Hi… yes the isssue is more appropriate for galvanic isolation using induction… you can look up ‘galvanic isolation inductive slew ‘ in your search engine.
With SPDIF the transport clock, that is the timing of the signal, is contained within the signal itself. SPDIF uses Manchester Encoding that encourages regular value transition, but none the less depending on the voltage sequences the extracted clock (dotted line) can suffer from phase change due to the inductive slew…in this exaggerated example.
Now this SPDIF transport clock is in just about all DACs these days completely decoupled from the sample bit stream clock, none the less there very likely be low level switching noise on the ground plane or Powerlines aligning to the recovered transport clock. The more variability the wider the the range of intermodulation products that are subsequently harder to filter.
If there are two non identical inductive galvanic isolators at each end, the transport phase clock variability will be greater.
With opto galvanic isolators one won’t have inductive slew, and I would expect the slew to be far shorter in time. However quality inductive isolators are designed to be very fast.
“ The Etude is a balanced design so if you can use the balanced connectors, it should drop the noise floor a little. Ironically, our DACs are not true balanced but we fit XLR to the TT2 and DAVE to better match the amplifiers.” -Chord
BTW noise floor might be marginally dropped compared to longer lengths or certain styles of unbalanced interconnects, but distortion will be marginally higher on true balanced interconnects compared to unbalanced. (By definition with all other things being equal)
So as we say do what sounds best for you…
To my ears the unbalanced inputs on the Etude prior to its internal balanced conversion are rather good… it’s a smidgen softer than the balanced inputs… which suits my setup.
Agree completely. For me it feels more and more like the xlrs are staying. I like the extra drive and liveliness that they bring to my system. I definitely get more of a sense of space and separation using the balanced out/in on the TT2 and Etude.
The last experiment will be with a Silver Ultimate xlr from TSA cables. Interested in seeing what moving up the line will bring.
And as I continue to put the finishing touches on my system, I am continually surprised (pleasantly), by each piece. The move up along the xlr line in cables was onto subtle.Things have become, cleaner, clearer while still maintaining the separation, special details and punchiness I was enjoying using the balanced cables. I can finally exhale, relax and enjoy my music for the first time, again
This has been a really fun experience. And an opportunity to see that cables really do matter and present in very different ways.
Int he cheap seats here with a 2i feeding a Qutest but I have made an interconnect change that has made a difference. I had always read that bnc connection was somehow better than an optical - toslink- type. I have been running the Qutest on 1v with a bnc connection. Today playing with the settings I tried the 2v and couldn’t really hear a difference so having a cheap CA toslink sitting around I tried this. 1v and again not a real difference and if anything perhaps slightly subdued. Then toslink and 2v output. A considerable difference. The best way I can describe it is to say that the bass is now more detailed or pronounced, particularly at low volumes. The toslink stays and the new setting of 2v stays.
I found the Qutest direct from a streamer was best with optical… playing with the V to suit… try out the 3v as well. From memory I think I settled on 2v.
Also, glass optical takes it that bit further, very liquid analogue feel to it.
I have found the HQPlayer with my TT2 to be very good. As it stands at the moment, there’s a very good chance.
I’m currently using closed-form-m filter on the HQP with NS9 shaper. I’ve found upscaling to 384 to provide a good balance of tone/detail.
HQP is running on both a laptop and desktop systems via Optical into a Cisco Meraki switch powered by a Keces P3 LPS. This then goes to a StarTech FMC (ET91000SFP2) powered by an Uptone LPS-1.2 with a StarTech SFP which goes to the OpticalRendu. This is then connected to the TT2 directly by a Tellurium Q Silver Diamond USB.
So far, this has been the best my system has sounded…I’m always happy to experiment and challenge the norm but so far, very happy with how it all sounds!
I thought I would bring this thread back to life. I have been reading a LOT of positive reviews on the Innous Phoenix USB reclocker. I know a few of you guys are using the Phoenix, but my question is have any of you tried it with a laptop as the music source ?
Right now I use a laptop for Radio Paradise, plus my Naim Core fed into my Mscaler/TT2. Would this Phoenix transform an ordinary laptop into a high end streamer??, who am I kidding right, buy an ND555. Not sure, read the reviews…I was settled on what I thought I needed, a DCS network bridge, but maybe this route is better, any thoughts?
I did demo the the Phoenix and bought it, it improved my set up, Zen/Phoenix/MScaler/Dave. The DCS Network bridge is a great bit of kit the only question I would have is it the best option for feeding USB into your MScaler ?
I can’t answer the impact of the Phoenix being added to your laptop, there is an active Facebook group, Innuos Listening Group and Owners page, you will likely get good feedback there. Hope this helps.
I found the NUC direct into an M Scaler responded very favourably to iFi USB cleaning with injected cleaner power… so, I’d imagine the Phoenix with it’s built in LPS’s, clocking etc should have a very positive effect.
The million dollar question is whether the difference in performance from that solution and that of a high end streamer is big enough to warrant the extra outlay. I personally think it is good to experiment with non standard approaches as sometimes they can surprise us… in a positive way!
Yeah, a couple of the reviews I read were using Innous servers before the Phoenix, but one guy did try it with his laptop. He said it was a big upgrade to the Laptop, but to get the best out of it, he recommended using a dedicated server/streamer.
The Phoenix is about half the price of the DCS, so it would be great if it works just as good. The DCS also has the option of an external clock, but then you are talking about lots of cash.
I don’t think the DCS even has a USB input/output, so the Phoenix could not be added to it. For now my bare Laptop is working ok, but I know it is holding me back from the sound I want. The Core sounds much better, but no Tidal or Internet radio is a problem.
@NO-QUARTER Maybe a temp solution that you can easily sell on later… something like a Bluesound Node 2 or 2i. You could pick one up from eBay so you lose virtually nothing on it. It will give you Tidal, Qobuz, internet radio and Roon if you want. It will also take files from your Naim Core as well!
It punches well above its price point and 2nd hand would be a bargain!
Are the USB inputs of similar quality on the Chord Dacs- i have a Zennith which is used as a network server into a Moon Mind NDac 555?
The Zennith was a big upgrade going from the Zen Mini/LPS
How would the Zennith compare USB out into a TT2? - I dont need any of the pre amp headphone functions- as I am looking for a less box front end into my 252
I have thought about one of those Toon, also Pi, but I already have internet radio on my Laptop, can’t get Qobuz in Canada, and I am holding off getting another Tidal subscription until I have a decent front end. I am trying to avoid temporary solutions that I have to sell later really. Where is DayJay when you need him, maybe he has tried his Phoenix with a laptop.
Yeah, @dayjay maybe able to do a test for you to see how it manages it. My gut feeling is it will do great and later, you could an endpoint such as UltraRendu or something similar if you wanted to move away from the laptop source and keep the Phoenix in the system!