Guys, I've had similar SFS 'problems' in the past. It seems that something doesn't like certain odd SFS numbers. Try 416 instead of 415 and see what happens.

Sorry for not highlighting this a long while ago - I just never thought it a big deal.

Mani.

Peter, put me down for two pairs (i.e. 4 bluetooths) - one for my main room and one for my office.

Mani.

Hey Peter, nice explanation. Looking forward to reading Greg's response.

But just to dumb things down to my level, I have a question. In my main room, I use XX's vol control usually between -18dB and -9dB (although -6dB for very, very quiet pieces). And 'Peak Extend' gives me a further -3dB on top of this, right? So it looks like I'm usually the 1704's optimum range. But in my office, the NOS1 is connected to a preamp (the Pass X1), which although far from ideal is useful because I like switching between different sources as I work (NOS1 for PCM, Mytek for DSD and my FM tuner for radio). Peak Extend is always on (off for HDCD of course), but should I set XX's vol control to say -9dB anyway, rather than the 0dB that it's currently set to?

Like I said, dumb question because the real answer is "get rid of the preamp". But this would just make my life a lot more difficult.

Mani.

Hi Greg, I never used XX's built-in vol control for a long, long time. But (quite a while ago now) I did a comparison of the following three different attenuation techniques:
- XX's digital vol
- Audio Synthesis Pro Passion passive (Teflon insulated high purity silver conductors and precision bulk-foil Vishay resistors) with a very short IC to power amp
- Pass Labs X1 preamp (certainly not the last word in preamps but considered good value for the £5K I paid for it ~12 years ago)

I still have the Pro Passion and the X1 and could re-conduct the comparison if necessary. I can't find the thread where I posted my findings, but I do remember my ranking. To my utter dismay (as a strong analogue attenuation advocate up to that point) it was:
1st) XX digital vol control
2nd) Audio Synthesis Pro Passion
3rd) Pass Labs X1

IIRC, the Pro Passion was very close to XX's vol control, but lost some of the dynamics. The X1, even with it's pretty advanced vol control was waaaay behind the other two.

Mani.

Hey Peter, in case it's of interest to you, the mobo Nick and I use allows you to switch between DC and PWM power for the fans. My PWM Noctua fans seem to be totally happy with the switch set to DC. What I really like about these fans is that they're very, very quiet.

Mani.

Hi Nick, just wanted to let you know that I'm currently waiting for my CPU water-cooler and passive graphics card to arrive. Once these are here, I'll be able to take Le Monster completely fanless and apply all of your tweaks as a package. The only tweak I'll hold back on for a short while is the linear PS - I going to use a separate low-ripple fanless SMPS for the HDD for now. So, the mobo/CPU will be powered by one low-ripple fanless SMPS and the HDD with another. Both of these SMPSs will be powered from a 1KVA isolation transformer to stop grunge getting back into the mains.

I'll soon have a bunch of very, very nice Noctua fans and a CPU cooler sitting around doing nothing. Oh well, I'll add them to the collection of hifi separates, pro ADC/DACs and PC components I have gathering dust in my cellar. Somehow I think it's more hassle advertising, selling, and then packing and shipping them out than it is to just leave them there.

Mani.

Yep, it works fine. The only thing to bear in mind is that most modern ATX PSs are not 20-pin. Mine has two outputs for the mobo - an 18-pin and a 10-pin. It's the 10-pin ouput that has the green wire. All I did was short this green wire to a black (gnd) wire on the same 10-pin output.

Will report back on any changes to SQ using two separate PSs.

Mani.

Hey Nik, thanks for this. Nice and simple - I'll definitely give it a go. Will let you know how I get on...

Cheers, Mani.

Hey Coen, Stefano, thanks for the ideas. I'll look into this when I can. Meanwhile let me know if you come up with anything else.

Cheers, Mani.

Missed that. And you're a NOS1 owner. Welcome. Looking at your sig it looks like you've got everything working well already. Cool.

Mani.

Hi Greg, wow what a write-up! Thanks for sharing.


Bloody hell. I heard of some people putting OTLs inside ELS57s and bypassing their input step-up transformer (I think TdP did, but I may be wrong) with amazing results apparently. But I totally understand why anything like this is simply not a good idea with young kids (crazy audiophile adults?) around.


I thought long and hard about doing this when I had a pair of Pass Labs XVR1 crossovers hanging around. But I decided to go for the larger 2905s (with extra electrostatic bass panels) instead. I don't know, I didn't want to ruin that beautiful step response I suppose and no matter how good the sub, it just ain't gonna keep up with the Quads.


I'll try not to...

Cheers, Mani.

This is strange...

I'm trying to use 2 'regular' computer PSs  (both Seasonic) - one for the mobo and one for all other peripheral devices. I can power the whole PC from either PS no problem, i.e both PSs work fine. But when I connect the mobo to one PS and the peripheral devices to the other PS, the peripheral devices remain totally dead and are not detected. If I swap the two PSs, I get the same result! So it seems a 'regular' computer PS will simply remain dormant unless it detects a mobo.

Weird. Anyone know why this should be?

Mani.

Hi Nick, PM sent...

Cheers, Mani.

Hi Flecko thanks for this. You're right of course. I don't know what I was on when I wrote what I did... I suppose I just thought that the 2nd harmonic couldn't be so low for the type of amplifier the Sauermann is.


Yes, they suggest the Jungson gets a little 'sharp' at higher output levels due to that 3rd harmonic. I'm not sure if I listen to the Sauermann at high enough volumes, but I'll explore this a little more. It makes me think that an amp like the Sauermann should really only be used with high sensitivity speakers. Mine certainly aren't. However, because they 'beam', you can listen to them at pretty low volumes.

Mani.

Finally, John Atkinson has reviewed my speakers for Stereophile. He's actually reviewed the Quad 2805 speakers, which I have playing behind me right now in my home office/study. I also have the larger 2905 speakers in my main listening room.

And I have to say that I concure with everything that he's written. Bang on the money.

Find some time to take a look at his measurements of these speakers. There is nothing amazing about their frequency performance, although they pretty much match a pair of $36K Sonus Faber Amati Futura speakers. BUT take a look at their temporal performance. I really don't think there are another pair of speakers on the planet that could match figs 7 and 8. Oh and their THD performance is very, very good too (fig 10):

http://www.stereophile.com/content/quad-reference-esl-2805-loudspeaker-measurements

Certainly not the best speakers for heavy bass lines (the 2905s are much, much better for this). But otherwise amazing music producers.

Mani.