Schiit Yggdrasil Impressions thread
Oct 20, 2018 at 9:44 AM Post #9,286 of 12,049
Hi 'Finisher'
That's good enough for me! I'm sold on CDs!
I now need to buy a good CD transport and a preamp....
It's timely, as my Logitech Transporter is playing up. It's 10 years old and I think an internal PSU is failing. I'll replace it, but if that doesn't work it's finished, which will be sad.
Couldn't get it to work at all last night, so had to use a back up Logitech Squeezebox Touch, with coax out to Yggy A2.
It sounded pretty poor compared with Transporter BNC into Yggy,, so the 'bits is bits' argument doesn't stand up very well, based on my listening experience!. The Transporter's digital output is obviously far better than the Touch. Even Yggys 'adapticlock' can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear :ksc75smile:
I can get CDs for under £5 in UK. I buy a lot second hand.
I'll be buying a lot more once I get the CD Transport....
I'll probably get a Freya, as I haven't seen another preamp to match it anywhere near the price.
Back to the future :smile_phones:
The CD Transport and Freya Ideas are of course fine. However, while waiting to get them, have you considered using a different power supply unit on your Squeezebox Touch? I replaced the stock SMPS of the Touch with this Sbooster model, and let me just say that I gained a whole new respect for the Squeezebox Touch (which I was no longer even using in my system, and was on the point of selling off or giving away), as I did for Linear Power Supplies, and Touch itself gained a new lease on life on my office desktop nearfield 2.1 stereo rig, as a nice performing Roon endpoint :

https://www.sbooster.com/botw-pp-eco-5v-6v/squeezebox-touch

41sXZXxrcpL.jpg
41clKSusWHL.jpg


Oh, and it's okay to buy used too, if you can find a good one on the used market. Just a thought.
 
Oct 20, 2018 at 2:11 PM Post #9,287 of 12,049
Couldn't get it to work at all last night, so had to use a back up Logitech Squeezebox Touch, with coax out to Yggy A2.
It sounded pretty poor compared with Transporter BNC into Yggy,, so the 'bits is bits' argument doesn't stand up very well, based on my listening experience!. The Transporter's digital output is obviously far better than the Touch. Even Yggys 'adapticlock' can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear :ksc75smile:
Bits are encoded on a physical carrier, electrical or optical. The physical carrier depends on a physical connection between sender and receiver. That physical connection may carry analog noise along with the encoded bits. The complex digital circuitry of general-purpose computers, and the fast switching in switching power supplies can generate a lot of such noise. In addition, the physical encoding of bits is some waveform with varying physical characteristics. The receiver most likely decodes the bitstream correctly as bits, but it may not decode them with the right timing for the downstream D2A process, and analog noise may leak through the physical connection into the analog side of the DAC. All of these concerns apply to CD transports as well as to streaming transports. The difference is that a CD transport is typically less complex and so it is easier to design to ensure low analog noise and good timing than a streamer based on some random general-purpose computing platform. Nevertheless, it is possible to build high quality streaming transports, like the Metrum Ambre I'm using at the moment for my headphone system, or the Auralic Aries Femto that feeds my Yggy A2.

Looking at the economics: I have around 1600 CDs/hi-res recordings as FLAC on a NAS, backup disks, served from an Intel NUC to a high-quality network streamer, for a total cost < $2500. I store the CDs I still keep in boxes at the bottom of a closet. The cost in physical space, shelving, and wasted personal time to have 1600 CDs easily accessible and findable would be way higher than $2500.
 
Oct 22, 2018 at 12:29 PM Post #9,288 of 12,049
This myth/reality/technicality has long been murdered for me too. Now, I suspect that DIGITAL itself is not DIGITAL and is some kind of analog that suffers the losses depending on who is sending, how long it is travelling in wires etc..:).


The key to understanding this better is to learn more about wave theory. The digital signal is still representing a wave, same as an analog one does. Errors in the digital data from things like jitter will alter that wave in the same way that analog distortion can. Distortion is distortion, regardless of the format the wave is stored in.
 
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Oct 22, 2018 at 3:58 PM Post #9,289 of 12,049
Oct 22, 2018 at 8:57 PM Post #9,290 of 12,049
Holy schnikes:beerchug: a 400 watt one as well, but $800 and out of stock.

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Oct 22, 2018 at 10:53 PM Post #9,291 of 12,049
Oct 23, 2018 at 8:39 AM Post #9,292 of 12,049
The UptoneAudio JS-2 sets the standard for LPS's. They are in stock now, no waiting and are what people who bought Sbooster's wish they had bought instead:)
 
Oct 23, 2018 at 2:12 PM Post #9,293 of 12,049
Talking about Linear Power Supplies, I am looking for one that can match the soon-to-be-released Monoprice/Cavalli Liquid Platinum:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33305

So far reviews are positive, but it seems a PS that is much beefier than the stock SMPS, could really help it shine even more (may be bringing it up to the level of the Liquid Crimson upon which it is modeled). However, the Liquid Platinum is spec'ed at 36v/1.6A, which seems to place it out of the range of the LPS models from Uptone, the Sbooster, and the HDPlex, and even Teddy Pardo with which I am familiar... I have been wondering whether anyone, who is more knowledgeable than me about these things, is familiar with a good alternative LPS which would match the desired specs of the Liquid Platinum...

If so, your suggestions would be highly appreciated...

And to make all this relevant and more on-topic : I would really like to find out how well a Liquid Platinum would pair with my Yggy2, which is still improving and dazzling me with exquisite performances each passing day:)
 
Oct 23, 2018 at 4:54 PM Post #9,294 of 12,049
image.jpeg
Talking about Linear Power Supplies, I am looking for one that can match the soon-to-be-released Monoprice/Cavalli Liquid Platinum:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33305

So far reviews are positive, but it seems a PS that is much beefier than the stock SMPS, could really help it shine even more (may be bringing it up to the level of the Liquid Crimson upon which it is modeled). However, the Liquid Platinum is spec'ed at 36v/1.6A, which seems to place it out of the range of the LPS models from Uptone, the Sbooster, and the HDPlex, and even Teddy Pardo with which I am familiar... I have been wondering whether anyone, who is more knowledgeable than me about these things, is familiar with a good alternative LPS which would match the desired specs of the Liquid Platinum...

If so, your suggestions would be highly appreciated...

And to make all this relevant and more on-topic : I would really like to find out how well a Liquid Platinum would pair with my Yggy2, which is still improving and dazzling me with exquisite performances each passing day:)

I really like the Acopian Gold Box series. You buy for the specified voltage only and have to wire them up for your use. A few hundred bucks for the smaller ones, but they have been making them so long that they can be found on eBay NOS and used. I'm using this 24v for my uDO Dante Ethernet feed to Yggy AES.
 
Oct 23, 2018 at 5:21 PM Post #9,295 of 12,049


I really like the Acopian Gold Box series. You buy for the specified voltage only and have to wire them up for your use. A few hundred bucks for the smaller ones, but they have been making them so long that they can be found on eBay NOS and used. I'm using this 24v for my uDO Dante Ethernet feed to Yggy AES.

Thanks, I'll look into this. Do you find that using this LPS makes a noticeably significant impact on SQ? I am only asking because I'm not familiar with this brand at all, and what their units can do (Not that I am that familiar with a whole lot of LPS brands, in the first place). Thanks for the suggestion. They do look great for offering customized options.
 
Oct 23, 2018 at 6:01 PM Post #9,296 of 12,049
Talking about Linear Power Supplies, I am looking for one that can match the soon-to-be-released Monoprice/Cavalli Liquid Platinum:

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33305

So far reviews are positive, but it seems a PS that is much beefier than the stock SMPS, could really help it shine even more (may be bringing it up to the level of the Liquid Crimson upon which it is modeled). However, the Liquid Platinum is spec'ed at 36v/1.6A, which seems to place it out of the range of the LPS models from Uptone, the Sbooster, and the HDPlex, and even Teddy Pardo with which I am familiar... I have been wondering whether anyone, who is more knowledgeable than me about these things, is familiar with a good alternative LPS which would match the desired specs of the Liquid Platinum...

If so, your suggestions would be highly appreciated...

And to make all this relevant and more on-topic : I would really like to find out how well a Liquid Platinum would pair with my Yggy2, which is still improving and dazzling me with exquisite performances each passing day:)







Massdrop is saying the Platinum is the balanced version of the liquid crimson ? The liquid Crimson was the best HP amp I have ever owned/heard. Not sure what Massdrop has there.
 
Oct 23, 2018 at 6:28 PM Post #9,298 of 12,049
Oct 23, 2018 at 7:29 PM Post #9,299 of 12,049
Massdrop is saying the Platinum is the balanced version of the liquid crimson ? The liquid Crimson was the best HP amp I have ever owned/heard. Not sure what Massdrop has there.

Yes, the Liquid Platinum is supposed to be modeled on the Liquid Crimson, and Alex Cavalli has been involved in the Platinum's production... By the way, we are talking about Monoprice in this case, and not Massdrop, who have also produced their own two versions of Cavalli Amps...

The Liquid Platinum page on the Monoprice site makes this claim:
***************
Monolith by Monoprice Liquid Platinum Headphone Amplifier by Alex Cavalli
The Cavalli/Monolith Liquid Platinum is a balanced version of the very highly regarded Cavalli Audio Liquid Crimson amplifier. The Platinum is fully balanced/differential amplification with 3.6W ( per channel balanced) into 50R. As an embedded tube hybrid (pioneered by Cavalli) the Platinum gives you the beautiful sound of tubes together with the grunt of solid state to drive the headphones. With multiple inputs and outputs for balanced and single ended operation, switchable gain, and easy front panel input selection, the Liquid Platinum will bring your music listening to new heights.
*****************

The best part, as I see it, is that the MSRP of the Liquid Platinum is about 1/4 that of the Liquid Crimson... I am very keen to get a Platinum when it's released, as many people are, but I would like a power supply which can help to optimize its performance, as the power supply of the Platinum, while okay, looks a little sketchy as compared to that of the Crimson's in-built one.
 

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