Schiit Gungnir DAC
Apr 4, 2019 at 11:04 AM Post #5,686 of 7,002
What USB cable are you using now? Im curious to try it again if its as you describe but I was using a cheap Belkin cable so it sounded muddy.

When I went to Gen5 USB, I decided to buy a cable of comparative quality to the AQ Diamond toslink.
My trusted friend Alex at Wywires provided a Wywires Platinum USB cable, 4-ft in length. Similar price to the AQ Diamond.
I believe in upgrading cables. My rig is now all Wywires Platinum cables: USB, interconnects, and HP. Solid quality.

I think way back when (before Gen5), Mike had listed digital connections in order of SQ:
High to low: AES, BNC, RCA, toslink, USB.
Gen5 has moved USB significantly up the list.

I too tried to get BNC input, from the Mac, using a Singxer F-1 (USB2 to RCA/BNC).
It worked OK but another box in the signal path. USB Gen5 solved all that.
 
Apr 4, 2019 at 10:39 PM Post #5,687 of 7,002
I too tried to get BNC input, from the Mac, using a Singxer F-1 (USB2 to RCA/BNC).

I just remembered how I ended up getting BNC.
I have a BDP-1 (Bryston) and it has AES/BNC. Gumby has Coax/Toslink/BNC. Venn diagram and poof! BNC

In my current setup the BDP-1's AES goes into my preamp (which also does crossover duties) and then Coax to the Gumby.
 
Apr 5, 2019 at 10:04 AM Post #5,688 of 7,002
I just remembered how I ended up getting BNC.
I have a BDP-1 (Bryston) and it has AES/BNC. Gumby has Coax/Toslink/BNC. Venn diagram and poof! BNC

In my current setup the BDP-1's AES goes into my preamp (which also does crossover duties) and then Coax to the Gumby.

LOL ... Venn diagram --> great application of logical thought process!

Bryston makes very nice gear ... I've been drooling over the BDP-3 for awhile.
I have their headphone amp and love it :)
 
Apr 6, 2019 at 4:45 PM Post #5,689 of 7,002
LOL ... Venn diagram --> great application of logical thought process!

Bryston makes very nice gear ... I've been drooling over the BDP-3 for awhile.
I have their headphone amp and love it :)
The BDPs are all very nice. I went from a SotM SMS-200 (great unit but USB) to the BDP-1 and the BDP is just really nice. Huge, in comparison, but I really like have the front panel transport controls.

Except for power, I keep hitting that by accident since it's right next to Play. I start to understand the thought processes of one @Jason Stoddard with putting power buttons on the back.
 
Apr 6, 2019 at 6:16 PM Post #5,690 of 7,002
I'm hoping not for 2 reasons.
(a) My BNC cable is really high quality. And... attractive :)
(b) the BNC connector is really better than RCA. As I've said before, I wish the world had settled on BNC instead of RCA lo those many years ago.
No detrimental effects so far.

Swapped it in and enjoying Money for Nothing a little louder than usual :wink:
 
Apr 6, 2019 at 11:46 PM Post #5,691 of 7,002
Apr 7, 2019 at 1:31 AM Post #5,693 of 7,002
Nope no issues. I got my Gumby feeding my speaker amp from the SE1 and my headphone amp from SE2.
I had issues when I was feeding two different tube amps single ended with them both turned on, and both amps would only output sound on one channel. When I unplugged one of them, then the other one would start outputting sound on both channels.

Why is this the case?

I have fed a solid-state blanced input, and another single-ended no issues. Only time I've had issues was when I've used both single-ended outputs to two different amps, and in particular tube amps.
 
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Apr 7, 2019 at 9:19 AM Post #5,694 of 7,002
In my opinion the BNC is the best Gumby input.

Yep, and Mike agreed as well ... back before the Gen5 USB came along.
I'm using a Mac as music server which allows multi-tasking, but only USB or Toslink direct connections to the Gumby.


That Blue Jeans RCA/BNC cable is what I used between the Singxer and Gumby ... it worked fine, decent quality for the price.
 
Apr 7, 2019 at 9:20 AM Post #5,695 of 7,002
In my opinion the BNC is the best Gumby input. Currently I am using a Black Cat Veloce connected to an Allo Digione Signature player (BNC outuput) with good results.

Black Cat has a newer version: https://www.blackcatcable.com/colle.../products/silverstar-75-spdif-cable-universal

QJA
That Black Cat webpage shows essentially what I got, an RCA adapter for BNC->RCA. My cable is a Straight Wire S-Link Digital. Needed a BNC cable and liked how that one looked and Straight Wire has a good rep.

The Black Cat is also very attractive but I can't bring myself to supporting anything feline :wink:

I am actually swapping out a Transparent digital RCA cable for the Straight Wire. Man, that Transparent thing is stiff.

For this application, I needed something a little more physically attractive than BJC or Transparent offer. Public space requires a little bling.
 
Apr 7, 2019 at 11:09 AM Post #5,696 of 7,002
My sources are an Allo Digital-One Signature streamer and Cambridge CXC transport. I’m now also using a Remedy Reclocker, which inputs RCA, outputs BNC. MY BNC cable is Nordost Silver Shadow - this cable gets excellent reviews and a seller in Quebec discounts them for $199 cnd:

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/det...-nordost-silver-shadow-1-meter-digital-cable/

The RCA cable I use is an Oyaide digital cable; had I known about this before purchasing the Nordost, I would have purchased the BNC version of this cable, also, because of its superb construction, solid silver conductor and cf shielding - check these out, are reasonably priced and unsurpassed, qualitatively!

BNC, with the Gungnir, is the way to go!
 
Apr 7, 2019 at 11:28 AM Post #5,697 of 7,002
My sources are an Allo Digital-One Signature streamer and Cambridge CXC transport. I’m now also using a Remedy Reclocker, which inputs RCA, outputs BNC. MY BNC cable is Nordost Silver Shadow - this cable gets excellent reviews and a seller in Quebec discounts them for $199 cnd:

https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/det...-nordost-silver-shadow-1-meter-digital-cable/

The RCA cable I use is an Oyaide digital cable; had I known about this before purchasing the Nordost, I would have purchased the BNC version of this cable, also, because of its superb construction, solid silver conductor and cf shielding - check these out, are reasonably priced and unsurpassed, qualitatively!

BNC, with the Gungnir, is the way to go!

Do you notice any thinness with the Silver Shadow? I was looking at that as an option because my Node uses RCA for its coaxial. I know silver has less resistance thus more detail but if the geometry is weird it starts to sound sibilant.
 
Apr 7, 2019 at 11:45 AM Post #5,698 of 7,002
Hikaru12, no, I can’t say that the sound is sibilant or thin, but, rather, in my system the sound is transparent and holographic, full bodied and completely captivating/engaging - I have no complaints.
 
Apr 7, 2019 at 12:08 PM Post #5,699 of 7,002
My sources are an Allo Digital-One Signature streamer and Cambridge CXC transport.
BNC, with the Gungnir, is the way to go!

What has been your experience with the Allo Digione Signature? Are you streamming (Tidal, Qobuz, ...) or using a NAS type of solution?

Here the experience is very good and the integration with Gumby is flawessly.

QJA
 
Apr 7, 2019 at 1:10 PM Post #5,700 of 7,002
The Allo Digione Signature has worked flawlessly for me, no complaints and sounds fantastic! I’ve only tried Spotify premium, but via the native software, Volumio, I don’t have the option to manipulate resolution. It doesn’t matter, however, as the Remedy Reclocker converts everything into 96 khz and a 24 bit rate, I believe (a great match with the Allo). I primarily listen toweb radio feeds - Paradise Radio provides the option of streaming flac.

Yes, it integrates flawlessly with the Gungnir, the Allo does. I have to say, though, that after adding the Remedy into the mix, I don’t think I could live without it. The Mutec is said to be a better Master Reclocker, but, doesn’t affect bit rate and is considerably more money:

https://www.mutec-net.com/product_mc-3-plus-usb.php

Some people even daisy chain Reclockers with said noticeable improvement - it’s definitely worth having one, adds a three dimensional, smooth & holographic presentation, in my system, with more body. Sorry, I know I’ve gone off on a tangent.

And, again, I’m blown away by the quality of the Oyaide digital cables - these are popular in Germany, which is telling, in and of itself (check the features page):

http://www.oyaide.com/ENGLISH/AUDIO/products_category/digital_cable/pg532.html
 
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