpsemaj]

  I have one of them and it work very well if feed by 9v regulated battery. I ordered NDK NZ2520SD but I don't think I'm able to solder them (2x2.5mm I need microscope...) but this board is very promising TanlyAudio design 

 
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=0.0.0.0.li1MtV&id=18075891198&b=danpin_zhutu_up1

 
This is definitely a contender, 
 

1. Using three NDK NZ2520SD Ultra low phase noise oscillator
2. Batch 8pcs+ includes free microsoft windows signed driver and device name shown as genuine XMOS USB Audio

http://www.diyinhk.com/shop/audio-kits/58-xmos-dsd-dxd-384khz-high-quality-usb-to-i2s-pcb.html#/xmos_option-xmos_and_led_pcb

 

[auvgeek]

Like many lately, I grabbed a vintage DAC (PCM only, as per usual with these) so I need a USB transport. The DAC has inputs for AES/EBU and coax. Right now, it seems like the best price/performance is to connect via AES from the MX-U8, but I'm also considering coax from the DI-2014. Any thoughts or advice? Do people who have heard both think the MX-U8 is worth the extra $80 USD over the U12? I don't know much about the Tanly offering; does anyone have a direct link to the product? I searched this thread and clicked on a link that wouldn't load, but couldn't find much else.