Denefrips Pontus "burn in" period?

@jin78  I was using a coax cable- a Wireworld from what I remember.

@mrdon wasn't looking for validation, was looking for some kind of explanation on why my super high quality deck wasn't sounding that impressive rolling up on day 10. I couldn't get the thing to sound that much different than my project dac or even the internal blue sound node dac. Just wasn't adding up. The major development today was switching out the coax cable for a USB, straight from the blue sound into the Pontus. Huge difference. I can't tell you why, but it's there. More volume, larger sounds stage, deeper, cleaner, less glare etc. This new development has me feeling positive although it's still kind of bugs me that the coax is doing this. Is it a issue with the Pontus? Issue with the blue sound? 

Oldhvymec..."i’ve never been real to up date on DACs but gear in general, usually, the better the gear, the longer the break-in. Especially big high voltage boutique caps. 500-1000 hours."

Oh so true...well past you’re 10 days youll hear changes.

@jin78 How long is your Coax cable? According to the "tech"
experts here, it should be at least 2 feet long. Some else can
explain the technical details.

@jin78 How long is your Coax cable? According to the "tech"
experts here, it should be at least 2 feet long. Some else can
explain the technical details.

it is commonly understood and accepted that the best length for digital coax 75 ohm spdif cable is great than 1.25m, ideally 1.5m - shorter creates potential for unwanted ’reflections’ in the cable given the wavelength of transported waveforms that may confuse the receiver

https://positive-feedback.com/Issue14/spdif.htm

The whole issue of using coax on a Node2/Pontus ll combination is confusing. Why are some having problems and others not?

In my case, the Node 2i and coax connection problem was not limited to a specific DAC. I tried 5 DACs with the Node, and in each case coax was the limiting factor. Toslink was maybe marginally better. IMO, the Bluesound Node is a good starter streamer with a below par DAC, but even as a streamer I feel that it can limit the potential of your DAC. I know it won't sit well with the 'all streamers are the same' crowd but I'm just sharing my experience.

Disclaimer: I had the prior version of the Node 2i (the one without USB out). It is quite possible that the new model has overcome some of the limitations in terms of SQ.

The coax cable is 2 ft long Canare by blue jean cables.

@mr_m exactly. Is this a weakness of the node, the pontus, random, that's what I'm trying to figure out. I've sent out an email to Vinshine. It would be nice to know what this means for my streamer going forward, do I have to move it to my b system and upgrade it or should I be content with just using a USB. Do I have a faulty unit? Did it not burn in long enough?

*break in 🤣

@arafiq I have the new node, and the USB most certainly made a difference. The toslink I had laying around, which was a 3 ft radio shack cheapy, like you said sounded possibly marginally better but not anywhere near the USB. Trying to figure out if this is a weakness of the node or the Pontus itself. Judging by what you're saying most likely it's the blue sound, I have no doubts that the Pontus is a well-built quality piece of gear. 

So its been a handful of days, more "break in" happening, and a couple emails with Alvin @ Vinshine. He was kind enough to answer my questions rather quickly, I can only imagine how many emails this man has to answer from noobs like myself, god bless him. 

So here's my understanding:

The Bluesound Node ( I have the latest version with USB connection) might have something funky going on with the coax and Toslink outs that just doesn't jive with the Pontus Dac (maybe other denefrips dacs, too) The Pontus just cant make the info it is receiving from coax and Toslink outs on the Node sound as good compared to when it is receiving from the USB out, like it can't correct the information properly. "If the signal that's feeding into the DAC is of poor quality, the DENAFRIPS DAC can't correct the information". I went back and forth and the difference is NOT subtle. Since "the USB, on the other hand, is asynchronous, the data retrieval is based on the clock of the DAC" , the Pontus now takes full control of re-clocking and correcting the info on its own, producing a superior sound quality.  That is the answer.

So in my estimation, if you are using a bluesound Node to feed a denfrips dac, unless you are using the USB OUT on the newer version, you are NOT getting the full potential out of this pairing. Obviously, there are better streamers that will produce better results, but if you are using a node, make sure its the new one with the USB, or strongly consider upgrading. That's just my $.02.

Since making the change to USB, I am now very happy with the improved sound as compared to my other Dacs.

Hope this helps. Thank everyone for your advice!

Yes, I also faced the same problem! It looks like there is something similar to the correct answer https://sirinsoftware.com/

The project dac s2 plus is a really good dac at its price. I own it and added the ifi elite power supply and that was a further huge improvement and lowered the noise floor and removed glare (edgy sound) and added clarity. 
 

I recently compared it to a loaner chord qutest (fully broken in). 
While the qutest had a bit more inner detail and expansive soundstage the dac s2 plus had clearer and more extended highs and a more lively sound, less laid back compared to the qutest.  
 

the ifi elite power supply made less of a difference with the qutest as compared to the s2 plus. 

I am keeping the dac s2 with ifi elite power supply for now  

I have not yet heard any of the denafrips dacs.

I recommend you try the ifi elite power supply on your project dac s2 plus  

the ifi elite power supply takes the s2 plus to a new level of sound  

@sudnh thanks for pointing this out, I moved my project DAC to my living room system, so it's still very much in use paired up with some old Dynaco amps. I looked it up, price seems pretty reasonable if it works really good. I wonder if this would work or improve on the Bluesound node that I'm using as a streamer only?

Since making the change to USB, I am now very happy with the improved sound as compared to my other Dacs.

Glad to hear, @jin78 !

Alvin @ Vinshine Audio

On the Bluesound:

Go to SETTINGS.  Then select AUDIO.  Then you’ll see AUDIO CLOCK TRIM.

Set Audio Clock Trim to OFF.

I saw this somewhere and wanted to pass this on to you. I think it was on the Vinshine website, if I’m not mistaken.