Oh, I didn't realize the CD transport was a new one, I thought you bought an older one on a whim. Nice you could return it without a $ hit.
USB is the best interface in my system understandably so due to N200 clock implementation related to spdif out
I think a streamer would be my next move, but I sold all my USB cables so I guess I would have to get the Grimm. Yes, I am trying to talk myself into it. 😏
I haven't listened to any other streamer other than the exasound playpoint, but I think I would have to do better than the N200 to better the one integrated into my Weiss 501? I have some time to research as I just got this DAC and everything sounds pretty good for now.
The only other item I had on my list was a Rhodium Furutech GTX-NCF and I just ordered one. If you don't mind me slightly hi-jacking this thread I believe you have one- still happy with it? (After the claimed ridiculously long break in )
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Even stranger, I have noticed albums where some of the tracks are available, and others are not. It is due to rights/permissions of course, as some writing credits/royalties can be different than others on the same album, but hopefully eventually they will all be accessible once the lawyers have dotted and signed.
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My fibre and Cisco switch is only 3 weeks old in my system, and I only have 1 set of modules to try :) I know my system right now with fibre into the LPS powered etherREGEN then ethernet into the DAC sounds pretty darn good, many levels better than ethernet direct into the DAC, but I'll remove just the fibre and do cat 6 into the ER and compare.
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@audphile1 I am referring to Qobuz/Roon.
Bring up this album in Roon / Qobuz: Merry Axemas
Half the tracks are unavailable
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@lalitk
I was going a little nuts looking for this piece/album/song, I didn't pick up on the PB audphile1 referred to, but subliminally I am suddenly craving a peanut butter banana sandwich for lunch. Then I looked back a page and it is in fact "Fortnight in France" you both are referring to :) I did locate a Fortnight in Paris track from the modern jazz BGM group though. It's not too bad- short though.
Huge Patricia Barber fan, at least I thought, and had no idea about this album!
Searching this title in Roon shows absolutely nothing, and in Canada on Qobuz just like for you guys it shows purchase only, so for what ever reason it was decided streaming is not an option for this work which dates back to 2004. I am sure there are people (maybe Patricia) who have been calculating the monetary figures between this album and her other live album Companion which is streamable and determining the best course of action revenue wise going forward? and it is worth mentioning another forward thinking strategy- Clique- which was recorded with Merging technologies equipment in DXD, and is available exclusively via NativeDSD in various formats via streaming, but not for sale on Quobuz. I don't know how it all works contract-wise, but maybe after 10 years or something the licence will expire, or be renewed, and Fortnight will be available for streaming? Maybe the next Patricia Barber album won't be streamable again?
Bought Fortnight from Qobuz in the meantime- so thanks for the information.
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AQ Diamond USB is here! I’ll let it cook for a week or so before I know what it’s really capable of, but it’s an immediate improvement in soundstage and tone over the stock cable.
Stock cable, as in the throw-away that came with the unit??
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Between ER and Weiss is an Audio Sensibility Supra cat 8- they modify it by cryo'ing the cable and adding Telegartners- very reasonable price
AS Supra ethernet
That ethernet cable remained in place. I only swapped the cat 7 from the Cisco switch to the ER- it is 50' $22 one from Monoprice and goes up inside the back wall across the ceiling and down the wall in front of the gear.
Yes, before you suggest I am now researching Muon stuff :) Pricey for sure!
Actually I recall you having an Eno before also; it didn't work for you?
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@audphile1
Her cover of “Norwegian Wood” on Fortnight is amazing.
👍
Fantastic jam session- And it is recorded properly with her piano going from high register on the left and low register on the right, so you are looking at her.
I always found it odd that with Diana Krall's albums, such as live in Paris, it is backwards: her vocals are dead centre and she is singing towards you, yet you are sitting behind her when she plays- piano goes from lows on the left to highs on the right- like she plays an inverted keyboard. (not)
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@lalitk that would be a good idea. Got a trial with dbpoweramp, ripped Modern Cool and Fortnight, Listening to Fortnight now- It does sound very nice, well recorded and produced, great soundstage, like most (all?) Barber's works. I wouldn't know it wasn't a 24/96 file. I know it well, so I must have listened to it several times at least, but I don't recall ever listening to it. It must have been before 2016 that is when I sold the Linn CD player. If I was a reviewer I would say "this is the best this recording has ever sounded in my system" 😃
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Curious to see if this will improve the musicality you claimed was missing from your streaming vs. physical media playback.
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it blew away the M3 inbuilt network renderer in every possible way exceeded my expectations as far as what’s possible by introducing a high quality streamer, but obviously the rest of the system plays an important part in all this
P.S. I used a term “blew away” above. I normally refrain from making such statements but in this particular case I couldn’t find another way to describe the change. Every aspect of listening experience improved in a major way. This us just not a subtle change at all.
Ok, but is it more musical than CD playback? 😉
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It is more than my amplifier- which seems ridiculous 🤪 What happened to that old
"spend 10-15 % of the value of your system on cables" ?
But knowing the improvement I get from the etherREGEN, and everything I read states the Muon is better, and their ethernet is reportedly of the same calibre, and we are all after the best streaming experience possible...
Heck, I only just realized the sound benefits of upgraded USB cables only 2 months ago-I read it all of course, just didn't do anything about it. I am slower to the game but on a fast learning curve.
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Additionally I see the Antipodes K21 is similar in price to the N200. Did you consider this unit?
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@audphile1 LOL- I own a modern cool cd, in a mobile fidelity version. And when I looked at it in my rack, right beside it is a copy of Fortnight! Good god. I just spent about an hour first loading into a cart on Qobuz, but it needs me to load up "coins" in 25 or 50 dollar amounts to buy and download it. If I could just buy it to download I would have! Then looking online phoning around to see who has a CD copy of it used- not easy in a small city. It has been so long since I ripped a cd- and now my Roon core 2012 macbook where my minimal files are kept the drive is not working... I have another macbook with a CD rom drive I can rip it, then transfer onto flash drive, then onto Roon core machine. Geez, wish I could stream it.
At least that PB sandwich was good.
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@audphile1
I used a cheapo Wireworld starlight for years, as even the engineer of my previous DAC stated it would make no difference. Finally decided to try it and got a Lightspeed and a Lush^3 to check it out. Absolutely they changed the sound, but you are talking OCD? I would switch them back and forth depending on the track: Lightspeed was more detailed and extended, the Lush was definitely named appropriately, but sometimes the bass became overbearing- and the lush was customizable with its grounding wires! I couldn't handle tweaking cables every few minutes, it reminds me when I was a kid with a car stereo that was worth more than the car it was in, and I fiddled with the 10 band Sony equalizer constantly- by the time I got it right the song was over!
I have since acquired a USB-less DAC, sold the USB cables and very relieved not to have USB options at the moment 😁
Curious though, if you upgraded to the N20 would you still use the USB into the Bricasti M3? Or would AES then be the best option? I checked Aurender's user manual and it states connection would be DAC dependent.
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Just went back and forth between fibre and cat 7- (its actually a cat 7 cable) both from the Cisco switch into the etherREGEN powered by Plixir BDC. Used Keb Mo - "I was wrong".
Really difficult to hear any difference- I had to go back and forth a dozen times:
Bass pretty much equal, if anything there is a little more bloom with fibre- I don’t find any difference with body- but treble- in this case cymbals/harmonica is a touch more prominent and forward with fibre. Gives the impression it is a little more detailed, more air, but I could see that interpreted as glare.
Doesn’t come across as hardness or glassi-ness though. I’m pretty confident I don’t think I could tell the difference if someone tested me- and this was just one track- more listening required!
edit: if someone was curious optical/transceivers are from AS
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So if you don’t like conductor you can use Roon, albeit the sound quality is degraded slightly (as with most Roon ready streamers).
@audphile1 For me that slightly has been a smaller and smaller slightly over the past year. I am going to say it might even be a dead heat now, not better not worse, just a different sound. Maybe I just don't care enough anymore as my brain keeps telling me "a little more air, less bloom, but I have to use that #$@ UI!" Not surprisingly I am using Roon about 95% of the time. That is squeeze for me, not conductor though, I have read conductor is much nicer to use.
I have transitioned to ROON so I am using ACS for storage, library management and ripping. ROON now has a capability to show your folders, so I see mirror image of my ACS folders in my ROON app.
@lalitk what are your impressions between software choices?
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@audphile1
I satisfied my curiosity about the full Nordost loom and as in the past mixing and matching works out better for me.
Right on the heels of the other "full loom or mix" cable thread, I was as curious as you on what the Nordost full loom would bring to your system. Again, with a different set of speakers your result may have been completely different. Always good to read your experiences, keep them coming!
At what point are we "done"? Hopefully never  part of the joy of this hobby.
So would you say as far as the high frequencies are concerned, air and extension, between Tyr2 and Front Row speaker cables are more similar than different?
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@fthompson251 Are you still happy with your Fidelium's, or are curious to try the Front Row speaker cables?
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I used to run Audience AU24se+ USB cable in my system and it was fantastic. I expect the FrontRow to be even better. Unfortunately I need 1.5m and in that length the Reserve is more than I want to spend on a digital cable.
@audphile1 Just now I just happened to be reading an Inakustik cable review from a couple of years ago, and the reviewer quite liked their USB- I know we can't demo everything, but kind of perked my curiousity as he also went through AU24 and Diamond. Pasted below are a couple of highlights:
"...For perspective, here are the USB aftermarket cables I’ve actually auditioned in my system: Audience AU24 SE; AudioQuest Cinnamon, Coffee and Diamond; Belkin Gold; Cardas Clear; and Wireworld Starlight 7. All of these beat stock USB cables handily, but I ended up with the Stealth Audio USB-T Select. ....
..The Stealth USB was slightly laid back, while the Inakustik High Speed USB was ever so slightly forward. Generally, I prefer slightly laid back, in part because of my room setup, which is set up “width-wise,” so the listening width is greater than the listening depth. Nonetheless, despite the slightly more forward presentation, I found myself more drawn into the music with the Inakustik. However, I had a hard time identifying exactly why. When I listened for specific qualities, such as tonality, soundstage, detail, dynamic range, etc., I was not able to readily discern any major difference in any of those particular aspects of the presentation. Gradually, I realized that I had just a bit “more” in every aspect of the Inakustik, and that the cumulative combined difference was a more realistic and engaging “live” presentation. This was especially true of good live recordings, where the combination of performer placement and excellent detail resulted in a phenomenal ability to focus either on individual performances, on the performance as a whole, or a combination of your own choosing. All of this for about 25% of the cost of an excellent USB cable that I had selected after extensive comparison testing. Very impressive."
https://www.dagogo.com/inakustik-reference-ls-4004-air-speaker-cable-reference-digital-2404-air-coax-cable-reference-high-speed-usb-cable-review/2/
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@lalitk
I believe it was around March or so, Roon made a substantial leap in SQ and closed the gap between the two. I went back n forth over the course of next three-month period to fully understand what was going on.
That would be build 1401 released April 16, and some say 1413 released May 15 improved the sound as well. Just for those scoring at home.
It’s really tough to discern though. It is not like a cable change where one can go back and forth, once the update is done it is done- no going back. Roon has had several updates since then as well of course.
On top of that Antipodes is updating my server, and squeeze is also doing bi-weekly updates, so always a moving yardstick.
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