[zoboomofo]

I'm pondering an upgrade to the Audioquest Optilink 2 optical cable. Does anyone have experience with this puppy? Its seems that I can't find any reviews of it online. I'm currently using a generic $6 cable.

 

[zoboomofo]

P.S. I'm trying to troubleshoot my jittery system. I'm using a Monarchy DIP through a bargain bin AR Coax to an Art DI/O. The Monarchy is definitely an improvement. It doesn't change the flavor of the sound, but does bring out a more focused one.

 

[elambo]

Better focus is what you should notice with less jitter. The DIP will help you with jitter but to help even more you should probably have a better cable than the $6 one you're using now. I had a DIP for a month or so to help with the jitter I was getting from a DVD player, but I wanted something to dejitter DTS and DolbyDigital, too, so I traded it. When I first started using the DIP I had an inexpensive cable like yours, then got a Straight Wire toslink cable and instantly noticed tighter focus and a more defined bass presence. The DIP (eventually a Camelot Dragon for me, which is equally good at reducing jitter) made the biggest improvement, though, but a better cable helps. Cheap toslink cables can introduce problems because of glare - it is light after all.

You said you are using the coax out of the DIP now, right? Have you considered staying with coax and upgrading your coax cable instead of switching to toslink? Since coax is a better path than optical you should consider it. Spend the $70 on a good coax, like the Apogee Wyde Eye or Monster DataLink 1000 or similar.

And just curious, what is your playback source?

 

[zoboomofo]

Thanks, elambo. Your observations agree with my expectations on the cable upgrade. I'm using a toslink cable out of necessity so I'll have to stick with it.

Signal chain:

Sony CDP-C625 source with toslink only out -> DIP Upsampler (just upgraded 2 days ago from the DIP 24/96

) coax out -> Art DI/O...

FYI,
first impressions on the DIP 48/96:

I've tried the DIP 48/96 (upsampler) in both 48 and 96 kHz settings. The 48 allows the use of the Art DI/O 48 kHz setting. This sampling rate is very sweet sounding, but etchy in the highs, and a bit thin. The detail is immensely improved over 44.1kHz. 48 kHz (DIP) -> 96 kHz (DI/O) = warmer, more hazy sound. Ext setting = more body but less detailed than 48 or 96, especially in highs.

96 kHz (DIP) -> 96 kHz (DI/O) = not as crisp and detailed as 48 (DIP) -> 48 (DI/O), but more full body sound. Highs are softer, and bass is thunderous! Sounds sweet. 96 (DIP) -> Ext (DI/O) = less sweet sounding, but cleaner highs.

I love having the ability to tailor the sound to best suit a cd, or the rest of my components with the DI/O. The DIP upsampler allows the DI/O to use sampling rates 44.1 (haven't noticed much distortion), 48, 96 and Ext from the DIP's 48 kHz jumper setting. The 96 kHz jumper setting on the upsampler only allows the Art to use 96 kHz and Ext. My favorite settings right now are 48DIP to 48 DI/O and 96DIP to 96DI/O.

Another thing about the different sampling rates is that the character of the sound that I described through the DI/O from the 48DIP is consistent with that without the use of the upsampler; You just get a lot of crackle in the left side

. An interesting observation is that if you listen to the DI/O through a mismatched sampling rate (ie 44.1 to 48 or 96 or from 48 to 44.1 or 88.2), you can hear the lower level detail of the music very well (along with the snap crackles and pops

. The peak level music is either less prominent, or drowned out in a Sputnik-like transmission. My guess is that all the noise you hear in snaps and crackling is trasferred to haze and glare when you hit the switch to match the sample rate, thereby masking the lower level detail. Of course I'm taliking right out of my ass here, but its just a hypothesis.


My express lane review of the DIP upsampler concludes with the comparison of the DIP 48/96 with the DIP 24/96. Remember that these impressions were made with only 3 days usage on each unit. I miss the DIP 24/96. I could fall asleep listening to music with this 'magic box' because it allowed me to appreciate the DI/O's good top to bottom headroom, as well as some front to back. The side to side space was apparently narrower now though. The imaging was indeed the most striking feature of the DIP 24/96. instrument separation was cleaner through the jitter box, too. The sound was less grainy now, but grainy enough.

The DIP 48/96 (upsampler) arrived in the 96 kHz setting. It was immediately disappointing compared to the DIP 24/96. The imaging was improved over a non DIPped setup, but not apparently as good as with the DIP 24/96. I was consoled with the option of switching the sampling rate out of the DIP 48/96, and the unit grew on me quickly. The 48kHz setting provided the biggest improvement to my system second only to the headphones. The sound was very sweet, and grain "free". So I guess there's a reason to buy both DIPs at once. You could also read Hirsch's review on DIP + upsampler config. More thoughts later,

Zobo out.