???
Care to clarify…?
Thanks in advance,
SEE
They are labeled above each set. DS and Terminator. 1st 6 are DS. These were all done in 96khz sampling rate. Also note muting the digital signal (mute button on the remote) had no effect on the noise floor so this measurement is basically from the analog section. We came to the conclusion that the only way to get a better noise floor is to build a new analog board. In my system it’s not a problem as I never hear any noise during silent parts of the tracks anyway even at high volumes.
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The bridge is connected to the power stage via a 9-pin socket.
The connection is made from the socket on the power floor to the female hdmi socket to be inserted into the case. The bridge is taken into a separate enclosure and the same applies to it. Thus, we have a streamer that we can connect with an hdmi cable. much cooler than other options, showing picture on screen.
@scotte1
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@jkrichards If I am reading you comments right, the Terminator had better “measurements” for noise floor? aka what ASR uses as its determination of what DAC is best. Which we all think is not the end all thing as that site makes it out to be. What is the diff. between the last two pics for the DSD DAC? one has .012 and the other is 90.2. I can see .012 from DSD and .002 being close, but 90.2??
Forgive my ignorance, EE is not my strong suite.
The bottom one shows the noise floor. -74.346 and -74.484 FFT is about -102 See comment above:
Thanks for that post of impressions, and I await more. Reading yours just before I installed my own USB plug reset my expectations–I didn’t expect to hear much change at all, but knew that for dust prevention and electrical noise entrance the plug would be a good thing even if there were not really audible changes. (Just a note on system: I don’t stream, I listen to the PerfectWave SACD transport, and the NuWave Phono Converter, both via I2S into my DSD DAC.
As I have both my I2S inputs in use I only added the USB plug to the DAC. I added it Saturday afternoon, and was unable to listen. I listened a few hours Sunday morning to solo piano cds at a very low volume because my wife was still asleep downstairs. I thought perhaps I heard a bit of clarity but it was hard to tell. Later yesterday I got to spend a half an hour with the system and listened to a Miles Davis SACD I have heard dozens of times and of a release I’ve listened to since the mid-seventies. I was surprised to hear a noticeable difference in the soundstage and ambient detail–I was riveted to the listening chair intrigued, but had to shut the system down for the day and help my wife with some Thanksgiving decorating (her thing, not mine, but it bodes well for me to “enjoy” and help).
This morning I’ve been listening for three hours and doing some tweaking and I’m impressed. The change seems akin to upgrading a power cable to me. The trouble is more “spacious” sounding and room cues are more noticeable. I’m quite happy! Later today I may be able to listen to the difference the HDMI plug may make to the DAC and sound in my headphone system. . . .
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“It’s all foreplay.”
- a wise friend of mine once said to me
Thanks for the feedback.
SEE
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Regarding the measurements, what is the BW of the measurement? How many freq bins are being summed? I assume these things are on default settings. It could be re: the relatively high THDn, the AP is showing the ~ mV or so of ultrasonic DSD hash that exists on the output waveform, which would raise the noise floor in the measurement.
The reality is though, in this case it’s truly of no audible concern for most of us. None. It does concern trying to sell things to people though, since the masses have been thoroughly conditioned to respond rigidly in only 1 direction to the almighty AP.
With my own much simpler THD+n meter the DS DAC 1 and 2 are some ~ 10-15dB lower with THDn than the Tplus I have. In this case my ears correlate better to the meter. THD with 2 harmonics summed is also outstanding, not far from the noise floor basically with 1KHz full scale. Have to be careful to remember and understand about upsampling mode vs nos, etc.
Speaking of masses being conditioned… reminds me of The Great Myth That Shall Never Die (by Divine decree). It’s audio Myth #1. And to this day many reviewers repeat it ad nauseam and it makes me s-ck. They include it dutifully while patting selves on the back, as if it shows some great understanding… when of course it shows just the opposite. “…these speakers love power!” AND of course an amp with a higher power rating sounds soooo much better etc, as if the power rating is why. Agghhhhh my poor brain, my poor ears! Die myth, die! D*mn you Stereo Review!
Speaking of, when I was doing open baffle speaker development I had an array of Crown professional amps with enormous power capability. Could probably do some light welding with them. Am I using them in the main system? No, of course not. Despite their enormous power capability, they’re just not up to that level sonically. Nor do they “improve” any speaker attached. I do still use one in the upstairs work out system and love it, playing rock and roll mostly and playing it well.
PS the main system amp could probably deliver about 50wpc for about 30 min before overheating. No big deal (just don’t tell the lads at Stereo Review). And it has huge dynamic capability for real music, which is far more important than test bench power rating. Let me put it this way, it will continue to play beautifully for about a minute+ with the power supply switched off… It also has ~ 0 PSU/rectification noise, even under load. Again, far more important.
BTW even the know-it-alls at Stereo Review, before it finally shut down (TG) started to admit that hey, maybe there are some audible sonic differences between amplifiers after all, and it might not correlate with rated power numbers. So ok, maybe you golden eared sn-bs are on to something. Omg what a revelation! Herd mentality is often a very ugly thing that is hard to break. *ssholes T
Update- friend DW reports today that the gathering at his place, consensus was the Naim Ncore server is put down hard by DAC2. Yeah, that was my consensus as well. Could tell it by about 1/3 the test song. It’s one Naim device that puts me to sleep basically, rather than deliver on the the hallowed PRAT claims. And yes, I’m a former Linn/Naim guy to the core with decades of experience (since the mid 80’s) so have earned some right at least to assess that. Too bad about all the ripped CD’s stored on it; hope they can be moved… PSS the CDT3 put everything down, streamer or server. Each time we do it, it wins.
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Hi yuriy,
for several months I have 8 pcs. AD8139, but satisfied with the effects of the modifications so far (I attach a photo) I delay their installation. In DSD I already have a +/- 12V power supply to power the output buffers and I can get +/- 5V without problems, but I’m wondering how to bring the - 5V voltage, because the solder point of pin 6 is connected to the PCB ground. Do you have a good idea of supplying the -5V voltage?
In one photo I noticed AD8138. What do you think about this op amp?
Regards
Wiesiek
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I think the 8139 is going to out spec the 8138, if I recall correctly.
As for -Vee… yeah that’s a challenge when the board is designed for 1 pole supply.
What I did was lift the pin 6 and wire -Vee directly, locally on each OA… Have to be mindful of adequate local bypassing, etc. It’s easier said than done for sure. Whew.
Similar for Vocm pin as well then, with a bi-polar OA supply. But then there are concerns for the DC level that exists on the re-clocker outputs that drive the OA, etc… Whew. It’s not so easy to get it going in this case. Thankfully though I get to listen to it every day now 
A little motivational bone for ya T
Hi wiesiek
In fact, I have AD8139, but on the enlarged photo, the play of light created a joke)) When I saw the photo myself, I thought that the 38th one accidentally got into the batch of microcircuits and went for a magnifying glass to check.
With regard to the -5V organization, I am not ready to answer, since this issue was not considered. I think it’s best to contact Ted.
Thank you for the information. The -5V power supply is an unusual task and I can’t keep Ted busy with it. If I can’t do it reliably, I’ll stay with the current power supply.
I have had difficulty deciding if and what changes the HDMI plug in made. When I switched on the headphone amp in that system to listen the rectifier fuse blew! So I took the chassis off the case and changed that fuse on the little board underneath, put it back in the system, and. . . the circuit breaker for the entire upstairs went off when I turned it on! (That happens sometimes when I turn on the Decware Line Conditioner the system is plugged into.) So I put on shoes and went down to the root cellar and flipped that breaker back on. Everything worked, but it really takes a day for things to be “the same” after the power is cut to my digital sources.
I listened this morning and think there was a subtle increase in clarity. But I’m not sure. Certainly “did no harm.” I’ll try to do some more listening later today.
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@jkrichards sent me a couple short plugs and I’ve been goofing off with them a bit. Thanks for shipping the parts and taking good care in doing so.
I had made my own usb plug previously, and noted an immediate difference in this thread, but have put the i2s plug into play a bit after getting it yesterday. Still figuring out my preferences, but have automatically defaulted to the suggestions that i2s #1 is best.
Finally, put my RAL on the PST for the first time. Thinking that a switch back to the WW Platinum will be necessary before deciding and moving on. I’ve always liked the WW on the PST.
Curious about your RAL impressions…
It is my current I2S HDMI-style cable b/t the PSA DMP transport and DS DAC. It’s good but did not clearly best my PinkFaun “Interlink” HDMI/I2S cable.
FYI.
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Hey @jkrichards , @Turbotk , @dvorak , @vkennedy61 or others…
It would be great if you can support me with some pictures and infos.
My modder did everything now except the tantal caps over R6.
R6:
Tantalum:
Are those the right parts to fit over another?
He says it would be quite tricky to fixate the SMD Tantal while soldering it sideways, especially as it shouldn’t get too hot and that an axial version would be way easier to solder.
Could you give me some hints for him how you did it and provide a close up picture of a built in one also from the sides?
He also said the Tantals usually don’t sound the best, but have to be used here due to the high value, correct?
Thanks a lot!
Old school hdmi cable shootout, @scotte1 !
It isn’t fair to judge when coupling a few different changes at the same time (i.e. cable change and the hdmi plug), but my intuition last night was that the ral feels slightly louder and more energized, but that might also be the blacker black with the plug. Listened to the ral + mods again this morning for a good hour or so…two different recordings. Just put the ww back on the pst. I like it better. It feels warmer and less forward to me. It’s the WW Platinum Starlight 7…to be specific. Again, old school hand-me-downs.
So now I will focus on the i2s plug and its impact. I’m going to only compare streaming on i2s #2 vs. plugged #2. Has anybody had better results with #2, or is it, by stock design, always going to be noisier?
Edit: Mine mk1 isn’t stock, but is in regards to these input devices.
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My experience with the R6 and C704 mod: Soldering SMD´s by hand is not my cup of tea. Similar to your modder´s point of view, I guess. So initially I ordered the Vishay SMDs (T58W9476M6R3C0150) AND the Nichicon Muse Caps (UES1A470MEM1TD) just to try both options. During work on the first R6 I was just not sure, if piggybacking the Tantalum caps to R6 was successful. There was not enough confidence in my own soldering skills. So I took the Nichicons instead, much easier to solder.
And for the C704 I avoided the SMD caps as well and took the Wima Film Caps (FKP2C021501I00JI00). Also quite an easy job to do.
And together with the Lundahl´s it is a magic combination!
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Thanks much, also for the link to the Nichicon!
Anyway I’d still be interested in hints of others for the SMD use and if my parts choices were correct for the backpacking job.
I have a lot of appreciation for you gentlemen, because I have it much easier. Currently, service work is a small part of my professional activity, but I am equipped with quite good tools. I have too many soldering irons, but they are such men’s toys. To speed up the work and not change the soldering tips, I bought 3 Weller double soldering stations. The thinnest tip has a diameter of 0.1 mm, I often need it when servicing wireless microphones.
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