[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
perhaps its the sand in the ears -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
I am not hoping for or expecting anyone to believe in burn in - the issue is not a religious one. But I hope there is enough here to caution about making hasty judgements about the sound of any component - regardless of what it is that burns in. That's all... -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
You won't believe this one either, but if you disturb any burned in cable it will go through a very quick version of burn in. The effect is small but repeatable in tests I have done - removing the cable, coiling it up, uncoiling it and plugging it back in. I don't profess to understand it, but the listener subject, not knowing in which cycle it was done could often identify some change in the sound - mainly in the sound becoming a bit pinched and less spacious (the opposite of more open). I don't expect people to believe it because it is at first unbelievable, but I know a number of no-bullshit experienced audiophiles who find this uncontroversial. The effect in these circumstances is small. But removing a cable for a couple of weeks, replacing it with an identical cable for those two weeks, and then reinserting the original cable results in a burn in period of about two days - compared with a new cable wich can take more like two weeks (playing music for say 6 hours a day). I find it hard to understand how it can be the conductors and have played around with naked conductors and it does seem burn in is either not there or less pronounced, but haven't done enough experiments to verify that. I guess I didn't see how that knowledge would be useful. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Transporter, Inside Out
Compared with what Tom - I hear you like it, but do you mind if I ask what your reference is? I want to consider the Transporter, but if its at the level of say a SB3/Benchmark I would pass. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27927 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Transporter, Inside Out
Sorry WSlam, our posts crossed - I was of course referring to your earlier post. Thanks for the clarification - exactly what I wanted to know. Seems like I will probably be placing that order when I get paid for my Genelecs. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27927 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Transporter, Inside Out
Yes there simply are no facts. All we have is models of the world that we choose to use, to uncomplicate things, as you say - but as soon as we stop challenging our models we stop learning anything new. People don't like that kind of ambiguity, but if you embrace it you are closer to the universe's secrets. If there is anything I have learned in this life it is that answers do not lie at the extremes, no matter how convenient that would be. The best answer is usually found in the middle somewhere. I ripped the board out of a SB2, modified it a lot, stuck it in a box with a DAC board and some linear power supplies and it sounds fab - as good as anything I have had or borrowed. But I think with the TP I could ditch my preamp too so may be the business. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27927 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Transporter, Inside Out
I understand the point. What any individual is most comfortable with - facts/theory/ambiguity/chaos will depend on what brain type they are I guess. But there are times when it seems to me it is useful to treat something as a fact and sometimes when it is not. For example we might treat the following as a fact 'aspirin relieves headaches'. It might not be true for everybody or every headache, but it is a useful truth for the vast majority of people when they have a headache. But when a Copernicus postulates that the facts fit better with the outrageous idea that the earth revolves around the sun, the so-called fact that everyone accepts the sun revolves around earth, is not so useful. Its useful to know that jumping from the 26th floor will almost definitely kill you. But its not so useful to be told a human cannot fly using his self as the only power source. Its useful to know increasing the shunt capacitance will roll off high frequencies, but not so useful to be told that changing a power cable cannot improve the sound of your stereo system. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27927 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
OK, here goes again. Brain burn in does not remotely explain it to me. If I put a new component in place and it sounds hideous and unmusical for a week or two, how come when I go to an audiophile mate's place and listen to his (burned in) system it sounds great? How come my brain doesn't need to burn in for his system but does with mine? And to all you placebo lovers, do I somehow expect that the shiny new $5000 preamp will sound like rubbish when I get it home? That certainly wasn't what I was thinking when I flashed out my credit card. And do I somehow expect my friend's system to sound good? I know you hate to think there isn't anything you don't know about wires and electrons, but that's a bit of a stretch don't you think? -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
None of your explanations fit my experiences. I don't intend to document them here because I don't have to prove anything to you. What I am more interested in is your closed minds. Primarily this is a forum for people to express their experiences, not a forum for scientific proof, so won't bother with that. So far I haven't insulted your right to express your opinions - instead mine have been subjected to your condescending claims I must be deluded because you know more about physics than I do. Are you sure about that? Are you also the sort of scientists that believe all competently designed cables and amps sound the same? That believe power cords cannot affect the sound of a system, that vibration does not affect the sound as it passes through electronics? By the way, in answer to various questions - yes I have tried changing cable direction, sometimes accidentally, tried taking a buring in item to a friend's place, and if you knew my friend, you would realise expecting my friend's sytem to always be made up of old components would be an error. As I say, you don't have to accept my reports of my experiences, and nor do I have to provide double blind test documentation to prove anything to you. You express your opinion - I express mine. That's as much as I am going to do here. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
Totally agree that people hear things differently. The brain is designed to decode sound to make sense of it - part of both our hunter and survivor skills - and a lot of that work is done in the time or phase domian. I do a lot of my experimentation (nearly 100 documented experiments on interconnect cable designs this year, and many not documented) with myself as the listener. But when I do the same experiments on other listeners it is clear that others are more or less sensitive to certain types phase distortions. This is one of the reasons why I think burn in is related to insulators and their different dielectric properties, and the fact/belief that their perfomance changes over a very long period when subjected to an electrical field. I recall my friend Ernie telling me of work he did in the military many years ago on how to quickly burn in (not a phrase he would choose, but in this context it is what he means) teflon insulation. Then again the military could have been suffering from placebo effect or faulty intelligence at the time - it wouldn't be a first. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Effect of cleaning up power?
In my experience, dedicated lines, (use ceramic fuses by the way, all else sounds markedly worse), and good power cords does the trick, and no conditioner I have tried has done anything than make the sound worse in that context. Also, in that context replacing any single cord with a stock cord is a big step backwards. However this is in a 230V 50Hz quarter acre block suburban neighbourhood. Fiddling with a few ideas on earths made no meaningful difference for me either. I have heard power conditioners improve things at a mate's appartment. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27255 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Transporter, Inside Out
Whether designing, building, modifying or just buying, we all need models that help us decide what to do. You can say 'just listen', but how do you listen to everything, or worse still as a designer, build everything. I can see in Sean's posts what some of his models are, and they are different from some other designers. If as a buyer your model is 'I only listen to digital sources that have discrete outputs' then you won't bother listening to the Transporter. We all need to sift somehow. What we should be careful about however is getting stuck in our prevailing models. If enough people I trust say the Transporter sounds good, then I will happily discard my prejudices against AKM and NE5534s and have a listen. (That's just a hypothetical example by the way). Real scientists get excited when an opportunity to disprove their models arises, don't they? Sean has a model that believes clock sync cables don't matter - it doesn't make him right, but it has plenty of validity and support. But equally if enough credible people say they hear a difference, then perhaps its worth giving it a try. We can't advance human knowledge without having those models (no group of monkeys has ever actually typed even a paragraph of War Peace), but we can't advance human knowledge insisting our models are inviolate either (eg. must have Black Gates, no coupling caps or ICs). So I am still a bit of a sceptic myself about whether to buy a Transporter, but saying it can't sound good because it uses cheap ICs doesn't help me any. Hearing credible reports on its sound quality does - keep em coming. If you can indicate what you compared it to that would be even better. I hear the phrases - can get into the music more - and say to myself 'now you are talking'. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=27927 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
Well yes that's cool... dielectrics do degrade over time...through oxidation etc Is that intended to be a put down or did you just misread my post? The military wanted to degrade the dielectric before use? Since you are so dogmatic about it Phil, how many controlled experiments on burn in have you performed? I am interested in others observations - not the closed minded application or your models to my reality. Dismissing my observations with your derisive closed mind is not appreciated. Perhaps you come here to debate with people to continually reinforce your comfort that you already know everything. I don't. I come here to share experiences and views. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
Like it!! Did you need to vomit on the Transporter to get it to sound better? Sounds more like a soak test than burn in, but certainly novel and something I have not tried. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Suggested amplifier for Transporter?
On one level I don't totally agree with you Highdudgeon. Yes the differences between speakers is vast, in terms of tonal flavour, extension, dynamics, etc. But I have heard very few speakers that cannot be made to sound musical. I cannot so easily say that of amps. In blind tests different speakers will be obvious and different amps will be hard to pick, yes. But over a period of a week, what can sound like a small initial change between two amps can amount to a lot in terms of whether I am enjoying the music. So my point is I think getting the right speaker for your room is really hard and really important, but it doesn't necessarily require a lot of money. Sadly getting a musically fine amp can cost a lot of money. My sense is I must be able to adjust to the sound of speakers more easily than to the sound of amps, even though the latter appear to be more accurate by any conventional measurements. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29239 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Suggested amplifier for Transporter?
A kiwi and drive on the wrong side of the world. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29239 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Suggested amplifier for Transporter?
Yes, I live in New Zealand (or middle earth to some), sorry about being so cryptic when you are ridden with the flu. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29239 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: TP changes with break in
I am stunned to hear any experienced audiophile say they doubt burn in. Every time I buy a new component it is more than obvious. Perhaps the effects are a form of phase distortion some peoples' brains decode better than others.. The burn in process is not always the same, but I often find the first few seconds sound very like it will sound when burnt in (particularly cables), then it quickly deteriorates getting thin and opaque with sucked out bass. This improves slowly then switches over to lush and even gorgeous sounding, if rolled off, yet dynamically constrained. Then it opens up and gains dynamics and bass extension to settle into its burned in state. Sometimes there are wee detours along the way, but the process is often as I describe above. I think the main reason is dialectrics in cables and capacitors forming slowly, but that is at best just an informed guess. I have been able to compare burnt in versions with burning in versions of otherwise identical cables to confirm I am not mad on this - at least to my satisfaction - don't care about anyone else's. I am just stunned anyone with decent ears and a decent system has not heard it with new cables or equipment, when I have heard it so consistently. I am not doubting you have good systems and good ears, but I don't give any credence to the suggestion it is placebo. Perhaps it is that we are not all susceptible to the phase distortions created during burn in. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=29025 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Transporter V Lavry10
The Lavry DA10 will sound a bit soft in many systems and is a house sound. Having owned both that and a Lavry Blue I wouldn't consider them very similar except for that house sound. And to suggest the DA10 comes close to the Lavry Gold is not remotely like my experience of them - more like wishful thinking. The Lavry DA10 will definitely improve a standard SB3 in a good system, but the better route is to open up the SB3 and do some tweaks. I have ripped the guts out of a SB2, modded the board a little, stuffed it in a box with a Monica2 DAC board and stuffed a transformer and linear supplies in there too and can't wait to hear if the Transporter can match it - some very pricey CDPs I have tried haven't. All of that is fitted in a 1U height, half rack width aluminium box with a depth of 14 inches. From a front view it is no bigger than a SB2. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28369 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Transporter Digital Inputs
If I have two other digital sources (other than the Transporter - which I don't have, I have a Squeezebox) can I use the Transporter as a preamp? At this stage it appears to me the answer is 'no'. When I look at the Transporter's remote there doesn't appear to be any buttons for source selection, but they could be in a menu somewhere right? And how come it has digital inputs if there is no way to select them? If the answer was 'yes' I could use it as a preamp, I would buy one for sure. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=28625 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Dac for SB3 - Benchmark vs. Lavry vs. ...?
I have a modded Zhaolu - all the available mods from Eddie Wu except the clock upgrade, plus I upgraded the internal cabling, changed the connectors and put in a proper IEC receptacle. I also have a SB2 and SB3 that I have modded. The mods in the SB2 are - linear supply with voltage sensing, Blackgate 'big ass' cap, output IC removed and bypassed with Auricaps, 5v filtration at input via Blackgate (as large as I could fit in. The modified SB2 with analog outs beats the Zhaolu hands down - primarily through very noticeably lower noise floor and better control all over. Note I connect the SB2 to the Zhaolu using vhaudio Pulsar cryo'd. The modified SB2 beats the SB3 simply by having a better tonal balance - the SB3 sounding brighter, whether from the digital outs or the analog outs. The only meaningful difference in the mods is that I can't fit the same 'big ass' cap in the SB3 as I can in the SB2. Frankly I think you really need to spend more like USD2000 for a DAC to better the modded SB2, amazing as that sounds. I have had various DACs in the system to verify that, such as the Lavry Blue, a couple of Meridians, Benchmark, Stello (which I find sounds a little cool and lacking tonal colour by the way), and a few others I am struggling to recall. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=24200 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Will SB3 output impedence change?
In fact the volume is attentuated digitally, before the DAC output and so definitely no change to output impedence. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22160 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: So what is the audiophile approved firmware
I'm not sure about this, but I think the attraction of v15 is because it reversed absolute phase. Now some of you may pooh-pooh the absolute phase issue but in my experience people can have quite different levels of tolerance to phase anomolies, and it is important to some. And the reason why some want to reverse the phase is that they have removed the output IC in their Squeezebox, and are running directly from the DAC chip, through a DC blocking cap to the RCA outputs - which also reverses phase. Therefore v15 gets them back to correct phase. However if the only high-res source you use is the SB you can always simply reverse your speaker connections. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22118 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Power supply upgrade
FWIW, when I was using the SB1 via digital outs I found using a regulated PS made the sound worse. After reading the reports here about bypassing the output IC and using the analog outs, I tried that with my SB2, and later my SB3, and was very impressed. I then tried an inexpensive regulated PS and the sound was improved for sure. I then tried the linear regulated PS people have been recommending here I found the sound was better again but not nearly as big a step as moving away from the SMPS. Exactly why this would be true is not terribly interesting to me. The sound changed in significant ways, mainly in terms that I would associate with a lower noise floor and better current delivery - fine detail resolution is improved and the soundstage is more natural and is better defined and frequency extension is better at both extremes. In a well-set-up and resolving system I would be surprised if the improvement in spaciousness of the soundstage would not be startling - it certainly was for me. But a less resolving system that may be constrained by the practicalities of a stereo system in a living area shared with a significant other may not show much of a difference. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=20844 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Part 2 of Enjoy the Music SqueezeBox review
The 'reclocking' done by the Benchmark and the DA10 are radically different. The Benchmark uses an oversampling chip, which when it resamples at a higher frequency, maps jitter to broadband noise and changes the bits during the process. The reduction in jitter is very good and is cheaply achieved, but the bits are not the same as the source. Other DACs use the same method with the same chip, such as the Bel Canto, and others use much more computational power to do it even better such as the Audio Aero. The Lavry is a very different matter. Dan has many times expressed concern about oversampling and makes the point that making chips work at higher frequencies than are necessary just means we get worse sound because working faster means the chip becomes less accurate (analogous to typing faster means more typos). Some people like the sound of upsampling and it might just be that they like the sound of the jitter reduction achieved cheaply with a resampling chip. The Lavry (and a number of other high-end DACs) use what I would call reclocking (I would call what the Benchmark does resampling, but you could argue reclocking occurs at the same time when resampling). The Lavry allows the incoming stream to fill up a buffer and the Lavry then extracts (reclocks) the data in that buffer using its own clock. This method of reducing jitter can be more expensive to implement for any targeted level of jitter reduction, but it has the advantage of being bit-perfect right up to the DAC (which the Benchmark isn't). FWIW I have owned but a Benchmark DAC1 and a Lavry Blue, but not a Lavry DA10. The Lavry Blue is more expensive than the Benchmark and was clearly superior. But I don't know that I could put it down to jitter differences. I would probably put it down to Dan's skill at voicing the sound of digital gear and the fact he had more budget to play with. But if its true that the Lavry DA10 can match the sound of the Lavry Blue, then it is a massive bargain. Sell your Benchmark's now while they still get good prices - particularly if you find the sound of the Benchmark to be a bit thin and fatiguing. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22000 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB3 uncontrolled full scale output bug - still a concern?
Its always difficult squinting as circuit boards but it seems to me that both volume controls are digital - one affects the digital output level and the other affects the digital level entering the DAC. There might be a variable shunt after the DAC chip but I can't find anything between the DAC chip and the output jacks that looks like it might control volume. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=21772 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: SB3 Breakin?
Yes it does take a while to break in and the power supply upgrade will make a difference once it is broken in too. However, if you are prepared to mod the internals a little I reckon you can beat the Creek DAC. Take a look at the modding threads if you are interested at all in that possibility. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22176 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Modifying the Squeezebox 3
My darling wife keeps using my wire cutters to cut the dog's toe_nails, so when I tried them they failed. I will get some new ones. I put in some cheap DC blocking caps and removed the ones from the board - which is what I should have domne in the first place, and the sound is much better balanced. With using the ones on the SB2 board leading edges were emphasised and subtle inner detail and emotion were diminished. With the new caps the balance between leading edge and subtle detail is much better. I have ordered some Auricaps and expect that will improve things further. Does anyone know a place I can order a KE version of the DAC chip? I will probably have to find a techie that can change it for me though. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19822 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Modifying the Squeezebox 3
Hi Gary Can you please comment on what I have just done. I simply do not have the equipment, let alone the experience, or even the eyesight, to play too much with surface mount boards, so have figured out some simple ways to go about it. I have an SB2 but have housed it in a large enclosure together with a high quality linear supply. I have got my drill out and attacked the SB2 board - cutting three links; between c7 and r37; between c39 and r39; and between the 5V supply and R41. I am assuming that cutting the link between the power supply and r41 that I have disabled the output stage altogether and do not need to remove it??? I have installed new output jacks, using the same ground connection as the old ones, but connecting the hot to the downstream sides of c7 and c39, thereby using those caps as my coupling caps. Next stage is to get some better coupling caps and attach them at the output jacks - at which time I will move the cables that feed the output jacks, removing them from the downstream side of c7 and c39, and soldering them to the upstream side of c7 and c39. I may get the same Blackgates that you have used. However I have a lot more space at my disposal - should I use a film cap instead? My guess is the Blackgate is plenty good enough (Rest of system is pretty good - Rowland Model 201 Monos driving Verity Parsifals, signal cabling is Jena Symphony). Hope this makes sense. My question comes from the fact I don't know what I am doing and I have not really done it the same way you did. My question is - have I stuffed up? Are there some downsides I cannot see? I had a look at that DAC chip and frankly my eyes boggled at the idea of soldering to one of those spindly and closely spaced legs off the DAC chip, so chose the easier spot which was at the coupling caps. I cannot see me ever trying to replace it - way too scary. Anyway it is working, and sounds pretty good to me. -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19822 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
[SlimDevices: Audiophiles] Re: Modifying the Squeezebox 3
I will have a go at disabling the output stage properly today and order the caps. I really appreciate the insights I got from this thread of yours. I had been using a Meridian 568.2 as system preamp and to avoid the external DAC too many boxes). I had my eye on getting an Audio Aero Prima DAC to replace the Meridian. I have also tried several separate DACs such as Northstar 24/192 (very average), Benchmark DAC1 (nice sound but somehow missing something - mainly body), Lavry Blue (Very nice). Removing the Meridian and using the modded SB2 direct to the power amps is better in many ways, and quite a surprise given my first impressions of the analogue signal I got from my SB1. I have had an SB2 for a while now but had never listened to the analogue outputs. Who would believe a 200 dollar device could sound this immediate and musical? -- Jenks Jenks's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=3413 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=19822 ___ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
