So basically the exact opposite if my dealer. No wonder there's hardly any left.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
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So basically the exact opposite if my dealer. No wonder there's hardly any left.Quote:
Originally Posted by Barry
Few upgrades Incoming... :thumbsup:
I've been modding my PS Audio dac, big thread over on PS Audio forums on it?
Much success.
From my earlier post HERE:
https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...95#post1280795
Finally got around to getting these Dac upgrades done.
Dac booked into Loud and Clear Edinburgh to have stock transformers swapped out for better ones.
also,
I fitted a power controller board into my Dac, splitting the power rails between digital and analogue stages of the Dac, and allowing for use of an external linear power supply, to power the Analogue stage independently.
https://i.imgur.com/NzpLLOS.jpg
To power the analogue board, one of these is on its way.
Farad Super 3.
https://www.faradpowersupplies.com/#features
Initially thought about saving a bit of money here, but cleaner AC power (imo) is a major factor in final sound quality.
So decided...yeah. Go for it.
Super-capacitors apparently...:eek:
Like a battery setup, but without the downsides?
https://www.faradpowersupplies.com/w...Pi-700x467.jpg
Decided "do it once do it right", maxed it out and added their optional upgrades: SR Purple Fuse, Furutech Rhodium IEC Inlet and their "level 2" silver DC cable.
Better speaker mounting on its way too?
Herbies Cone/spike decoupling gliders winging their way from the US:
https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/22...g?v=1569270214
.
https://i.imgur.com/REyTxIP.jpg
Should all lead to a nice uptick in sound quality.
Cool.
Think that's me done? :scratch:
Maxxed out the PS Audio gear, all cables done, AC power done...
Less than ideal Streamer setup tho,
PS Audio bringing out their own Q2 2023, will probably spring for that - replacing the Oppo 203, then take a deep dive building a better Roon Server at some point.
Groovy.
Cool Gary, very cool.. all looking great
Yeah, need a board meeting mate.
Hi Ali, Absolutely love the avatar ! Some of Spocks most famous quotes !!
"The needs of the vinyl outweigh the needs of the tape, or the CD." "I have been and always shall be your vinyl friend." "Vinyl is the beginning of wisdom ... not the end." "Live long and DJ."
Wee update,
posted about this before but finally putting it in place.
More of a tweak than putting in a new bit of gear,
but happy knowing I'm eeking more out of my speakers.
Speaker Isolation Feet
Herbies cone/spike decoupling gliders.
Ordered these months ago from the States, finally came in today.
They will be replacing the stock spike hard floor protectors that came with my Wharfedales.
Basically flat aluminium discs with a 1mm(?) layer of rubber stuck on.
(Sitting on SDS isolating plates on carpet)
https://i.imgur.com/08igYUw.jpg
Rave reviews from American forums,
Titanium disk sitting on some kind of hard but compliant material with a plastic base,
isolates the speaker foot and allows for easy repositioning/ toeing in of the speaker.
https://i.imgur.com/ZwxAFnf.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/fJ9LfUA.jpg
Long day at work,
bit knacked so will fit them tomorrow and have a listen.
https://i.imgur.com/B16M4sD.jpg
Think they look great, and add to the look of the speakers.
Hopefully do the business in the sound department too, by all accounts (and reviews) they really do.
Good stuff.:thumbsup:
Thanks, sorry missed this. :-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Rush2112
Posties been...
https://i.imgur.com/GMsIXAt.jpg
and your on beans again :ner:
much fun begins mate :)
Great packaging.
https://i.imgur.com/MyMG6sM.jpg
Ordered it fitted with a Furutech IEC inlet, SR Purple fuse and solid silver DC cable.
might as well max it out, good saving on retail fuse price when supplied fitted with power supply.
https://i.imgur.com/G6izCp2.jpg
Custom "level 2" silver DC cable, GX16 termination 4 at PSU end, 2 at Dac end.
https://i.imgur.com/Z88tRQM.jpg
Small but very heavy unit,
large Toroidal in there, built in house too.
https://www.the-ear.net/sites/defaul...3-internal.jpg
Lots of clever stuff going on inside the supply.
Big ticket item are the Blue caps - Supercapacitors, which I know nothing about!
The Tech-Talk section on the Farad website explains the magic sauce inside.
https://www.faradpowersupplies.com/tech-talk/
https://i.imgur.com/OkDPf2y.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/9kFckG9.jpg
Hooked it up to the Dac's power control board I fitted,
https://i.imgur.com/NzpLLOS.jpg
Idea being it separates the digital and analogue output stages of the dac, allowing them to be powered separately.
I know from my Music Server building days, the advantages of separating the power rails in audio equipment.
Said it before, I'll say it again: clean power is everything.
The Farad is powering the Analogue output board.
SR Purple fuse inside the Dac feeding only the Digital board now.
New PSU, new DC cable, new fuse...
a lot of new.
Leaving it on 24/7 and not thinking about burn in, it will take a long time before it all starts running to spec but will just play music and enjoy it.
Taking the Dac in end of the Month to get the Analogue output boards signal transformers upgraded, apparently the most significant upgrade for the Directstream.
With that, I'll have hit the end of the Journey with my "last" Dac, thing sounds great stock, to be able to improve it further with mods appeals to me.
Pic of the Farad in place,
looks good with the PS Audio gear I think.
https://i.imgur.com/SQ8ZIUO.jpg
Cool.
Aye! :lol:
Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
That looks 'propa' Gaz, even a proper external heatsink on the back.
Very nice mate. Looks like a cracking piece of kit. Your system was sounding fantastic when i was over a couple of weeks ago. I'll have to pay you a visit soon.
Sent you a PM buddy.
Looks decent mate, look forward to hearing it sometime.
As i said - its a shame Nick doesn't sell direct.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
Maybe has under the radar, dunno. His power supplies after all.
My first port of call, all things power supplies.
But hey Ho.
Thanks Alan,Quote:
Originally Posted by Firebottle
interestingly the supply doesn't run anything more that "warm" to the touch.
Heatsink will melt the identity off your fingertips tho!
Doing its job I guess. :thumbsup:
Anytime Amigo.Quote:
Originally Posted by brian2957
Transformer upgrades to the Dac will be a biggie...
Will get "the Band back together" (new members welcome) when the new transformers are fitted to the dac, and had time to run in.
Covids been a bugger,
missed this side of the Hobby.
Will put a shout out at the time,
Grant,
hope you can make it Sir, fingers crossed.
:thumbsup:
Nice one mate, will bring the Neurochrome amp.
hope so gary.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
Love to hear it Ali.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ali Tait
It’s very good mate, better than any other SS amp I’ve had here.
Looking forward to it buddy.
lots of wireworld there mate... how's it sounding
Few days in from new PSU,
It's game changing.
jolly good show old chap :lol: glad its worked out.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
Taking the PS Audio Dac in today to get Transformers upgraded,
pick it up next Saturday and plumb it back in.
Looking forward to hearing what it does for the digital stuff, supposed to be a big jump in the Dac's sound.
Using the same transformers in the "DS mark II" currently being developed, so that's a good sign.
Final upgrade to my "Final" dac, good stuff.
Aside PS Audio's i2s Roon endpoint when it comes out, that's the digital done.
In other news,
second and last part of the speaker tweaks this weekend
https://i.imgur.com/ZWOJgnl.jpgPostie dropped these off.
https://i.imgur.com/20DnOuV.jpg
Meant to be put under Isoacoustic Gaia screw in speaker feet if your using on carpet,
These neatly fit under the Herbies slider cone cups I have my Speaker spikes coupled to.
Heavy buggers, about 45mm Dia.
https://i.imgur.com/DEyd5AO.jpg
Give improved performance on carpet if using the Isoacoustic feet, thinking as the Herbies use a similar De-coupling technique to those, I would get an advantage using them too, as opposed to the Herbies feet sitting directly on carpet.
https://i.imgur.com/WKd9BtJ.jpg
Before there was a fair ammount of wobble with the speaker, as they were just "floating" on the carpet.
A two part speaker isolation theory I thought?
1 - Carpet discs spiked directly into the stone floor, hence coupling anything sat on it to the floor.
2 - Speakers sat in the Herbies feet decoupling the speakers from the (much better than carpet) hard unmoving coupled surface, directly spiked into the floor.
Speaker isolation wise...
Best of both Worlds?
https://i.imgur.com/4Y6wIwk.jpg
Installing them wasn't as straightforward as I'd expected, until I got the hang of it I think putting sheets on a waterbed would have been easier!
https://i.imgur.com/8hpuzwZ.jpg
In place
https://i.imgur.com/8R7zWsL.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YxNnK6f.jpg
Mid and tweeter height raised slightly, but zero issues with that happily.
I played some music for half hour or so with only one speaker done, to hear if I can spot any difference.
Immediately obvious.
With the speaker without the carpet plates, the image sounded a lot more bound to the floor, more shut-in sounding in comparison.
Other thing I noticed is that stuff I'd always assumed was strictly just from the one channel, with the spiked discs sitting under my speakers I could easily hear how that sound actually bled over naturally to the other channel, even though on that side (with no carpet discs) it was recessed and had less air and 'life" about it.
Classical music particularly showed this, strings just sat in the air far better, and heard a sense of sound-stage Height I'd not really heard in my system before?
Guess Im just hearing more of what my speakers can do, given the improved environment they are now working in.
Both speakers now spiked, sounding great.
Another nice wee tweak that worked out the way I'd hoped it would.
Not all of them do, but if you dont try you never know.
All for getting the most out my kit, this speaker/ floor tweak absolutely works.
:thumbsup:
what speaks you using at moment gaz
Looks like Wharfedales? Maybe Elysian 4?
Most likely to be the Evo 4 series.
Wouldn't mind trying some of the Isoacoustic Gaia isolation feet Gaz.
I have the “Pro” audio versions under my speakers. They are very effective.
The Evo 4.4 floorstanders Grant.Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
Mighty things they are too.
Use the same ones (I think) them under my PS Audio electronics Kev,Quote:
Originally Posted by CageyH
very very effective, and not expensive either.
wharfedales then... good stuff; had a feeling you had had an interest in wharfs at one time but didn't know you had got themQuote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
Had 'em a couple of years now Grant,Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
Doin' the business and then some.
Been mightily impressed with the Herbies decouplers under my speakers, definitely hearing more of what the speakers can do, being better isolated from the floor.
Got myself another set for under the hifi rack, just as another tweak.
Fitted them this morning, a real ballache, as I had to dismantle the whole system and clear the rack, so I could lift it up to fit the decouplers under the rack spikes.
Gave me a change to clean it and better dress the cables, so worth the time.
Rack can slide on carpet now, as an unexpected bonus I was able to nudge it along the wall to better fit between the speakers as well. :thumbsup:
Don't have a Dac just now,
upgrade work on it is kicking off Monday, so not fussed about sound quality just now.
Playing music through the Sony telly is actually pretty good, never really listened to it before.
https://i.imgur.com/MlSEhgq.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/qKduW68.jpg
Raises the rack height up a little bit, actually prefer it a bit higher.
All good.
Will get Dac back next week so will plumb it all in hear how it sounds with latest round of upgrades 'n tweaks.
Guess who's back...
https://i.imgur.com/kRUlrLS.jpeg
moment of truth:)
A completely different sounding Dac now,
Seriously Impressive.
wow.
Long burn in time for these Transformers, so expecting the usual highs and lows.
Been listening to music through the telly for the last few weeks, so I'll survive. :)
The external Farad power supply feeds the Dac's analogue output board, and just upgraded the output transformers on it, so D/A conversion is maxed out.
Old and the new Transformers
https://i.imgur.com/hsIMHmG.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/3cwDMwW.jpeg
Tech spec wise, these are MUCH better, but more importantly they are the exact ones the Dac's designer Ted Smith wanted for the Dacs initial release, but BOM costs knocked that back.
The one's I upgraded to are the same as the ones being used in the MKII version of the Directstream,
Nice to hear, speaks to their quality.
That's Digital done aside PS Audio's new 'Airlens' streamer when it comes out.
Enjoyed playing vinyl when my Dac was away,
but its an ex demo cart that's fitted to the P10 whilst my own is back at Rega HQ getting rebuilt.
Right now the Digital is sounding better than my P10. :eek:
Back to the music...
jolly good... hope it opens out a fair bit yet .... worth it if your happy mate... all those beans i mean :ner:
I'll have to get over soon mate. The system was sounding very good the last time I was over :)
:lol:Quote:
Originally Posted by struth
A HILL of beans..
Worth it tho.
As and when Amigo,Quote:
Originally Posted by brian2957
anytime.
a gary audio get-together.. https://youtu.be/VPIP9KXdmO0?t=8Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazjam
:lol:
Three little people in this crazy World...
https://i.cbc.ca/1.4413516.154360261...ca-2676350.jpg
Picked up and fitted my rebuilt Rega MC cart today.
Had a Loaner Dynavector MC cart in there whilst mine went back to Rega HQ for surgery,
Good to have the Apheta 3 back where it belongs.
https://i.imgur.com/DjWgFAp.jpeg
Vinyl is back. :)
delicate little wires in there gaz... great cart im told
How does it compare to the Dynavector Gaz?