Is there *really* an audible difference between different DACs?
Aug 19, 2017 at 3:53 PM Post #76 of 171
Don't forget to re-wire your entire house to ensure best sound quality. The copper 12-2 wire found in all homes doesn't supply "clean power" and must be switched out with pure silver. You should only need about 1,500 feet to fix the issue

I agree.
I'm an Electrical Engineer.
Send me 1,500 feet of pure silver wire so I can study the phenomena, run some experiments, take some measurements.
 
Aug 19, 2017 at 6:03 PM Post #77 of 171
I agree.
I'm an Electrical Engineer.
Send me 1,500 feet of pure silver wire so I can study the phenomena, run some experiments, take some measurements.
I've been working as an electrician this summer so I'll definitely round up a few thousand feet of pure silver wire for you. Would you like the ground to be silver as well? Only real wire has pure silver ground you know
 
Aug 19, 2017 at 6:09 PM Post #78 of 171
I've been working as an electrician this summer so I'll definitely round up a few thousand feet of pure silver wire for you. Would you like the ground to be silver as well? Only real wire has pure silver ground you know

Yes, I'll need a few thousand pounds of silver ground wire, if you don't mind.
If you have any gold ground wire (for reference of course) that would also be appreciated, a ton or two should cover it.

On a more serious note, I do admit to hearing the difference between a low buck FiiO DAC I used to have, and a Beresford Caiman Mk II DAC/headphone amp. The Beresford is not exotic, I think I paid $400 for it.
Believe it or not, I thought the Fiio DAC sounded rather muffled.
 
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Aug 19, 2017 at 6:13 PM Post #79 of 171
Yes, I'll need a few thousand pounds of silver ground wire, if you don't mind.
If you have any gold ground wire (for reference of course) that would also be appreciated, a ton or two should cover it.
That won't be a problem. You see I'm working in Nantucket MA for the summer and the project I'm on is running wire through a new house being built on a property costing $27 Million (Not even joking haha). I should definitely be able to take home a few tons of the gold 12 gauge 3 strand wire so you can compare with the silver wire I'm sending. Let me know how it sounds!
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 12:00 AM Post #80 of 171
I live in Hong Kong. My apartment is small. I rewired with a dedicated power outlet with 4n solid silver wire for the first apartment. I used around 100 feet only. With the second apartment, I used only 60 feet.

But when I talked to a senior chartered mechanical engineer, there is a better option : use solar power generator. The electricity will be pure and won't be polluted by other users.
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 7:39 AM Post #81 of 171
I live in Hong Kong. My apartment is small. I rewired with a dedicated power outlet with 4n solid silver wire for the first apartment. I used around 100 feet only. With the second apartment, I used only 60 feet.

But when I talked to a senior chartered mechanical engineer, there is a better option : use solar power generator. The electricity will be pure and won't be polluted by other users.
You're supposed to make it sound at least a little silly so we know you're kidding and didn't actually try rewiring any circuits for "cleaner power" :/ Unless you actually did... Haha
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 8:09 AM Post #82 of 171
You're supposed to make it sound at least a little silly so we know you're kidding and didn't actually try rewiring any circuits for "cleaner power" :/ Unless you actually did... Haha

Thank you for your kind reminder!

Power supply is so important. We have shops in Hong Kong dedicated to rewire the power supply for hifi. We can pick the type of fuses, number of outlet, cable quality etc.

Actually, the cost of rewiring is lower than a pair of good speaker cable.

Thanks anyway.
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 8:10 AM Post #83 of 171
Thank you for your kind reminder!

Power supply is so important. We have shops in Hong Kong dedicated to rewire the power supply for hifi. We can pick the type of fuses, number of outlet, cable quality etc.

Actually, the cost of rewiring is lower than a pair of good speaker cable.

Thanks anyway.
Is it really? Interesting stuff!
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 8:34 AM Post #84 of 171
I live in Hong Kong. My apartment is small. I rewired with a dedicated power outlet with 4n solid silver wire for the first apartment. I used around 100 feet only. With the second apartment, I used only 60 feet.

But when I talked to a senior chartered mechanical engineer, there is a better option : use solar power generator. The electricity will be pure and won't be polluted by other users.


Hey there, on a serious note, I'm not trying to start World War Z here, but electrical noise is so poorly understood. Solar panels actually generate DC power. Solar panel systems use a power inverter to convert DC into AC power. And here it comes: A power inverter can create a fair amount of switching noise. So in truth, you may just be trading one form of noise for another form of noise. There's always a compromise.

Sorry I have no more silver power cable jokes....! LOL. :blush:
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 9:08 AM Post #85 of 171
Is it really? Interesting stuff!
We play with power supply extensively.

A lot of us start with the fuse. And than the wall outlet plates. You can replace the stock fuse with a hifi tuning gold-silver or furutech on your little dot transport! The effect is as big as switching to a better power cord.( it takes a little bit time of burning in)!

IMG_4892.PNG IMG_4893.PNG IMG_4895.PNG
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 9:13 AM Post #86 of 171
Hey there, on a serious note, I'm not trying to start World War Z here, but electrical noise is so poorly understood. Solar panels actually generate DC power. Solar panel systems use a power inverter to convert DC into AC power. And here it comes: A power inverter can create a fair amount of switching noise. So in truth, you may just be trading one form of noise for another form of noise. There's always a compromise.

Sorry I have no more silver power cable jokes....! LOL. :blush:

I like your joke...LOL

I'm glad our apartment is too small for solar.

I was told another solution to clean power is battery. But there might be problem with the tube power amp.

Thanks.
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 9:19 AM Post #87 of 171
This is one of those hypothetical "Why ask why?" questions, that encounters so many variables that can only be answered on an individual level !

Even the concept of "Different" isn't something that can be agreed upon beyond people of similar listening preferences. I would hope that people are being honest about things sound audibly different to them. (He,he.he..... I'm pretty 'philosophical' about things when I've just gotten up; I haven't even had my coffee yet)
 
Aug 20, 2017 at 3:28 PM Post #88 of 171
I went from Odac - Modi - Ares - 2Qute - Dave

At each upgrade, I was blown away. The biggest was from 2Qute to Dave.
 
Aug 25, 2017 at 7:34 PM Post #89 of 171
I like your joke...LOL

I'm glad our apartment is too small for solar.

I was told another solution to clean power is battery. But there might be problem with the tube power amp.

Thanks.


Yes, batteries are a reasonable clean alternative, but, as you point out, a tube amp may be a problem, unless you have a 400 V battery bank for your tube amp! If you did use batteries then there are more endless arguments, i.e. which battery technology is quieter and which battery technology so noisy that you may as well use a standard power supply! Groan! :)
 
Aug 25, 2017 at 7:50 PM Post #90 of 171
With the same headphone (rs2e, hd800s, he500, HF2...) and same AMP (magni2, hugo), the difference between Modi1 and SMSL m8 and hugo is very big.. As long as you use the Xmos and AISO, the difference of soundstage and detail level is notable for my ears. (I am 22 BTW, maybe the soundstage and high frequency details has to do with hearing ability above 16khz)
 
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