[slex]

Not that I'm aware of.

Thanks anyway, will go custom built 1 if necessary.

Busy tuning this weekendNot happy return them within 7 days.

 

[rb2013]

Thanks anyway, will go custom built 1 if necessary.

Busy tuning this weekendNot happy return them within 7 days.

Yes That's what I did - nice they have the one week return policy

 

[slex]

Yes That's what I did - nice they have the one week return policy

Yes, ok. Yesteday hookup the iDefender 3 first. Took out my LPS200 linear power connect to micro usb( nice to see LED light on "ext power" on it) input and connect PHYST USB cable from schiit into F1.

At this point, had it run for 1-2 hours before i start to study the sonic difference with my ears. Its a tad smoother especially the "high mids". It had became less hash and smoother flowing.Perhaps a darker background on that particular area.

Note : I have a dc ipurifier connected at the power input of my win7 Laptop.

Will listened again and run for 3 days before i connect the spdif ipurifier to F1 and at this part i really hope it goes well without spending much on quality coax cable. Using custom belden 1964A with Canare BNC to RCA adapter, all rated 75 Ohms.

 

[slex]

I might insert isilencer3 into idefender3 together as well

 

[rb2013]

Yes, ok. Yesteday hookup the iDefender 3 first. Took out my LPS200 linear power connect to micro usb( nice to see LED light on "ext power" on it) input and connect PHYST USB cable from schiit into F1.

At this point, had it run for 1-2 hours before i start to study the sonic difference with my ears. Its a tad smoother especially the "high mids". It had became less hash and smoother flowing.Perhaps a darker background on that particular area.

Note : I have a dc ipurifier connected at the power input of my win7 Laptop.

Will listened again and run for 3 days before i connect the spdif ipurifier to F1 and at this part i really hope it goes well without spending much on quality coax cable. Using custom belden 1964A with Canare BNC to RCA adapter, all rated 75 Ohms.

Sounds like you hit pay dirt - nice.
 
To see if you have real GI you can use a multi-meter to see if their is continuity between the PC connected ground and post the iDefender side. You can test on the outer USB connector metal shield.
 
Cheers

 

[Narayan23]

 
Yes certainly - it has a decent on board LPS.  I prefer the F-1 due to it's cheaper price and more flexiblity in LPS choices.
 
The SU-1 has more outputs like AES and BNC and a neat customizable i2s pinout jumper system.

Rob thank you very much for your time and efforts, this thread has been a fascinating and educational read. I would like to ask you ¿Is a USB to S/PDIF converter such as the F1 mandatory even if your DAC has a good USB implementation? I wouldn´t like to sacrifice the ability to play sample rates above 192 / DSD64 and was thinking of starting the chain with the Recovery.
 
¿Is there a time frame for the debut of the USB super gizmo you mentioned? ¿Do you think it could replace certain items in your current system and take it to another level?

 

[rb2013]

Rob thank you very much for your time and efforts, this thread has been a fascinating and educational read. I would like to ask you ¿Is a USB to S/PDIF converter such as the F1 mandatory even if your DAC has a good USB implementation? I wouldn´t like to sacrifice the ability to play sample rates above 192 / DSD64 and was thinking of starting the chain with the Recovery.

¿Is there a time frame for the debut of the USB super gizmo you mentioned? ¿Do you think it could replace certain items in your current system and take it to another level?

Thanks for the kind words. To your questions, likely you would get better SQ from an external DDC. The F-1 being the best by far of the couple of dozen I've owned. The reason for this is somewhat counter intuitive, since now you have a spdif cable in the chain. And as you said, you do give up some of the highest sample rates. Now if your DAC has a i2s input, you retain that.

This ext DDC SQ superiority was explored in detail on my XU208 thread. So I won't go into all that here. But the bottomline, has to do with the inherent noise created by the USB data processing and conversion creating ps noise that negatively effects the DAC's clocks and converters.

If you decide to stay with your internal USB, you'd likely still get the benefits from the rest of the chain.

Don't know when that super USB gizmo would be out on the market, but my guess is some time in 2017.

Good luck and Happy New Year!

 

[ericp2]

Hi rb2013 i got my F-1 today from shenzhenaudio.com pretty fast finally and the original black alu box looks really good

, im just listening to "Será Una Noche from marecordings", little bit strange music

but the sound is awesome, no background noise anymore and very natural and relaxed sounding,.... unbelievable for that price i will not change back to the 5x more expensive mutec ..
 
Thanks and happy new year !

 

[rb2013]

  Hi rb2013 i got my F-1 today from shenzhenaudio.com pretty fast finally and the original black alu box looks really good

, im just listening to "Será Una Noche from marecordings", little bit strange music

but the sound is awesome, no background noise anymore and very natural and relaxed sounding,.... unbelievable for that price i will not change back to the 5x more expensive mutec ..
 
Thanks and happy new year !

Awesome!  Been listening to a bunch of EDM - Era Istrefi, Jonas Blue, Galantis, Mome, MK and Becky Hill, etc...
 
Enjoy the F-1
 
Cheers!

 

[Adosero]

Dear Rob, thanks again, it is indeed a very educational read.
 
What do you think is the main difference between the ultra chain and the one with 170 points (Singxer F-1 DC30W/Cerious/Recovery/DCiPur/ iPur2/Startech GB LAN Iso USB)? the usage of an independent LPS for each item on the chain?
 
Thanks..

 

[slex]

Just fitted Ifi spidif ipurifier to F1 after iDefender. Will let it run for a while. Magenta color led is shown=88.2/96khz.

The double ferrite usb micro cable from sony that i inserted into iDefender have some sonic improvement compare to ravpower micro usb.

 

[slex]

I tried to find another double ferrite to spdif ipurifier but to no avail but.......

Connect to an adapter

 

[slex]

Sounds like you hit pay dirt - nice.

To see if you have real GI you can use a multi-meter to see if their is continuity between the PC connected ground and post the iDefender side. You can test on the outer USB connector metal shield.

Cheers

Ok not sure , but will try. Got an antique multi meter. Planning to make a usb grounding box to hook up my PC

 

[rb2013]

  Dear Rob, thanks again, it is indeed a very educational read.
 
What do you think is the main difference between the ultra chain and the one with 170 points (Singxer F-1 DC30W/Cerious/Recovery/DCiPur/ iPur2/Startech GB LAN Iso USB)? the usage of an independent LPS for each item on the chain?
 
Thanks..

Definitely the USB 256Gb PNY Stick memory storage into the REX is the biggest improvement- better LPS's.  The 13uv 24VDC MEIYAN discrete on the REX vs the a 24 VDC LT1083(180uv) LPS.  Added JB VBUS blockers to PC USB and REX USB output to Recovery - see my chain photos.  These added greater smoothness and warmth.
 
Note I tried the DC iPur on the 24VDVC LT1083 LPS and it overheated after a short period power levels would fluctuate.  It's rated to just 24VDC and likely over it's operating limit.
 
Added Fidelizer Pro 'Purist', and SSD for the OS, disconnected the HDD - all added some improvement.

 

[rb2013]

Thread: Does SSD sound better than Hard Disk?

I found this discussion from a CA thread interesting:
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f7-disk-storage-music-library-storage/does-solid-state-drive-sound-better-hard-disk-1650/index4.html
 

 

• 04-29-2015, 09:57 PM
  #156​
  
  Kiwicol
  
  
  
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  FWIW I did some critical tests on the SD card, RAM Disk differences that Superdad had suggested and there was a marked difference in this versus my Lacie drive connected by firewire. The main difference I noted was a more organic sound, digital recordings that previously were a little hard on the ears were smoother and less edgy. I also had the benefit of trying an Antipodes server and again that organic more analog sound was prevalent but with gobs more detail. My wife who has good ears but doesn't subscribe to our crazy hobby also noticed the difference. Now if moving from an external HDD to an SD card can make a difference then it stands to reason that in a revealing set up a SSD which does not spin and is more efficient that a spinning drive a difference would be heard. Arguing over this is a futile exercise. There will always be the skeptics who want proof that this is the case. If you do hear a difference pour a drink, put on your favourite album and enjoy your improvements.

  
  
  
  
  
  
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• 06-06-2015, 08:48 PM
  #157​
  
  Superdad
  
  
  
  Music lover; Owner, UpTone Audio
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  Hi Kiwicol:
  Glad you are able to appreciate the SD card. But suggesting that an SSD will thus sound better than a spinning drive is the wrong conclusion. Music storage/playback SQ differences are all about the active drive interfaces--their own and the computer's chipsets for the same--and the activity, noise, and power supply spikes they generate at playback time in the DAC-connected computer. SATA, FireWire, and Thunderbolt all generate far more "stuff" than SDXC, PCIe flash, or Ethernet attached storage.
  
  I've swapped a HD and an SSD into the same OWC FireWire enclosure (powered by an LPS) and heard virtually no difference. But put either of those drives into a different enclosure (the quad-ported OWCs with eSATA, USB 3.0, etc. sound worse), and THAT is easy to hear.

  
  
  
  

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