And an other upgrade done yesterday. The red no-name 0.5m CAT 7 SFTP ethernet cable on the photo which I used between the fiber media converter (optical fiber -> ethernet) and the microRendu has been replaced by an Audioquest Vodka RJ/E cable of 0.75m.
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What's too bad is that I've owned one in the past which I later at the dealer traded up for a Diamond, which I later sold when I moved to USB. Should have kept the Diamond in hindsight. Perhaps I'll buy a used one later (if I find one, there's none in this length available now anywhere) and after I've A/B'ed the Vodka with the no-name CAT7.
I'll probably slow down this upgrade spree now!
The last thing currently on my mind is perhaps a better (DIY) power cable and SR black fuse for the JL Audio subwoofer. It uses a 3 or 4 meter Belden 19364 DIY cable with Furutech FI-11 (G) plugs.
Antoine, I need a bit of help.
Would it be possible for you to connect your Mutec via toslink to one of the toslink inputs on your 250 one day when you find time? Maybe the optics on your 250 does not support 192kHz, but that is not the most important. I do not in any way expect optical to be as good as AES/EBU, but I wonder if you'll get the same kind of improvement over optical. The reason I ask is I am looking at replacing my 250 with a pair of Golds (as I need new speakers too..). I'd use my microRendu into the Mutec and optical to Dialog or maybe direct to a Phantom if that sounds better. I've not decided yet, but if optical works fine I can buy a Mutec and use it with either P Golds or AES/EBU with the 250.
Maybe you have tried this already? I have not read through all the pages of your thread, sorry...
Hi Ogs,
I haven't tried it myself but the Mutec sends out the same re-clocked signal to all outputs including the Toslink so one should get the same benefits. Of course the AES/EBU might be a bit better because of the fully balanced signal path and less conversions (electrical to optical and back) which adds jitter. I do remember (not the details) comments of people who actually preferred the Mutec Toslink output into their DACs. One advantage of Toslink of course is the full galvanic isolation as there's no direct electrical connection.
Perhaps I'll try one day but ATM I don't have it configured or a high quality Toslink cable available so I wouldn't wait for me to test it.
(05-Sep-2016, 12:30)Antoine Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Ogs,
I haven't tried it myself but the Mutec sends out the same re-clocked signal to all outputs including the Toslink so one should get the same benefits. Of course the AES/EBU might be a bit better because of the fully balanced signal path and less conversions (electrical to optical and back) which adds jitter. I do remember (not the details) comments of people who actually preferred the Mutec Toslink output into their DACs. One advantage of Toslink of course is the full galvanic isolation as there's no direct electrical connection.
Perhaps I'll try one day but ATM I don't have it configured or a high quality Toslink cable available so I wouldn't wait for me to test it.
That is perfectly OK, Thanks for the info. I'll probably order a Mutec soon. Have you decided whether to upgrade your 250? Rumour has it that the price to upgrade an already upgraded 250 will be 2600 euro. If this is true I guess I will do the upgrade. Other vice my backup plan is a pair of golds. I borrowed a pair of (the little) Phantoms from my dealer this weekend. It is a good speaker. Midrange is it's main problem. A bit 'stingy'. By the way the speaker is not time coincident despite all the DSP in there... surprising! If the golds are a little better I think I can live with the sound. I use room correction anyway so it is possible to do adjustments.
Rainy day in NL today so after my regular Sunday run in between the bigger rain showers I finally made time to compare my 0.75m Audioquest Vodka RJ/E ethernet cable I bought a month ago to the 0.5m no-name (but good quality CAT7 600MHz cable with Hirose 6A connectors) ethernet cable I was using before.
It's used in between the fiber to ethernet converter and the microRendu and "unfortunately" I have to conclude that IMHO the microRendu is sensitive to the ethernet cable used. Recently I've read more people did conclude the same while for example the initial review on CA said it wasn't. Using the AQ cable brought more clarity and dimensionality so a bigger 3D soundstage and more layered, higher definition bass and sub bass. Things did sound a bit thinner on certain already lean recordings using the AQ but when the bass really needed to be there it was there letting me conclude the AQ is more transparant/does less smearing.
Since I've owned both the AQ Vodka and Diamond RJ/E's in the past and found the Diamond considerably better I've just ordered the Diamond, generally considered the (or one of the) best ethernet cables on the market. I wish it wasn't "necessary" but it is, to me that is!
There were still no used ones on the markets anywhere so I had to order a new one. My dealer (open shop today) agreed to a trade up paying only the price difference between the two so that's a good enough deal for me. I should be able to pick it up sometime next week.
Edit: sorry Ogs, I now see I have missed your question. I haven't decided yet if I'll upgrade my 250 to 250Pro. Part of me really doesn't want to spend money with Devialet again but I'm afraif I probably will once good reviews start coming in. Fortunately Devialet did offer the discount you mentioned making it more interesting.
(02-Oct-2016, 13:30)Antoine Wrote: [ -> ]Since I've owned both the AQ Vodka and Diamond RJ/E's in the past and found the Diamond considerably better I've just ordered the Diamond, generally considered the (or one of the) best ethernet cables on the market. I wish it wasn't "necessary" but it is, to me that is! There were still no used ones on the markets anywhere so I had to order a new one. My dealer (open shop today) agreed to a trade up paying only the price difference between the two so that's a good enough deal for me. I should be able to pick it up sometime next week.
Hmmm, curious if something like a GISO Isolator together with a less expensive Ethernet cable would produce similar results ...?
BB
Could be, though I employ optical isolation and the ethernet cable still matters significantly. Of course the fiber media converter is an active device so produces its own noise. The AQ cable is connected between this converter and the microRendu BTW. I'd like to think only this last cable after the optical bridge matters and anything before it doesn't but I haven't tried any before so can't be certain.
Often many of these isolator/re-clocking/regenerating devices, even while working in tandem, all help in some way. There's really no silver bullet I know of. So there's only one way to find out when and how enough is enough and that is to try it in one's own system.
Replaced the power cable to the JL Audio Fathom F112 subwoofer yesterday. It was a 5m Belden 19364 (3 x 2.1mm2) with Furutech FI-11 Gold IEC plugs and is now a 5.5m long Lapp Olflex Classic 110 CY (5x 2.5mm2) with Iego 8085 Gold schuko and IEC plugs. I combined two conductors for both phase and neutral.
Just some fine re-tuning after all the other recent changes in my system. I needed a bit more bloom/lively less polite sound, bass was too tight and overly controlled. Earlier I already experimented with a Furutech FI-E38 rhodium schuko but this pushed things the wrong way. Both the Iego Gold and Lapp cables are very cost effective and known for their great performance in the bass region. Since I need such a long length and it's "just" a subwoofer higher end stuff/100+ euro/meter DIY cables and connectors felt like overkill, let alone after market power cords.
Burning in now, first impressions are indeed favorable/in the right direction.
