Does Dave also use a switching PS? (Okay appears to be yes.) I honestly don’t know. I can’t tell the difference between power cables that are few hundred from the ones that go over $1k. Obviously I have not tried them all and I have no desire to. My systems sound just right to me.
Oh I forgot to say this, I run a dedicated AC line from the breaker box to my gear and I run an isolation transformer between the dac/streamer and the dedicated line.
Edit 2: I noticed you are in UK, why not ask a Linn dealer to let you borrow the Klimax KDS to test yourself - lucky UK folks with local Linn dealers.
Your power setup is something I would expect to help matters - I am certainly a believer in the quality of the power making a worthwhile difference. Upgrading the PSUs in my streamer made a a difference and I have no doubt that the internal switching PSU in the Dave can be improved upon.
I am no longer in the UK but I am very happy with every part of my system. If I was going to spend on anything it would be going up the ATC active speakers range before anything else.
Indeed and here many people would agree that any accessories related to power actually make a far bigger difference than every other additive used downstream.
I heard an improwement when i changed my tv from wifi to wired connection(which take advantage of all my network tweaks:netgear switch after router and ipower x for router and switch, supra cat8)with cleaner sound with less sibilant sss ,better bass and more dynamic to my ears. Also i saw sharper picture quality. I took the wired connection that i had for my apple tv 4k and switched it to my tv and put wifi on my apple tv 4k instead.
After some weeks i switched back to apple tv being wired and tv to wifi. Again i heard and saw apple tv improve sound and picture, and tv degrade sound. I have hugo 2 connected with optical to my tv.
I had before used wifi for my tv for years without changing. What made me try wired is because disney+app lagged on sound and picture every now and then, wired solved it. Netflix never lagged though.
So now i need to buy a new 5 meter supra cat 8 so i can have both tv and apple tv wired Worth it for me.
Also i guess the Lg oled tv and apple tv 4k are noisy places for digital signals to travel just like using a pc or laptop for streaming. I know in the past people have said it not might be worth network tweaking for already noisy sources. But it seems to me it is.
@teknorob23 or others for that matter
Regarding if its best using optical or not . I saw Lumins priciest streamers using optical network is it not the better solution over standard one?
Still the optical conversion to electrons could be a problem? Couldent a reclocker solve it?
And does this makes any sense to you
that 19V DC router would be a good thing?
"First of all, you need a good router. That is priority one. The routers you been provide from your internet distributor is mostly of weak quality. If you want good quality on your sound you need to replace that router with a high-quality router. We use to recommend ASUS routers for two reasons. They use 19 V DC for power.They are easy setup and are reliable."
Indeed and here many people would agree that any accessories related to power actually make a far bigger difference than every other additive used downstream.
Yes, it is pretty funny that people are buying $1000 and $10000 digital cables, yet plugging their equipment into the wall.
If you're not running all of your AC loads on an isolated pure sine wave power source, then you're simply polishing a turd.
And for your DC power loads, there is definitely a difference between the free USB charger that came free with a $5 rechargeable flashlight, and a low noise power supply. However, for digital processing, the power supply doesn't make a difference ... it only might matter when powering something that is dealing with analog (and most high end devices will be doing their own power filtering as well).
At any rate, good power handling (and obviously: good surge protection) is arguably a very reasonable investment, especially for the analog portion of your systems.
However, for digital processing, the power supply doesn't make a difference ... it only might matter when powering something that is dealing with analog (and most high end devices will be doing their own power filtering as well).
You make some valid points, but power impacts digital components as well and at times even more than analog products. What DACs make can't be fixed later on but gets amplified and goes into our speakers and headphones. So if a DAC does a poor job, it'll bottleneck each component downstream and even something as simple as an external clean 5V line for USB makes a rather noticeable difference.
Unless by mentioning digital processing you had in mind digital equalization etc. and not D/A conversion
As soon as there's any "A", the power handling becomes important, so I would definitely put a DAC squarely into the "good power matters" category.
Most modern electronic devices are built to deal very well with crappy power supplies, so my theory (i.e. not tested, proven facts) is that most good DACs are very good at cleaning up their incoming power. On the digital side of the DAC, it wouldn't matter much if at all, but since the device is creating the analog signal, at that point (the D/A conversion) it matters quite a bit! I used to use your iFi brand of power supply with a Topping D50 DAC for this very reason, but I could not tell any difference at all in the output (probably because the DAC was already doing a fine job of cleaning up the DC power, e.g. caps, VRs etc.). On the other hand, my tube amp is on a pure sine wave power conditioner / surge protector / battery backup.
OK, we're on the same page then. Still, it's surprising how much feedback we got regarding power supplies for our ZEN Stream which is a streamer, so a fully digital device that needs anything from 9 to 15V to get going. Linear versus switching types are one thing, but there's several users who reported that their ZEN Streams sound noticeably better upon powering them with 15V PSUs.
It is, but the question is about how much an audio accessory matters: how much it does (or doesn't) in the context of its price. Answering those questions is a subjective subject and one's individual reference points, though. Some will report that i.e. a PSU change for a DAC made a night and day difference for them, others will mention just slight improvements and some folks won't detect any change at all.
It is, but the question is about how much an audio accessory matters: how much it does (or doesn't) in the context of its price. Answering those questions is a subjective subject and one's individual reference points, though. Some will report that i.e. a PSU change for a DAC made a night and day difference for them, others will mention just slight improvements and some folks won't detect any change at all.
Different ears, different systems, different rooms. The people who find a positive difference in their system are right, as are the people who do not detect such a difference in their system.
For me, a decent power cable made an immediately noticeable difference for my DAC and the same cable made no difference to my streamer (which already has upgraded power supplies internally). I was also surprised to find that a USB cable made an immediately noticeable difference. I accept that other people might find that the same cable made no difference in their system to their ears.
The only issue I ever have with these discussions is with people who have not tried something denying it could possibly make a difference and denying the experience of others. I'll never understand the obsession some people have with telling others that they are wrong.
[1] The only issue I ever have with these discussions is with people who have not tried something denying it could possibly make a difference and denying the experience of others. [2] I'll never understand the obsession some people have with telling others that they are wrong.
1. If it can't make a difference then it can't make a difference. I don't have to try painting a "go faster" stripe on my car before I can deny that it actually makes my car go faster. However, no one is denying the experience of others. They may well have the experience that a "go faster" stripe makes their car go faster, I wouldn't deny that experience, only what's causing it.
2. Really? It's so that newbies don't get scammed and marketing nonsense doesn't completely dominate and ruin being a true audiophile. Although this thread apparently indicates it's loosing battle!
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Worth it for me.
