[Richter Di]

Oh boy....must...resist...

eh, screw it...resisting is no fun. 

Let's do it, Jan!!!! 

Maybe I can add some information regarding the upgrade option. I did allready post this also here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/557892/new-meier-audio-headphone-amp-corda-classic/375#post_11757756

Several weeks ago Jan Meier stopped by at my home. Over the years our relation has grown from headphone addict to developer to a friendship. So when Jan is on his way from Erlangen (Germany) to the Netherlands, he sometimes stops by for some hours which we truly enjoy. Sometimes he has some luggage with him like new developments he is working on. So one of the last times he brought his DAC and his Corda Classic with him and we fed it with the digital output out of my Audionet CD player. He told me that with one of the switches I could listen in to a new circuit. This new circuit, now called frequency adaptive feedback, was build in the DAC and in the Corda Classic. So with one switch I could change between old and new circuit in the DAC and with another switch in the Corda Classic.

Interestingly Jan did not tell me which switch did what or what too expect, so listening in the two devices was completely blind. I took my Sennheiser HD 800's and listend with my favorite music for testing audio equipment: Chesky Ultlimate Demonstration Disc, Youngblood Brass Band - center level roar, Bach Goldberg-Variationen Bwv 988 for violine (Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin, Imai Nobuko89) and David Munyon "Four wild horses".

After going back and forth I found that one of the switch positions was much better. I had no chance to discuss this with Jan during the 1.5 hour I was testing, since he was hanging out with my family and I was alone.
The difference was very clear and very audible.
While I tested between the headphone amp and the DAC I found that the difference was stronger for the amp and while still clearly better, less extreme for the DAC. As Jan explained to me later the DAC has less amplification stages and therefore the effect overall is smaller.

I have owned a lot of gear and still own some, like for example amps like the CEC HD53N, the Lehmann Linear with SSC feet and a Music Hi-Fi tube amp. But I was surprised that I have not heard some of the songs in that quality.

There where two distinct moments where I was surprised listening in my music.

1. At the beginning of the center level roar CD of the Youngblood Brass Band, in the intro "To Come Together" there is a rap with only some brass and a drum. The rap is recorded comparably quietly and you should not turn the volume up too much, since you would get a shock when the the second song starts with full force. Exact position of the rapper and size of the person were always a bit unclear. With the new circuit, it was suddenly so clear where he stood. He also wasn't just a voice but he kind of became a person.

2. At the beginning of David Munyon's "Four Wild Horses" there is something like a dark sound of a gong (I believe). While the sound is and was mysterious I never had heard so much from it. It became with the new circuit clearer and more tangible.

These are two examples out of many, where it was immediately clear Jan had improved something dramatical. Overall I had the feeling like the fog had lifted.

While listening I started to become unsure why my music sounded so much better. Did I just had a golden ear day? Was it different since I listened to my music at a normal volume while I usualy listen to my music at very low volumes during night time.
So I turned on my Music Hi-Fi amp (which I was using for the last year) and fed it with the analog signal from my Audionet Art G2 CD-player (https://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A//www.audio.de/testbericht/audionet-art-g2-328714.html). What a shock. I couldn't believe how bad it sounded in direct comparison. It was like going back a lot. And believe me, I have owned so many configurations and was thinking I had reached my audio heaven, which is the reason I am not so active any longer in the forum world.

Anyhow, I asked Jan if he could build this "modification" into his DAC and amp and sell me one and he agreed. So now the Jan Meier dream team is working in my home and I am very happy with it.

Two surprises I had since I own the configuration:
Although Jan does not advertise it, you can use the DAC with the iPad together with the Apple camera kit. I am even not sure if he was aware of it.
2. While I buy some high-res stuff myself, I was surprised how great my Qobuz MP3 320 kbps streaming sounds no matter if I use my laptop or my iPad.

So overall, I am surprised what a difference this new frequency adaptive feedback makes and I can fully recommend this new amp.

 

[Focker]

Maybe I can add some information regarding the upgrade option. I did allready post this also here: http://www.head-fi.org/t/557892/new-meier-audio-headphone-amp-corda-classic/375#post_11757756

Several weeks ago Jan Meier stopped by at my home. Over the years our relation has grown from headphone addict to developer to a friendship. So when Jan is on his way from Erlangen (Germany) to the Netherlands, he sometimes stops by for some hours which we truly enjoy. Sometimes he has some luggage with him like new developments he is working on. So one of the last times he brought his DAC and his Corda Classic with him and we fed it with the digital output out of my Audionet CD player. He told me that with one of the switches I could listen in to a new circuit. This new circuit, now called frequency adaptive feedback, was build in the DAC and in the Corda Classic. So with one switch I could change between old and new circuit in the DAC and with another switch in the Corda Classic.

Interestingly Jan did not tell me which switch did what or what too expect, so listening in the two devices was completely blind. I took my Sennheiser HD 800's and listend with my favorite music for testing audio equipment: Chesky Ultlimate Demonstration Disc, Youngblood Brass Band - center level roar, Bach Goldberg-Variationen Bwv 988 for violine (Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin, Imai Nobuko89) and David Munyon "Four wild horses".

After going back and forth I found that one of the switch positions was much better. I had no chance to discuss this with Jan during the 1.5 hour I was testing, since he was hanging out with my family and I was alone.
The difference was very clear and very audible.
While I tested between the headphone amp and the DAC I found that the difference was stronger for the amp and while still clearly better, less extreme for the DAC. As Jan explained to me later the DAC has less amplification stages and therefore the effect overall is smaller.

I have owned a lot of gear and still own some, like for example amps like the CEC HD53N, the Lehmann Linear with SSC feet and a Music Hi-Fi tube amp. But I was surprised that I have not heard some of the songs in that quality.

There where two distinct moments where I was surprised listening in my music.

1. At the beginning of the center level roar CD of the Youngblood Brass Band, in the intro "To Come Together" there is a rap with only some brass and a drum. The rap is recorded comparably quietly and you should not turn the volume up too much, since you would get a shock when the the second song starts with full force. Exact position of the rapper and size of the person were always a bit unclear. With the new circuit, it was suddenly so clear where he stood. He also wasn't just a voice but he kind of became a person.

2. At the beginning of David Munyon's "Four Wild Horses" there is something like a dark sound of a gong (I believe). While the sound is and was mysterious I never had heard so much from it. It became with the new circuit clearer and more tangible.

These are two examples out of many, where it was immediately clear Jan had improved something dramatical. Overall I had the feeling like the fog had lifted.

While listening I started to become unsure why my music sounded so much better. Did I just had a golden ear day? Was it different since I listened to my music at a normal volume while I usualy listen to my music at very low volumes during night time.
So I turned on my Music Hi-Fi amp (which I was using for the last year) and fed it with the analog signal from my Audionet Art G2 CD-player (https://translate.google.de/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=http%3A//www.audio.de/testbericht/audionet-art-g2-328714.html). What a shock. I couldn't believe how bad it sounded in direct comparison. It was like going back a lot. And believe me, I have owned so many configurations and was thinking I had reached my audio heaven, which is the reason I am not so active any longer in the forum world.

Anyhow, I asked Jan if he could build this "modification" into his DAC and amp and sell me one and he agreed. So now the Jan Meier dream team is working in my home and I am very happy with it.

Two surprises I had since I own the configuration:
Although Jan does not advertise it, you can use the DAC with the iPad together with the Apple camera kit. I am even not sure if he was aware of it.
2. While I buy some high-res stuff myself, I was surprised how great my Qobuz MP3 320 kbps streaming sounds no matter if I use my laptop or my iPad.

So overall, I am surprised what a difference this new frequency adaptive feedback makes and I can fully recommend this new amp.

 
 
Nice, I'm excited! Jan has never let me down, so your feedback just confirms this is going to be a worthwhile investment in gear that I plan to keep for many years to come. Thanks! 

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear head-fellows,
 
just a note that a short explanation on the FF-technology now can be found at my website.
 
A direct link: http://www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/fftechnology.htm
 
Enjoy reading,
 
Jan
 

 

[yeemanz]

Hi Jan, 
 
Could you explain the upgrade process? 
 
Is the entire pcb getting changed, or will some components just changed etc?
 
Lastly, typo in the 2nd last sentence "

distortion they produce is neglicable compared"
 

Overall, sounds like an exciting upgrade, keep up the work Jan!!

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear Yeemanz,
 
" Could you explain the upgrade process? Is the entire pcb getting changed, or will some components just changed etc?"
 
The PCB is modified in that a number of components is changed and added. A complete change of the PCB would be much more expensive.
 
" typo in the 2nd last sentence"
 
Only one single typo?? My Englisch is improving!!   
 
Jan

 

[s4nder]

I got my Daccord and Classic upgraded and several days later I still can't believe how good it sounds. I really thought I had it pretty good before, I went for the upgrade mostly out of curiosity.
 
Boy was I surprised. Everything just sounds so much more natural, effortless, detailed and present. A veil I didn't know was there has been lifted. The detail level, at least with HD800, is unbelievable. All the little background sounds I knew were there but couldn't really make out are absolutely clear as day. Another benefit: zero harshness. HD800 could sound a bit edgy and fatiguing with poorly recorded albums - no more. Everything is enjoyable to listen to now.
 
I agree with Richter Di's review on all counts and would recommend this upgrade to anyone. It really can't be missed.

 

[Focker]

Thats so awesome...cannot WAIT to get my trio shipped off back to the homeland. Something else I find extremely impressive...this isnt a feature that has existed out in the audio world and Jan is now offering it as an upgrade. Jan himself developed this...he innovated a solid state design...I am truly impressed by that. As Ive said so many times, Herr Meier does not get anywhere enough credit for the mad genius he is...his gear offers top notch value and hes a true gentleman, to boot.

Thank you Jan!!

 

[Subatomic]

Anyone know of what the go is with Windows 10 Drivers? I'm using the built in drivers at the moment and keep getting audio dropouts :\

 

[Richter Di]

Anyone know of what the go is with Windows 10 Drivers? I'm using the built in drivers at the moment and keep getting audio dropouts :\

With built in drivers you mean the one Jan Meier provides?
I also have audio dropouts at the moment with everything above 44,1 / 16 Bit. So 44,1 / 24 Bit for example. 192 does not work at. I do not blame the DAC but think that my Laptop USB port / internal sound card configuration might be the problem.

Jan send me the windows 10 drivers of the company he works with for testing, since he had to take care of something. My test was actualy negative. I got no sound at all. So I deinstalled them and installed the original drivers which work witth the laptop and the iPad 44,1 / 16 Bit.

I bought the iFi Audio iPurifier USB Audio-Filter which you put before the DAC at the end of the USB cable in the hope it would help to clean the USB signal. Actualy this product does not work with Jan's DAC, so I had to send it back. I think that the circuit of the audio filter does not work with Jan's galvanic separation of the DAC.

 

[Focker]

Hope Jan gets you guys updated drivers or a workaround soon...the usb performance of this DAC has always impressed the heck out of me

 

[s4nder]

24/192 works fine for me but I've been getting occasional 1-2 second cutouts with W8 drivers on W10. Any native W10 drivers would be welcome.

 

[Jan Meier]

Dear friends,

 

with the arrival of a new operating system like WIN10  interface problems with existing gear are always an issue. The operating system as well as the new drivers required still may have bugs or new drivers are not available yet. With my 2-years (!) old netbook I even never will be able to use WIN10 because INTEL is not willing to provide a driver for its GMA 3600!!!

 

For its USB-port the DACCORD uses the CM6631 receiver chip produced by C-Media. The support by this company always has been outstanding and a WIN10 driver was made available pretty soon.

 

Nonetheless various customers have reported problems with the DACCORD connected to a WIN10 system. Moreover, lately also problems with WIN7 systems started to appear. The latter baffled me since no „upgrades“ were made to the drivers and these always have worked fine before. However, this gave me a first clue that Microsoft may have changed something to the USB-protocols that resulted in problems with the DACCORD.

 

The USB connection uses four conductors:

 

1   Red       Vbus (5 Volts)

2   White    D-

3   Green    D+

4   Black    GND

 
Conductor 1 carries a 5V supply voltage and conductor 4 connects the grounds of both host (computer) and slave (the peripheral device).

 
 

Conductors 2 and 3 are used for the differential transmission of data. External electromagnetic interference tends to affect both conductors identically. Since the receiving circuit only detects the difference between the wires, the technique resists electromagnetic noise compared to one conductor with an un-paired reference (ground).

 

Due to the differential signalling no return currents have to flow through conductor 4 that connects the grounds of both devices. In order to prevent mutual HF-pollution often a bead (low value inductor) is specified by manufacturers at the receiving side of the USB-connection that prevents HF-currents to pass between the two grounds.

 

However, USB-transmission also uses single ended signalling. Certain bus states are indicated by single ended signals on D+, D- or both. For example a single ended zero can be used to signify a device reset if held for more than 10mS. These single ended signals are generally of low-frequency content and are not hampered by the low-value inductor in the pathway that connects both grounds.

 

The DACCORD also has an inductor in the ground connection pathway and this never caused any problems. However, it seems to me that Microsoft has made changes to the USB-protocols and that single ended signals now have higher frequency contents that are partially blocked by the inductor that was used (which actually has quite a high inductance value).

 

Various DACCORD’s that I do have at my place were showing audio dropouts, both with WIN7 and WIN10 systems.

 

Although the cause of the problem for me was very difficult to find, the remedy fortunately was a simple one. Short-circuiting the inductor made the dropouts vanish.

 

For those who experience problems with their DACCORD and are a little bit handy with a soldering iron, please take a look at the picture.

 



 
 

(Please click the picture for a larger view)

 

The inductor that has to be short-circuited is L2, indicated by the yellow circle. Simply place a wire or very low value resistor in parallel to (on top of) this inductor. This is a 0603 size component so you will need some skills and proper equipment.

 

Should you only have a „ big“ soldering iron, then you may consider connecting the two electrical vias as indicated by the red circles. This will also effectively short-circuit the bead. Be aware though that these vias are directly connected to ground planes on both sides of the PCB and thus conduct heat away very easily. A small-power soldering iron probably will not do.

 

Of course people also can have their DACCORD returned to me, but given the shipping costs involved and the simplicity of the operation I hope to prevent this as much as possible.

 

Also please be assured that any DACCORD that is sold from this date will have the modification done.

 

As a last note, WIN10 drivers for the DACCORD can be found at :

 

www.meier-audio.homepage.t-online.de/CM6631A_WIN10-1.01(CR).zip

Be aware that this file is 7 MB!

 

Before installation please make sure that any previous DACCORD driver is completely removed from your system (using the device manager) to prevent interference between components of the old and the new driver.

 

With the modification and the new driver the DACCORD works fine with the laptop that I have for testing purposes. However, should you still run into problems and/or have a solution, please share with me and other people at this forum.

 

All yours,

 

Jan Meier

 

[Sorrodje]

 
However, should you  have a solution, please share with me and other people at this forum.

 

 

 
Get rid of windows ? 

 

[s4nder]

Double post.

 

[s4nder]

The new driver doesn't seem to properly support ASIO. There's no ASIO device in foobar2000 output options. It worked fine with W8 drivers.
 
Also, the link actually leads to another url containing the older drivers. You have to copy and paste it to the address bar to get the new ones.