What happened to the taped Curious cable?
I’ve been happy with the JMaxwell.
@RobH - I posted my results giving feedback to the collective in another thread. The WW PS7 USB beat the JMaxwell & Curious “evolved” USB, both isolating the VCC w/ kapton tape (pics in the thread). However, not like it was OMG. But; it was better all around. Since this is a Matrix thread, here are some pics… the Curious and JMaxwell are great USB cables, the WW PS7 is just better.
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After reading the suggestions, I think i might settle for 6V. Initially, I was thinking 9V as many says it sounds good but another group says 7v which is also good. Also there is 5v group says good. As my Matrix has not arrived and I have not order the P8 as I need to decide what voltage for the Matrix. So it looks like 6V is safe.
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@rq1111 - the voltage selected is all over the range (wrt SQ) if you search fully on this thread. If I bought a PS with selectable output voltages, I would try the Matrix at different voltage settings. I like to run it at 5.15V from my once Sbooster w/ Ultra and settled on 6V because of Matrix warranty. I come from the lowest voltage camp, others may disagree. I would also look at isolating the USB VCC as shown above or purchase a “data only” USB cable to try. Kapton tape is very inexpensive in varying widths, thin, and does not leave a residue if you want to try different cables from say - The Cable Company library. Try isolating the USB VCC and if it makes no difference, the kapton tape will not ruin your cable. Good luck and above all have fun listening…
Thanks! Cardi. Hope i will get my Matrix this week.
@rq1111 - It is a great piece of equipment and this is a great forum for help and sharing. Any issue you have, we are here to help and please share your journey. As you probably figured out, we are not bashful and like to share. Good luck and don’t be a stranger…
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Indeed! This forum seems more friendly and helpful. Thanks! Cardi. Great to be a part of this community.
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Hi @rq1111,
I’m a new Matrix adoptee myself. My thinking on the voltage setting is as follows. This is assuming you’re using a powered USB cable. As the Matrix doco says that the Matrix will switch to the external power if it’s above what the USB line is providing so I think you should choose a voltage well above USB standard but well below the 9V max. This means if you’re using an LPS like the UpTone then your only choice is 7V.
Welcome to the club! 
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While I’m at it, my latest tinkerings as follows.
BTW, still waiting on the Wireworld HDMI cable, more on that anon.
Anyway, I’m trying a different approach than others here. I’ve configured HQPlayer to do nothing to the source stream. It just passes on whatever format it finds to the Matrix and thence to the DS. I just want to get a baseline of what the DS/Windom combo is capable - without any messing with the input.
As an aside, I did a bit of a search on players that just pass on an unadulterated stream. The nearest I could find was something from the ffmpeg project but even they haven’t yet provided ASIO driver support for the project (which, AFAIK, is required for transfer of raw DSD to the Matrix). Sounds like a good task for an enterprising programmer. 
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Hi everyone, I’ve been very happily using a Matrix between my Melco N1Z and Directstream, with power coming via a Revelation Audio USB Y cable from my Melco 5V USB output. Everything has been rock solid, controlled via mconnect player HD, works every time, no drop outs.
A month ago I added an LPS1.2 and heard the kind of sonic improvements described by everyone. In using the LPS1.2 I disconnected the 5V power leg of the USB cable from my Melco.
However, I’ve started getting regular problems with getting the system to wake up when I go to use it in an evening. First thing is the Directstream won’t come out of standby without a hard power cycle - it won’t switch on from remote or front panel. Then, when I have power cycled it, mconnect will only see the Melco in “play to”, it doesn’t see the Matrix in the “player” list. The only way to fix this is to fully power off the LPS (not just with the power button, I have to remove the power cable) and power cycle both the Melco and Directstream.
When I go back to my previous setup, powering the Matrix from the Melco, everything works fine again.
Has anyone else experienced anything like this with the LPS1.2 or does anyone have any suggestions as to what might be going on?
Many thanks, Mike.
Hi Mike. I think this might be the cause of your issues. I have a Revelation Audio Labs dual-conduit USB cable, too (as well as a Melco N1Z, Matrix and LPS-1.2). I cannot explain why, but I think the Matrix likes to see the power leg of the [RAL] USB cable even when it is being powered with an external PSU. If you reconnect the power leg of your RAL USB cable and it fixes things, I think you will have your answer. If that does not fix things then there might be something more complex going on. Good luck, and please let us know if the issue resolves.
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Thanks Bootzilla! I was going to try reconnecting that as one of my next steps, so I’ll let you know if it fixes it.
I’d left it disconnected as I didn’t want any doubt that the Matrix was using the power from the LPS, rather than from USB - I guess I’ll just have to trust the matrix functions as described, although I should be able to hear a difference if I switch the LPS off…
Thanks again, will let you know.
Cheers, Mike.
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FWIW, I run a USB data only cable into the Matrix which is powered by an external power supply and its always functioned normally.
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Same here. JMaxwell data only and SBooster LPS. Signal to DAC is i2s. No problems at all here. Maybe the USB Y cable is a problem?
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Thanks, guys. The Revelation Audio Labs USB cable that @mike-marks and I have is a so-called “dual conduit” cable, i.e., it is built like a Y, with separate data and power conduits, or legs:
According to the RAL website, “the power leg may be required to begin the handshake between the DAC and the source, but once the USB driver has loaded, the power leg on these processors is no longer needed so you are free to entirely disconnect the power conduit. This means less noise from the PC or Mac, lower noise floor as a result.”*
*–While I think RAL makes fine cables, I cannot recommend buying factory-direct because of a reported history of lengthy delays between ordering and receiving product (I bought my RAL USB from a dealer who had the cable in stock). Sadly, this problem appears to be ongoing.
I am not familiar with JMaxwell USB cables, but I am intrigued and will check them out.
I have the ultraRendu/ultraDigital sending I2S to my Directstream. I noticed that the DAC display flashes when the DAC power is off. Ted said that is due to the source (in this case the uDigital) sending 5v through HDMI which is unnecessary as the DAC provides the 5v internally. Ted also said the 5v electric current sent through HDMI will probably degrade sound quality. He suggested taping over the 5v pin on HDMI cable or modifying the source.
After reading through this entire thread I’m thinking of switching to the Matrix. Nobody has brought up this 5v issue. Perhaps the Matrix doesn’t send the 5v through HDMI?
Recently, I acquired an AURALiC ARIES G2 and I am now running USB from the G2 to the Matrix. So far, I have not been able to get my Revelation Audio Labs dual-conduit USB cable to work between the G2 and the Matrix (the RAL USB cable works fine between my Melco N1Z and the Matrix).
Hence, I needed a standard single-conduit USB cable. I started researching high-dollar USB cables and happened upon several favorable references to the Monoprice Monolith USB cable:
https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=33464
At $10.29 USD for one meter, I decided to give it a try before spending the long green on a fancy USB cable. It arrived today and, with a mere four hours of burn-in, it is sounding way better than it has any right to given its price – fast, quiet, dynamic and detailed.
If someone with an expensive USB cable (Wireworld Platinum Starlight, Curious, etc.) has compared the Monolith running into a Matrix, I would be very interested to learn your findings. In the meantime, I think I will stick with Monolith at least until it is fully burned in.
The second USB slot on the G1 and G2 is labeled HDD and if I remember correctly it will only work with Flash Drives and self powered USB hard drives. That leads me to believe that it doesn’t supply a standard 5 volts and won’t work with a DAC that needs 5 volts on the USB line. If after playing with the Monolith cable for a while you still want to move up without spending a fortune look at the Triode Wire Labs Discrete USB cable. I’ve had mine for a couple of months and it pairs well with the G1 and either the DS Sr. or the Aqua La Voce S3. No desire to spend more. Pete will let you try one for 30 days. If you want to move up and spend less than the $249 for the Discrete look at the Oyaide Neo that you can buy on Amazon or Ebay for under $100.
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Hi Bootzilla, just to confirm, no further issues since I reconnected the power leg of the Revelation Audio USB cable to my Melco. Thanks for your help. Mike
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