[Neweymatt]

Just be aware that despite the Asgard being wall powered the DAC module draws power from the connected device, it doesn't take power internally.

That means that if the source is batter powered, say an iPad, it will drain the battery faster than you might expect.

The DAC module requires sufficient power than an iPhone will give the message "requires to much power" and won't work.

Yes, this came as a surprise to me when I first plugged in my iPhone to the ESS card with just a Lightning->USB-C cable. I wound up with a dongle-spaghetti, because you need to be charging the iPhone at the same time, but it's worth it. I took my A3e + A12t with me when I went away on holiday for the last 10 days or so, it was great to be able to settle in to a sesh in the afternoon reading a book and enjoying a quiet beverage.

 

[jonathan c]

Yes, this came as a surprise to me when I first plugged in my iPhone to the ESS card with just a Lightning->USB-C cable. I wound up with a dongle-spaghetti, because you need to be charging the iPhone at the same time, but it's worth it. I took my A3e + A12t with me when I went away on holiday for the last 10 days or so, it was great to be able to settle in to a sesh in the afternoon reading a book and enjoying a quiet beverage.^^

^^ What would be an example of a noisy beverage? …

 

[Neweymatt]

^^ What would be an example of a noisy beverage? …

 

[threegr]

Can I just spray contact cleaner into these switches or are they sealed? Thanks

Mine had similar problems, but with gain switch, the sound on one channel was distorting until I wiggled the switch a bit. One day the sound was completely lost on that channel. It was still under warranty, so I sent it to the seller and they fixed it and returned the Asgard to me. But after a few months the same thing happened again. Now it was out of warranty period, so I took the Asgard to a local electrician service. The guy there told me that the seller only sprayed contact cleaner inside the switch, but the real problem were the corroded contacts inside switches. He couldn't find the exact matching switches, so he rebuilt them with new contacts and Asgard is working perfectly since then. He was impressed with the amp, but he also said the switches were not of the highest quality

 

[jonathan c]

 

[Voxata]

One thing that has absolutely elevated the Jot 2 in my setup is passive signal filtering. Just stunning results.

Huh?

 

[cdacosta]

Huh?

Passive (no AC) ground box that filters the "output SE signal grounds" on the Jotunheim 2. My DAC has 2 of these ground boxes. PC and Modem/Router also each have one ground box. If you have never heard of such a device it will not make much sense. When I first heard of these devices many years ago they sounded like snake oil to me. Once I tried the concept, I was hooked. These devices have transformed my system. The units I have are DIY. Entreq is famous for such devices.

 

[Voxata]

Interesting, have a shot of the internals by chance you are willing to share? What a great project! I use filtered power conditioners myself, mainly repurposed from server duty.

 

[cdacosta]

Interesting, have a shot of the internals by chance you are willing to share? What a great project! I use filtered power conditioners myself, mainly repurposed from server duty.

For the last month I have been posting some of my DIY ground box journey in the following thread. Post number 2615 lists the internal material mix I am currently using for the Jotunheim 2 and DAC:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aliexpress-cables.963919/page-175#post-17345074

 

[BS5711]

Oops …. double post

 

[BS5711]

For the last month I have been posting some of my DIY ground box journey in the following thread. Post number 2615 lists the internal material mix I am currently using for the Jotunheim 2 and DAC:

https://www.head-fi.org/threads/aliexpress-cables.963919/page-175#post-17345074

I read your comments at the linked thread but prefer to ask this here.

Obviously anybody that doesn’t have experience with this grounding thing is going to immediately be inclined to think it is nonsense so, for transparency, consider that is the position I am coming from.

How is it that if grounding is improving the sound by simply earthing into a mass of material why does the sound improvement happen incrementally over days ? Why isn’t it instantaneous and thus can be A/B tested if all you are doing is wiring the device to a grounding mass ?

How does grounding as you show do anything where there is no circuit created ?

How do you adjust the grounding mixture while listening if the change takes several days to be complete ?

If I was inclined to experiment, because it sounds simple and cheap enough to rig up something to give it a try, how would I best connect to a battery powered set up using a Fiio M11 Plus DAP as the source directly into an ifI Diablo via a short coaxial cable and then into the headphones. Do the devices need to be powered on for three days or just connected for three days ?

 

[cdacosta]

I read your comments at the linked thread but prefer to ask this here.

Obviously anybody that doesn’t have experience with this grounding thing is going to immediately be inclined to think it is nonsense so, for transparency, consider that is the position I am coming from here but I am interested I am not just being argumentative for the sake of it.

How is it that if grounding is improving the sound by simply earthing into a mass of material why does the sound improvement happen incrementally over days ? Why isn’t it instantaneous and thus can be A/B tested if all you are doing is wiring the device to a grounding mass ?

If I was inclined to experiment, because it sounds simple and cheap enough to rig up something to give it a try, how would I best connect to a battery powered set up using a Fiio M11 Plus DAP as the source directly into an ifI Diablo via a short coaxial cable and then into the headphones. Do the devices need to be powered on for three days or just connected for three days ?

Excellent questions! I have known about passive ground filtering for over a decade but sounded like nonsense to me. Until I tried it a little over a month ago. So let me try to answer your questions...

The first attempt to see if this concept worked was based on a unit that Entreq sells (or use to sell) using Magnetite. 1) Took a 7.5lb bag of high quality Magnetite in a Tupperware container (to hold it all in place), 2) stuck a 3' OFC 12ga. stranded copper wire stripped 6" of Teflon shielding and stuck it into bag. At the DAC end of the wire installed a Furutech solderless RCA plug. The cable is only attached to the ground lead of the RCA plug. As soon as I placed the headphone on my head and hit play it was instantly obvious the sonic performance is different. Yes, you can A/B and tell the difference, very obvious in my system. The amount of data or increase in resolution surprised me, this was the first thing I noticed. Keep in mind that this headphone system is already highly tweaked and tuned before trying this experiment.

Incrementally over the next 3 days or so refinement occurs, more resolution, sound stage improved, separation improved, timbre improved, and so forth is heard. This is 3 days of real time, not with 3 days of signal through system. As I change or add to the material mix I can hear real time the "general effect" of the added material to the mix. Will take again 3 days or so to "fully hear" the complete change. Now why does it take 3 days to fully hear the complete change? I have no clue, I only know from experience the cause and effect, which is repeatable.

I have not tried this on a DAP or battery powered device. My gear is AC powered. Amp is on 24/7 with volume at zero when not in use. DAC in standby mode when not in use. You would have to try and see. Since the material and cable is only attached to the ground lead, there is no signal passing through the cable. It should be safe to try on your gear. If you get 50% of the performance gain I am getting, you will be thrilled. To try to see how your system is effected by this type of device is easy. To optimize performance is trickier. For there are several aspects of the device that effect the performance that is somewhat counter intuitive considering what the basic design is.

I spend time sharing the experience because I think most will have the impression this concept is nonsense, because there is no way to scientifically test this. Only our ears. The performance increase of these devices to "my" Jotunheim 2 amp and DAC are mind blowing. Especially for the DAC. The proceed DAC is the little brother to another DAC I have which is a Mark Levinson 360s. With the two devices on the Proceed DAC I will swear it sounds way better than my ML 360s. The ML 360s is no slouch. If you try the concept out, let me know how it worked for you.

 

[BS5711]

Excellent questions! I have known about passive ground filtering for over a decade but sounded like nonsense to me. Until I tried it a little over a month ago. So let me try to answer your questions...

Thanks for the polite and considered response.

Can you answer how the connection to the grounding box does any when there is no circuit ? Is that one of the unknowns or us there an explanation for that ?

In my simple battery powered two device set up of DAP into DAC/Amp where would I even connect the grounding box to ? The unused line in jack if using a coaxial input ? I know that is grounded within the Diablo.

 

[cdacosta]

How does grounding as you show do anything where there is no circuit created ?

How do you adjust the grounding mixture while listening if the change takes several days to be complete ?

Sorry, Internet went down while was answering your questions and did not see these questions.

LOL I asked the same questions you are asking. After hours upon hours of reading user comments from around the world, manufacturer descriptions and sale pitches, I do not think anyone truly knows what is happening. Cannot scientifically test short of listening. The last 25 years of being in this hobby building and tweaking audio I can offer you the following. Say at the component, going to the input line level stage there is 100% data coming from upstream. Before getting to the output stage there are a lot of factors that mask the data (think noise floors). An example of these noise floor causing factors are EMI, RFI, micro vibration, stray electrical noise, conductivity at contacts, etc. As these noise floor factors are addressed more of the data can be heard, hence noise floor lowered. What these devices do is allow more the data through to the output stage. How do I know this to be fact? I hear so much more information, that I cannot come up with any other conclusion. There are many theories as to why these devices work, I cannot prove or disapprove any of them. So I just go with my ears and decide if it is worth my time and money to pursue the concept.

For the amp and DAC mixes I do it one box at a time. I do this while I am listening. When I add or take away material I can immediately hear a change. This change is an indication as to what to expect regarding tonality, frequencies it will mostly effect. Changes from what I hear initially occur approx. after 3 hours, then 12 hours, 24 hours and so forth and end at about 3 days. The change is enough that you will understand what one metal or mineral will or will not do within the mix, within the context at that installation. Like Shungite will give more body and sound stage depth to the overall presentation. Pure Rock Salt will help to balance the change between minerals added and add mass to the mix. Rochelle Salt acts as a binder to increase effectiveness in the mix, also helps with sound decay micro resolution and separation. As you play with the mix you will understand.

 

[BS5711]

Sorry, Internet went down while was answering your questions and did not see these questions.

LOL I asked the same questions you are asking. After hours upon hours of reading user comments from around the world, manufacturer descriptions and sale pitches, I do not think anyone truly knows what is happening. Cannot scientifically test short of listening. The last 25 years of being in this hobby building and tweaking audio I can offer you the following. Say at the component, going to the input line level stage there is 100% data coming from upstream. Before getting to the output stage there are a lot of factors that mask the data (think noise floors). An example of these noise floor causing factors are EMI, RFI, micro vibration, stray electrical noise, conductivity at contacts, etc. As these noise floor factors are addressed more of the data can be heard, hence noise floor lowered. What these devices do is allow more the data through to the output stage. How do I know this to be fact? I hear so much more information, that I cannot come up with any other conclusion. There are many theories as to why these devices work, I cannot prove or disapprove any of them. So I just go with my ears and decide if it is worth my time and money to pursue the concept.

For the amp and DAC mixes I do it one box at a time. I do this while I am listening. When I add or take away material I can immediately hear a change. This change is an indication as to what to expect regarding tonality, frequencies it will mostly effect. Changes from what I hear initially occur approx. after 3 hours, then 12 hours, 24 hours and so forth and end at about 3 days. The change is enough that you will understand what one metal or mineral will or will not do within the mix, within the context at that installation. Like Shungite will give more body and sound stage depth to the overall presentation. Pure Rock Salt will help to balance the change between minerals added and add mass to the mix. Rochelle Salt acts as a binder to increase effectiveness in the mix, also helps with sound decay micro resolution and separation. As you play with the mix you will understand.

Thank you.

You make a compelling argument to at least try it but I am lost to know where to even start since it seems to be so much more art than science, at least a science that can be quantified.