A Confused streaming system - Mutec / SOtM Ultra

[Confused]

@Confused Good to read about the latest episode of your saga :-)  I haven't had a chance ever to directly compare the SOtM SMS-200 ultra SE to any other streamer. In fact, I was always wondering if there is anything better out there...You seemed to have found one but you are the only person I have ever seen on any forum who sold the SMS-200 ultra for something else. Some people preferred the Sonore streamer but when the SMS-200 ultra was connected to a REF 10, there was no contest. I hope one day, I will also have a chance to compare to the Zen streamer but the other day someone posted this in a Facebook group:

"So I did an a/b comparison sms200 ultra neo SE, txusb ultra SE powered by sps500 the USB cables used are audioquest diamond usb vs DCS network Bridge into a Chord tt2 dac. The SOTM sounded much better than the DCS. There were 4 people listening including the owner of the DCS and we were all in agreement."

Other components of the system were "Bryston 7b3 mono amps, Audiocontrol x9 processor, Totem acoustic element metal speakers."

I was happy to read this as the dCS Bridge was on my radar. Not so much anymore, especially considering that mine is clocked for the REF10 and the above test didn't seem to have an external clock.

Hi Zoltan. I was going to hold off posting too much about the Zen Stream, but now it is mentioned it seems appropriate to do so. 

First to say that I would be very reluctant to say that the Zen Stream is better than my previous SOtM kit. I spent a lot of time comparing the two, lots of A/B testing, and the only definitive conclusion I could reach is that the performance was very similar, it was very hard to differentiate between the two. This was with the very specific use case of using as an HQPlayer NAA to feed a Mutec REF10. Let's put it this way, if the Zen Stream had been dCS Network Bridge money, I would not have bought it as it would not offer a significant performance improvement for the price to change. 

Perhaps of note is that to my ears I always felt that there was something not quite right with the original sMS-200Ultra. It was impressive, certainly better at detail retrieval than my old microRendu, but somehow not quite right, maybe a touch too thin sounding or something. My view of this changed with the Neo update. Also, just after I received my sMS-200Ultra back from SOtM with Neo update and shortened clock cables, SOtM released some firmware updates, which also improved things to my ears.

So with the more recent firmware and Neo spec, I was pretty happy with the SOtM kit. In fact, the main reason I wanted to try the Zen was that I had a theory that the Mutec might sound better fed via S/PDIF, taking USB out of the chain altogether. Somewhat ironically, I am now running the Zen to the Mutec via USB. There are two reasons for this. Firstly I think this sounds a fraction better than S/PDIF. Secondly, I keep the Zen and the Mutec kit powered up continuously, but the PC is very often turned off. If I connect the Mutec via S/PDIF, then when the PC is powered down one of the status lock reference lights on the Mutec flashes, this does not happen when connected via USB. The flashing light is a bit irritating when nothing is playing. A minor point, but as I think it sounds a touch better with USB, it is a win win.

The Zen is also a lot simpler in use. In NAA mode it is very plug and play. If the Zen is powered powered down and restarted, HQPlayer automatically re-finds it, no issues. So no messing about with Eunhasu or checking IP addresses as might be the case with the sMS-200. The Zen seems to be a little more like a domestic audio product, turn it on and it works, rather than a more niche piece of a computer audio system. A minor point, but it is a nice touch. 

The Zen has also allowed me remove a lot of kit from my system and simplify things a little. No need for the "extra box" tX-USBultra, two 75ohm clock cables removed, one USB cable removed, and I now have a "spare" Paul Hynes SR4 LPSU that I can use elsewhere. I had two SR4's powering the SOtM kit, one remains powering the Zen.

For a while I had both the Zen and the SOtM kit connected up and piled up in the rack. With the SOtM kit sold, I have been able to tidy things up, and remove the cables that are no longer required. With subsequent long term listening, I am very happy with the little Zen Stream.

I am sure it will be a keeper, even if something new comes along, a new high performance NAA product, then I am sure I would keep the Zen and use it in my desktop headphone system or another room. It is a nice little product, it sounds good and just works.

Moving to a more objective stance, measurements for the Zen Stream show that it has very low levels of noise and good jitter measurements, so as something to simply feed the Mutec, maybe there is good reason it sounds similar to the SOtM kit.

I sometimes wonder if the "reassuringly expensive" Aqua LinQ might offer any additional performance as an NAA, and would the LinQ direct to the Devialet be a match or better than the more complex MC3+USB/REF10 approach? Although I am happy enough with my current set up not to be motivated to enough to try to get a demo unit. 

If anything, I think my next bit of tweaking might be to try fibre before the EtherRegen. From a technical perspective, I like the idea of a fibre link that will definitively be immune to any upstream electrical noise or interference. Something for another day.