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Word clock input
#11
(13-Nov-2021, 16:17)markush Wrote: @Confused and @bernardl from what I remember have been into this topic quite much - right?

What I can say is that subjectively, my preference is to use my Mutec MC3+USB + Mutec REF10 to feed the Devialet via AES/EBU, rather than use AIR for example.

It is quite an expensive "add on" though, and I think a lot depends on the overall system and implementation.

I have to say it is very difficult to understand how adding a Mutec REF10 (or other reference clock) to an EtherRegen actually helps anything, considering that the Ethernet feed is buffered by the Devialet. That said, many claim a subjective improvement for doing this, it is just difficult to rationalise why this might be the case. (some might claim expectation bias, some might mention John Swenson's white paper, some might challenge John Swenson's white paper but get no response)

It is a different story with using a DCC and AES/EBU though, because With AES/EBU the clock is "owned" by the feeding device.

Oddly enough, when I was doing many A/B type experiments with the iFi Zen Stream recently, I ultimately came to the conclusion that the very best "add on" for a Devialet in terms of improving sound quality was the use of HQPlayer, at least in comparison to Roon. Note that I do use my REF10 to feed my own EtherRegen, simply because I can and I already own the REF10 and suitable cables, so why not? But when playing around with the iFi and SOtM kit, there were some occasions that the EtherRegen was out of the chain and I did not miss it that much, but running Roon versus HQPlayer made a more obvious difference to sound quality, with my system and ears at least.

These improvements are relatively modest, but they do work in combination. As an example, the Mutec MC3+USB/ REF10 combo is particularly good at improving bass definition and accuracy, HQPlayer's benefits are more noticeable in the upper mids. (I am going full subjective here)

And exceeding all of the above, I have found that the very very best "add on" to a Devialet is to use Focus Fidelity Filter Designer convolution filters. Although the improvements from this will be very speaker / room dependant.

I have no idea regarding the actual specification of the Devialet's internal clocks other than my earlier observation that the MC3+USB gave a nice uplift in SQ for the old Expert, but added very little for the Pro. So what I suspect is that the Pro has somewhat better clocks than the Expert, which I guess is no surprise as clock specs in general are improving over time.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#12
I received my Etherregen 2 weeks ago and I feel that is is a considerable improvement. Another thing I did, after having used HQPlayer for 4 years, I just switched back to Roon only and turned off all DSP (upsampling in my case) in Roon, except partially decoding MQA. It sounds better than ever. To my ears, the Devialet is better off being fed as is. It's doing its own upsamling anyway. HQPlayer colours it in one way or another (depending on the filter) and I got a bit tired of that. Constantly trying different ones when they come out and for different types of music and file formats, etc.
Now, my Ref 10 feeds 5 devices. 3 more to go.
@Confused I find that upgrading the SOtM SMS-200 ultra to the latest firmware (from 3 days ago) futher improves SQ, also, you may want to join the SOtM group on FB, some interesting (and sometimes not so interesting) discussions there too.
Win10/HQPlayer / Roon - Uptone Audio Etherregen switch / SOtM-SMS-200 ultra with clock input - Mutec REF 10 clock for the switch and the streamer - Denafrips GAIA DCC - Devialet D800 - YG Acoustics Carmel - Dual Elac SUB-2090 
power supplies: Uptone JS-2, SOtM SPS-500
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#13
(14-Nov-2021, 16:38)zdenes Wrote: I received my Etherregen 2 weeks ago and I feel that is is a considerable improvement. Another thing I did, after having used HQPlayer for 4 years, I just switched back to Roon only and turned off all DSP (upsampling in my case) in Roon, except partially decoding MQA. It sounds better than ever. To my ears, the Devialet is better off being fed as is. It's doing its own upsamling anyway. HQPlayer colours it in one way or another (depending on the filter) and I got a bit tired of that. Constantly trying different ones when they come out and for different types of music and file formats, etc.
Now, my Ref 10 feeds 5 devices. 3 more to go.
@Confused I find that upgrading the SOtM SMS-200 ultra to the latest firmware (from 3 days ago) futher improves SQ, also, you may want to join the SOtM group on FB, some interesting (and sometimes not so interesting) discussions there too.

Ah, upgrading my sMS-200Ultra could be difficult as I have sold it (and the tX-USBultra) earlier in the month.

Time to update my signature....
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#14
(15-Nov-2021, 13:46)Confused Wrote: Ah, upgrading my sMS-200Ultra could be difficult as I have sold it (and the tX-USBultra) earlier in the month.

Time to update my signature....

So you kept the iFi Zen, I take. Also guessing that you find it better sounding. 

I read on other forums that people had reliability issue (losing connection, etc). Any such thing?
Win10/HQPlayer / Roon - Uptone Audio Etherregen switch / SOtM-SMS-200 ultra with clock input - Mutec REF 10 clock for the switch and the streamer - Denafrips GAIA DCC - Devialet D800 - YG Acoustics Carmel - Dual Elac SUB-2090 
power supplies: Uptone JS-2, SOtM SPS-500
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#15
(16-Nov-2021, 02:55)zdenes Wrote:
(15-Nov-2021, 13:46)Confused Wrote: Ah, upgrading my sMS-200Ultra could be difficult as I have sold it (and the tX-USBultra) earlier in the month.

Time to update my signature....

So you kept the iFi Zen, I take. Also guessing that you find it better sounding. 

I read on other forums that people had reliability issue (losing connection, etc). Any such thing?

Yes the Zen Stream is a keeper for me. Is it better sounding that the SOtM kit? Not really, there is no way I could definitively say that it is better sounding. My key observation when A/B testing specifically as a device to feed the MC3+USB was just how similar they sounded, and differences were very marginal.

More details here:

https://devialetchat.com/Thread-iFi-ZEN-Stream

In terms of reliability and stability, I have been using mine in HQPlayer NAA mode and it has been 100% stable, no issues whatsoever. I have briefly used it in Roon RAAT mode, this too was 100% stable, although I have only had it in RAAT mode for a few hours, in NAA mode it has been 100% stable and drop out free for months.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#16
@Confused Focus Fidelity Designer is definitely an amazing improvement (even more with the added clock drift feature). Can you give an update how things evolved for you in general and maybe you have some more insights / ideas for improvements.
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