[dericchan1]

Which means for me I bought at a cyan 2 for $1000 usd but managed to save myself $600 usd on an intona and 2 fancy usb cables. I have not sold the intona and usb cables yet, I could still use it for my other dacs that the usb is not implemented as well

 

[photobillyli]

Ok, let me try connecting the Cyan 2 and my mac directly and see whether I can hear any difference in sound.

 

[dericchan1]

I had the red for a few months while I was waiting for my fitlet 3 order to come - a dreadful 16 months wait. I had the red as a NAA to my ifi pro idsd. It did sound better than just using a regular rpi4 as a NAA but I could detect no difference as soon as I plugged in an intona to the rpi 4 and compared to the red. Sold the red when the fitlet3 arrived

 

[dericchan1]

Ok, let me try connecting the Cyan 2 and my mac directly and see whether I can hear any difference in sound.

And please report back your findings

 

[PROblemdetected]

This is something that i think you'll find interesting.

I love that guy.

Im not a cable fan, but he is one of the most respectgul guys you could find on YouTube

 

[photobillyli]

And please report back your findings

When I tried to do so last night, I just realized that my 0.75m usb cable is more than enough to connect my Red with Cyan 2 but it is too short to connect my mac with the Cyan 2.
I need to move the mac later.

 

[m-i-c-k-e-y]

Right now enjoying Roon + HQP (upsample to PCM384 thru Sinc-M/LNS15) via USB -> SU-6 (via SPDIF PCM384) -> DAC

I might go this route instead FMC/HQP NAA. Think its more cost effective and simpler. Will add a USB Reclock/Regen (Thinking of a LHY UIP) before the SU-6. I have an old LH Labs Revive and it made a slight difference.

Will explore more on the HQP filters. But for now its Roon + HQP -> DDC -> DAC rather than Roon + HQP -> FMC -> DAC.

 

[gammi]

Has any work ever been done towards filters that speed up/time shift transients in music? Let's say my chain from start to finish has 10us of delay from things like the amplifier slew rate, etc., if I could shift the transients, say 5us earlier the net result should be the transient starts 5us early and ends 5us late which may sound better than it starting on time but ending 10us late.

Hope that makes sense. Am I onto something here or is this a stupid idea?

 

[bogi]

transient starts 5us early and ends 5us late which may sound better than it starting on time but ending 10us late.

You just described the difference between minimum phase and linear phase filters. Some of HQPlayer filters differ only in being minimum or linear phase, like poly-sinc-mp vs poly-sinc-lp. Just compare them by listening how it coresponds to your expectations. The filter table in HQPlayer PDF manual can be helpful.

 

[Erick Muller]

DAC question for everyone. I've currently got a Gustard R26 and I love it, but having recently implemented HQP I'm truly amazed at what it's doing with PCM and how ridiculous my system sounds now. So naturally I started reading up on DSD and recalling what others have said about it, and am considering a new DAC so I can run in DSD mode. Budget is a concern, but I've got my heart set on a Holo Spring KTE. It's a big chunk of change, so I'm wondering if there's anything close that might save me a chunk of money without too much of a sonic hit. I have a buddy who has a Gustard A26 who bough it for the same reason, that's the only decent alternative I know much about at this point. The Gustards are crazy good for the money, but I don't know if the A26 can come close to the Spring. has anyone heard them both, or another alternative to the Spring KTE? I have a feeling I already know the answer (just get the Holo), but it's worth asking if I can keep some of my money.

Cyan 2 will save you a lot of cash, I recommend you go the that thread in this forum, and for what I read, Cyan 2 will get you close to Spring, but with less functionality.

 

[gammi]

You just described the difference between minimum phase and linear phase filters. Some of HQPlayer filters differ only in being minimum or linear phase, like poly-sinc-mp vs poly-sinc-lp. Just compare them by listening how it coresponds to your expectations. The filter table in HQPlayer PDF manual can be helpful.

I've spent lots of time looking at that table haha I just never knew that's what it meant by minimum and linear phase, thanks! I'll have to read up on that more.

Cyan 2 will save you a lot of cash, I recommend you go the that thread in this forum, and for what I read, Cyan 2 will get you close to Spring, but with less functionality.

Yup Cyan 2, that's what I have. New Record Day just released his Cyan 2 review and TLDR he found it extremely close to even the Holo May, let alone Holo Spring.

 

[Rayon]

I originally posted about HQP potentially creating pops when using Direct DSD, but after long debugging I found out that adding and trimming silence when upsampling into DSD, PGGB creates pops into some DSD files. I leave this comment here in case someone else get similar problems.

 

[camrector]

@jlaako i would love to hear your thoughts and expertise on this new PGGB dsd product.
It seems that the developers suddenly have had their DSD come to Jesus moment to now become competition within the space. I’ve been reading for a couple years PGGB users claiming the superiority of PCM over DSD, and now this about face from the top is amusing honestly.

Does the ringing and time domain issues of PGGB still apply to PGGBDSD? Whats it doing to DSD? Can HQPlayer fix its issues?

I have only seen measurements of 1 or 2 DACs that actually perform better at dsd512 and no DACs that perform better at dsd1024, so it would seem strange and ill advised for this program to push such rates on all DACs.
Not to mention its ridiculous cpu and processor needs, with a recommended 16core, 96gb ram, AIO cooled minimum.

Not trying to start some battle just want to know what’s up, if it’s beneficial (doubtful) and how it applies to our goals with the format.

 

[kennyb123]

so it would seem strange and ill advised for this program to push such rates on all DACs.

It doesn’t push any rate on any DAC. It gives people the option to choose the rate. Same as HQPlayer.

Does the ringing and time domain issues of PGGB still apply to PGGBDSD? Whats it doing to DSD?

What sense does it make to ask a member of the trade to ask about a competitor’s product? First off, the terms of service here clearly state that “A Member of the Trade may not post subjective assessments or negative comments about the products/services of competitors or other Members of the Trade”. Also, what evidence have you seen that suggests he might actually provide a fair answer? Are you just expecting him to trash it so you have the talking points you can use to trash it yourself?

I’ve been reading for a couple years PGGB users claiming the superiority of PCM over DSD, and now this about face from the top is amusing honestly.

Obviously the change came about because a better solution can about for upscaling to DSD. I was one of those people who thought DSD was inferior - and I said so many times. I formed that opinion based on DSD from SACDs and DSD as a scaled output from HQPlayer. In both cases I felt that PGGB-PCM was far superior. But that changed once I gained access to a version of PGGB that can output to DSD. It shocked me! I hear none of the downsides that kept me from appreciating DSD. DSD512 (one stage) has all the positives of PGGB-16FS while also making things sound more natural. I can certainly see how a change in opinion can be shocking to someone who chooses favorites based on ideology but to those are capable of trusting their own ears, it shouldn’t be amusing at all.

Not to mention its ridiculous cpu and processor needs, with a recommended 16core, 96gb ram, AIO cooled minimum.

Value is in the ears of the beholder. That investment should only be made if one feels the sound quality gains justify the expense. Not everyone will think it is, but some will. That some choose to make the investment in hardware for this, I think, speaks well of PGGB. Same for HQPlayer in that many buy hardware for that purpose as well.

 

[camrector]

Thank you Jussi as always. I would agree.
No thanks!

And it would seem that PGGB believes that the lowest noise floor must mean it’s the best nevermind the analog noise floor and real world output. Lol.
Never thought Chord sounded good either so this makes a lot of sense.

I find it amusing as well when people comment on PGGBs subjective performace (PCM and now DSD) yet lack the hardware that avoids internal dac conversions modulatiors and oversampling.