[EMINENT]

What is the cause of clicks and pops at the beginning of song using U18>I2S>R26 upsampling PCM-DSD?

 

[kumar402]

What is the cause of clicks and pops at the beginning of song using U18>I2S>R26 upsampling PCM-DSD?

clicks and pops are missing packets in USB transmission.
what is the source to feed U18? Source is the culprit

 

[milkdudd]

Thanks for responding guys. It's way late in my time zone but I'm doing one more experiment and listening to it as I post this and getting very positive results. Tomorrow I'll chime in with some more findings. Thanks again

The experiment I was referring to was substituting a DAP for the Android phone. It's this one in the photo. It does not have a dac, it's purely a digital transport. Connecting it with USB to the A22, with the C18 connected to the U18 with the gustard C2 cable. Then the U18 connected to the A22 with the blue jeans i2s cable. I also have the AV play i2s cable but as of now I'm liking the blue jeans better. I will experiment at least one more time with that AV cable since I've made other changes since I last listened. To be clear I was already thrilled with the sound I was getting out of my stereo system. However ditching the Android phone has seen yet another noticeable improvement. Actually even with the Android as a source it was a slight (very slight) improvement in sound quality compared to the CD player. But to the question of what CD player I have it's the Onkyo reference C-7000R. It's a peach I must say. At least the equal to my Denon DCD-A100 anniversary player, minus the sacd capability. Most of my listening now is streaming Tidal. I see now I need to put a priority on getting the Android out of that chain as well. Can anyone recommend a high quality, not ridiculously expensive streamer for Tidal? Besides sound quality, priority is something relatively plug and play. I see on the R26 thread what an adventure it can be getting the different components to communicate with each other

 

[milkdudd]

Just thought of one more thing. As you can see in that photo my DAP has an AES digital output. It couldn't hurt to try hooking it up that way to my A22. Would I lose the benefits of the C18 and U18 if I hooked it up that way I wonder? One thing I'm still unsure of is whether the clock and DDC only benefit if using the USB input to the dac. Or will other connections such as AES, coax or optical also benefit?

 

[Crypt Keeper]

The experiment I was referring to was substituting a DAP for the Android phone. It's this one in the photo. It does not have a dac, it's purely a digital transport. Connecting it with USB to the A22, with the C18 connected to the U18 with the gustard C2 cable. Then the U18 connected to the A22 with the blue jeans i2s cable. I also have the AV play i2s cable but as of now I'm liking the blue jeans better. I will experiment at least one more time with that AV cable since I've made other changes since I last listened. To be clear I was already thrilled with the sound I was getting out of my stereo system. However ditching the Android phone has seen yet another noticeable improvement. Actually even with the Android as a source it was a slight (very slight) improvement in sound quality compared to the CD player. But to the question of what CD player I have it's the Onkyo reference C-7000R. It's a peach I must say. At least the equal to my Denon DCD-A100 anniversary player, minus the sacd capability. Most of my listening now is streaming Tidal. I see now I need to put a priority on getting the Android out of that chain as well. Can anyone recommend a high quality, not ridiculously expensive streamer for Tidal? Besides sound quality, priority is something relatively plug and play. I see on the R26 thread what an adventure it can be getting the different components to communicate with each other

MQA ? Noooo… I play flacs. I’m using Linux SOtm sMS-200ultra Neo network renderer with 75 Ohm clock input. + Farad Super 3 (12 V) + purple fuse + solid silver Audio Sensibility Signature DC cable… Works great via MPD …

 

[milkdudd]

MQA ? Noooo… I play flacs. I’m using Linux SOtm sMS-200ultra Neo network renderer with 75 Ohm clock input. + Farad Super 3 (12 V) + purple fuse + solid silver Audio Sensibility Signature DC cable… Works great via MPD …

Thanks. I'm in the middle of a few things right now but tonight I will research these components

 

[SKR987]

First of all, which I2s pinout are you set on Gustard I2s (Gustard, Mode#2, Mode#3, Mode#4)?

I am on Gustard setting. This setting works fine with DSD when I am using HQPlayer which converts PCM to DSD. But when I am inputting PCM signal to the topping DAC than I get drop outs.

 

[Miro102]

I would like to ask one thing, on the Gustard c18 coupled to the X26pro, the specifications of the C18 speak of -110db at 1hz, what are the specifications of the internal clock of the x26pro to make a comparison?

 

[FredA]

I would like to ask one thing, on the Gustard c18 coupled to the X26pro, the specifications of the C18 speak of -110db at 1hz, what are the specifications of the internal clock of the x26pro to make a comparison?

Most likely around - 70dB so not comparable. Hard to tell the exact oscillators used because they are hidden. But it is safe to say there is no built-in ocxo.

 

[Miro102]

But it's a huge difference! , the listening should change quite a bit.

 

[FredA]

But it's a huge difference! , the listening should change quite a bit.

Better staging, more details and firmer bass. A more realistic sound.

 

[GoldenSound]

I would like to ask one thing, on the Gustard c18 coupled to the X26pro, the specifications of the C18 speak of -110db at 1hz, what are the specifications of the internal clock of the x26pro to make a comparison?

It's not quite a simple comparison unfortunately.
That spec refers to phase noise of the clock, but there's a lot of other factors at play.
It doesn't tell you about the quality of the implementation, as various products using identical clocks can have quite different levels of performance depending on design. That spec is purely for the clock alone.
Additionally it doesn't reveal any information about deterministic jitter components. (Though this is more applicable to whole products rather than standalone oscillators)

Furthermore, it's a 10Mhz clock. 10Mhz cannot be evenly divided by 48khz or 44.1khz, and so a fractional PLL must be employed which is inherently not going to be a perfect process and the receiving device is going to play a big part in terms of what level of degradation is seen.

To be honest it'd be better if companies began using native word clocks rather than 10Mhz. 10Mhz was intended for keeping lots of devices in busy production environments in sync long term, not as a means of improving quality. Your DAC is still using an internal clock when a 10Mhz clock is connected.
An upgraded word clock, provided either via a DDC or a standalone clock has a higher performance ceiling as the converter can actually run off it directly and no fractional PLL is required.
Some companies like dCS do this which is nice, but it's a shame more companies don't go that route instead of 10Mhz.

 

[Miro102]

Thanks for the clarification, yes the thing is a little more complex than it seems.

 

[Getafix]

What's even more complicated, every internal oscillator or clock can have little better or worse specs than advertised and it's up to luck what you get. Unless you have an external ocxo with certificate of measurement, the only proof is in the listening.

 

[cglin222]

Changed the fuse for an SR Purple this evening and got an immediate enormous overall improvement from the 630ma Gustard fuse I previously had in there. Blown away by the improvement actually and that’s without any burn in!

So the sr purple fuse I should pick slow blow, correct?