Anthony,


5W or 15W, I don't think it matters (because 15W already may not be enough). Point here is that you may suffer from the same without knowing = noticing. This is the fun of audio ...

This post originally was much longer, but although with some sense, too much deviating from any subject.

Peter

You are welcome, Dave.

The problem is (sort of) that these days we have Roon and people like it. And unlike Tidal, it is a bit tough to let that work and avoid the streaming. It can be done, but it seems too awkward to realize.
So streaming *is* the future. But sure not for the best sound ...

Thanks,
Peter

Hi Dave,


Of course not, as no network activity is going on during playback in the first place (pull the network cable for proof).

Or this one from that web page :

JCAT NET Card FEMTO will also enhance playback when installed in an Audio PC – a computer that acts as a USB Audio transport and connects to a USB DAC – as long as audio data is sent over network from other PC / NAS / media server or from Streaming services.

The emphasis is mine to better see what I want to make clear :
That text is not lying. But it is also only in order when you set up things like JPlay itself provoces. Could be similar to the HQPlayer Network Audio Adapter aproach. Or any kind of streaming. But the way XXHighEnd is set up, no streaming takes place anywhere (until I explicitly allow it, which could happen in the future with the explicit notice "if you want poor sound ..."). Streaming does not even occur with Tidal and XXHighEnd ...

So it is all baloney but may help when you first set up things the wrong way.

Setting up things the wrong way includes streaming itself. So if you'd only know what all is being done (has been done) in XXHighEnd to eliminate noise from whatever noise-bombardment angle, you'd be completely crazy to even start thinking that streaming will be a good idea; in one blast it eliminates all what has been done against noise, and next makes it 10 times (just a made up figure) worse for starters. And *then* think that a "low noise" network card will help (if it could be in the first place) ? that would really be the most foolish thinking of all.

If not clear, just ask. I'll try to throw some more flames.

Peter

Thank you Leung. I take it that it is your suggestion to send out the Lush the soonest and separately from the Stealth, because the Stealth will take some longer time to produce - think in terms of a few weeks (may be 3-4).

Regards,
Peter

This is my Saturday morning post after waking up and not something heavy. Keep this in mind ...


Dear People,

It takes just a tad too much of effort to understand the intentions of Paul's post here. I noticed it myself, but I was also pointed to it from (private) messages from others.
It is all about the humor we (all) put into it and how to understand it. So for those who think something is inappropriate here, this is the explanation :

First there is Gerard who jokes about that it is really a lot of effort to travel some 1500Km to sell a Lush cable (he did not know we did not bring along any). But Gerard is Dutch and knows exactly how that comes across. Of course we must envision the intonation how he says it, which does not work well in writing.

Next there's me myself who really should have brought a cable for both, *if* I had known in advance I would cross the roads Mani's and Paul's house were positioned. And although I may have thought about it, it was no fixed plan. It was even a "secret" for the other travellers, of which one only knew when entering the town, and the other only when we stopped at the front gate. The gate was Mani's and it was me who thought to be a fool to not bring a cable, BUT with good feelings, because Mani did not order a Lush anyway.
With Paul it went exactly the same (also a surpise for everybody), up to him not ordering a Lush (when we started our little trip). This felt even worse because we left off with one 70cm left behind for someone who had not payed yet, and Paul wanted a 70cm (as it appeared). How hard would it have been to (gently) throw that in the trunk. If I only would have had some more senses as a salesman ...

Lastly, Paul makes his remark about this latter. "Nice salesman you are !"
Paul is, of course, a bit sore because a. he ordered too late, b. he could have listened to it in his all new situation. Ehm, so yes, there too a few things changed because we passed by.
And aren't we audiophiles completely obsessed ?
Anyway, Paul expressed his grief about someone mentioning me as a salesman who messed up all over. Now we have the nice forcefield between Gerard's post and Paul's. And indeed; not everybody understands the burried message in at least Paul's : what salesman; if that would be the case he would have bring a 100.
And remember, Paul only ordered one after we left ... he knows that.

---

The nice thing of such a trip is that it may help those we visited. So let's say that it helped Mani to re-focus on something a neutral instance (us, but with 3 of us !) have a fresh look at matters. That something more drastical like replacing an amplifier is the solution, well, if it is a solution, why not. Btw Mani, it was my gentle suggestion to try the BD amp after contemplating that the tube amp may not have sufficient control (the throughout a track diminishing bass). Now, I don't want to emphasize this, but life is apparently so complicated that if Paul would have mentioned what happened in his room while we were there, nobody would have doubted the gag of Paul's post. Next up is that it may be a bit difficult to mention what happened because now someone else will be or feel blamed for something. So Paul better did not and now the jokes come through only halfly.

Let me finish with this :
It is such a great honour that people like you almost explicitly want me to check out their system and try to change it for the better. You know (and you both noticed) I actually don't even want to do that because I (like to) respect what any of you achieved. I don't want to be the better one (or how to express it). That it works out so, well, massively, is something I can live on for months. I call it luck though. I mean, to hear something wrong is not so difficult as this is just experience (with say a good reference). But that it can be solved within the time available is ... luck.
OK, I can be booked.

Peter

PS: Both of you know that I explicitly stayed out of initial judgement. So the joy for me is that Ciska and Paul can do it too, by now.

No no no, we had to go and smell the real thing (which is in the south of the UK) anyway.


At first I stayed outside; The smell from the inside was terrible. The body guard was also not much attractive to me.



This is actually how you definitely won't get in.



But *if* you do, you get this.

Anthony, no, not done at all. Although I don't give it much chance, for a month or so I have the Creators Update on my network somewhere. But I have been working on the Lush since, and somehow I am short of time.
Anyway, this is not tested "in a minute" because I can only make it a RAM version to compare apples with apples.

If it works out (I assume it will - against all odds ) it will be an upgrade to the RAM OS Disk.

Peter

This really is so, you know. And while such an expression (thank you Bert) is not only analogous to my own expression of how super Analog the Lush is (see first post), it is also the most consistent which what
a. Mani predicted from his setup with the tube amp active, combined with my description;
b. my own description from what I heard in Mani's system (), me right away saying that 50% of Lush already was present;
c. thus Bert's idea about it, who after long consideration stepped back from tube amplification (by now long ago) and which he still longs for if you ask me.

In the end it is about this I said in the first post :


So this is really about this perception we may all have from analog in general and how a turntable may exhibit ticks and everything we know of it for negatives, but it is the most hard to let go wrong. So this is how I resemble "analog" with "not being able to go wrong" and suddenly the Lush implies this. So of course I was working on an again better USB cable, but that it would exhibit this specific property, no, I could not have guessed that.

Peter

Haha, if I had to confirm all, each topic would have triple the post count, because you'd also all say "thank you".
So yes, of course I will, faults prohibited.

And yes, I just saw that it was 10 euros including shipping, not insured.
Technically that would make it 1.30 euros.
Prices went up drastically, and now it is 2.00.

Best regards,
Peter

Haha Juan. Can you tell me what I charged for it the last time ? I recall something like 2$. Or maybe it was 5. Or 10.
Anyway  put it next to your name.

Regards,
Peter

Anthony, man, what a great share this is.
And yes, good description of what the Intona does to the sound. But let's keep in mind, only for 14393.0 that works out so (to be "over"). 10586.0 is fine with it.

Personally I would always stick to such devices and cables. This is for the reason of things being able to drastically change for all the reasons you may run into in the future (which we can not predict).

Regards and super thanks,
Peter

Hi Juan,

From this post :

Re: B'ASS First Review HERE AT LAST!!!

the picture is I added here again :



That short cable is part of the Phisolator Upgrade (or in general : the G3 upgrade).
Is is not a random cable as such, because it is the same cable as the good old $1 stock cable. And in case we forgot : this is this cable which I was lucky to buy for the very first NOS1/USB and which worked out so well, and when we ran out of it, the supplier ran out of it too. It took me two months to find it back again on some part of the globe.
This one is now shortened and provided with a new A connector.

So now you can see which short USB cable Anthony could replace which his short Clairixa and that this indeed does not work out for SQ. Also, what I have expressed more often, if the same Clairixa is used to provide the internal pieces of USB wiring, it again does not sound well.

Kind regards,
Peter

Gerard,

The little Clairixa in this very position. Just try it for yourself ...
(and tell when you don't agree please !)

Peter

Hi Mani,

The more serious reply (relative to my other response to the post I just quoted from) is that if you don't "need" the Lush, IMO/IME first something else is "wrong".
So yes, you probably were right initially, but you may not be when other issues are solved first (of course by now I/we have some off line information IOW, easy for me to say now, but still ...).

In an attempt to summarize this :
Suppose we filter out highs by analogue means, possibly because we want to make the sound more lush, then any improvement on a digital connection making the sound more lush, now won't go along with each other much, up to not doing anything really. Well, that is what I expect. Or, compare with a deadening preamplifier; now any "better" USB cable may not show itself. Point of course is : we must take for a base the very best situation - then (try to) see that a best digital could be too much of digital (which you only know when you go back - also see Bert's last post in this topic) - and lastly improve on that digital itself.
Suppose we put this the other way around : we are not going to solve a poor digital path by putting filters in our speakers, right ? Well, maybe some do, but it is not the way to solve matters (and matters really won't be solved).

As I said, all easy to say in aftermath, but we got where you landed for a reason of course.

Best regards,
Peter

Because I see that the post I quote this from can be confusing, I like to summarize again what this was about :

a. The Lush must be used with 5V just live or otherwise it does not perform as intended;
b. For the combination with the NOS1a/G3 which has a USB Isolator inside (the Phisolator) the small USB cable which loops through from the Phisolator output to the USB input of the G3, best be cut for the 5V, because the NOS1a/G3 does not like the 5V the best in this situation (for the normal NOS1a it probably does not matter a thing).

So the confusing part of it, is that it is the Lush cable and the cable alone which likes the 5V to be live.
Let's keep in mind that this USB power also influences the impedance in certain ways, and that we can only make one impedance for the cable. This now *has* to be including the power, just because we must assume that most devices require the 5V over USB, which as a matter of fact now is the NOS1a/G3 also (NOS1a does not need the 5V). And this in itself is because otherwise the Phisolator is not powered and then it does not work.

On a side note, I "know" (between quotes) that for the Clairixa cutting the 5V also does not work for the better for the same reason : it is made to best match the USB Impedance and this implies usage of the power as well - so nothing different !

The only thing to take into account - and this is for G3 owners only - is that the small piece of USB cable which goes out and into the left leg, better not carry USB power. And I only say this because I think it sounds worse with power (and quite noticable).

To make the confusion complete :
You might also try the "Short Clairixa for the Intona" instead of the small piece of (stock) USB cable; you will see that that too does not sound well.

I hope it is clear better now !
Peter