[TSAVJason]

I thought Neutrik XLR connectors were the professional standard.

It is the standard in “PRO”. It’s also low cost and more readily available. Pro tends to be less fragile. Furutech costs significantly more and would cause a pretty sizable price increace

 

[VerloK]

Copper is more then 320% more Conductive then Brass o.O

 

[RobertSM]

Wondering if those in the know of this Niimbus line have heard any news on the development of the Niimbus DACs. Any new word?

Im watching closely. Recently purchased the Violectric V850 & V281 stack with the idea of using this stack until both the Niimbus headphone amp and DACs become available then upgrading. Any info on these products is welcomed.

 

[TSAVJason]

Copper is more then 320% more Conductive then Brass o.O

You’ll ask your electric company why they use so much brass at connections then won’t you

 

[fdg]

Hello Everybody.
Normally I don´t answer to posts like „Why do they use cheapo Neutrik XLR sockets instead of outstanding ones from the xxx brand”.
But sometime I feel I have to adjust things …
Neutrik is THE supplier for high quality XLR sockets and connectors. Among others they also offer RCA, phone jacks of outstanding quality.
Besides that they offer their products for a reasonable price.

Most of these connectors are directly mounted on the PCB (one contact / one resistance) which is a smart solution compared to
those sockets which need a wire (resistance) to be soldered to the connector (resistance) and then soldered to the PCB (resistance).
Not taking into account the different materials and how they match or eventually don’t …
Also a wire is always a source of faults and needs more production time.
The best connecting point is the one which is not existing !!

And don´t tell me about silver solder.
This can be seen at your Jeweler but not in electronic manufacturing because the melting point is over 950 degrees Celsius (1750 degrees Fahrenheit).
Did you know that only three countries in this world are not part of the SI-system. These are Liberia, Myanmar and USA.
For electronic works silver is only a fraction of the solder, about 2 - 6 % - not more!
Ours is “Sn95,5Ag3,8Cu0,65”, meaning 95,5 % tin, 3,8 % Silver, 0,65 % Copper.

And yes, Neutrik uses Brass contacts instead of others who may use Copper contacts.
But as everybody knows, electricity is really clever and takes the way of the lowest resistance.
And that is the coating of the contacts which is Silver or Gold in case of Neutrik.
The purpose of the basic contact material is only to give Gold or Silver a surface.

Table of conductance (sorry, in German, but those who are really interested may google):

Silver offers the best conductance (much better - about 300 % (!!) - than the fashion material Rhodium !!!) but it will oxidize and becomes black.
This doesn´t matter that much as silver oxide has nearly the same conductance, unfortunately it is not looking like that.
Copper contacts will also oxide but then become green with a really high resistance.
So we are using gold plated contacts which are always looking good

See the picture how Neutrik contacts mate, can you imagine something better ?



And, sorry, I give a damn on
“super heat resistant liquid crystal polymer resin and a nonresonant nylon/fiberglass housing containing … Piezo Ceramic Damping Material.
Special nonmagnetic stainless steel plates that are incorporated into the piezo compound construction (original text from Furutech)”
I even don´t know what that means nor what it is good for. And I am not going to waste my time on learning more about that.

Like nearly everybody busy in serious and reliable electronics production we trust in Neutrik´s fiber-filled
XLR housings and gold plated contacts which withstand ten-thousands of connecting cycles,
proved in our laboratories and testing facilities.
Others may save money by using Chinese copies or waste money by using piezo compound constructions …

 

[Ultrainferno]

Today's Picture Sunday is all about the Niimbus US4+. Full review soon!
https://www.headfonia.com/picture-sunday-niimbus-us4/

 

[reklov]

I picked up my Niimbus HPA US 4+ directly in Konstanz last week. I use all it’s many features: three sources connected, output thru HP and active loudspeakers with output gain adjusted to -15, regularly switching between phone and line out using the fancy remote. The sound quality is jaw-dropping. I compared it at Lake People with Vio HPA 280 and 281 using Fried‘s Audeze LCD3. I immediately noticed more defined sub-bass. Connected at home to my active KSD Sub and LS (Tidal highres via NUC as Roon Core, AQ Switch SE, Allo DigiOne Signature as Roon Bridge, LP DAT RS 05 with Femto clock, Vio DAC 850, Niimbus HPA US 4+, KS Digital B-88 and a pair of C-55, most cabling from Violectric) sound quality has improved unbelievably: wide soundstage, precise positioning, tight definition of highs to lows - I’ve come as close to natural sound as ever before (I play the piano and clarinet). I listened to Kraftwerk, Gary Clark Jr., Mozart Clarinet Concert in A-Major (my benchmark) and Mozart’s Piano Sonatas. I haven’t even started to listen with my Hifiman HEX SE because I’m so in love with the excellent sound thru my mid-fi speakers. My god, what a temptation!

 

[reklov]

 

[Ultrainferno]

I'm digging it too! Funny, I've also been using it in my speaker setup alot.

 

[Arniesb]

How does highs guys? Do you say its more neutral while still sounding bombastic?

 

[Arniesb]

I picked up my Niimbus HPA US 4+ directly in Konstanz last week. I use all it’s many features: three sources connected, output thru HP and active loudspeakers with output gain adjusted to -15, regularly switching between phone and line out using the fancy remote. The sound quality is jaw-dropping. I compared it at Lake People with Vio HPA 280 and 281 using Fried‘s Audeze LCD3. I immediately noticed more defined sub-bass. Connected at home to my active KSD Sub and LS (Tidal highres via NUC as Roon Core, AQ Switch SE, Allo DigiOne Signature as Roon Bridge, LP DAT RS 05 with Femto clock, Vio DAC 850, Niimbus HPA US 4+, KS Digital B-88 and a pair of C-55, most cabling from Violectric) sound quality has improved unbelievably: wide soundstage, precise positioning, tight definition of highs to lows - I’ve come as close to natural sound as ever before (I play the piano and clarinet). I listened to Kraftwerk, Gary Clark Jr., Mozart Clarinet Concert in A-Major (my benchmark) and Mozart’s Piano Sonatas. I haven’t even started to listen with my Hifiman HEX SE because I’m so in love with the excellent sound thru my mid-fi speakers. My god, what a temptation!

Can you further compare V280 with Niimbus? Like bass, mids comparison.

 

[reklov]

The most obvious difference is a strong, well defined bass and sub-bass. Mids and highs are also better, it results in a very clear separation of instruments and voices. I was almost shocked by the sound quality improvement thru my speakers. Instruments and voices were precisely positioned, tightly defined and very natural sounding.

 

[Arniesb]

The most obvious difference is a strong, well defined bass and sub-bass. Mids and highs are also better, it results in a very clear separation of instruments and voices. I was almost shocked by the sound quality improvement thru my speakers. Instruments and voices were precisely positioned, tightly defined and very natural sounding.

Very thanks man, i already regret selling my V280. Wanted more simple setup like Hugo 2, but when i tried it for a few days i already regretted selling V280 cause all these dac/amp combos have mediocre amps. Well time to save up for Niimbus. Increase in details, mids and highs is exactly what was slightly below perfect on Violectric units.

 

[Fegefeuer]

Interesting stack there reklov.

The upcoming Niimbus DACs actually replace both the RS05 and the DAC itself of course.

 

[reklov]

Interesting stack there reklov.

The upcoming Niimbus DACs actually replace both the RS05 and the DAC itself of course.

Do you have any news besides what Fried Reim has written in one of his latest posts? I was too excited about receiving my new HPA that I forgot to interview him about his upcoming DAC when I was at his company in Konstanz.