03-Apr-2018, 13:58
@Confused We may be just months apart, I also turned 50 this winter.
Anyway, the high-frequency forwardness of the SOtM system may well be (apart from the power supply) due to some cables. I have tried a few USB cables and the most relaxing was the Curious USB which I use now. Currently borrowing a 50cm Wireworld Platinum 7 which costs more than twice. The treble is too forward with this cable and while it could be said that it is more revealing, it was a little distracting too. I also sold my Crystal Cable speaker cables as they were too aggressive with the Devialet and my YG Acoustic speakers whereas they were perfect with my ProAC speakers. I'm not sure that cables can really 'make or break a system' but these nuance differences can result in a less or more satisfactory listening experience.
@IanG-UK I am sorry Ian that Mutec didn't contact you. I feel a little guilty since I talked you into it in Munich and I was there when you agreed with them and they took your details. I know they had big success at the show with the Ref10 and were slow to catch up with orders.
At the same time, I must say that the Ref10 is the heart of my system now, almost literally as it gives the beat to several devices - I wouldn't call it peripheral. In fact, if I was forced to name components one-by-one that I would have to replace in my system, the Ref10 would be the last to go. When I bought the Devialet, I thought it was very good but not necessarily overall better than my previous separate 5-6 box system. Certainly more pleasing to look at and more convenient to use. The Ref10 brought so much realism to the sound that I never thought would be possible in a living room environment. It is unfortunate that DACs that except the 10mHz reference clock are not too many, otherwise I would even consider replacing the Devialet (which I would miss dearly for its esthetics and versatility).
@yabaVR Optimising Windows can reduce unwanted noise in the system, I have friends who swear by it. I asked both the developer of HQPlayer and SOtM what optimisation they recommend. Both said that they don't think it will make a difference in this network streaming that we are doing with the SMS-200ulta + HQplayer NAA. They themselves don't use any such optimisation. The network isolates this noise ideally, but you have to be careful with that. The SMS-200ultra is not galvanically isolated and neither are D-Link switches, so certain Ethernet cables are not suitable to use (mostly audiophile cables actually). Also, the power supply on the switch makes a difference. For me, full optical isolation between the SOtM modified switch and the SMS-200ultra gave the best result so far, somewhat better than my Acoustic Revive RLI-1 isolators. Soon I will have a chance to test these against a Pink Faun isolator which is also said to be good. Inherent in the optical isolation, noise cannot pass through, so I didn't hear any difference when I put the switching power supply back on the switch but it is important to use a good LPS on the second optical converter (which converts it back to Ethernet). It seems that new SOtM switch will have optical ports too, so that can be very useful.
Anyway, the high-frequency forwardness of the SOtM system may well be (apart from the power supply) due to some cables. I have tried a few USB cables and the most relaxing was the Curious USB which I use now. Currently borrowing a 50cm Wireworld Platinum 7 which costs more than twice. The treble is too forward with this cable and while it could be said that it is more revealing, it was a little distracting too. I also sold my Crystal Cable speaker cables as they were too aggressive with the Devialet and my YG Acoustic speakers whereas they were perfect with my ProAC speakers. I'm not sure that cables can really 'make or break a system' but these nuance differences can result in a less or more satisfactory listening experience.
@IanG-UK I am sorry Ian that Mutec didn't contact you. I feel a little guilty since I talked you into it in Munich and I was there when you agreed with them and they took your details. I know they had big success at the show with the Ref10 and were slow to catch up with orders.
At the same time, I must say that the Ref10 is the heart of my system now, almost literally as it gives the beat to several devices - I wouldn't call it peripheral. In fact, if I was forced to name components one-by-one that I would have to replace in my system, the Ref10 would be the last to go. When I bought the Devialet, I thought it was very good but not necessarily overall better than my previous separate 5-6 box system. Certainly more pleasing to look at and more convenient to use. The Ref10 brought so much realism to the sound that I never thought would be possible in a living room environment. It is unfortunate that DACs that except the 10mHz reference clock are not too many, otherwise I would even consider replacing the Devialet (which I would miss dearly for its esthetics and versatility).
@yabaVR Optimising Windows can reduce unwanted noise in the system, I have friends who swear by it. I asked both the developer of HQPlayer and SOtM what optimisation they recommend. Both said that they don't think it will make a difference in this network streaming that we are doing with the SMS-200ulta + HQplayer NAA. They themselves don't use any such optimisation. The network isolates this noise ideally, but you have to be careful with that. The SMS-200ultra is not galvanically isolated and neither are D-Link switches, so certain Ethernet cables are not suitable to use (mostly audiophile cables actually). Also, the power supply on the switch makes a difference. For me, full optical isolation between the SOtM modified switch and the SMS-200ultra gave the best result so far, somewhat better than my Acoustic Revive RLI-1 isolators. Soon I will have a chance to test these against a Pink Faun isolator which is also said to be good. Inherent in the optical isolation, noise cannot pass through, so I didn't hear any difference when I put the switching power supply back on the switch but it is important to use a good LPS on the second optical converter (which converts it back to Ethernet). It seems that new SOtM switch will have optical ports too, so that can be very useful.
Win10/HQPlayer / Roon - Uptone Audio Etherregen switch / SOtM-SMS-200 ultra with clock input - Mutec REF 10 clock for the switch and the streamer - Denafrips GAIA DCC - Devialet D800 - YG Acoustics Carmel - Dual Elac SUB-2090
power supplies: Uptone JS-2, SOtM SPS-500
