[PLGA]

Thanks all for your help.

Here's what I tested tonight.

All setting are tested in NOS1, NOS2, and NOS3. I did not test and OS setting.

I also reached out to Kingwa to get another copy of the R8 V3 firmwares. I was thinking that maybe the version I had was corrupt (His copy also produced the same results).

Note that USB is straight from computer motherboard to R8 Amanero card.

USB -> V3A firmware = all settings good
USB -> V3S firmware = all settings good
USB -> TDA-Syn firmware = All NOS setting bad with PLL off.
USB -> TDA-Asy firmware = all settings good

I2S -> V3A firmware = NOS1 and NOS3 still bad. NOS2 good.
I2S -> V3S firmware = all settings good
I2S -> TDA-Syn firmware = all settings good
I2S -> TDA-Asy firmware = all settings good

There seems to be a problem with the V3A firmware with the OCXOs installed. As @ItsAllInMyHead reported, stock clocks are good with V3A. Unfortunately, I never tried V3A before upgrading the clocks.

TDA-Asy still sounds great to me (better than the TCXOs and original R8 firmware) and that is what I am currently running now.

This was to test other firmwares to see what sounded best with the R8 OCXOs.

I am hoping the Kingwa continues to improve the TDAs firmware and releases a final update. It is my impression that the current TDA firmwares are still in the testing stages, but I could be wrong.

OK. Thank you
I will see how does it go with mine R8 on V3A.
I hope I wont have to change firmware.

 

[Toni-Mang]

R8A (V3A) -> no issues...I2S is full usable after switching Input...the issue seems to be related to TDAasy (and the Clocks?). I will go back to TDAasy in a few days.
What about a quick release for the cover .
I am happy to find out for me, that the Clock switch is an issue in no way.

 

[Toni-Mang]

@DACLadder, thank you very much for the link!
@chadnick, for me it seems to be the other way round. No issues with V3A, Issues with TDA asy and I2S...

 

[DACLadder]

Kingwa generally monitors this HeadFi thread. But just in case you may want to also reach out directly with as much hard information as you can provide. He is keenly interested in solving issues. More info the better.... System, source, firmware, mode, problem, what works/ what doesn’t, etc...

 

[Toni-Mang]

Mr. Kingwa got a summary...imho v3a has much more gain, compared to TDAasy...more dynamic and punch, but in comparison the soundstage is not as holographic for me. I have to decrease volume, to get the same loudness with v3a.The clocks make a difference in v3a, but TDA firmware got a greater effect from the clocks imho...

 

[FredA]

What amazes me is Kingwa always has many projects in parallel, it seems like he rarely rests. One has to admire his talent and dedication. I don't know how many people can realize how hard it is to come with da boards as good as he came with, only on the second attempt with the da-7 and da-8. When you think you have seen all from him, he still manages to pull one out of the hat and surprise us. I am one of his top fans, that's for sure. My great statisfaction with my new m3 is yet another reason to sing his praise. Congratulations, Kingwa!

 

[Chopin75]

I currently have a pink faun I2S pci card -> HDMI -> R8. Would there be any benefit replacing the pink faun with a SU6 or U16? Thanks.

If you don't care about DXD/DSD, then the PF I2S direct should be best, esp with the upgraded OCXO clock. It is more direct without the need of a DDC. But who knows for sure unless you try it yourself!

Add: BTW, I state this because from my experience the PF USB bridge works so well that I took out the galvanic isolation devices! And it only has the TOCO clock. Sure the I2S version would be amazing!

 

[motberg]

@Toni-Mang I am not familiar with the R8 but did you change firmware recently? If so go back to what worked reliably for debug purposes. The Sync control no longer has any function with Asy firmware. And if not using Asy you may try it as the HDMI I2S definitely changes to no longer using I2S MCLK and the requirement to sync to it.

And it is really recommended to turn power off when connecting the HDMI connector. In the dark ages of HDMI I2S I fried an Off Ramp 5 DDC hot plugging HDMI I2S.

+1... I fried the i2s input on my NFB-7 a few years ago HDMI hot swapping.... connectors look too much like computer/TV stuff

 

[JaMo]

What amazes me is Kingwa always has many projects in parallel, it seems like he rarely rests. One has to admire his talent and dedication. I don't know how many people can realize how hard it is to come with da boards as good as he came with, only on the second attempt with the da-7 and da-8. When you think you have seen all from him, he still manages to pull one out of the hat and surprise us. I am one of his top fans, that's the for sure. My great statisfaction with my new m3 is yet another reason to sing his praise. Congratulations, Kingwa!

Hi Fred,

I agree. Worth mentioning is that Kingwa at present is also active designing and working on a diamond differential Pre amp and a class A 150W power amps (mono blocks) in a small number for the Chinese DIY-community... besides everything else he surprises us with.. I am also lining up as a top fan. The gears and the surprises he brings enlightens my life. Brings alot of joy and pleasure.

Well, the V2 boards and the new XO's has almost 48 h now and the fluctuations in the sound is very noticeable. The qualities shines through now and then. This is, and will be a serious upgrade with significant performance lift... talking about unexpected surprises..

/Jan

 

[FredA]

Hi Fred,

I agree. Worth mentioning is that Kingwa at present is also active designing and working on a diamond differential Pre amp and a class A 150W power amps (mono blocks) in a small number for the Chinese DIY-community... besides everything else he surprises us with.. I am also lining up as a top fan. The gears and the surprises he brings enlightens my life. Brings alot of joy and pleasure.

Well, the V2 boards and the new XO's has almost 48 h now and the fluctuations in the sound is very noticeable. The qualities shines through now and then. This is, and will be a serious upgrade with significant performance lift... talking about unexpected surprises..

/Jan

Although my setup sounds awesomely well, the rendition being deep, firm, rich and liquid all at once, i know i have got to get this double upgrade. The procedure you described, thanks again Jan, seems easy enough. I will email Kingwa for a quote on a set of v2 boards. I figure i can do the job in 2-3 hours.

 

[JaMo]

I will email Kingwa for a quote on a set of v2 boards. I figure i can do the job in 2-3 hours.

Yes, good idea. You should do these upgrades, Fred. Just create enough and clean workspace, good light, good tools, a fresh balanced mind and the blood sugar levels intact..

I use a towel as surface to protect the chassie when I put ithe dac standing on the side, accessing the screws for the isolator plates. I will support You. This is a "must", Fred.

/Jan

 

[Zenvota]

Hoping maybe someone here can provide a little insight on which path I should take. I'm considering a D27 or a R8 with a 1amp or master 9. Kingwa stated the r8 has better detail, sound stage, and transparency, but he also said the nfb is faster and emphasizes speed. I'm using Out of Your Head with death/black metal, so detail soundstage transparency are important but I dont know if speed is more important for my use case. Has anyone here tried running fast distorted complex music through a real time binaural renderer using measured room impulse responses of loudspeakers? lol...

The only comparison I can currently draw is between a nfb11 and nfb7(an older ess9018 model from 2013)+1amp, both systems use a topaz isolator and iso regen+ultracap lps to the amanero board(isolator and usb powered for the nfb7 system). While the nfb11 sounds excellent, its detailed and clean and full, the nfb7+1amp is able to make the output of OOYH sound exactly like loudspeakers. So I'm looking to upgrade the nfb11 system but am torn on which route to take.

 

[JaMo]

Hoping maybe someone here can provide a little insight on which path I should take. I'm considering a D27 or a R8 with a 1amp or master 9. Kingwa stated the r8 has better detail, sound stage, and transparency, but he also said the nfb is faster and emphasizes speed. I'm using Out of Your Head with death/black metal, so detail soundstage transparency are important but I dont know if speed is more important for my use case. Has anyone here tried running fast distorted complex music through a real time binaural renderer using measured room impulse responses of loudspeakers? lol...

The only comparison I can currently draw is between a nfb11 and nfb7(an older ess9018 model from 2013)+1amp, both systems use a topaz isolator and iso regen+ultracap lps to the amanero board(isolator and usb powered for the nfb7 system). While the nfb11 sounds excellent, its detailed and clean and full, the nfb7+1amp is able to make the output of OOYH sound exactly like loudspeakers. So I'm looking to upgrade the nfb11 system but am torn on which route to take.

Hi Zenvota,
I have been using them both (NFB11, NFB7 = ES9018) and after upgrading I now have the NFB27.77 (~similar to D27). For a long time I had the ESS-chip dac's as my preference but since Kingwa introduced the R2R-dacs with the DA-boards and along with the FPGA-programming (firmwares) and constantly developing the sound, I am hooked on the R2R-dacs. Today I run the 27.77 side by side with my R2R-7 (now on DA7 V2 boards and Accusilicon XO's) and the R2R-7 is superior to the 27.77 today, even if it is early in the burn in cycle on the R2R-7. I will later upgrade the XO's in the 27.77 and it will probably make it a notch, or two, better. All of these dacs are high value for the money. You will be happy either way You choose...

As You can hear I don't have Your candidates but my two cents goes toward the R2R-dac. The R8 is probably the most bang for the buck as Fred earlier wrote in this thread.

/Jan

 

[Zenvota]

Hi Zenvota,
I have been using them both (NFB11, NFB7 = ES9018) and after upgrading I now have the NFB27.77 (~similar to D27). For a long time I had the ESS-chip dac's as my preference but since Kingwa introduced the R2R-dacs with the DA-boards and along with the FPGA-programming (firmwares) and constantly developing the sound, I am hooked on the R2R-dacs. Today I run the 27.77 side by side with my R2R-7 (now on DA7 V2 boards and Accusilicon XO's) and the R2R-7 is superior to the 27.77 today, even if it is early in the burn in cycle on the R2R-7. I will later upgrade the XO's in the 27.77 and it will probably make it a notch, or two, better. All of these dacs are high value for the money. You will be happy either way You choose...

As You can hear I don't have Your candidates but my two cents goes toward the R2R-dac. The R8 is probably the most bang for the buck as Fred earlier wrote in this thread.

/Jan

Thanks, Jan, I appreciate it. I think maybe I'm in one of those positions where I need to make the comparison myself since the listening material is kind of unique, I've been unable to find anyone using ooyh or a realiser also using a r2r nos dac, let alone that combination listening to metal щ(ºДºщ) I've been considering getting a d27 to replace the older nfb7 and also getting a r8 to use with my 1amp, which i do like the sound of since the d27+r8 is a similar cost to the r8+m9, and I can recuperate a bit by selling the nfb7 and nfb11. Im also curious to try both nos and 8x upsampling and see how those perform with ooyh. Then I can report back xD Won't be soon though as 4k projector is the next big purchase
ε-(´・｀) ﾌ

 

[Zenvota]

R2R-7 is superior to the 27.77

Just about everything I read, including from the designer, agrees with that. I emailed Kingwa to ask how the nfb7 with the new opa+transistor serve psus compare to the r2r now as the new psus are described as improving soundstage, detail, and dynamics. I'd expect the superior detail soundstage and transparency to equate to speed in the circuitrys ability to get all that information out. Perhaps just the nature of the resistor ladder vs the ds chip is enough of a delay to describe it as slower? But in the end r2r results in a more natural presentation.