The Altmann Tera Player - Thread

[burtomr]

I returned my Tera-Player to Charles for him to address the loose headphone jacks. He updated them to the current production version which incorporates rubber thingys which keep the connections tight.

 
HiFlight, can you please take a picture of the "rubber thingys" for us if it's not too much trouble...

 
THX

 

[HiFlight]

HiFlight, can you please take a picture of the "rubber thingys" for us if it's not too much trouble...

THX

No, sorry, I can't as they are part of the internal jack assembly. I think it is just a small rubber piece that keeps the jack contacts in tight contact with the plug. Over time, the contacts tend to bend very slightly and the plug is not gripped as tightly as when the contacts were new. The rubber insert prevents this by keeping the contacts in firm contact with the plug and prevents the contacts from bending with use.

I can say that my headphone plugs are now held in place much more securely. Before this update, even the weight of the player was enough to cause the plugs to pull out. My Tera-Player was one of the first batches built and I believe all subsequent production uses the rubber inserts.

 

[burtomr]

Ok, HiFlight, thanks for the info. I thought the "thingys" were visible...my bad.
 
I think my Tera has the tight jacks because they are very tight....I have dangled my Tera accidentally by the cord on several occasions and it held tight...lol

 

[HiFlight]

Ok, HiFlight, thanks for the info. I thought the "thingys" were visible...my bad.

I think my Tera has the tight jacks because they are very tight....I have dangled my Tera accidentally by the cord on several occasions and it held tight...lol

You do undoubtedly have the newest version, as mine would usually easily pull the plug out in a dangle, resulting in my Tera hitting the floor a couple of times, but given the tank-like construction, no damage was done.

 

[musicday]

How is the new random algorithm now Hifight? And the buffer memory should be double how many RAM? In theory your blue light should blink less frequent then before update?
Is SQ same or has changed?
Many thanks.

 

[HiFlight]

How is the new random algorithm now Hifight? And the buffer memory should be double how many RAM? In theory your blue light should blink less frequent then before update?
Is SQ same or has changed?
Many thanks.

Random play is now far more random than before. I am rarely hearing the same tune twice. Big improvement. The blue light now blinks about once every 20 seconds, whereas before it was around once every 10 seconds or so. I have noticed no difference in SQ. Still sounds amazingly good.

 

[TheDecline01]

Oh, and why/when Is the Blue light blinking? I thought it was while loading a file.

 

[musicday]

Thank you for the answer Hiflight.
After the upgrade the Tera Player becomes even better.Nice to hear the light is blinking once every 20 sseconds especially listening in a dark room, and that random is random.
Great job done Charles for listening to us.

 

[tgdinamo]

Other than less frequently blinking blue light, how else does increased buffer size improve Tera? Is the battery life affected?

 

[HiFlight]

Other than less frequently blinking blue light, how else does increased buffer size improve Tera? Is the battery life affected?

I am assuming that the larger buffer results in less processor load. I don't know if this will result in longer battery life or not as I haven't yet run the battery down since I got it back. I usually just plug it in after I have finished using it. If nothing else, the blue light should now last twice as long!

 

[tgdinamo]

I am assuming that the larger buffer results in less processor load. I don't know if this will result in longer battery life or not as I haven't yet run the battery down since I got it back. I usually just plug it in after I have finished using it. If nothing else, the blue light should now last twice as long!

 
Perhaps this large buffer size also may have something to do with improved compatibility with certain larger SD cards?

 

[HiFlight]

Perhaps this large buffer size also may have something to do with improved compatibility with certain larger SD cards?

Charles would be the one who could give a definitive answer to the benefits of the larger buffer size.

 

[burtomr]

Charles would be the one who could give a definitive answer to the benefits of the larger buffer size.

 
I don't know the 'Charles answer' but my educated guess is the larger buffer is especially good for large bit rate files like 96, 176, & 192 kHz. The larger buffer allows more time to suck the data off the SD card since it won't 'run out' of bits as fast as a smaller buffer which might result in an audible gap (pause or stutter) in the playback.
 
I listen to 'only' 24/96 kHz files (vinyl rips) and I have never had an issue with stuttering or anything else. My Tera is a 2013 wo/ the 'buffer mod'.

 

[goodvibes]

Would be my guess as well but remember it's all downsampled to 16/xx(x) in the Tera. Could be that 192 becoming more common spurred on the change.

 

[burtomr]

  Would be my guess as well but remember it's all downsampled to 16/xx(x) in the Tera. Could be that 192 becoming more common spurred on the change.

 
True about the downsampling but it still has to extract the bits off the SD card....the larger the file size (Khz wise) the more bits it has to process. I don't know if Teraphiles were having issues with interrupted data flow before he increased the buffer size, otherwise I don't know why a larger buffer was really necessary?  Maybe the larger buffer made it easier for slower SD cards to output their bits....but that doesn't make too much sense since a slow card would eventally become the choke point regarless of how big the buffer was.  
 
Analogy: If the hose (SD card) filling a swimming pool (buffer) too small it won't be able to keep the pool from going dry if the water (bits) going out is greater than the water (bits) going in.