YFS Split Reference Dual Head cable is fantastic on the DS Dac, too! Much better than the Wireworld Platinum Starlight 6 I used before… You’ll need a separate battery to power it, but that additional investment is definetely worth it.
PLEASE NOTE that as of YALE DS firmware and possibly higher, you may have issue with DS using USB cables WITHOUT POWER PIN CONNECTED (or split cable like my JCAT Reference USB cable) as the DS will require the +5V to be present on it’s USB input.
In case of the split-cable one still can plug the power branch of the cable to USB hub, USB charger or even high quality linear PSU to make it work.
This change in firmware was implemented to adhere the USB standard and possibly will remain valid for any new release of DS firmware as communicated by PSA on the Yale Beta Test forum.
I just upgraded my Silver Starlight 7 USB cable to the Silver Platinum 7 and there is a definitive improvement. I have validated that the more silver used in any digital cable, the better it sounds to me and for video the better it looks to me. Ironically the opposite is true for analog signals as any silver content just rips the emotion out of music.
If what Maniac has said about the power being used for the Yale firmware is true, USB cables like Wireworld’s that keep the power signal isolated from the digital signal will be very important to minimize line noise.
Hi, I use the USB cable REVELATION CAD and Windows 7. When I use Pikes the cable is often not recognized. With the new Yale everything works perfectly. Thanks for the new Yale with the wonderful romantic analog sound.
Last night I set up my “new to me” DS DAC. I had been using a WW Platinum USB cable with my previous (Bryston BDA-2) DAC so I just figured I’d use same cable and be happy. Lo and behold, snap crackle and pop coming out of my speakers.
I changed to a “Gigawire” branded cable from Radio Shack and it sounds clean and wonderful. My WW dealer swears there is no such thing as a defective WW cable, so now I have a useless expensive cable sitting around. Has anyone else successfully use the very popular WW Platinum with success? If so, it must be system dependent and something going on with my music server.
scirica said Last night I set up my "new to me" DS DAC. I had been using a WW Platinum USB cable with my previous (Bryston BDA-2) DAC so I just figured I'd use same cable and be happy. Lo and behold, snap crackle and pop coming out of my speakers.I changed to a “Gigawire” branded cable from Radio Shack and it sounds clean and wonderful. My WW dealer swears there is no such thing as a defective WW cable, so now I have a useless expensive cable sitting around. Has anyone else successfully use the very popular WW Platinum with success? If so, it must be system dependent and something going on with my music server.
If I’m not mistaken, I was one of the first to experience this issue, hence this thread.
In my case, I was using a relatively pricey Silnote Audio USB cable, which gave me nothing but grief. I changed that out for various stock and RatShack cables, all of which worked. Silnote claimed that there was no defect, and yet they sent me a new cable to be sure. That one didn’t work, either.
It’s really just the luck of the draw, as I doubt most manufacturers would admit that their wire had a problem, and yet here we are.
We don’t know where the problem really lies – Ted suggests that not all manufacturers adhere to the USB standard – but if you can swap in a cheap cable and everything sounds good, rest assured that it’s likely not your system or music server. It’s the cable.
Ted,
The Yale Beta thread is closed. In that thread in post 127 you said in respect of USB cables “…and whether they work or not depends on the temperature of the cable and the temperature of other USB components” At the time that statement intrigued me and has done so since. I understand that the temperature of the the DAC and Amp etc can influence the outcome of the SQ. Besides whether a particular cable works or not depending on its temperature, does the relative temperature of a cable impact in respect of the SQ of a cable that works? Is is best to be warm or cold?
John
@John i’d guess that best conductivity (superconductivity) can be achieved by freezing the conductor to absolute zero (about minus 270 degrees celsius) which would be bit problematic with HiFi cables and connectors :]
assisi said Ted,The Yale Beta thread is closed. In that thread in post 127 you said in respect of USB cables “…and whether they work or not depends on the temperature of the cable and the temperature of other USB components” At the time that statement intrigued me and has done so since. I understand that the temperature of the the DAC and Amp etc can influence the outcome of the SQ. Besides whether a particular cable works or not depending on its temperature, does the relative temperature of a cable impact in respect of the SQ of a cable that works? Is is best to be warm or cold?
John
5 meters is the limit in length of a USB cable - the length limit is there because there’s a timeout for messages and with a longer cable that timeout can be exceeded. So the 5 meters isn’t a “soft” limit, if you exceed the maximum length by just a little things go downhill fast. But this limit is set not only by the raw length of the wire but also by the impedance and the construction of the cable because they affect the propagation delay in the cable. Those impedances are also specified in the USB specs, but they are much less likely to be followed rigorously by boutique cables. I.e. there might be too much shielding, exotic insulation, etc. that make the cable take too much time to propagate the signal. The temperature affects these parameters of the cable and that difference can be the difference between the signals getting there on time and not.
If your cable is close to the maximum working length then temperature can affect the reliability of the cable, but if the cable is just a little shorter the temperature doesn’t matter in any practical way. Don’t worry about it unless you have an extra long cable or a long fancy cable that seems a little twitchy sometimes and not other times.
Ted,
Thanks for the reply. It is winter where I live. At times I am away from my house for more than a day. When I come home every thing is cold inside. I turn my system on whilst I light the fire. There are time when I think the SQ is better at that time. All the components are in standby and are therefore ‘warm’ I was curious whether a cold USB cable helped. My cables are a metre or less in length. So it just must be that my placebo senses are accentuated because of the cold.
John
DEA saidharbapapa said Audioquest Coffee: Doesn't work with DS, Generated pop's. I don't know reason. May be system dependent.There may be something wrong with your Coffee USB cable. I wonder if it might be your source component doing some processing, but you said it works ok with a different cable. I know Ted would say ‘run the Directstream Bit Perfect test’.
I’ve been using the Audioquest Coffee USB with no extra noise issues for over a month now.
Is there an equivalent to the BIT PERFECT tool for the PC guys/gals?
The bit perfect test is simply a special FLAC file. You download it, play, and if your playback chain is passing the file accurately (i.e., bit perfect) the DirectStream will display a green check mark and the words Bit Perfect. It is pretty neat.
Click here for more information.
alrainbow said Just so all know this the optical cable by Corning does not work with the ds dac. I guess there is no dc bus voltage for the sub input.Can anything be done about this ?
Ironically the Corning 3.Optical does have 5V, they only use the optical connection for data and they send 5V over (small) copper conductors.
I had one of the first Corning 3.Optical cables, but personally I never got the 3.Optical running with anything. It doesn’t work with any of my wall powered USB 3.0 hubs or with my builtin laptop USB 3.0 ports or separate USB 3.0 ports on a PC Bus card. I have two friends who also tried to get it working with their DSs and neither succeeded so I just assumed that the 3.Optical wasn’t doing USB 2.0 well. There was a small amount of discussion about the 3.Optical cable about a year ago here, but I don’t remember anyone reporting getting it working.
Thanks for the reply Ted. It does work with all of my stuff I tried.
My our ds a Hugo and an ifi dsd micro. But only with the main board usb. Also no streaming only audio on any of them.
My audio card is a Paul pang I wonder why it does have the 5 volt output. Also it got warm from the PP card but not the main board usb it also did work Ina hub but what’s the point in that. It was nice but the Rear card blows it up
detail a weight wise also it seemed a little flat compared to the PP card. As posted I ordered a regen so let’s see what that does. But I do have my douts in this. As the server really makes the ds dac sing with a rock solid image and great clarity.
I read some posts of others on other forums and some make big claims on some dacs. I do agree with you that the dac is very good as is So maybe a server is all there is for now
Elk said The bit perfect test is simply a special FLAC file. You download it, play, and if your playback chain is passing the file accurately (i.e., bit perfect) the DirectStream will display a green check mark and the words Bit Perfect. It is pretty neat.Click here for more information.
Thanks! Downloaded and played the file. Got my check mark and “Bit Perfect”.
The Corning Optical USB works between my Bryston BDP-1 and DirectStream DAC.
That’s without a Regen in line. ( it also works with the Regen )
The 10 meter minimum length makes it a bit cumbersome.
I had to wrap it around a small plastic spool to keep it organized.
I’m trying iFi’s USB Purifier right of the Direct Stream DAC into iFi’s 1.5M Gemini (two-headed) USB cable ($265) that’s attached to iFi’s iUSB Power Supply ($229), and powered by a Furman IT-20 Reference Conditioner out to my modded Mac mini at the moment with 1/2M of Kimber Silver ($99). If iFi’s cable and set up seem like a fit I might try their matching 1/2M model against the Kimber for about ($100).
As it probably should, it cleans the signal nicely and by a large margin better then a 1M Straight Wire USB I had onhand to compare the length of Gemini too. I will be listening to the kimber by itself as well.
We were told good ol Cat 5 for a song edges out the USB route, I’ll chime in on what I think soon enough as I got the Bridge2 up and running tonight and YES it seems to only work with JRiver leaving me wondering about my Amarra and PureMusic and Apple and Tidal. Good thing I’m using to working with lot’s of variables cause I’m going to need it. Just wish JRiver seemed to sound as musical as Amarra or PureMusic but I just can’t tell yet due to things are breaking in still so it’s hard to say much really. Any real hard honest facts about anything are much appreciated. like break in time for DAC, Bridge2, Transport. I’ve seen some gear take up to 1000 hours so nothing surprises me much.
At first listen my ears think the Bridge2 wiring itself needs some breaking in now because the sound had traces of digital all around the edges plus there seemed to be more gain with the bridge but I did notice a openess about the sound I wasn’t hearing via USB and that’s with both PCM files and DSD files just hope the edginess hits the high road replaced with the warmth I’m hearing from the DAC itself less the Bridge2 leaving the sound airy, extended, wide, tall and open without that blaring feeling I’m hearing, really don’t like that sound but I’ll keep you posted.
Welcome to the forum! Views differ on how much, if any, burn-in is required. Several members believe 400-500 hours are needed for the DS. Mine sounded great out of the box. It may have improved over time but the basic character did not change (others report significant improvements). None of the beta testers reported any “edginess” from Bridge II but it’s possible something in the chain still needs some burn-in.
slydog1,
The Bridge does need some break-in. Not as much as the DS itself, but I would not rush to judgment about the sound until you have 100 hours at least. I expect you will hear some improvement with even fewer hours. I certainly would not call B2 edgy.
Once your Bridge has settled down, you might consider upgrading your ethernet cable. I went from a generic one to AudioQuest Vodka. The change was definitely noticeable (although not earth-shattering); overall smoother, less digital sound which I prefer. Others here also have noticed that ethernet cables can make a difference.
MrDerrick said The Corning Optical USB works between my Bryston BDP-1 and DirectStream DAC.This is really interesting to me, as I'm a huge fan of optical (TOSLINK) on the DS DAC providing complete electrical isolation from the source. I find the DS USB input to be highly sensitive to electrical noise, which is why all these various USB cables and alternative power supplies and source tweaks affect the sound.
So how does the Corning Optical USB sound, all by itself without the Regen etc?