Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco??
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You must be an old fart if you remember that one 
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Make that two old farts. I remember seeing the carton on my dadās dresser and it had to be before 1960 
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Lotta old farts here that would also walk a mile for a camelā¦
Can I bum a smoke Doc??? 
@tedsmith Ted does the DS require the 5Volts on the USB Input ? I know you have answered this beforeā¦
thanks
magicknow
The DS doesnāt use 5V from the USB bus, but the USB system relies on sensing when a device is added or removed and whether it is a device or hub by sensing the load on the VBUS (a.k.a ā5Vā) line. So itās entirely system dependent (which hubs, which drivers, which OSā¦) whether USB will work if you donāt connect the VBUS line. FWIW the DS has a large resistor between the VBUS line and the USB transceiver.
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Yeah, I remember swiping a few of those off my dadās dresser, and going to smoke them in the sandbox, which makes a good ashtray.
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I am currently connecting direct to the DS from my music server via USB. I use a ādata onlyā USB cable and trick the DS by using the AQVOX LPS which using a piggly back female-male USB-B connection to connect to the DS. It is doing nothing but providing the power to the USB input just for load sensing. I have no power traveling through my Mad Scientist data only USB cable going directly into the DS.
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Ted, on that note I am wondering if my expensive linear power supply on the +5VUSB is a waste on the DS? Or does it actually infiltrate the sound anyways. It is present regardless. I am not sure if it makes it into the audio path?
Thanks will have to order one of those now!
Only your ears can tell you. Nothing is perfect and many things will matter in some system somewhere. Tho if it helps it may not be the best use of money to get that improvement. For many a Matrix X-SPDIF 2 is a cost effective USB improvement, but others seem to like expensive USB cablesā¦
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Matrix is an excellent investment for the price. Mine is still improving but I can tell that right away. I have ordered that USB power thingy to try out will report back once it arrives and everything is run in. Will also compare with glass Toslink.
General question: Are most of you who use the Matrix connecting a standard NUC/Laptop/Desktop to the DS?
Are any of you using the Matrix with a dedicated streamer/player such as the Bryston BDP or the like?
Although the Bryston (BDP-2) has an SPDIF output, I much prefer the sound using USB (I also use an USB hub as a cable eliminator).
Iām just wondering if a Matrix would be a worthwhile investment in my setup.
Iām gonna give the new optical Rendu a try. Might be a while before I pull the trigger but itās very intriguing and seems great for the way I listen: JRiver centric. Iām sure Iāll get a few bucks for my Bridge II to offset the upgrade a little.
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If you care to share, I would be very interested in hearing your assessment of how the Sonore route compares to using the Bridge II in terms of overall sound quality once you have some milage on the Sonore.
Regards.
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A couple ultraRendu reviewsā¦ after a few A:B comparisons, I donāt use the Bridge II anymore.
Iām just curious. Why do you use the ultraRendu? Since the Nucleus+ has a USB out it seems potentially redundant. Admittedly Iāve never owned one so I may be missing another feature it brings? Thanks.
I switched from Bridge II to the Sonore ultraRendu and ultraDigital prior to picking up the Nucleus+ā¦ , keeping them in the mix was akin to adding the BHK pre (as opposed to DS DAC Ć la carte), hard to describe but definitely more musical with zero fatique. Great synergy.
