A Confused streaming system - Mutec / SOtM Ultra

[amabrok]

@Confused. : I hope you don’t mind me posting my findings in your thread.
I’ve had the SOtM Triple set in my system for nearly a month now.
My first impressions were not very favourable, in fact I didn’t like the sound which was thin and brittle at the top end, but this was with brand new components and new cables. I left the SOtM gear turned on permanently and with Roon playing a shuffle of all of my tracks. Roon has behaved impeccably, playing for over twenty days non stop without any problems at all. Testament to the reliability of Roon in my setup.
Listening now, things have improved considerably. I could bang on about the better bass, treble and room filling, almost wrap around soundstage etc., all true btw, but one word sums it up for me. Realism.  I’ve never heard my system sound so good, so true and so Right. Listening now, it’s hard for me to grasp how the SQ could be bettered, but obviously my next move, when funds allow, will be to add a Ref.10 into the mix. I read that the sPS-500 is sensitive to mains cables, so I recently made one up with good quality cable, a silver plated mains plug and a silver plated Wattgate IEC connector although I couldn’t hear any difference compared with the stock cable, so maybe some burn in is needed?
I’m not hearing any of the annoying high frequency accentuation that Confused is hearing, but obviously it’s a different system, room, ears etc.
At the moment, I’m using the USB cable that came with the tX-USBUltra, but I’ve ordered a Wireworld Starlight Silver - I couldn’t justify spending £550 on the Platinum - to connect between it and the Mutec, hoping that this will bring further improvements. I’ve also got an Etalon Ethernet Isolator to add to the feed to the sMS-200 Ultra, and ordered some Ferite clamps for the mains extension blocks that all of my SMPSs are connected to. So some tweaking still to be done, but nothing too expensive for the time being! When I’m happy that everything has settled down, an interim measure will be to take some REW measurements with a view to getting Thierry to generate some  HAF files for me.
Needless to say that I’m very happy with what the SOtM gear has done for my enjoyment of the music. I’ve had a large lump in my throat on several occasions. Thanks, @Confused,  for your excellent posts and observations that have spurred me on to try this wonderful gear. I hope that this account doesn’t come across as too gushing and OTT, but these are my honest impressions.

thanks @Axel. very encouraging indeed. the only think holding me back is the multi box solution especially if we consider the Mutec kit as well as extensively praised and outlined by @Confused

i am still hopeful  that i would find a one box solution to replace my Aurender X100 and provide same or better sound quality and integrates roon. 

not to wander off topic. SOtM is really worth exploring. and I also wish that @Confused finds his sweet spot with the Mutec/SOtM kit

[Dan]

@Confused - using ROON and HQP and having gone down a similar rabbit hole (and even further down than you) - mutec m3usb, SOtM kit (ULtra 200, USB reclocker, and switch), and REF 10 (as well as the Cybershaft and SOtM clocks) with my 1000 pro, I decided to try the latest Devialet Beta firmware since it was reported to now be able to handle 24/192. I’m still listening, but upsampling to 192 and playing through ROON/AIR sounds pretty good. Makes me think how far I have come since I bought the Dev with the idea of simple is good......if AIR could only get to where I had hoped I could eliminate HQP, 5 boxes, 4 power supplies, and the associated usb and power cables - it’s maddening...

Assuming you aren’t totally burnt out, I would be curious to hear your thoughts on the Beta 14 firmware.

[Vivialet]

since I updated to beta 14 and use Roon/AIR via Wifi (!!, better than Ethernet in my system) I have moved my Mutecs (2x MC-3 USB cascaded and clocked with REF 10) to my headphone setup. Roon/AIR is simply playing on a higher level, maybe because it does not use WASAPI or ASIO but directly sends the data to the Devialet.
Maybe the additional use of the SOtM devices is again better than my PC based system, but the ease of use of Roon and the minimal setup I have now makes the approach with 3 or 4 additional boxes (maybe plus some additional PS) at least questionable for me. It is now playing as originally planned (only the 2 Devialets on the wall) and sounds better than ever.
I hope that beta 14 is not accidentally playing so good and the final FW is on the same level (or better).

[Greg]

Yep, with the latest beta firmware, not to mention the excellent Roon 1.5 build release, my sound has improved no end. A big step up. The KISS principle seems to be working here. No ancillaries, just ethernet with roon Devialet Air. Because of this overall improvement, I’ve sold on my microRendu which could not hold a candle to the current system. It is absolutely stunning. I would recommend trying a return to basics although realise that could leave a bit of an unpleasant taste in the mouth after the outlay.

[Hifi_swlon]

It’s interesting reading Confuseds posts (as always), but also following the journey of all these source tweaks. As a non-CI user, I have to say when I last compared RoonAIR to the Allo digiOne, I eventually concluded AIR was up there at exactly the same level. Not saying the modest Allo compares to the sources mentioned here, but I would say that the conclusion was reached after a surprise when I did my blind testing and found that the little differences I felt were there couldn’t be detected.

Not saying these source tweaks don’t do anything, but I wonder how easily those with super-tweaked sources could tell the difference from AIR if played blind. If you’re keen to get rid of all the extra gubbins I’d highly recommend a blind listening session to see if you really love all those extra boxes as much as you think you do! Controversial I know, but it’s definitely worth doing even if just for fun - it might save you all the stress of juggling kit too (I sleep a lot better since I stopped thinking about it and settled on something I’m happy with).

I’d be using AIR now and ditch the Allo if I could group it in Roon. Maybe one day the CI will get there. Personally nowadays I get more sound enjoyment from tweaking PEQ (even tiny tweaks make an audible difference) and room Correction.

OK back to Confused’s setup.

[ogs]

@Vivialet if Roon/AIR now sounds as good as two cascaded MC3 + REF10 it is quite shocking. Even my single MC3 without REF10 is better than AIR with the previous firmware. (I am travelling atm so I haven't upgraded or tested)
Sounds like Devialet has enabled a re-clocker on the CI.That would explain the jump in SQ. Now I am really looking forward to RAAT and trying the newest beta.

[Confused]

Some interesting posts to this thread recently. I have some responses:

@Axel - I do not mind at all that you have posted your impressions of the SOtM bundle in this thread. The way I look at it now is that I think my posts in this thread have given an unfairly negative impression of the SOtM kit. What I think has happened is that my specific system has some minor imbalances that in the past were not an issue, but somehow the improvements from the SOtM kit have brought this to my attention. So better kit equals less enjoyable listening, a curious thing. If this theory holds up, it even gives the prospect that for me, Beta 14 could be so good it would make my system even less enjoyable! Anyway, it is good to include the impressions of the SOtM kit from someone who has not suffered my woes, it adds a bit of balance.

@Dan @Vivialet @Greg - you are all saying something similar, that maybe the SQ improvements from Beta 14 are so good that there is no longer any need for complex, and indeed expensive, front-end kit for the Devialet, just use AIR, it's as good as anything and you are done. I am quite open to this concept. Indeed, after I got the Pro, I was posting about just how good AIR sounds in the Pro era, see link below:

https://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=4427

Furthermore, after getting the Pro, I recall posting that I intended to spend nothing on front-end electronics until after the CI board is released and I had a chance to try it. My logic was that the CI board, with a direct Ethernet connection to an integrated streamer did offer the prospect, from a technical perspective, to be the ultimate way to feed a Devialet. At the time I received a bit of good humored ribbing from @Hifi_swlon, basically, he did not think I would be able last the distance without breaking into a cold sweat or something. I get the last laugh, as this is exactly what I did. I spent nothing on electronics, eventually got the CI board, tried it, and found that for me it did not actually sound any better than the old Roon integrated AIR. OK, Roon AIR sounded excellent anyway, but with CI it was no better, so still roughly matched by say the mR + MC3+USB. Logically, this means that adding the SOtM bundle and REF10 should offer something a little better, and of course, this is the point at which this particular thread starts.....

So it would be a little ironic if Beta 14 comes along and brings the potential that I originally thought the CI board could offer into reality, a couple of months after I buy all the kit to replace it. If this proves to be the case, I would actually be quite pleased. OK, I would take a bit of a hit selling the REF10 and SOtM kit, but from where I am now, this puts lots of lovely cash into my bank account that I could spend in fun ways, there is more to life than just hifi. (what's the most fun thing you could do with £4k?) Plus, in the short term, I would have a close to reference front end to compare the epic Beta 14 CI board with. From a psychological point of view this is good, if I can spend a couple of weeks comparing CI Beta 14 to the REF10 / SOtM kit and conclude CI is just as good, or better, then my mind is clear, stick with CI, there is not much better even if you spend £1000's. If I never had the chance to do this direct comparison at home, then there might always be that niggling thought about trying alternatives. This kind of piece of mind is worth something.

@ogs - it seems unlikely to me that Devialet has 'enabled a re-clocker' with Beta 14, I just don't see how that would work. (but who knows, you might be right, I know no more than anyone else) Although in a way, it does not matter, Devialet never give out much information regarding what they are doing with firmware updates and similar, but if it sounds good, then it sounds good, how they got there might be interesting but it does not really matter. This also begs the question, does Beta 14 just offer it's new SQ goodness via AIR, UPnP or whatever, or does Beta 14 also sound better via S/PDIF? More data and user reports needed here I think.

Anyway, I will not be trying Beta 14 for a while. I am still trying a few things with the HAF filters. I did try my first HAF filter last weekend, I provided some feedback to Thierry, he very quickly sent me some revised versions to try. I have not tried the new filters yet, I quite simply have had no free time with my system. This weekend I will though, it should be interesting. My recent hifi experiences have been confusing enough, to try a new HAF filter and at the same time go Beta 14 might generate brain melting results. So I shall be going slowly, logically, and doing one thing at a time.

Then, once I have my current issues resolved and I have a decent REF10 / SOtM baseline, a head to head with Beta 14 needs to be done. I wonder where all this will end up?

[Vivialet]

after my 1000pro was returned from the CI update I started directly with RC3. AIR was working but not really stable, so I only did some comparisons to the Mutecs with the original Devialet AIR driver in foobar. Mutec was better so I continued using them. Now with the latest beta and Roon things have changed. I'm now using Roon the first time and the combination of Roon/AIR and the new firmware beats the Mutecs now.
All this depends on the influence of other components like the PC and the Wifi Router (Fritzbox 7390 in my case), so in a different environment the result can be different again. But it's definitly worth to re-evaluate Roon/AIR to other solutions.

@Confused: especially if you are experimenting with Room correction and filters I would try the new beta as things really may change. There is more bass and less glare now, so maybe you would end up with different filters...as I'm currently doing...

[cereal killer]

@Confused
Are you listening to your system or your music?

[Confused]

@Confused
Are you listening to your system or your music?

I am listening to my system, and that's the problem!  I have always suffered from this, if I am not happy with the system, then I do tend to listen to the system, and not the music.  This is why I put so much effort into testing and evaluating kit, because once I am happy that all is good, I forget about the system and enjoy the tunes.  It takes a lot of effort sometimes, but I can get to a point where in my mind I know the kit is more or less optimised and working as it should.  I then forget about the kit, and music takes it's proper place again.

Maybe it is a curse?  I have been interested both in music and in how things sound for as long as I can remember, literally since 5 years of age.  But worry not, it is interesting and I am enjoying the journey.  That said, I am currently at the point where I have had enough of messing about with kit for now, so I am hoping for a happy resolution soon.......

@Vivialet - Thanks! Your comments noted, and yes I will try. I need to try one thing at a time though or will go (even more) crazy!