Master/slave link

[GuillaumeB]

It would be far better if we adopted the expression "I think I can hear a difference" to "there is a difference" and then we would all be happier. Possibly.

Ian, for what it's worth, I agree with your sentiments on this general topic. But it seems to me that there are some unknowns with respect to the Devialet master/slave link that complicate that pragmatic view.

If the cable is carrying high-speed digital data with fast rise/fall times, and there's no error detection/correction - not that I know either way - I think I'd also be quite worried that there is no obvious "standard" to which the cable should conform. Potential impedance mismatches could be a significant worry.

One would hope that Devialet have designed the link protocol so that it either works perfectly or doesn't work at all. If that's the case then the choice of cable should be ... (choosing my words carefully!) ... less significant.

Ian

Great post Ian. This is exactly why I'm interested in hearing from other dual mono owners. My own experience consisted of swapping the stock cable (a rebadged TA premium S/PDIF) with the TA XL.

I also tried a Chord Sarum TA and a Chord Signature Digital, but the TA XL was much better - to my ears!

In fact I would say that the upgrade from stock to TA XL was far greater than upgrading the link from streamer to master. Considerably so I might add. It was such a big upgrade that it made me really wonder what on earth was going on here.

If others find no difference that's fine by me too! I'm not trying to convince others of anything, I'm just interested in hearing from others.

I was also intrigued to hear that in the latest firmware Devialet had supposedly fixed a jitter issue between Master and Slave/Companion... and then there have been these reports from others on here about a lack of homogeneous sound...

Guillaume