[Ph1lerAudi0]

 
Quote:

There seems to be some very mixed reviews about this device. Although I've not heard it myself I have read some people like it, some claim it adds jitter in some applications....others call it snake oil. I guess it's something you have to hear and decide for yourself.

I can completely understand why the Theta TLC gets mixed reviews.
 
1st off, the TLC has 2 inputs, an optical and co-axial. The optical input, by its very nature, is galvanically isolated. That's the input I'm using with the airport express, of course.  It's performcnae has always been measured great.
The co-axial input however, suffered from some cost cutting measures in its design. the coaxial input and output share the same ground. Therefore any jitter at the input can be passed to the output. When I was looking up the TLC I came across several users who fixed their co-axial connections, making the TLC's co-axial performance just as good if not better than its toslink measurements.
 
Take a look at this article about jitter busters, including the TLC;
 
http://www.monarchyaudio.com/DIP4.htm
 
 
Also, as I mentioned earlier, the wall wart is sensitive to where its is plugged in. For a week I could not figure out why one day it sounded great and the next, not so much. I re-traced my steps and realized that I had moved the power connection. Once I took it from the power strip and plugged it into the wall, the great sound returned. I'm sure many users just plugged it in, weren't impressed, then left it at that. The TLC is a long discontinued item and at one point Theta sold a beefy power supply (for an additional $175.00!) for the TLC. I have a feeling that the power supply addressed its power sensitivity issues.
 
I met a friend on a DIY audio site and he's going to help me build a beefy custom power supply for my TLC. He has one and says that the improvement in performance is very very good. Given my experience of slightly different power sources, I would tend to believe it.
 
We shall see. I can't wait.
 
PA

 

[jtam]

D100's USB input and headphone amp output are better.
 
Quote:

How does Mini-i compare to Yulong D100? Anyone?
 

 

[Hellenback]

Quote:

D100's USB input and headphone amp output are better.
 
Quote:

How does Mini-i compare to Yulong D100? Anyone?
 

 

Better how?

 

[fromiceland]

hi my name is gabriele from florence, italy.
now i tell you my experience with this dac,
i have a little mastering dream(it’s like i love to call it) http://www.myspace.com/cele_nogravity
i read some fantastic rewiews about the mini -i, so i bought it.
when it arrived, i immediately understood that the unit was built very well, but the problem was that it played much less than my apogee rosetta 200, linx two and lucid 88192 converters( about -6 db).
the sound quality was good, but the volume comparison was impossible.
if i played a 0 db signal inside the mini-i from my wavelab software, I saw in my metering sistem more or less -6db.
i asked to the seller if the unit had consumer setting also on the two xlr connections, but the answer were not just sufficiently
i wrote a lot of mail to the seller where i explained the problem, but the only solution was send it to him and take the total refund.
have you some similar experience or not?
gabriele

 

[grokit]

The XLR connections on my Mini-i work just fine but I am plugging into balanced line inputs on an amp, are you going into a console? That's weird.

 

[Ph1lerAudi0]

Fromiceland,
 
it would help if you could tell us how your mini i is connected. For example in my setup, I recorded a 0 DB 1Khz tone on my digital audio workstation. I saved the file as an aiff and imported it into my macintosh into iTunes. iTunes is set for bit perfect output, max volume, no sound effects no EQ etc. iTunes plays that tone and feeds it through my airport express which optically connects to my matrix. I set the matrix to max volume, 0 db. The matrix is XLR connected to my Behringer EP2000 amp. To get full output on the amp where the clipping indicators just start to light up, the gain controls are set to about 10 o'clock. Of course I do this with the speakers dis-connected. The EP2000 is a very powerful amp.
 
Given that the gain on the Behringer can go all the way to 5 o'clock suggests that the Matrix is putting out a pretty strong signal. Also, when I first connected my matrix to the behringer the bottom end really impressed me.
 
Hope this helps.
 
PA
 
Quote:

hi my name is gabriele from florence, italy.
now i tell you my experience with this dac,
i have a little mastering dream(it’s like i love to call it) http://www.myspace.com/cele_nogravity
i read some fantastic rewiews about the mini -i, so i bought it.
when it arrived, i immediately understood that the unit was built very well, but the problem was that it played much less than my apogee rosetta 200, linx two and lucid 88192 converters( about -6 db).
the sound quality was good, but the volume comparison was impossible.
if i played a 0 db signal inside the mini-i from my wavelab software, I saw in my metering sistem more or less -6db.
i asked to the seller if the unit had consumer setting also on the two xlr connections, but the answer were not just sufficiently
i wrote a lot of mail to the seller where i explained the problem, but the only solution was send it to him and take the total refund.
have you some similar experience or not?
gabriele

 

[fromiceland]

hi,
in my setup it was connected very simply:
 
rme spid iff output (consumer mode)to mini-i bnc
or
rme spi iff output(professional mode)to mini-i aes ebu
 
mini-i analog output to presonus central station input (where you want)
 
the central station  peak meter are good (not great), but if you play a cd you see the right output metering.
i think that mymini-i was  a not working unit, but i'm not shure

 

[grokit]

Analog RCA or XLR out?

 

[fromiceland]

i  tryied in both mode

 

[grokit]

No, what analog connectors did you use from the back of the Mini-i?

 

[fromiceland]

i tried xlr and rca connectors from the back of the mini-i to the presonus central station input 
central station (i don't know if everyone know this unit) has 5 input, 2 analog  jack stereo balanced input, 1 stereo rca input and 2 digital switchable input (optical toslink and spid iff) 
the power amplifiers are directly connected to the central station.

 

[grokit]

Make sure you are in DAC-only mode so your line level is not attenuated, other than that I don't know

 

[Hellenback]

Quote:

Make sure you are in DAC-only mode so your line level is not attenuated, other than that I don't know

I was going to suggest the same thing as I find the Mini-i to have a plenty loud enough 0db output. When using the Mini-i with the Little Dot MKVII+ I rarely get past 10 o'clock with balanced HD650s.

 

[fromiceland]

good morning guy,
today Florence woke up  under a faint sun.
 
i'm shure that i switch on the mini-i  in dac mode, not in pre mode
 
i would like to know if you look the level of a new cd (rock,pop,hip hop etc.) you see on your metering system, the maximum level at 0 db or not
i never saw this level

 

[fromiceland]

good morning GUYS
sorry for the missing "S"