Hi @dayjay, I just picked up you’re using Innuos/Roon in experimental mode, is it much better than RAAT ?. Until recently I was using the Zen as a server/Roon core into the Nova so this wasn’t the setting I used as ethernet out to Nova.
Think I will give it a try as reading else where it appears to yield good results. Thanks for reminding me of the option.
To my ears it is better, more sparkle and realism but it’s free to try so have a go and let us know what you think
Higain is the way to go. I experimented a lot with this when I first went from TT2 / SN2 / HiCap DR / PMC 25.22 to TT2 / PMC 25.222.
The change then, especially for the mids was similar to the cliche but instead of a veil it was a like lifting a dust sheet off the mids. The difference was that big it took a few days to work out all the changes that had taken place. Some will like those changes and others won’t. It will also vary greatly depending on the speakers and setup… i.e. near, mid or long field listening. I loved the extra detail in the mids, just felt more open and expressive.
The Etude, from that initial first listen is not as drastic of course. But, it was obvious. When I mentioned extra detail I stressed it wasn’t harsh. This was because the detail was everywhere and not just the highs.
I think what I’ll find is that running direct, the volume on the TT2 Pre is quite high in comparison to the TT2 Pre volume when connected to the Etude (of course) and that probably helps give the more relaxed effortless, detailed presentation.
I’ll be picking out probably 6-12 tracks to listen to that cover different genres and styles and have a good listen to them with the Etude, then after a while play them without the Etude.
The only downside today is that most of my listening is confined to the Empy as my wife will be in zoom meetings but I’m sure I’ll be able to squeeze a few tracks in here and there
I wonder how the Etude would compare to my Nagra? I doubt I will find out, since I have two analog sources beside my digital. They might sound similar, I am using XLR connections from the TT2 in DAC mode, and the amp is MOSFET design also.
Sure the custom FET output drivers have something to do with the design - but to my mind the key part of the design is the adoption nested feed forward circuitry - which you can read about in IEEE papers - which actively reduces distortion of the amplifier stages rather than relying purely on feedback. Chord have expanded on a principle developed by Dr Malcolm J Hawksford and further developed for amplifiers by Bob Cordell.
I think the principle is similar to the THX chipsets used in some high end audio systems. The net result is a wide bandwidth low transient distortion amplifier - ie an ideal match for Chord Electronics DACs.
Anyway the result is a fast, powerful yet musical flowing amp - which in my experience those combinations rarely come together in a single device.
Might be similar then. You might be able to wrangle a demo… the Chord dealers don’t seem to mind handing them out for home demos at the moment. With lockdowns, I guess there is little choice
If anyone is wondering about fan noise with these amps. When the room was completely silent at night and no traffic ambient noises, I became aware of a slight hiss type sound. For my sins I tend to spot fan / hiss noises from fifty paces. When I sat down to listen last night I didn’t notice it at all and that’s from 3-4ft. It’s a bit like that very low level hiss if you put your ear to a tweeter when the system is off.
I can’t imagine this would be an issue to anyone at all as ambient noise would drown it out straight away.
interesting - i am sensitive to noise - and i have listened with 6 " of the tweeters of my speakers and heard nothing, but did from my previous system - albeit very low level - I haven’t rested my ear right next to the tweeters - intuitively i would be wary - if something ‘happened’ whilst doing that i would loose the hearing in that ear… its a bit like eyes and lasers
Also no transformer hum - which is a blessing
The very silent silents in music playback is noticeable - no doubt accentuated by the dynamic control.
One thing I have noticed is that poor recording sibilance is ever so slightly more noticeable - though only when using Msclar, and filter 1 setting.
I probably didn’t explain that well (i.e. I didn’t)
The noise I heard which I couldn’t work out where it was coming from was actually from the Etude… I had to have my ear literally 4-6 inches away to confirm it was that… very quite. It just sounded a little like systems that produce a tweeter hiss. Very faint and only obvious when you place you ear on top of them.
And no transformer hum as you say… thank god…I’m looking at you Mr HiCap DR
By the way, do you have the Etude within a shelf or on a top shelf for better ventilation?
Once you have the wave cables or power bank, filter 1 is ok otherwise I’ve found 2 takes the edge of it.
ahh i see - ok the only hiss from the Etude I hear when i switch it off and it discharges itself - there is short hissing buzz for about two seconds after the relays switch out. I assume something to do to with the high frequency power supply.
Yes I suspect that is the case - as if I switch mscalar out - it goes - and I reduced it with my own ferrites on the coax leads. Filter 2 setting however kills the magic of the sound…
Right, so you do switch yours off. Wasn’t sure about this as I read on some Chord Blurb that you can leave it on. It feels warm to the touch this morning so the fan will be shifting a bit of air from the case.
No I normally leave on - but when I was swapping around amp interconnects , TT2 and DAVE I definitely did - and that is when I noticed it
And after it’s been running a while can you here noise from it (quiet noise) when you place your ear up to it? It’s not a noise you’d hear from a couple of feet away but just want to make sure that’s normal
Yes you can hear a faint noise if you put your ear to the case. I leave mine on 24/7.
@glasnaim Excellent thanks. Do you have yours on an open top shelf on or on a middle enclosed shelf?
I prefer the look it in the enclosed shelf but, if I had to I can pop it on the top
I have mine on top shelf but I’m not really a rack guy, I have mine along with the Dave on a solid oak dresser. I thought yours looked great where it was in the picture. I don’t notice mine running too hot.
Great … I might try it on both. Could ease it further forward so the the front facing vents will push air out and up away from the glass above!
yes likely the high speed power supply - as opposed to a low frequency mains hum
I have mine on a middle shelf
It’s warm, not hot, so I’ll just leave it on that shelf in the picture. Plenty of space around it etc so should be fine.
Missus went out with the dog so I had the chance for a quick listen. Flying Pickets - Roxanne on the Everyday album.
This goes from quiet and delicate to loud very quickly with supporting vocal beats. Hairs on arms moment. It really carries the emotion of the song well… rapid turn of pace from the quiet sequences and pin point precision with regards to soundstage/imaging. You get a clear sense of where they’re sitting in relation to each other. It was good before but it is certainly quite a bit better now.
Edit… yeah, all’s good temp wise. Popped a small temp sensor on top of it and it was only 27c
edit 2… just for anyone browsing through and wondering about temp. It’s steady at 30c and Chord have said this is well within range and that they’ve used it in less forgiving situation than the pic above shows.