[intrepidcase]

  I have an I2s input module on it's way for my dac-19 as well. Plan to swap out the usb for I2s and run a nice .3m hdmi cable from the SU-1 to dac-19... will be interesting to see if it makes much of a difference. I2s certainly seems to be generally superior to bnc/rca coax spdif. Still need to consult with a friend who lives locally to see if he would be willing to do the NOS conversion if i ordered the kit. Certainly hope so... I think if i were to get it converted in combo with I2s input and my new input chain... Would make it the ultimate dac-19 setup for me.
Next year i might consider a dac upgrade even though i'm really happy with my current system. Just can't curb my curiosity about a few dacs out there... NOS-7. Metrum Musette and Menuet. HoloAudio Spring DAC Kitsune Tuned Edition. Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 MK II SE+. Schiit Yggy & Gumby. 

Did you order the I2S module from Kingwa/Audio-GD? How is the Amanero USB board connected to the main board? I would like the option of trying both Amanero USB vs SU-1 into I2S but Kingwa said that to have both HDMI and USB ports on the back would require removing all of the SPDIF ports as there are only two I2S inputs on the main board (I think). Just wondering how easy it would be to swap USB to I2S and vica versa.
 
SU-1 into I2S should sound better than SPDIF - one less stage of conversion. The SPDIF DIR9001 chip in the Dac-19 just converts SPDIF to I2S itself.

 

[Bombik]

Bought F1 and using it with NOS19 via spdif.. This F1 board is killer! This is a must.. 
(via supra USB and AGD spdif coax)

 

[Pharmaboy]

Wow, I'm very interested in this. What are you hearing from the F-1, Bombik? And what are you comparing it to--Amanero USB?
 
I have a NOS-19 (not an upgrade, mfr'd that way), and love it. It's running on a terrific coax cable (Oyaide DB-DR 510) coming from a Musical Fidelity V192Link, which IMO sounds better than the Amanero USB, even w/a USB Regen feeding it.
 
I've been thinking about getting an F-1 (in the case) based on what people are saying about it. So I'm really interested in whatever you're hearing from it...

 

[Bombik]

in short..
better separation
more quiet background
better soundstage
very fluid analog sound (at my rig)
 
Yes, against amanero, USB32, coax.. This is another league. Completely. You will hear change immediately..

 

[eschell27]

I agree with Bombik, getting all of that with my SU-1. They really are amazing DDC's, not to mention for the price....if you ask me they punch way above their price range.

 

[Pharmaboy]

Well, damn. I just going to have to wallet-up & get an F-1.
 
Crazy not to, after investing in the NOS-19, which is truly excellent--an upgrade in every way.
 
Thanks, Bombik, for giving details of what this board can do. It surprising how many people talk about everything but the sound when they rave about the Singxer boards (ie, value of this or that capacitor; how to wire in the boards on self-install; best signal path to the board; etc).
 
So I really appreciate your sonic impressions. It's never easy to talk about how things sound.

 

[eschell27]

Have you been over to the "XMOS XU208 USB BRIDGES - THE LATEST GEN HAS ARRIVED!" thread and looked around? From what i can tell and at the thread creators (rb2013) advise.. if going with the F-1 it's best to power it using an LPS if you want to get the best SQ you can out if it. Which can be good and bad if you are comaring the f-1 and su-1... on one hand with the f-1 you can upgrade the LPS you use to kingdom come and possibly get small improvements as you go (if thats your thing) where as on the other hand with the su-1 you get a nice power supply. Just something to think about... either way you can't go wrong with either choice. What usb and spdif cables will you be using?  I haven't had any other cables to test out so i couldn't say....but a lot of people seem to agree the cheap yet well made blue jeans digital coax spdif cables are the way to go...what i have been using. For ****s and giggles i just tonight ordered a Supra usb cable 1m to replace my Straight Wire usb-link as it's relatively cheap (paid $44 with free shipping from ebay for a new 1m) read a lot of good things about them.
 
Anyway i'm rambling on a tangent at this point haha.
 
Let us know what you think once you get it up and going! (from everything i've read it seems most people agree that around 200 hours of burn in makes a difference, and possibly continues to get better up to 500 hours? maybe i'm pulling that out of horrible sleepy memory haha)

 

[Pharmaboy]

Yes, I read some of it. Or tried to...a lot of it's way over my head. Your post has valuable tips, like the 200 hr burn-in idea (didn't know that). But somehow it's not surprising, considering what burn-in does to headphones & DACs.
 
Funny you mention power supplies. I read about someone messing w/different external power devices for his F-1: one he bought vs one he made (you can go broke & crazy w/power supplies!). By coincidence, I just got an email blast from USB Regen re the launch of their new power device, the UltraCap LPS-1 ($395):
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f27-uptone-audio-sponsored/ultracap%99-linear-power-supply-1-launch-thread-29974/
 
But the last thing I'll mess w/is power. 1st thing is to get the F-1 (in a case), which if I'm not mistaken has a walwart PS; install that in place of the Musical Fidelity V192Link; burn it in for weeks; THEN sort the changes in the sound. Only after all that, maybe mess around with power supplies. Maybe by then an LPS-1 will be FS on the Forum!
 
Re USB cables, I never tried Supra. Pls tell me how it works out. For years I've used Belden Gold USB cables. No complaint, way better than cheap stock cables. Lately I've using USB cables from a very good, inexpensive cable company I get headphone cables from: Ghent Audio. I love his headphone cables (I definitely heard improvements  w/those). the USBs are so inexpensive I bought 2. Heard no difference when I put them in; guess that's good.
 
http://www.ghentaudio.com/part/index.html
 
Re coax cables, I started out w/a decent toslink cable, but it never sounded good through Musical Fidelity V-Link (the older 96kHz version) or the 192kHz version vs the USB input of the DAC I was using.
 
Then I got a 1.5M Billie Jeans coax, a real upgrade--solid, cheap & it sounded good. Started using the V-Link all the time w/the Billie Jeans--tho it still didn't sound good when I tried to drop in the V192Link. Then I read on one of the audio boards (a reviewer I trust) about a coax cable that's a big step up: the Oyaide 1.3 meter DR-510. It's not cheap ($212 shipped), comes in RCA or BNC versions. I got the RCA version. It was immediately obvious it was an improvement--smoother, more relaxed sounding, subtle stuff. Suffice to say I never used the Billie Jeans again. For the 1st time I was able to replace the old V-Link w/the V192Link, and it all sounded excellent--better than USB.
 
The only thing I left hanging amidst some chaos in my home office (burning in the NOS 19; sub blew up, had to be shipped off for service; new headphones coming in & out) was I forgot to put my USB Regen device in-line to power the V192Link / Onayaide cable to the NOS 19. I still have it connected to the NOS 19's USB input I never use. Have to get going on that. It's an obvious base I need to cover in perfecting my spdif chain...

 

[lukeap69]

Here's a very detailed review of John on SU-1 competing with the big boys!
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/singxer-su-1-usb-bridge/reviews/16649

 

[Bombik]

check also Luckbad's review at basshead..
http://www.basshead.club/spdif-battle-mutec-singxer-lynx-rednet-et-al/
 
This guy is one of these I trust in their opinions .. and in the end his 1st sentence is "I am a born skeptic." 
For me .. his review was one of the important to pull the the trigger.
Good Luck!

 

[sypderman88]

Hi,
 
 I just bought SU-1 using coaxial to DAC-19 10th. 
 The improvement over the built-in USB interface with Regen is tremendous.
 For a mere SUD399 the level of improvement on the DAC is immense.
 Just my opinion.
 Thanks

 

[jdpark]

  Hi,
 
 I just bought SU-1 using coaxial to DAC-19 10th. 
 The improvement over the built-in USB interface with Regen is tremendous.
 For a mere SUD399 the level of improvement on the DAC is immense.
 Just my opinion.
 Thanks

Can you remind me which usb unput you have? I see the product here.
 
I am back to getting great results with several computer programs that essentially force the data into KS mode and put the computer into a very low latency hibernate mode, with no wifi or internet going on. It then goes through a fairly basic Silverplus Chord USB cable to the Amenaro 384, and the soundstage is very precise, with a very black background and very solid acoustic realism through the spectrum.
 
Whenever I tried to use the Coaxial from a CD player I got a very nice mid-range, but a loose soundstage with little width and fuzzy bass definition. It also wasn't nearly as black in the background--in short, classic jitter effects. 
 
When I played from laptop spinning a CD to USB input I got vivid results, but in the end I decided that the sound was not analogue enough, but more rigid, and what I initially liked about the harder bass, was actually a distortion. 

 

[eschell27]

Yep that's it...but if you are in the continental US i'd order it from Kitsune Hifi... https://kitsunehifi.com/product/singxersu1black/
 
They are in the states, so faster shipping plus you would be supporting someone from our community! (a head-fi'er owns/runs kitsune and Holo Audio USA)
Great customer service and a good guy!
 
What programs are you using to get your PC into the happy place you are enjoying?

 

[jdpark]

I'm using Foobar2000 for the file organization, Jplay for the KS driver and hibernation mode, and FidelizerPlus for automatically setting up my Windows 10 settings to optimize audio with the Jplay. Unfortunately Jplay and FidelizerPlus aren't free, and there are arguments online about whether they really work or not, but for me the difference is quite audible, and shows improvements with all the computers I've tried them on, as well as a couple different DACs.
 
I'm also pretty skeptical these days about audiophile claims, but for some reason, I think the DAC-19 still stands to gain from slight improvements in the front end, i.e. at the source.
 
It's not quite garbage in/garbage out, though, because even if you just hook up the stock USB cable to Foobar with some well-recorded FLAC files, you're going to get 90% of the way there. 

 

[Pharmaboy]

NOS 19 UPDATE: It's the damndest thing...my NOS 19 has begun throwing my curveballs. Tying to figure it out.
 
Past 1-2 weeks, I did a lot of focused listening to evaluate a pair of headphones I posted a review for. Like eschell27, I have a pair of RCA outs (ordered it that way). I've been switching from my amp/preamp, the Matrix M Stage HPA-1, to the Lake People G109A. My NOS 19 is still burning in. I read comments saying these continue to change/improve up to 500 hrs; mine might be ~275 hrs now, ~225 or so when this went down.
 
Anyway, a week or so back, I started noticing the G109A sounded bright. This amp that blew me away with its slightly warm, clear sound when I first heard it (on a DS DAC, no less), suddenly wasn't warm at all. What?
 
I've been using headphones a lot, which of course that lets me hear little things...a few days ago I noticed the rather warm, euphonic HPA-1 (which I fell in love with on first listen) is also sounding distinctly brighter. What?
 
I remember people in the DAC 19 impressions string talking about oddities like this, even 100s of hours into burn-in, where the DAC 19 would sound brighter/less bright; more resolving/less resolving, for awhile. Trying not to freak out.
 
I do some basic troubleshooting: check whether thepe paralleled RCA outputs driving active loads is somehow affecting the sound of each. Easy--shut everything down, disconnect the G109A, power back up. The HPA-1 sounds exactly the same, so it's not that.
 
Then I remember the "Settings" button on the right of the NOS 19--which I've never touched. If memory serves, it reverts phase. You'd think this unit would have sounded like garbage from day-1 if phase was wrong, but WTH. Shut 'er down, click "Settings," power up, headphones on. Damn. BIG difference. It's still a little brighter than I'd  expect, but the midrange of everything is bigger/wider/wetter/more nuanced. And the bass (which these inexpensive phones really do) got phatter & a little deeper. More ear pressure...
 
The bass of this NOS unit is probably the 1st/most interesting thing I noticed--the opposite of dry, digital bass I'm used to, where there's extension & slam, but the bass instrument sounds 2D, flat.
 
It's a work in progress. Has anyone else w/a DAC 19 or NOS 19 had a similar experience?