usb cable most important, 0.0m the best
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that's what I found as well, and it explains why the web has so few solid recommendations for i2s cablesusb cable most important
that's what I found as well, and it explains why the web has so few solid recommendations for i2s cables
The R2R7's USB input wanted a very lively USB cable and the Singxer brings extreme life up top so I switched to a much darker USB cable, one that was straight up boring/dead on the R2R7's USB input.
With guest components coming through my stereo is like a long term stock -- sometimes goes down but goes up in the long run. Last night it surged something unbelievable:
iFi Curious => W4S Recovery => Synergistic Research USB Active SE => Singxer => monoprice hdmi => R2R7 => single ended copper interconnects => deHavilland UltraVerve 3 => Exposure 3010s
that tube preamp was such an amazing listen I'll be reflecting on that experience all day (starting with this post!)
1 UltraCap into the SU-1, 1 elsewhere?currently using 2xLPS-1
1 UltraCap into the SU-1, 1 elsewhere?
A $400 200watt HDPlex is sending 19.5v to a computer, 9v to a W4S recovery, and soon 5v to my SU-1.
I loaned the SU-1 to a friend while I wait for the DC kit and a W4S recovery to come in the mail.
Thanks for the heads up on the DC brightness drop. Sounds like I'll be rolling again.
The preamp is not mine but once my DC conversion is ready, I'll try to borrow it again. That thing deserves a youtube video.
And if I can sell two integrateds (and maybe a set of speakers) then I'll reward myself with that tube pre.
agreed, this is the first I2S box with that much life in the highs, but I'm not yet sure it's a bad thing, and it's not offending the way I remember from a Audiobyte Hydra Z + 3A TeraDak. The Tanly didn't do this -- how has the SU-1 bettered the Tanly for you? In my brief listening I think the texture and layering improved.the SU-1 was the only one that exhibited this brightness with the stock power supply
For the DIYers who like short cables and want to avoid two conversions to/from balanced (hdmi), it is always possible to add an rj45 out to the singxer f-1. The f-1 has a better tonality that way. Frankly, i would doubt the su-1 is better.As mentioned the shorter the HDMI cable the better as far as jitter in the received signals. The 0.3m Wireworld cables are about the shortest that are available from a quality vendor. But Wireworld flatness makes the them a tough connection in the shortest lengths. The 0.3m Wireworld cable though does not want to readily bend so placement of the Singxer is critical and inflexible in my case.
The better quality cables are needed if you use longer cables. I found the Wireworld red Starlight and the much more expensive silver Startlight sound the same in short lengths. But the cheaper Wireworld ultraviolet I can tell a difference over red or silver Startlight.
Look for downrev Wireworld cables. I bought my red Startlight 5.2 0.3m cable for about $35 from a dealer closing out old stock.
I've also used generic 0.5m HDMI cables with good results. The key again is shorter the cable length the better for lowest jitter. Don't use 2m cables when you only need 0.5m length. On Amazon I see many affordable 1 ft (0.15m) HDMI cables that may be the best yet if long enough.
One thing that I was also wondering about the SU-1 is if the little switches to control the HDMI i2s output configuration are in the i2s data path between the board and output.
For the DIYers who like short cables and want to avoid two conversions to/from balanced (hdmi), it is always possible to add an rj45 out to the singxer f-1. The f-1 has a better tonality that way. Frankly, i would doubt the su-1 is better.
agreed, this is the first I2S box with that much life in the highs, but I'm not yet sure it's a bad thing, and it's not offending the way I remember from a Audiobyte Hydra Z + 3A TeraDak. The Tanly didn't do this -- how has the SU-1 bettered the Tanly for you? In my brief listening I think the texture and layering improved.
6dB climb in the highs? And I though I loved the highs! Is that a super tweeter thrown in? Most people shoot for a -6dB slope. After major changes I recreate Dirac filters targeting a flat curve (at different levels 0.5dB apart).
Accept for this recovery, I hope to inject as few course-corrections as possible, keeping the source brutally honest (sold the iFi purifier, iFi tube buffer, and the iUSB is getting sold next). Would like to tame the sound with the wires and components between the DAC and speakers. A tube pre/amp/int is the easy way to dial back an ultra-resolving sound, but was going to make that a last resort.
grandkids -- one day they'll make great recipients of 2nd hand audio gear.
There are a few aspects to this connection to consider. One has to do with reflexions. Some cable lengths will sound better because they tend to cancel them out. Another one is your cable should pick up as little noise as possible. And, the main raison to try to have a cable as short as possible is rise time. The shorter it is is, the less incidence noise has. It basically means that the capacitance of the overall cable has to be very low, Also, cross-contamination should be considered. For that aspect, hdmi is vastly superior. The length of the hdmi cable has less incidence. In a setup where cable length can't be minimized, or when the digital signal is absolutely noise-free out of the source, hdmi should sound better.One thing that I was also wondering about the SU-1 is if the little switches to control the HDMI i2s output configuration are in the i2s data path between the board and output.
I would think that with all the stuff I have been reading about that clock connections need be as short as possible ... if this switch idea is really optimal.
If the switches affect the integrity of the i2s, then the F-1 as per your setup would seem to have an additional inherent advantage, (in addition to the transmitter/receiver i believe is used for the HDMI i2s output).
I have once tried however, a 1M Wireworld red starlight cable for the HDMI connection and did not have any trouble with playback... I did not do any serious A/B comparisons with the 0.3M I usually use, but did not immediately notice any degradation either.
There are a few aspects to this connection to consider. One has to do with reflexions. Some cable lengths will sound better because they tend to cancel them out. Another one is your cable should pick up as little noise as possible. And, the main raison to try to have a cable as short as possible is rise time. The shorter it is is, the less incidence noise has. It basically means that the capacitance of the overall cable has to be very low, Also, cross-contamination should be considered. For that aspect, hdmi is vastly superior. The length of the hdmi cable has less incidence. In a setup where cable length can't be minimized, or when the digital signal is absolutely noise-free out of the source, hdmi should sound better.
Yes, good point about jumper access. I can take the top off my r2r 7 without having too much to do. This has been useful lately. However, there is a bit of stress put on the rj45 socket, but it seems OK with it. Been using that ddc setup for a long while.Thanks for the additional considerations
I am thinking SU-1 -> R2R 1 -> Tube Pre is probably a good combo for a flexible tube source with a lot of detail.
For the NOS7 -> M1 path, I like the idea of the lighter/smaller F1 with the RJ45 i2s which I can set behind the NOS7 and allow easier access to the DAC jumpers. (Right now I have the SU-1 on top of the NOS7 due to the size of the SU-1 and the short cable, so takes some doing to lift the lid off the DAC).
When I'm not using an int-amp I like to use Morrow's single ended MA1.2's in between amp&pre (18") -- the speed and transparency mimic's the integrated amp experience.The XLR balanced with Morrow cables is still a tad preferable to me
can you show us your parts list for this? 10+yrs ago I remember making a 6" ethernet cable to be a jumper between my stacked linksys routers and access point, and that link would fail intermittently. I googled some stuff about a minimum length (definitely longer than a foot) to achieve the correct impedance, and I think crimping 18" worked. I'd later learn that there's a min-length rule for USB as well, and people were reaching optimal results with 4.5' cables. That being said, I do have the 8" curious cable going into the W4S Recovery, so there's more to it.For the DIYers who like short cables
My friend has the AKM version and I def preferred the R2R7 (pretty much all jumper settings). Would be awesome if there was a 30day trial on those new 9038 modules -- I have yet to hear a dual 9038 DAC.Musical Paradise 6922 MP-D2, maybe the ES9038 version