[rb2013]

  Finally someone had the balls to start this thread right here
 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f6-dac-digital-analog-conversion/xmos-xu208-universal-serial-bus-industry-standard-cables-connectors-and-communications-protocols-between-computers-and-electronic-devices-bridge-28366/
 
IMHO those replies would be predictable to say the least, and I've gotta confess that my own reaction should look pretty much like Jack Nicholson in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
 

Spoiler: Thanks Uncle Jack!

LOL!  Got to love it!
 
Cheers!

 
They better get the flame suit on - well at least p**t has been banned there (even has his own thread):

 
PS Did I call it when I mentioned price snobbery?  Of course dismissed without listening...typical CA

 

[Albrecht]

Thank you RB, - really appreciate you taking a moment to explain........
 
Cheers,

 

[mourip]

I started the thread on CA hoping that it would create interest. The more that sell, the more money they will have for R&D!
 
Only one snarky comment so far.
 
To be fair there are a lot of knowledgeable folks on CA. Just a few contentious folks that soil good threads...but that happens here too!
 
Still worth checking in on CA now and then. That's where I found out about Mutec.

 

[sbgk]

  Anyway enopugh about the future and alternatives - anymore listening results with the F-1?
 
Had a long session last night - track by track, album by album just blowing me away.  On James Taylor's 1970 'Sweet Baby James' just stunned at what the F-1 has done for this 46 yr old recording!  Typically this album can sound muffled and compressed - to the point of being boring (that and having listened to it a few thousand times) - last night it was like hearing it for the first time.
 
Russ Kunkel's drums on 'Fire and Rain' the deepest and best tone I have ever heard, his brush work realistic.  Taylor's voice crisp with an inner lit quality - hanging precisely in the middle of the sound field - life sized.  Dynamics excellent - guitar strumming also crisp with just the right attack and decay.  Carol King's background piano rich in tone and timbre. Bobby West on the uprgith double bass - rich and sonorous, resonating with natural tone.
 
If the F-1 can transform this 46 yr old recording into a high res like presentation - that is magic!
 
Cheers!

 

Mine sounded a bit thin when I first got it, after 72 hours on a loop it's opening up with better depth and more analogue sound . haswell laptop->printer cable->f1->rca cable->x12->Klout->atc 20

 

[rb2013]

  I started the thread on CA hoping that it would create interest. The more that sell, the more money they will have for R&D!
 
Only one snarky comment so far.
 
To be fair there are a lot of knowledgeable folks on CA. Just a few contentious folks that soil good threads...but that happens here too!
 
Still worth checking in on CA now and then. That's where I found out about Mutec.

Yes - thanks for doing that.  Prehaps I'm being a little unfair - it is hard to see how this little $180 could sound so good - so the skeptism is not surprising.
 
I have learned some good stuff there and share it here - like Alex's Regen thread the Shaman's RUR thread.  But a bit surprised at the lack of discussion on the XU208.

 

[rb2013]

  Mine sounded a bit thin when I first got it, after 72 hours on a loop it's opening up with better depth and more analogue sound . haswell laptop->printer cable->f1->rca cable->x12->Klout->atc 20

Power from the laptop?

 

[rb2013]

I can see the SU-1 getting a strong following for those not wanting to 'invest' in the power chain stuff.  Just plug, and plug and play.

I could see how the added detail of the F-1 may not mix well with certain DAC (Sabre ESS9018?) - and who suggest the Breeze DU-U8 - as it's overall balance is more to the warm side of the spectrum.
 
The Pro3a the brighter side for sure.
 
The PUC2 lite and the F-1 pretty close to the middle.

 

[rb2013]

On the SPDIF receiver front - it appears that APL used this chip in my DAC, the same one that it appears Schiit uses in the Yggie and Gumby.  Have not found any specs for jitter yet but Schiit says it's very low.
 
AKM4113
 
http://www.akm.com/akm/en/file/datasheet/AK4113VF.pdf

 

[wushuliu]

Well I've ordered an F1. Since I only have an iDAC2, I also got a MyDAC from Amazon since it has coax. So I get to try out two new items! I haven't played with usb/spdif converters since I owned an Audio-GD NFB 2(?) years ago. That was when the Tenor stuff was the rage. The benefits of the converters back then didn't sound that large over the async usb stuff that was popping up. Then I got an ODAC and pursued other hobbies. So I'm curious how much xmos has changed the game...

 

[ciphercomplete]

I could see how the added detail of the F-1 may not mix well with certain DAC (Sabre ESS9018?) 

 
I concur.  F-1 would seem to be a dream match for the Audio GD Master 7, NOS 7 or SA-2 and probably MHDT dacs.  A buddy of mine has the SA-2 I may ask him if he wants to switch dacs for a week.  I wish I still had a Master 7 so I could try it.  The F-1 is great with the Yggy and would probably take the Gungnir multi-bit to levels unheard.

 

[ciphercomplete]

 
Yes - thanks for doing that.  Prehaps I'm being a little unfair - it is hard to see how this little $180 could sound so good - so the skeptism is not surprising.
 
I have learned some good stuff there and share it here - like Alex's Regen thread the Shaman's RUR thread.  But a bit surprised at the lack of discussion on the XU208.

 
I think the confusion is that people don't see the new XMOS chip for what it is.  It is a newer faster, better capable chip and it does it job better than the slower older chips from XMOS and other manufacturers.  Sort of like upgrading from an Intel coreDuo to an i5 or i7.  I am looking forward to other manufacturers (empirical audio, ci audio, audio gd) getting their hands on the new chips and pushing them to their limits much like we have seen with the older XMOS chips.  

 

[rb2013]

  Well I've ordered an F1. Since I only have an iDAC2, I also got a MyDAC from Amazon since it has coax. So I get to try out two new items! I haven't played with usb/spdif converters since I owned an Audio-GD NFB 2(?) years ago. That was when the Tenor stuff was the rage. The benefits of the converters back then didn't sound that large over the async usb stuff that was popping up. Then I got an ODAC and pursued other hobbies. So I'm curious how much xmos has changed the game...

Nice - report back when you get it.
 

   
I concur.  F-1 would seem to be a dream match for the Audio GD Master 7, NOS 7 or SA-2 and probably MHDT dacs.  A buddy of mine has the SA-2 I may ask him if he wants to switch dacs for a week.  I wish I still had a Master 7 so I could try it.  The F-1 is great with the Yggy and would probably take the Gungnir multi-bit to levels unheard.

I totally agree - with my tubed DAC's just great.  I have to say the X-1 on my R2R modded DAC60 is pretty awesome, as well - I definitely like it better then the Breeze DU-U8 which I'm putting up for sale.  I'm using a the Regen fed by a TeraDak X1/X2 (with upgraded HW Caps) and a Cerious Graphene power cord.  Data link is a 2G split  - data leg only - JB modded into a VBUS blocker.  For $79 the X-1 is so silly good, it has to be a beginners dream.

 

[rb2013]

The latest xmos xCORE-200 includes unique hardware divider and it is used to generate bit-clock from master clock directly.

   
I think the confusion is that people don't see the new XMOS chip for what it is.  It is a newer faster, better capable chip and it does it job better than the slower older chips from XMOS and other manufacturers.  Sort of like upgrading from an Intel coreDuo to an i5 or i7.  I am looking forward to other manufacturers (empirical audio, ci audio, audio gd) getting their hands on the new chips and pushing them to their limits much like we have seen with the older XMOS chips.  

Yes and that also puzzles me - no mention of this major upgrade of the umbiquitous XMOS. I understand that besides doubling of the power - there are some new features that clever designers can utilize.
As DIYinHK mentions:
 

The latest xmos xCORE-200 includes unique hardware divider and it is used to generate bit-clock from master clock directly.

 

[wushuliu]

  The latest xmos xCORE-200 includes unique hardware divider and it is used to generate bit-clock from master clock directly.

Yes and that also puzzles me - no mention of this major upgrade of the umbiquitous XMOS. I understand that besides doubling of the power - there are some new features that clever designers can utilize.
As DIYinHK mentions:
 

The technology is moving too fast and there are too many products to keep track of. The DAC market alone has exploded over the past 10 years, and every year there is a new development. I DIY a lot of my own gear and even I had no idea about XMOS (or at least what makes them better). I'm too busy chasing all the new Class D amps, or new power supply developments, or the newest woofers and tweeters, or audio playback software like sbgk's MQN. Thanks to DIY and ebay and computer processing, there are just too many audio products to learn about!

 

[rb2013]

  The technology is moving too fast and there are too many products to keep track of. The DAC market alone has exploded over the past 10 years, and every year there is a new development. I DIY a lot of my own gear and even I had no idea about XMOS (or at least what makes them better). I'm too busy chasing all the new Class D amps, or new power supply developments, or the newest woofers and tweeters, or audio playback software like sbgk's MQN. Thanks to DIY and ebay and computer processing, there are just too many audio products to learn about!

Boy you got that right!  I laugh when I see people complain about the advancements in DDC's - like PC's haven;t leap frogged the last 5 yrs.  It's the nature of computer technology - the old Moore's Law.  It's a good thing!
 
Most of my system has remained constant - Class A Mosfet Hybrid tube amps, tubed DACs - one a 6 32-bit AKM DACs per channel monster and the other a classic true R2R PCM1704UK tubed DAC - that I heavily modded.  http://www.head-fi.org/t/740362/lite-dac60-pcm1704-r2r-tubed-dac-mod-project
 
All my tubed gear run NOS vintage '70's Russian tubes.