I have my SOtM tX-USBexp since 5,5 years. It'sconnected to a JCAT USB Isolator and via two AQ Carbon cables to my D220 Pro. The SotM uses an ifi iPower 9V PSU.
SQ is very good but not as good as AIR (You hear the difference, it's not very huge but audible.) But AIR is not 100% stable so I use more USB than AIR.
There are now to interesting products on the market:
pink faun USB bridge with OCXO clock, they also offer an Ultra OCXO clock:
https://www.pinkfaun.com/shop/bridge/44-..._bridge-no
JCAT USB XE also using an OCXO clock
https://jcat.eu/product/usb-card-xe/
Any experiences, recommendations?
Thank you very much!
I am using Roon with my 440 Pro. The Roon Air is 100% stable for me, the sound quality is excellent.
The Devialet is Roon ready with the latest firmware so you can have the choice of Roon RAAT or the Roon implemtation of Air.
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I simply use an MIT SL Matrix USB cable from my Mac mini to my Expert and it beats AIR hands down. It has some sort of filter on it but no idea what's in it. They're in the same price range, if you can still find one.
I’ve never ‘heard’ the new cards yet but I’d surely try using a better power supply than the iFi as well, perhaps even before changing the USB card. A PSU like the Paul Hynes SR4T for example would be a good option. It has multiple output voltage options so you can use it with new equipment as well.
Thank you very much for all your input.
I have played a bit around yet. I had bought an AQ Niagara 1000 and 2x AQ Blizzard last year but did not retest all USB options I have again. All Devices TV, Devialet, Media Renderer, iFi for SotM and Switch are plugged into the Niagara 1000.
I have in another PC JCAT Femto and will put the Sotm tx-USBexp together with the JCAT Femto in my JRiver based media renderer in the Living room and do a retest with/without the JCAT USB Isolator and AQ Carbon and or Transparent USB Cable again.
The current set-up with ifi PSU and SoTM tx-USBexp with the new Niagara 1000 sound's better without the USB Isolator (BD Diana Krall Live in Paris - striking of the piano keys has a light strange tonality now with the USB Isolator). I did this test last week. Without the USB Isolator it sounds more like Devialet AIR.
Before my purchase of the Niagara 1000 sound over USB had a digital glitch which I didn't like, the USB Isolator at that time got rid of the digital glitch.
I like the idea with the Paul Hynes PSU. For me it would be SR4BT-12 with 5V,7V,9V,12V to be flexible.
After retesting the different options I will decide about the Paul Hynes PSU.
(21-Jun-2020, 11:07)Manfred Wrote: [ -> ]Thank you very much for all your input.
I have played a bit around yet. I had bought an AQ Niagara 1000 and 2x AQ Blizzard last year but did not retest all USB options I have again. All Devices TV, Devialet, Media Renderer, iFi for SotM and Switch are plugged into the Niagara 1000.
I have in another PC JCAT Femto and will put the Sotm tx-USBexp together with the JCAT Femto in my JRiver based media renderer in the Living room and do a retest with/without the JCAT USB Isolator and AQ Carbon and or Transparent USB Cable again.
The current set-up with ifi PSU and SoTM tx-USBexp with the new Niagara 1000 sound's better without the USB Isolator (BD Diana Krall Live in Paris - striking of the piano keys has a light strange tonality now with the USB Isolator). I did this test last week. Without the USB Isolator it sounds more like Devialet AIR.
Before my purchase of the Niagara 1000 sound over USB had a digital glitch which I didn't like, the USB Isolator at that time got rid of the digital glitch.
I like the idea with the Paul Hynes PSU. For me it would be SR4BT-12 with 5V,7V,9V,12V to be flexible.
After retesting the different options I will decide about the Paul Hynes PSU.
Since a few weeks I have the Paul Hynes SR4BT-12 LPSU with AQ Z3 1m power cable to power my Sotm tx-USBexp (7V, 1.5A). It's a really winner for me - digital glitch is not any more an issue and the dependency on different USB cable is small. The AQ Carbon has a little bit more bass than my Transparent Performance USB cable. The Transparent has a little more natural flow. But its hard to hear the difference because I have to switch the cables. and the difference is small.
My conclusion from a more general PoV is power quality and noise you must get right before comparing different USB cards and cables.
The Jcat USB XE is only goîng to ship to customers some time next week, nobody has one yet. I have one on order.
They are also going to release next an ethernet XE btw.
Cheers,
Bernard
@
Manfred, great that the SR4T worked out for you so well, enjoy!
