Finally the SR3 arrives! It's a nicely built little thing, with a very understated blue LED on the underside, and a nicely weaved very fine silver DC lead.
First impression after about 5 mins quiet listening - it sounds pretty much the same as the ifi to my ears. Perhaps it will improve when it warms up a bit....
I need to try a few experiments, removing the Intona and that sort of thing. Hopefully get some time over the coming days to listen properly.
(28-Oct-2016, 16:18)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]Finally the SR3 arrives! It's a nicely built little thing, with a very understated blue LED on the underside, and a nicely weaved very fine silver DC lead.
First impression after about 5 mins quiet listening - it sounds pretty much the same as the ifi to my ears. Perhaps it will improve when it warms up a bit....
I need to try a few experiments, removing the Intona and that sort of thing. Hopefully get some time over the coming days to listen properly.
I've been watching all the praise for the Uptone LPS-1 trying to decide if I'll pop for it.
I will say that since AIR 3.0.1 beta has been released, I'm finding less reason to use the microRendu. AIR now seems to be completely stable and SQ via AIR vs the uRendu/iFi PS is quite close. If there's a very slight difference, I can't tell which I actually think is better. Now, the Uptone LPS-1 might certainly nudge that difference well toward the uRendu. Won't know unless I try, right? Damn.
There is no end to all the ways I can throw money at this crazy hobby.
(28-Oct-2016, 18:09)mdconnelly Wrote: [ -> ] (28-Oct-2016, 16:18)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]Finally the SR3 arrives! It's a nicely built little thing, with a very understated blue LED on the underside, and a nicely weaved very fine silver DC lead.
First impression after about 5 mins quiet listening - it sounds pretty much the same as the ifi to my ears. Perhaps it will improve when it warms up a bit....
I need to try a few experiments, removing the Intona and that sort of thing. Hopefully get some time over the coming days to listen properly.
I've been watching all the praise for the Uptone LPS-1 trying to decide if I'll pop for it.
I will say that since AIR 3.0.1 beta has been released, I'm finding less reason to use the microRendu. AIR now seems to be completely stable and SQ via AIR vs the uRendu/iFi PS is quite close. If there's a very slight difference, I can't tell which I actually think is better. Now, the Uptone LPS-1 might certainly nudge that difference well toward the uRendu. Won't know unless I try, right? Damn.
There is no end to all the ways I can throw money at this crazy hobby.
If the latest AIR betas worked for me I'd probably still go that route even if it wasn't quite as good - it wouod be an elegant and simple solution, and would also mean I could use Dirac.
Sadly it doesn't and honestly I just don't trust it now. I know that even if it worked, it would fail at some point in the future with an OS update that may take forever to fix. Right now I have flexibility, but at the expense of not just cash, but clutter and wires which drives me a bit mad.
Assuming I can detect an obvious improvement over the ifi in the weeks ahead, I'll keep the SR3 and call it a day SQ-wise. If not I'll revert back to the ifi and send it back. If I'd ordered the LPS-1 I would have done the same there but since I'd ordered the Paul Hynes just before it was released, I'm not going to bother trying both. There's only so much time/enthusiasm for these things, and where do you stop!
There's still streamerboard hope for me.....
I hear you... I fell about the streaming board the way you feel about AIR. I'll believe it when I see it, but it's not the reason I went with the 220 Pro. So at this point, I won't be disappointed and they have full opportunity to exceed my expectations.
Hey, if AIR is as solid as I think it is on Windows, a cheap solution would be to buy a Win 10 box instead of using the Mac mini. Yeah, I know - blasphemous for a Mac user... but still...
Haha, yeah good suggestion but I'm not going there! Plus the way windows updates I'm sure it will be broken soon enough.
IMO the microRendu moves ahead of AIR 3 when it is supplied with a very good power supply. Optical network isolation seems to help also. With this the Rendu just seems to have a little more space and depth.
I won't comment further about the microRendu/SR3 combo for a while, but I have removed the Intona temporarily so it's only got a curious link between it and the amp.
Not necessarily related to the source, but I got a nice compliment today from my Mum who was visiting (and who doesn't know anything about hifi btw). She said 'where's the sound coming from?'. Someone pointed to the speakers and she said 'I see the speaker but the sound just seems to be coming from everywhere'.
(30-Oct-2016, 19:51)Hifi_swlon Wrote: [ -> ]... she said 'I see the speaker but the sound just seems to be coming from everywhere'.
If it fits...it just fits!
I am please to advise that my little LPS-1 has just arrived. Not bad going actually, I received my first UPS tracking notice on November 16th, so it was sent a little early, by the 21st UPS tracking was showing 'held in customs' in Coventry in the UK. On the 24th I received a payment request from UK Parcelforce for a very modest £28.47, I paid this on the 25th, and today (28th) it was delivered to my door. Pretty slick and hassle free I would say! To be honest, I am still getting used to the hike in sound quality offered by the 1000 pro, so if this little widget does make any difference it might melt my brain! I shall be plugging it in to let it settle down, and just enjoy it when I have time. I think I will need to wait a while before I can do a meaningful comparison with the evil iFi, but this is an easy one to swap in and out of the system, so I will give this a try one day.