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Guillaume's hi-fi system
#51
The Dev is too light for the ultra 6 to work properly. Try the ultra SS first, I would recommend if it is not a matter of cost...

I am also planning to put the ultra 5 under my speakers. I am waiting the local dealer to bring me some demos to try.

PS: Put on the top of each Dev of yours, the EMI/RFI paper from Stillpoint. One sheet per Dev. You will hear even firmer bass and quieter background. I am trying this stuff for three days now and I still find if hard to believe the sonic difference it makes.

I am slo thinking to put one over my power conditioner as well.
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#52
Nice Guillaume!  I have Ultra SS's under my D200 and they do wonders to the sound.  Another tweak I would suggest is a slab of Shakti Stone placed strategically above the ADC module.  I then put a 15 pound bag of lead on top of the stone to further stabilize the setup.  My other question is how on earth were you able to post such high resolution photos when we mortals are only allowed a few kilobytes?  Regards.



(16-Apr-2016, 10:48)GuillaumeB Wrote: And whilst I was at it I'd thought I'd try out the new Ultra 6s... here is a pic of them side by side with the Ansuz Diamond pucks... these have now temporarily replaced the Ansuz pucks under my totaldac d1 server. Unfortunately I could only get 3 to try as I would have liked to have tried them out under the Devialets... still, impressions to follow!  Smile



Guillaume
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#53
(16-Apr-2016, 12:44)GuillaumeB Wrote:
(16-Apr-2016, 11:36)Axel Wrote:
(16-Apr-2016, 10:48)GuillaumeB Wrote: And whilst I was at it I'd thought I'd try out the new Ultra 6s... here is a pic of them side by side with the Ansuz Diamond pucks... these have now temporarily replaced the Ansuz pucks under my totaldac d1 server. Unfortunately I could only get 3 to try as I would have liked to have tried them out under the Devialets... still, impressions to follow!  Smile



Guillaume

Blimey Guillaume!

What a cracking system! I bet it sounds magical. Smile
Just one thing though: do you have any problems with the right hand speaker so close to your equipment rack?  I know that the Wilson cabinets are very inert but you must get some sounds from the drivers hitting your gear, and no amount of isolation will stop that.

Thanks!  Smile I don't really experience any problems as such, I did do some measuring with Dirac a while back then again with the Trinnov. If I recall correctly this showed a suck out/nul on the right hand side, overall the measurements weren't too bad though. The shelves in my rack are very thick non-oscillating glass, not sure if that helps. What I do find is that de-coupling of my Devialet's seems to produce a very strong effect in my set up. 

But you are right in an idea world I would have my equipment between the speakers (or at least quite bit further away from the speakers). My constraints are the cinema screen since this doubles up as a movie room... for a while I did consider moving the spectral stand further down the room on the right hand side but this never happened for a number of reasons...

Guillaume
 In between the speakers isn't the best spot either because that's where a lot of bass hangs around. The best spot is where there's the least amount of bass in your room. Or, in your case, where your Anzus pucks have the least amount of effect (because the vibration they are meant to calm down isn't there in the first place)

I've often thought that if I had the space to build a dedicated room I would have the electronics in an adjacent room.
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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#54
(17-Apr-2016, 02:48)Pim van Vliet Wrote:
(16-Apr-2016, 12:44)GuillaumeB Wrote:
(16-Apr-2016, 11:36)Axel Wrote: Blimey Guillaume!

What a cracking system! I bet it sounds magical. Smile
Just one thing though: do you have any problems with the right hand speaker so close to your equipment rack?  I know that the Wilson cabinets are very inert but you must get some sounds from the drivers hitting your gear, and no amount of isolation will stop that.

Thanks!  Smile I don't really experience any problems as such, I did do some measuring with Dirac a while back then again with the Trinnov. If I recall correctly this showed a suck out/nul on the right hand side, overall the measurements weren't too bad though. The shelves in my rack are very thick non-oscillating glass, not sure if that helps. What I do find is that de-coupling of my Devialet's seems to produce a very strong effect in my set up. 

But you are right in an idea world I would have my equipment between the speakers (or at least quite bit further away from the speakers). My constraints are the cinema screen since this doubles up as a movie room... for a while I did consider moving the spectral stand further down the room on the right hand side but this never happened for a number of reasons...

Guillaume
 In between the speakers isn't the best spot either because that's where a lot of bass hangs around. The best spot is where there's the least amount of bass in your room. Or, in your case, where your Anzus pucks have the least amount of effect (because the vibration they are meant to calm down isn't there in the first place)

I've often thought that if I had the space to build a dedicated room I would have the electronics in an adjacent room.

Hi Pim, I am not an expert on such matters, however my understanding is that the Ansuz (and for that matter other pucks by rival companies, and there are many of them!) do not "calm" the electronics they are supporting but rather de-couple. So we are talking about mechanical vibration transferred from the speakers into the floor (via spikes) radiating vibration throughout the room, through the rack and into the equipment. Then there is the vibration created by other electronics in the rack which is fed back into the rack, if that makes sense. 

I was fascinated a couple of years ago by a conversation I had with Max Townshend who at the time was demonstrating how speakers pick up ground borne vibration. Anyway just found this video on youtube, this covers pretty much what we discussed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW9-r83IvhI

Once again I don't profess to be an expert, but I do find the results obtained by de-coupling to be very exciting indeed. I feel as though my system has jumped a level or two.  Smile

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#55
(17-Apr-2016, 11:15)GuillaumeB Wrote:
(17-Apr-2016, 02:48)Pim van Vliet Wrote:
(16-Apr-2016, 12:44)GuillaumeB Wrote: Thanks!  Smile I don't really experience any problems as such, I did do some measuring with Dirac a while back then again with the Trinnov. If I recall correctly this showed a suck out/nul on the right hand side, overall the measurements weren't too bad though. The shelves in my rack are very thick non-oscillating glass, not sure if that helps. What I do find is that de-coupling of my Devialet's seems to produce a very strong effect in my set up. 

But you are right in an idea world I would have my equipment between the speakers (or at least quite bit further away from the speakers). My constraints are the cinema screen since this doubles up as a movie room... for a while I did consider moving the spectral stand further down the room on the right hand side but this never happened for a number of reasons...

Guillaume
 In between the speakers isn't the best spot either because that's where a lot of bass hangs around. The best spot is where there's the least amount of bass in your room. Or, in your case, where your Anzus pucks have the least amount of effect (because the vibration they are meant to calm down isn't there in the first place)

I've often thought that if I had the space to build a dedicated room I would have the electronics in an adjacent room.

Hi Pim, I am not an expert on such matters, however my understanding is that the Ansuz (and for that matter other pucks by rival companies, and there are many of them!) do not "calm" the electronics they are supporting but rather de-couple. So we are talking about mechanical vibration transferred from the speakers into the floor (via spikes) radiating vibration throughout the room, through the rack and into the equipment. Then there is the vibration created by other electronics in the rack which is fed back into the rack, if that makes sense. 

I was fascinated a couple of years ago by a conversation I had with Max Townshend who at the time was demonstrating how speakers pick up ground borne vibration. Anyway just found this video on youtube, this covers pretty much what we discussed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dW9-r83IvhI

Once again I don't profess to be an expert, but I do find the results obtained by de-coupling to be very exciting indeed. I feel as though my system has jumped a level or two.  Smile

Guillaume
Hi Guillaume,

I'll have to wait till I get home to watch the video...internet at this camp won't allow youtube   Sad
I'm no expert either but it doesn't take a rocket surgeon to work out the highest level of vibration in a room gets created by the speakers. Anyway, looking forward to the video (in a week or so)

Thanks,

Pim
                                                    Lifetime Roon, Mac mini, int. SSD, ext. HDD, tv as monitor, key board and track pad on bean bag as remote,Devialet 200, Od'A #097, Blue jeans speaker cable,                                     
                                                                                                                                                                            Dynaudio C1 MkII.
                                                                                                                                                                              Jim Smith's GBS.
                                                                                                                                                                        Northern NSW Australia.
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#56
I have a fairly neutral stance on things like pucks, simply because I have not had enough experience with them to form an informed view. However, I did stumble across something recently that I found interesting. This was actually related to someone working on electronics for military technology. (A big thing 'round my way, with AWE and Burghfield being experts in the design of weapons of mass destruction) Apparently there can be an issue with vibration adversely effecting the performance of crystal oscillators used in missile guidance radars. I guess getting the best sound from your hifi might not have quite the same significance as ensuring your zillion mega tonne bomb lands in the right place, but it looks like there is some science behind all this.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
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#57
(17-Apr-2016, 12:50)Confused Wrote: I have a fairly neutral stance on things like pucks, simply because I have not had enough experience with them to form an informed view.  However, I did stumble across something recently that I found interesting.  This was actually related to someone working on electronics for military technology.  (A big thing 'round my way, with AWE and Burghfield being experts in the design of weapons of mass destruction)   Apparently there can be an issue with vibration adversely effecting the performance of crystal oscillators used in missile guidance radars.  I guess getting the best sound from your hifi might not have quite the same significance as ensuring your zillion mega tonne bomb lands in the right place, but it looks like there is some science behind all this.

According to Max Townshend who is generally well respected in this field, computers, streamers and DACs are highly susceptible to mechanical noise as they contain vibration sensitive crystal oscillators.

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#58
Small update for those that are interested...

I recently acquired a sonicTransporter (sT). Since I was also considering moving from HDD to SSD, I decided to spec the model with a 1TB SSD. 

The sT means that I can make full use of the Totaldac's Roon Ready mode, see image below:

   

The sT is a very low powered headless computer (8W) that runs RoonServer among other things and is basically always on, much like my QNAP NAS. 

I started off by copying over my .5TB music collection (roughly 600+ albums) over to the sT. All I had to do then at the Totaldac end was start the service via http://cubox.local:8080/ and then open the Roon app on my iPad. By the time I opened the app everything was organised by Roon, an utterly painless experience and definitely the most straightforward I have ever experienced!

The sT is currently running with its "dirty" power supply and it is connected directly into my Draytek router via a Totaldac ethernet cable that I had spare. 

I have connected a spare USB port of the sT to an Olympus Minimus Entreq ground box using an Apollo USB ground cable. See image below:

   

So how does it all work. Well in a nutshell: brilliantly! I simply love the Roon app, on both my iPad and iPhone 6 Plus. Actually I probably use my iPhone more often to select and play tracks. Coming from MPD and iPeng this is a major improvement. For one I can edit metadata in the Roon app itself, no need to use other programs on my Mac. I am just starting to get my head around all the possibilities of Roon, to be honest a lot of it is probably lost on me but I will get there  Wink

From a  sound quality point of view as some of you know I have recently been experimenting with AIR 3 beta and have been very impressed. Roon on my totaldac now definitely sounds better. 

I have recently ordered a linear power supply - nothing fancy just a basic one from MCRU - which should arrive in a few days. I'm also waiting for a new Entreq cable: an Apollo RJ45 ground cable which I will use to connect my Draytek to the Olympus Minimus.

So probably enough to keep me busy for a few weeks  Wink

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#59
The linear power supply arrived this afternoon. It's basically this model (recommended by Dave at MRCU based on the sT specs):

http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/power...results=12

I opted for the Kimber DC cabling upgrade.  Tongue I am using an old orange Chord mains cable which is plugged into an Isotek Polaris strip.

I have connected everything up and started playing music about 20 minutes ago. 

Definitely a small improvement in the sound. Need to spend a bit more time listening but first impressions are good. 

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#60
This is simple and wonderful upgrade (not in terms of costing etc) but with "1TB SSD" on board for Roon, is very cool in terms of speed, SQ etc. This resolves many issues during audio files transportation over WIFI/ETH. No more gathering of audio files from NAS though switch to Roon to ETH Dev/ USB/ etc. Now the audio files are truly local and Roon loves this.

NAS will now become only for back up. This is exactly what I was looking for when I buy NUC with 1TB SSD. NAS is now Back up only and not for actively sending bit-stream to all devices.

I guess, it all depends on how much disk space one needs. If it goes beyond 1TB then bigger SSD can be bought in future with 3D-NAND coming up or some audio files can still be on NAS, or a SSD HDD can be USB connected to the device itself.
Rock OS (Roon) on NUC 2016 Model (ETH Wired to Router) > Cat8 from Router to switch to 220Pro (CI) > RAAT/AIR > Monitor Audio PL300 II
Ipad Mini 4/iPhone for Roon Remote"
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