What is your configuration for Computer Audio?

[panditji]

Hi Nikhil
You have a desktop PC or a laptop with a LPS?
I am sorry but I am little confused with that

The way the laptop is powered I still feel it won't improve much with a LPS
One of my friend is a full fledged hardware reapir engineer. He is not into audio but will try to learn from him if an LPS can make a difference with a laptop with respect to noise

Rikhav, would be grateful if you could share what your friend says regarding the LPS making a difference to the laptop... The reason I am asking these questions repeatedly is because these new products with an LPS can cost quite a bit and for that kind of money I might just buy a better DAC and also because technology changes very fast those products can become obsolete quickly...

A good LPS if it makes a difference, will always be constant in the system and the only thing to be upgraded would be a DAC and even then the LPS will make a substantial difference... I dont know anyone using an LPS for a DAC and hence I ask just to save myself some money....

 

[rikhav]

Rikhav, would be grateful if you could share what your friend says regarding the LPS making a difference to the laptop... The reason I am asking these questions repeatedly is because these new products with an LPS can cost quite a bit and for that kind of money I might just buy a better DAC and also because technology changes very fast those products can become obsolete quickly...

A good LPS if it makes a difference, will always be constant in the system and the only thing to be upgraded would be a DAC and even then the LPS will make a substantial difference... I dont know anyone using an LPS for a DAC and hence I ask just to save myself some money....

Surely would update the thread
Most dacs have inbuilt linear regulated supply
Few skip that and have a laptop like dc adapter to power the dac
Not sure what is the reason for that but I think audiolab mdac version 1 was same and so is few more DACs

Also as Rajesh said it's more of clean power , whatever way you can feed clean power

I can understand a good LPS can be very costly. Take Sbooster as an example, very good reviews but does cost quiet a lot

 

[panditji]

interesting comments so far.
Just to throw in some of my experiences into the mix.
1. I noticed the biggest change in sound from powering the Mytek DAC with conditioned power from a Isotek Aquarius (not exactly LPS but clean power), this had a bigger change than powering the Ultrarendu with conditioned power
2. Plugging in the Wyred4sound reclocker in-between the Ultrarendu & DAC had no effect whatsoever.
3. Tried the different modes in Ultrarendu - Roon sounds best, Spotify is pretty good, Apple airplay simulator sounded plain bad.

@panditji some food for thought, my mPre's USB input has galvanic isolation, but plugging in the Wyred4sound reclocker has obvious improvement in sound. Do consider the Uptone Regen or Recovery as an alternative buy to the Ultrarendu/SOTM, they are much cheaper & they do make an difference in sound.

Thanks Rajesh for the comparisons.. Very useful sir... I have read in the Chord 2Qute thread that the Uptone Regen does not make any difference to the 2Qute DACs and it could be that the Galvanic Isolation has been implemented better in the 2Qute.. However some people did find improvements in sound by using an external LPS and therefore my curiosity in adding a good LPS which can also power the laptop thereby hoping to add some more improvement in sound quality...

 

[sidvee]

Only conclusion i can draw, is that a good DAC makes a much bigger impact in sound quality than these renderers or cleaners

.

IMO this is the crux of good sounding PC based audio. I have done various things over the past few years, linear PSU's, USb conditioners, USB cards, USB cables, dedicated music PC's, Different media players, upsampling etc. but I have always noticed the biggest difference in SQ with the DAC's (which I have tested/owned over 5-6 in the past couple of years).
Cheers,
Sid

 

[pugalenthi]

So just to further satiate my curiosity i went in to finding out a little more about these products and came across a host of information that merely boggles the mind. I'll share the links:

https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...-measurements-of-sonore-microrendu-v1-4.1867/
https://audiosciencereview.com/foru...d-review-of-sotm-sms-200-network-player.1846/
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...ptone-iso-regen-review-and-measurements.1829/
https://benchmarkmedia.com/blogs/ap...audio-myth-switching-power-supplies-are-noisy
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...o-player-hardware-teardown-and-pictures.1855/
https://community.roonlabs.com/t/ultrarendu-or-sms-200ultra/30046/10

It's very difficult for a layman like me to decide if I need I product like ultrarendu, sotm, etc, once one reads more of these articles. In one of the links, the author clearly sees no merit of sotm sms 200 over his laptop/PC. Another thing that comes forth is good PSUs make for better listening. But the debate rages on about linear or switch mode. In specific, if I look at my scenario of Synology NAS with Roon Core feeding the Oppo DACs, I have no way of knowing what ultraRendu would do, that would better what I have. It has to be weighed and considered as these products are expensive. Also different PSUs seem to behave differently with different DACs as shown in the links. It may be that, by the time I reach a desired PSU (this assumes that I know how to take measurements, which I don't), I may get pretty light in the pocket. I think just understanding how these music renderers actually upgrade music, may be above my pay grade.

thanks for information.

 

[Rajeshh]

@sidvee Completely agree.
i am sorely tempted to buy the Mytek DAC., but at the same time cautious as well, considering how fast the DAC game is changing.
New and better DACs seem to be released almost every year like phones.

 

[terrible]

Just clarifying further is this a PSU/Power Conditioner? https://www.hifimart.com/accessorie...werbase-power-filter-and-protection-unit.html

Or is it that a PSU is different from a power conditioner?

 

[rikhav]

Just clarifying further is this a PSU/Power Conditioner? https://www.hifimart.com/accessorie...werbase-power-filter-and-protection-unit.html

Or is it that a PSU is different from a power conditioner?

It's a sort of power filter with cum extension box with emi/RFI filter
Power conditioners would be different from such power filters
But I can understand everyone calling it either filter or conditioner

 

[Nikhil]

Plugging in the Wyred4sound reclocker in-between the Ultrarendu & DAC had no effect whatsoever.

I think the UltraRendu already has an Uptone Audio Regen interface for "cleaning" the USB input.

.

 

[terrible]

It's a sort of power filter with cum extension box with emi/RFI filter
Power conditioners would be different from such power filters
But I can understand everyone calling it either filter or conditioner

What would a power conditioner be doing that this does not?

 

[sound_cycle]

I have modified from where I was a couple of months back

I now use Roon and Tidal playing on the Zotac. I find it better than the other players I tried (Itunes, F2K and Tidal Web).

I have switched from feeding my DAC from the m/b header supplied optical output via an optical cable to USB.

My DAC does not have a USB in so, I added a Schiit Eitr (don't try and read that aloud ;P ) to the chain. I was not expecting such a gain over the S/PDIF. Early days and while I don't think burn in applies to this device IAC I am slow and get to appreciate my changes over time. That said, I've gained a wider, deeper sound stage and a big improvement in SQ.

Also spent on a better harness. PYST for the USB (because I got USB 3 BJC incorrectly ), BJC "true" 75 ohm digital coaxial cables. BJC Ten whites for the speakers are on the way.

I think I have hit on a reasonably good configuration for PC based audio. I could do with a better specced PC (SSD and OpenGL card are missing on my config) and if I had the money I would get Freya, Gumby and another Vidar .

Seriously, I am done. I'm settling down to listening instead of dabba chasing and courier waiting.

If you are looking for a one dabba enhancement to your PC based audio, I strongly recommend you consider the Eitr. It's worked very well with my rig.

ciao
gr

 

[rikhav]

I have modified from where I was a couple of months back

I now use Roon and Tidal playing on the Zotac. I find it better than the other players I tried (Itunes, F2K and Tidal Web).

I have switched from feeding my DAC from the m/b header supplied optical output via an optical cable to USB.

My DAC does not have a USB in so, I added a Schiit Eitr (don't try and read that aloud ;P ) to the chain. I was not expecting such a gain over the S/PDIF. Early days and while I don't think burn in applies to this device IAC I am slow and get to appreciate my changes over time. That said, I've gained a wider, deeper sound stage and a big improvement in SQ.

Also spent on a better harness. PYST for the USB (because I got USB 3 BJC incorrectly ), BJC "true" 75 ohm digital coaxial cables. BJC Ten whites for the speakers are on the way.

I think I have hit on a reasonably good configuration for PC based audio. I could do with a better specced PC (SSD and OpenGL card are missing on my config) and if I had the money I would get Freya, Gumby and another Vidar .

Seriously, I am done. I'm settling down to listening instead of dabba chasing and courier waiting.

If you are looking for a one dabba enhancement to your PC based audio, I strongly recommend you consider the Eitr. It's worked very well with my rig.

ciao
gr

The dabba chasing and courier waiting part is very important

But seriously I am also waiting to try out the gen 5 usb interface of schiit

 

[captainsubtext]

I'm using the gen 5 gumby and I don't hear a discernible difference between the usb and the spdif inputs.

 

[sound_cycle]

I'm using the gen 5 gumby and I don't hear a discernible difference between the usb and the spdif inputs.

Gumby has the adapticlock so that is not surprising.

From 'net reports the gen5 is an improvement with Gumby over the previous arrangement though.

edit see also : https://www.head-fi.org/threads/schiit-gungnir-dac.603219/page-295#post-13635324

Baldr says

It goes something like this today: BNC about equals Coax about equals Gen 5 USB>TOS>>Gen 3 USB. "About equals" means close to very close with tradeoffs.

ciao
gr

 

[sound_cycle]

The dabba chasing and courier waiting part is very important

But seriously I am also waiting to try out the gen 5 usb interface of schiit

Not sure if the chase is better than the catch, but I agree to the important part.

As to the second line, easy, if you are in Hyderabad that is.

ciao
gr

 

[rikhav]

Not sure if the chase is better than the catch, but I agree to the important part.

As to the second line, easy, if you are in Hyderabad that is.

ciao
gr

Unfortunately am in Bombay
But have read enough good things about the schiit gen 5 usb
Will try to get it from USA when a friend or relative is coming to India
Improved usb interface and has a linear supply powering it
Seems good for the price

 

[sound_cycle]

But have read enough good things about the schiit gen 5 usb<snip>Improved usb interface and has a linear supply powering it. Seems good for the price

OT Trivia.

I just realized that I "found" eitr through what I think was an answer to your post on CA

ciao
gr

 

[keith_correa]

Panditji, given the DAC you're using, the biggest benefit you will get (IMO) is by inserting a reclocker / regenerator between the source and DAC. Just my 2 cents worth!

 

[panditji]

I have been intrigued by the W4Sound reclocker as someone posted on the forum and got good results as well as an HDPlex to power my laptop and DAC...The reclocker costs USD199 and the HDPlex costs $395 ... So confused which one to use or wait for the Chord 3Qute DAC out hopefully in the next 3-4 months...

 

[rikhav]

I have been intrigued by the W4Sound reclocker as someone posted on the forum and got good results as well as an HDPlex to power my laptop and DAC...The reclocker costs USD199 and the HDPlex costs $395 ... So confused which one to use or wait for the Chord 3Qute DAC out hopefully in the next 3-4 months...

If you not worried too much about DSD playback schiit eitr can be a good bet
It's powered by a linear supply and has the gen5 usb interface by schiit

It's a usb to spidif converter and is priced at USD 179