Just to add, I have simply put the dDC Puccini and the clock on the same "group" on the Niagara 5000 and the result is audible in terms of jitter. Thanks for the tip guys!!
New Source; what is the best match
Hi everyone, I am new here and hopefully do not come with another same topic. But let me give it a try. I have spent some years to build my system and am just at this moment not overly impressed by my source. Don’t get me wrong, a dcs Puccini plus clock is not bad stuff but feel it simply doesn’t blend in well. I have as other main components a Soulution 520 pre, Audio Research 150 SE amp and TAD CR1 loudspeakers “powered” by Audioquest Niagara 5000 and powercables and with Audioquest and Kharma interconnects/speaker cables.
The sources I have in mind are
CD players
- Dcs Rosinni
- TAD D1000 MkII
or streamer (source NAS)
- Mytek Manhattan II
- Aurender W20
- Naim ND555
where I am looking for is to get your views on not necessarily what is the best source only or your experience, but also what I should consider before I make a choice.
Thanks you!
The sources I have in mind are
CD players
- Dcs Rosinni
- TAD D1000 MkII
or streamer (source NAS)
- Mytek Manhattan II
- Aurender W20
- Naim ND555
where I am looking for is to get your views on not necessarily what is the best source only or your experience, but also what I should consider before I make a choice.
Thanks you!
4 responses Add your response
Digital source sound quality is primarily affected by jitter, including USB and Ethernet interfaces. D/A’s are primarily affected by digital filtering and internal/external power delivery. Jitter will affect the imaging, focus and dynamics Digital filtering will affect the liveness and airiness factor Poor power delivery will make the bass flabby or thin and impact the dynamics If you are using a digital source and are relying on the D/A in all of these devices, then you will have widely varying results because you will have both of these effects. In most cases, you will get high jitter combined with undesirable digital filtering or poor power delivery. The best way to optimize is to use a digital source with really low jitter, like 10psec, directly measured to start with. Then add a really accurate, low loss digital cable between 1.25 and 2 meters in length. Then select a DAC that sounds live to you. The interface on the DAC is critical, even more critical than the D/A portion. USB interfaces often have high jitter, but are also plagued with other limiters like the playback software and USB port quality. Ethernet interfaces are easier for the user to optimize and less reliant on the computer hardware although the playback software still matters as well as the cabling from the router/switch. I have personally moved from USB to Ethernet, but I still use a USB interface for streaming Amazon music and for sampling tracks from HDtracks etc.. Finally, I recommend powering the source and the DAC from a Plasmatron AC voltage regulator. This is the ONLY AC device that works well for digital IME. Good luck finding a source with low jitter. Most manufacturers don’t publish their jitter specs or don’t bother to measure it. Most manufacturers are not capable of designing low-jitter gear either. It takes expensive equipment to make this direct measurement accurately, like $150K expensive. Here are some direct measurements of jitter I have made: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=157348.0 https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154425.0 https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154310.0 https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=154408.0 Jitter of the Sonos is reduced by a factor of 1000. Steve N. Empirical Audio |
This is not surprising. Any particular collection of gear may not impress initially. This is nothing to worry about; it just means you need to make some adjustments and that may yield your preferred result. Putting a new source into a rig is essentially making a brand new rig, so the presumption of excellence is not realized in many instances and adjustments necessary regardless of pedigree. Do some changeup on cabling with different brands (nothing against AQ; it's a good cable) before swapping out components. Try different USB cable and or interconnects from source. Sometimes only a few swaps, i.e. power cords, can make a substantive difference to bring satisfaction. If, however, a few cabling substitutions are not enough to save the setup, then you're looking at component changes. Do changes not only on source, but other components as well. Rigs can go from blah to beautiful through cables placed well. Never presume that the cables currently being used are universally superior. Having worked with dozens of sets of cables including AQ, I assure you there is a tremendous degree of variance in outcome through testing a variety of cables. With a system of your caliber you should hear the effect of changing even one power cord on source, pre, etc. If the move is favorable, then you can keep working in that direction. It's a less expensive, and potentially as effective way to get to the sound you want. Expect that you may have to try five to ten discrete changes to capture excellence. Now, if you don't want to do that, feel free in guessing at your next component. :) Also, if you haven't yet, try the source without running it through the power conditioner; you may find a superior/more favorable result in removing one or two components from the conditioner. However, you do so at your own risk of lightning strike or power surge. I have no interest in arguing/debating my recommendations. |