[CDWMcInSpots]

Quote:

[...]
I also removed the soldered spade lugs and put in Wireworld silver banana plugs. They are a mechanical connection using two allen screws to press the wire against the silver barrel. The micro details seem to be more present and easier to discern during busy music. I was up past 3 am listening to music and am enjoying the new sound very much. I think the banana connection offers more surface contact vs spades and that may help.
[...]

 
I didn't understand this part. Where/on what did you change from "spade lugs" to "Wireworld silver banana plugs"?

 

[preproman]

Quote:

I think the banana connection offers more surface contact vs spades and that may help.
 

 
What makes you say this?  I use both.  How can you tell the difference?

 

[Happy Camper]

I replaced the spades on my HE-6 speaker tap cable.

Darryl, I may be overdoing the claim. Either the USB cable or the bananas have improved the sound noticeably. If the science forum is right that USB cables can't make a difference, then the bananas are left. I noticed the difference in sound at AE so that's my initial credit. It could be both but I can't swap the spades to confirm.

 

[burnspbesq]

Quote:

I replaced the spades on my HE-6 speaker tap cable.

Darryl, I may be overdoing the claim. Either the USB cable or the bananas have improved the sound noticeably. If the science forum is right that USB cables can't make a difference, then the bananas are left. I noticed the difference in sound at AE so that's my initial credit. It could be both but I can't swap the spades to confirm.

 


I wouldn't be in such a hurry to discount the USB cable as the "culprit."  There's a lot of (technical engineering term here) schmutz coming out of the USB port of your average computer.  The WireWorld USB cables, which physically separate and insulte the signal and power leads, at least minimize the additional damage that can result from having dirty power right next to the signal.  If you haven't seen it yet, there was a fascinating discussion about the analog nature of "digital" signals over at audiostream.com a couple of weeks ago, involving Gordon Rankin, Charlie Hansen, and Steve Silberman.

 

[Happy Camper]

http://www.head-fi.org/t/650256/jkenny-audio-ci-nas-dac-and-ci-nas-spdif/120#post_9486450

Comments from Preproman:

HC just came by and picked up his Hilo. What a nice DAC that it. This DAC has it all. However, compared to the Master 7 and the PWD mkII it lacks in Bass impact and extension. Not saying it has non, just compared to the above two it's a little lacking. The highs and mids are great - accurate and very crisp. It's a very clean sounding DAC.

I only used the DAC section. I really don't like DACs with headphone amps. Not because they're not good, but because I will never use them.

The Hilo is not for me. It has way to many things going on, most things I would never use. I'm a set it and forget it kinda guy..

 

[Mr.Sneis]

Cross posting this!  The Hilo continues to impress, it's not only a really good DAC for its price, it can slice, it can dice, and it can also act as a decent digital to digital converter to clean up unwanted jitter.
 
"I can indeed confirm the Hilo works great as a digital to digital converter.  I hooked up USB input and AES output and it did some really nice things for some older DACs I had laying around, very noticeable improvement.  I can't speak to its performance compared to other DDC or USB to SPDIF converters as I have none on hand, but it is yet another a really useful non-advertised feature nonetheless."

 

[findthomas]

Hi-Lo looks super interesting.  On the DAC level, how does it compare to the Fostex HP-A8 ?

 

[Happy Camper]

Has anyone gotten rid of their Hilo for another DAC?

 

[driftingbunnies]

^I'm interested as well. I'm deciding if I should get a Hilo or maybe look at something else.

 

[grunter72]

Quote:

Has anyone gotten rid of their Hilo for another DAC?

I wouldn't even dream about it!
 
More I listen to my Lynx Hilo and more I like it, esepcially when I listen to dsd files, simply spectacular!

 

[santacore]

I'm still enjoying mine!
 

 

[Happy Camper]

prepro is still waiting for the Irish phenom Ciunas. It's lost in the ozone.

 

[errivera]

Alright... it's been some time since getting my Hilo and I wanted to give a big tip-of-the-hat to Happy Camper for the recommendation and Scott for the great deal. I have used the Hilo in various ways, including location recording, as a DAC connected to my laptop, for recording LPs with and without a phono preamp, and I must say, this is a wonderful piece of gear. Not only is the sound quality exceptional but it's versatility is unmatched in its price. Since this is a headphone related community, I'll say that the headphone amp is way beyond what I expected; and I expected quite a lot. I've tried the head-amp with various phones (not all my own) and have always been impressed. The sound has always been accurate but interestingly, smooth, too. I can't explain it but I guess I would say the sound is not fatiguing, ever. Are there better DACs or headphone amps out there? Maybe. But at what cost? For my money, I'm sticking with the Hilo. I did lots of research and comparing before blindly picking up this unit. Thanks again Happy Camper.

 

[Happy Camper]

It was the forerunners that brought all of us into the fold on this one. I was going after a purely sound offering, but the capabilities of this little magic box is indeed Swiss Army Audio. I have no need of most of the things the Hilo offers but it's good to know it's there should I face the challenge. In particular, the analog to digital converting. As Mr. Sneis mentioned, it can offer USB-SPdif conversion for other DACs as well. Just a nice digital/analog hub all round.

Thanks again Scott for such a generous price. For those who haven't read the thread:

$1850- Hilo with USB
$1725- Hilo without USB

www.adkproaudio.com

Mention you saw this thread in Head Fi and they will offer this price. Typical price listed is $2495.

And no, I'm not affiliated with this company, nor am I profiting from it's effort. It's a local vendor that offered said price after discussing it with Scott.

 

[grunter72]

Hi, today I was able to compare Lynx Hilo to Burl Bomber dac 2 and Hilo's usb to Offramp 5.
Thanks to my friend Lorenzo who brought Bomber and Offramp to test in my stereo system that consist of: Jplay in streaming configuration with 2 pc (windows server 2012 os with audiophil optimization) - Bryston bp 25 preamplifier - Advance Acoustic MAA406 - Focal Chorus 826v
First of all the conclusion: Burl Bomber dac 2 and Lynx Hilo are in the same league even if with different sound scheme and also Hilo's usb (and Hilo used as usb-aes/ebu interface) is on par with Offramp even if they sound different, imho obviously.
We used Burl with Hilo as usb-aes/ebu interface so it is very simple to switch from one balanced input to other on the Bryston bp25.
Burl has a narrow soundstage and is less airy than Hilo but has a more "analogic" signature, with more body in voices, so it depends on tastes if you prefer Hilo or Burl.
Maybe Hilo is more linear, more refined in the upper frequencies and a bit more dynamic, but Burl has more "real" human voices and a sort of "intimate" signature that is very enjoyable.
After dac comparison we used Lynx Hilo with its usb or with offramp.
Hilo's usb has a taller but less deep soundstage than offramp, Hilo's usb has also a bit more extension in high and low frequencies than offramp, while offramp has a more rich medium frequencies that put voices a bit ahead than Hilo's usb and that give more depth to the stage.
I think that Hilo has a very good usb input and that it's not worth to buy an external usb interface.