[ImagesbyMurray]

Are you connecting to a/b ing concubines? Really that is the extent of the help I require at this point. Switch my cables please.

I gave thought to the idea of bringing connectors into the conversation, but decided against it

 

[Pondoro]

Pyst cables are made by Straight Wire and Snake Oil (as Schiit says on the Pyst product page). You can check those two companies for other cables they offer.


It's a generic Raspberry Pi, mounted in an enclosure made of wood instead of the usual acrylic or metal. They provide an SD card preloaded with Volumio software but you can run some other system if you prefer. You can search for reviews of Volumio on YouTube and elsewhere.

I have a Raspberry Pi running Volumio that I use for streaming Spotify, Qobuz, Tidal and Roon, and it has worked well for me. The USB output direct from the Pi board is said to be electrically noisy and many audiophiles use an add-on board for higher quality USB or SPDIF output. I use a Pi2AES board which is highly reviewed. With the Snake Oil streamer, you would need to use the USB output on the Pi board because there is no room for an add-on board, but its advantage would be compactness.

So could I go USB Thumbdrive into USB Hub into Snake Oil Streamer into Modi via USB and clean the noise? I want to play USB thumb drive files into an amp that has no USB input. I have no desire to build a Raspberry Pi system myself.

 

[rkw]

So could I go USB Thumbdrive into USB Hub into Snake Oil Streamer into Modi via USB and clean the noise? I want to play USB thumb drive files into an amp that has no USB input. I have no desire to build a Raspberry Pi system myself.

The noise is in the Pi's USB output. You could try something like an Eitr to coax input of the Modi, or some other isolation/decrapifier device. Or simply go ahead and use the Pi USB output directly, because really this is all audio nervosa stuff for subtle "improvements".

The only advantage of the Snake Oil Streamer is that it fits neatly under a Schiit stack. There are plenty of other choices for prebuilt Raspberry Pi systems that you don't need to build yourself. Allo is a popular choice.

 

[Mike-WI]

Which cables do you use and prefer?

I like Raven Audio speaker cables. I use a variety of interconnects including Pyst.

 

[golfbravobravo]

Are you connecting to a/b ing concubines? Really that is the extent of the help I require at this point. Switch my cables please.

I was imaging a blind test.

I'll simply close my eyes and think of England........

 

[artur9]

I was imaging a blind test.

I'll simply close my eyes and think of England........

Is that the correct homeland for you?

I suppose it's better than closing your eyes and thinking of the Research Triangle...

 

[Brubacca]

Which cables do you use and prefer?

I like many other cables and brands.
Analysis Plus, Nordost, Black Cat, Chord Cables. Some I have bought used to make them "reasonable". Audioquest for USB and Ethernet also recently got some Audio Sensibility cables for my turntable. Used to use Straightwire cables in my HT and also Kimber. Had Cardas speaker cables that had great synergy with a NAD amp and Paradigm reference speakers. Had many, it seems to be a system synergy thing.

I know the engineering arguments.. Wire is wire and its all BS. Was in that camp for a long time. But when you have invested good money in a system and the right cable brings it all together then you stick with it even if the opinion is not popular.

I don't think expensive cables necessarily sound better. In fact had some Transparent Audio cables that absolutely killed my sound. Had bad luck with Monster Cables.

I find the Analysis Plus cables made for Schiit Stacks to be very good.

So in my music system I use Audioquest Cinnamon USB from my Raspberry Pi4 to my DAC. I use Nordost Blue Heaven to my tube amp. And Analysis Plus Black Oval 12 to my Speakers. I have a second dac and use a Black Cat Copperone from it to tube amp (with a PYST USB from the pi).

On my Headphone amp system. I use Audio Sensibility Cable from PhonoPre to Sys. Analysis Plus Jumper from DAC to Sys. And Chord Clearway from Sys to Asgard 2.

So I've given you generic and specific. I have boxes full of other cables I tried usually "affordable" cables.. Although brands like Kimber, Tara Labs, Monster, Blue Jeans, Outlaw Audio, Emotiva.

Trust me I went down the cheaper is fine route for many years. For many people cheaper may be fine, I'm not trying to convince anyone that they should do something different, but for me
..... With my years of experimenting. Cables do make a difference.

Not popular opinion and people will want to give me the double blind argument. Thats fine.

I'm going to really annoy people and say on my tube amp the Nordost Blue Heaven power cable made a huge difference. I laughed at my dealer when he suggested it. Told him it makes no sense. In the end I heard tje difference and spent the money.

 

[Dogmatrix]

The $9500 Synergistic Research cables are akin to the gruel plebes eat.

If you want to be high end, you need this abomination.

To me it looks like the kind of thing you would build if you wanted to create an induction field or antenna of some kind .

 

[33na3rd]

it seems to be a system synergy thing.

And how! It can be maddening if you're not in the right mood.

I'm currently trying to see if I have a "Goldilocks" set of IC's for Bifrost 2 in my collection, before trying/buying something new. The IC's that worked well with my old DAC just sound wrong with BF2. It would appear that BF2 doesn't need any extra sweetening.

 

[JamminVMI]

I have no problem with bespoke cable (like from Blue Jeans or Pine Audio) and bling is sometimes necessary/desired. OTOH, spending this kind of money on cables and doing cable swapping as if it were tube-swapping befuddles me.

I really loved the article Belden/Iconoclast put together on making a high end cable. It was pure engineering (and still cost more than I would spend). Blue Jeans has a relationship and so I don't believe it's pure voodoo: https://www.iconoclastcable.com/techpapers/index.htm

I redid my main listening area and my desk rig with Belden 1505A & Canare with some help from the great folks at Cables For Less (No affiliation, just happy customer). Sounds amazing, and didn’t cost me an arm or a leg. All were custom lengths, both interconnects and S/PDIF coax. And the guy i dealt with is a real gem (not who some of you are thinking, though he might have pointed me in the proper direction). This contact also pointed me at a disc by the Wild Tchcoupitoulas, a group that included most (if not all) of the Neville Brothers. Disc is great fun, especially if you are into Cajun/Zydeco. Lest we forget, it’s the PEOPLE who make this hobby/obsession/religion what it is. And THAT’s the bit I personally value the most. Cheers!

 

[Timster]

These are my current fave speaker cables.

 

[tincanear]

I redid my main listening area and my desk rig with Belden 1505A & Canare with some help from the great folks at Cables For Less (No affiliation, just happy customer). Sounds amazing, and didn’t cost me an arm or a leg. All were custom lengths, both interconnects and S/PDIF coax. And the guy i dealt with is a real gem (not who some of you are thinking, though he might have pointed me in the proper direction). This contact also pointed me at a disc by the Wild Tchcoupitoulas, a group that included most (if not all) of the Neville Brothers. Disc is great fun, especially if you are into Cajun/Zydeco. Lest we forget, it’s the PEOPLE who make this hobby/obsession/religion what it is. And THAT’s the bit I personally value the most. Cheers!

belden 1505A was just for digital, or digital and RCA line-level analog?

 

[ev666il]

re: special wire. After decades in and around this industry I've come to the conclusion that if it floats your boat then go for it. If you have the disposable income and want to buy million-dollar interconnects, who am I to stop you? And if for whatever reason you feel they make your audio experience like being fed peeled grapes by naked concubines while lounging on Cleopatra's bed, who am I to dispute that? You feel whatever you feel, congratulations. My problem with such products is I detest the companies selling them by lying to their customers and making up esoteric-science-sounding effects that do not have meaning in the audio world as a way to justify ripping you off. But hey, if you like being ripped off, or if you have enough money not to care, then fine. Now get off my lawn.

Very much this.

I used to be a huge cable believer a few years back, and I was always surprised how hot debates around cables would get. Some people would go all up in arms if you spoke of differences among cables and go out of their way to convince you that you were wrong. I always thought, if I like different cables and wanna buy them, what’s it to you?

I now reckon their main issue was probably around companies ripping off unwitting customers with pseudo-science and selling them “magical” cables that actually did nothing. To try and protect said unwitting customers from wasting their hard-earned cash is a fair pursuit.

I myself went from 100% believer to 100% disbeliever and now I’m on the fence about interconnects and speaker/headphone wire. Still 100% disbelieving power cords and digital cables.

Yet I’ve just ordered branded interconnects and, yes, a USB cable for what most people would consider an inordinate amount (yet light years from car-priced cables the likes of what was linked in this thread.)

Why? Several reasons: looks, build quality, peace of mind, pride of ownership, placebo effect*, and generally liking the brand.

* if it enhances my aural pleasure, it’s doing what I paid it for. It doesn’t matter if it’s all in my head; it matters that I’m getting it.

They are probably on pornhub if you know how to search.

I’m surprised the forums let us type the p-word without censoring.

Granted, if I could have the Cleopatra thing for the same price as the cables I bought, that would be an easy choice. I’m already flirting with divorce with my cable purchase and my wife’s a divorce lawyer. You do the math

 

[US Blues]

I go away for a few days and I come back to a cable discussion.

 

[golfbravobravo]

Is that the correct homeland for you?

I suppose it's better than closing your eyes and thinking of the Research Triangle...

Yorkshire.