[ZappaMan]

How about “the one server”....

Price available on request

 

[musickid]

Imac, h2 and hms and router are all plugged into the same high quality strip from olson electronics. there is no way around this right now. Surely being an optical connection it is fully galvanically isolated and it is an impossibility that any RF could enter the hms through an optical connection? thanks Nick. i understand a battery powered source is vital for a usb connection not optical which is pulses of light a medium in which RF cannot exist.

 

[Triode User]

Imac, h2 and hms and router are all plugged into the same high quality strip from olson electronics. there is no way around this right now. Surely being an optical connection it is fully galvanically isolated and it is an impossibility that any RF could enter the hms through an optical connection? thanks Nick. i understand a battery powered source is vital for a usb connection not optical which is pulses of light a medium in which RF cannot exist.

Whilst the optical cable breaks the RF noise link for the digital connection, your iMac is still connected electrically to the Mscaler via the mains power of each of the devices. It could be that this is not an issue but I raise it for discussion. I doubt that your Olson mains strip will break that link for noise transfer.

In any case, you mention that your router is plugged into the same Olson strip and this implies that it is in the same room as the MScaler and H2. So it is posssible that the RF noise generated by the router will completely swomp any noise considerations from the iMac. Your dual BNC cables between the MScaler and H2 may be acting as nice aerials to pick up the RF from the router.

 

[musickid]

In that case then it becomes an exercise of damage limitation as it is an impossibility for me to place the router in a different room. If my hms/h2 are performing to at least 80% of their full potential then that is a RF hygiene situation i will just have to endure. The main thing is that listening to Coltrane right now it is extremely enjoyable so i can live with that. I do remember reading that with the current portfolio of chord dacs they sound just as good plugged into one strip vs a professional type set up. That's how far the performance levels have progressed. i.e. performance is immune to type of power supply and its arrangement.

**My question to Rob is that with a battery powered laptop into hms usb (which is galvanically isolated) we have almost full isolation. With an optical source does it matter if that optical source is mains powered or battery powered for it to be fully galvanically isolated? until now i can't seem to get a definitive answer on this specific point.

 

[tunes]

Does it matter in what order the HMS and the DAVE are powered up? I generally leave the power switch on for the Dave and use the remote to put it in sleep mode when not in use. Does the Mscaler have a sleep mode?

 

[Uncle Monty]

according to John Darko using a dedicated server / streamer sounds much better than computer

 

[Amberlamps]

Does it matter in what order the HMS and the DAVE are powered up? I generally leave the power switch on for the Dave and use the remote to put it in sleep mode when not in use. Does the Mscaler have a sleep mode?

Yes, it goes into a standby mode when it detects there is no signal for I think 15 minutes, but one ball remains lit.

I dim the balls, but I wish there was an off switch for the lights.

 

[musickid]

just use a quality individually switched mains strip......

 

[tunes]

just use a quality individually switched mains strip......

I thought that most electronics people in the know suggest leaving this kind of gear and computers in standby mode rather than powering on and off repeatedly with outlets strip or power conditioners. The surge factor may be more harmful than keeping the units warm with a few dollars added to your annual electric bill. Anyway, I assume the Mscaler has no on/off switch and just powered up when a signal is detected? So just turn on source and then Dave via remote control?

 

[musickid]

i don't like to leave anything on when i'm not using it. chord gear is not that dependent on 24/7 operation or constantly keeping things powered up. i have surge protection and always dac on after mscaler on and dac off before mscaler off. that's the general advice in the manuals. amp on last amp off first. could someone kindly double check that thanks to make sure i'm right.

 

[iDesign]

Intended for or likely to be understood by only a small number of people with a specialised knowledge or interest.

Advice needed: in the immediate future is there any reason why i should consider changing my source for my hms which is currently optical out of my imac running roon? i've thought about this from every angle and as it's bit perfect and galvanically isolated (optical) i can't see any reason to change. I considered an ipad pro roon end point or a lower cost streamer but the consideration falls flat everytime. surely optical from an imac with an inbuilt ssd is identical to optical from a server as long it's bit perfect which it is in my case due to RAAT. Roon's streaming protocol. with optical direct from my computer none of the RF issues that can affect usb matter. Am i very lucky to have optical out of my imac direct? it seems to be a high quality cirrus logic spdif out in the imac and apple have not cut corners with the imac's headphone amp/dac/spdif out being a media centric mac/computer. a little research to find these facts out concerning the imac's inner components. i always listen while sat in front of the computer.

You’re generally fine using an iMac. In comparison to Roon, I have found that Audirvana+ with the SysOptimizer Extreme setting turned on can improve the playback performance on a Macintosh because it 1. increases the priority of Audirvana+ during playback to maximize the precision of the audio streaming and 2. deactivates all other resource intensive background operations that create activity on the disks which theoretically produces noise and interference.

Will a NUC running AudioLinux, DS-1 Streamer, or Roon Nucleus sound better than an iMac? Yes. Is the small improvement in sound quality worth $1,500-2,500+ considering those devices will be instantly obsolete as newer versions/modifications are being rapidly developed? That is something you will have to decide.

 

[musickid]

We also have exclusive mode with roon which does a significant job of optimising 'things' and excluding os interference.

 

[Triode User]

So, MK, how long would you leave it switched on if you were having a break from listening? Half an hour, an hour or maybe a couple of hours? Or do you switch off even if you go and have an ablute? Or if you are going to listen frequently during the day do you switch on in the morning and leave it on all day?

I think the bottom line is that people do what they are comfortable with.

 

[Mediahound]

There's a reason the M Scaler doesn't have a power switch or standby button.

 

[Amberlamps]

just use a quality individually switched mains strip......

I do, it’s a power condtioner, its a lindy with 6 sockets and protection up the arse, I have my dect phone charging base, a reading light, an emergency alarm for health emergencies, then hms, tt2 and my pc plugged into it.

And on another 5 way gang I have my modem, router, monitor, soundbar and my rumble joysticks, there is nothing like shooting down somebody in a plane from the 1st world war and right up until f14’s, F18’s. Harriers.

I love my flight sims, but sitting in a seat makes everything below my waist go numb, my junk included and I haven’t simmed in 3 years.

A lesson that every UK citizen should learn, and that is, the NHS is schiite, total crap, if you can afford private health insurance, do it, as the nhs is a complete mess nowadays.

Atleast with my two hobbies I can do them lying on my back, one’s listening to music and, the other is..................looking at the roof and loving every minute of it, I must get around to painting it soon.