[Pandahead]

I'm in a large apartment building in NYC, and there has been heavy, deep construction for two years a few dozen feet from my place. Last year, over months, I noticed our lights flickering subtly, which I assumed was a building-wide issue related to the construction. I was curious if this affected my audio equipment, but was unwilling to spend much, and picked up an AudioQuest Niagara 1200 during a sale. As far as I could tell it made no difference versus the wall power on any of my headphone or 2-channel equipment - at the time Schiit Asgard 3, Folkvangr, a Woo WA3, and Naim Supernait 2, all on their regular power cords. The background was just as quiet as before. Eventually we had a sudden, severe brownout, which prompted us moving out and several days of electrician work at the circuit box. I have no idea what was actually wrong, but I had a new (painted) hole in the wall when I returned. Now our power is normal again. The sound is the same as it ever was. To us, true, dramatic power issues had no audible consequences during the months they were occurring, nor did entry-level-fancy ~$1K power equipment. If I were going to spend $$$ to "clean up" sound, I would buy a bigger, nicer rug.

Sure hope that was on a trial basis and you got a refund!

 

[eliottj]

If a person hasn't experimented for themselves and is relying on logic or taught science for their opinion, how do they really know if something is different sounding or not?

Power regen or conditioners work for some and not others depending on the power line. You have to listen to your system with and without the unit. Key word is listen. Send it back for a refund if it doesn't work. Simple.

I often wonder if people who say a cable doesn't make a difference have actually listened to cables to see if they do or not. It's not voodoo or magic. Just because logic or measurements don't support a difference in sound doesn't mean there isn't one. I don't fault those who don't hear a difference, but I don't understand those who won't even try to prove it for themselves. You'll hear it or you won't.

One of the best tests I've found is with headphone cables. I can hear the differences right away, no doubt, and my hearing is not great. Interconnects are less obvious to me. Power cables don't move me so far. Reducing jitter is not hard to hear, for me.

I think it's important to try to listen for differences and not let logic get in the way of discovering something for yourself.

I'll go back home now.

 

[Plautus001]

This is not a philosophical question that can be answered by logic, nor is it a question that can be solved by the wisdom of the crowds.

For any given combo of a DAC + Amp + Headphones, you'll typically only have two user choices ... low gain or high gain.
* If your brain tells you that low gain sounds better, that is the right choice for you.
* If your brain tells you that high gain sounds better, that is the right choice for you.
* If you are not sure which you like the most, either it doesn't matter, or you need to run the experiment longer.

If the answer also depends on what you are listening to, then it's good to have choices.

Exactly !

 

[landwatersky]

What kind of USB input does it have? The URD is USB-C out, so you will need USB-C to whatever that machine requires.

Hi Ableza, thanks for responding. Well, the May has a lot of input options as you can see in this image, including USB 2.0. The problems I've read about elsewhere on Head-Fi stemmed from the Unison USB outputs of the URD into various DACs with certain USB cables.

This was partly due to confusion over Type C Data and Type C OTG connectors, since they work differently. Type C Data is used when connecting to computers and laptops. Type C OTG is used when connection is meant for mobile devices and some DAPs.

My read is that if I go with a Type C Data to USB 2.0 cable I should be fine. But, I wanted to confirm that this before I put a lot of money into one.

While I know I have lots of other inputs, I still would like USB as an option without having to do workarounds right out of the box.

 

[adias]

Hi Ableza, thanks for responding. Well, the May has a lot of input options as you can see in this image, including USB 2.0. The problems I've read about elsewhere on Head-Fi stemmed from the Unison USB outputs of the URD into various DACs with certain USB cables.

This was partly due to confusion over Type C Data and Type C OTG connectors, since they work differently. Type C Data is used when connecting to computers and laptops. Type C OTG is used when connection is meant for mobile devices and some DAPs.

My read is that if I go with a Type C Data to USB 2.0 cable I should be fine. But, I wanted to confirm that this before I put a lot of money into one.

While I know I have lots of other inputs, I still would like USB as an option without having to do workarounds right out of the box.

Use this cable:

Monoprice USB 2.0 Type-C to Type-B Cable - for Use with Printers & More, 480Mbps, 3.3 Feet, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GGH5YP...PD4CCS&peakEvent=5&dealEvent=1&language=en-US

 

[belgiangenius]

I have compared MMB2 to LIM at the Schiitr. MMB2 sounded veiled in comparison.

Funny, that's why I retired my Yggdrasil LIM boards. Found the sound veiled compared to the AD version.

 

[Vtsailor]

This is what you power nervosa guys need:

https://3dfs.com/

You can do pretty much the same thing with a motor -generator set. I used to install them all the time for sensitive equipment. You can even get them that put out 400 hz AC which makes DC filtering easier. They are big though. Probably overkill for audio equipment though.

 

[DavidSerig]

Use this cable:

Monoprice USB 2.0 Type-C to Type-B Cable - for Use with Printers & More, 480Mbps, 3.3 Feet, Black https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07GGH5YP...PD4CCS&peakEvent=5&dealEvent=1&language=en-US

Monoprice? What if the man wants to listen to stereo?

Cable matters with a 5% coupon is the cable you are looking for.

 

[adias]

Monoprice? What if the man wants to listen to stereo?

Cable matters with a 5% coupon is the cable you are looking for.

No problem but curious why? You think Monoprice is not good? That’s what Schiit Audio recommends and I find it just fine.

 

[mystaiced]

No problem but curious why? You think Monoprice is not good? That’s what Schiit Audio recommends and I find it just fine.

Me thinks he was joking. About mono vs stereo. He was just missing the rimshot sound effect

 

[O8h7w]

So if a DAC has a unique sound signature and a pre-amp and amp also have unique sound signatures as well gain stages and perhaps level controls, then if you go with the highest gain or level settings on pre-amp and amp, are you not attenuating the signature of the DAC, and by the same token are you attenuating the signature of the amp and pre-amp when running the inverse where the dac is not seeing gain stages or increased power level controls?

No, I'd say. By the same principle as crap in => crap out, you can't really "attenuate the signature". What has happened to the signal does not get undone.

That said, gain staging is regarded as very important - possibly the most important thing - in professinal audio. Too small a signal at any stage and you're introducing unnecessary noise. Too large a signal at any stage and you're introducing unnecessary (but maybe desired) distortion. Much equipment sound between slightly and wildly different when operated at different levels, and when operated at different gain.

Then again, audiophile stuff operated within normal limits generally won't sound appreciably different operated at different levels. Different gain settings though, that can make a difference.

YMMV.

 

[cgb3]

My power fluctuates from 131v to 118v over the run of a year (currently at 125v, which is normal for this time of year). I'm not too fussed about it because while high on the high end, my understanding is that most modern electronics' power supply/regulators take care of business to ensure what's needed gets to the electronics and that they have tolerances built-in. I use quality APC UPS' on my audio and computer stacks that also do basic power conditioning. I've not lost any electronics due to power issues in the ~18 years I've lived here.

I did reach out to the power utility last year when we were hitting 131v for a few weeks but no one got back to me.

A good grade APC UPS (or equivalent) should be in all good quality electric device setups.

My computers, video, TV's, stereo equipment last until obsolete. No failures, ever. I've been using APC for 35 years. It's a quality product.

 

[dreed]

MJ3 is rocking the LCD4s with some TOOL on a Saturday night!

 

[cgb3]

That's some nice gear so it would seem that your ears are not resolving enough if there was no audible difference.

Seriously though - I would never spend $$$ on power conditioning. $$ maybe, but never $$$.

OK- seriously, serious. I really think it's just mostly unfounded nervosa in my case. Power is pretty stable (for Texas) and I've taken reasonable precautions to get reasonably clean power short of a dedicated circuit. After that it's probably more bang for the buck for me to do some basic wire management keeping power cords away from signal cables, etc.

(BTW - Let me know if you decide to sell your Niagra 1200 for $$.).

You're in Texas, I'm in NC. I assume you have thunderstorms in your world like I do in mine. One must do something to protect equipment against surges.

I could employ surge suppressors, and I do for certain equipment. Most of my Schiit gear is on my computer desk, and share an APC UPS. When a power outage occurs, the UPS powers the equipment on battery backup until the computers can be shut down (automatically).

 

[Ripper2860]

We have wicked Spring T-Storms. I ain't no fool.

I have an APC UPS for my computer and headphone gear. Another APC for my router and Roon server. I have surge supressor and line conditioner for my 2 channel speaker gear (Belkin Pure AV) which shuts specified outlets off to prevent damage and power cycling if there's an outage or surge. I also have a small Belkin UPS for my RPi running as a Roon endpoint.

Thankfully, I'm also on the same grid as a hospital so I very, very, rarely experience an outage.