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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: PCIe USB 3.0 host card
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on: March 17, 2012, 01:28:41 pm
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Nick,
Thanks for the tip. Since it doesn't work i disabled the motherboard usb3 chip in the bios.
The usb3 cable makes no difference in making it work. It does sound however quite different from the regular NOS1 usb2 cable. It sounds like a different trade off, not shure yet if it is worthy of the label "improvement".
Regards, Coen
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662
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: PCIe USB 3.0 host card
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on: March 17, 2012, 01:10:37 pm
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Then maybe it's one way traffic only in your situation (streaming requires talk back to the DAC in a somewhat more heavy fashion).
If you can't change sample rates either, zero bytes return (well, a hunch).
Peter
Good hunch. The driver panel discovers the nos, but it is not possible to change the settings (error messge appears). Regards, Coen |
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: PCIe USB 3.0 host card
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on: March 15, 2012, 10:43:53 pm
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Well strange things happen  ! If anyone feels like giving a clue, please feel free. USB3 connection is via one of the two motherboard-backpanel usb3.0 ports. USB3 is driven by a ETRON 168 chip from the PCIe bus on the motherboard. Driver is updated to version 1.0.0.105 from Gigabyte's mobo homepage. I did no specific settings in the BIOS on the USB or memory side nor any OS related tweaks. I use the default NOS1 simple USB cable from this port to the NOS. Apparently the driver 'sees' the NOS, but has trouble streaming from the XX application. regards, Coen |
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664
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: PCIe USB 3.0 host card
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on: March 14, 2012, 10:07:52 am
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Nice experiment, but no success.
I reinstalled XX driver on USB3 port (afterr uninstalling). Updated the usb3 driver, rebooted and the dirverpanel finds the NOS1 USB. Default XX USB cable is used.
Now starting to pay music on XX nothing happens and then a message "set state (pause) on error pin" appears.
Am I overlooking something?
regards, Coen
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665
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: Best pc mouse connection for SQ?
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on: March 11, 2012, 09:26:44 am
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I have qualified the seperate videocard finally as unlistanable in my system. Actally the 'working' variant with IGP doen't deliver either but remains listanable. Unfortunaletly it has that 'yawn, could I care less about this good sound?' kind of quality. A cardinal sin in my opinion.
The story is of course not over. The mobo is heavily suspect. Reinstalling the atom immediately improved on the 'wow this is great music' factor, booted faster and was completely silent. I have been noticing a high pitched noise from my pc. That I attribited to a relocated HD, but this nooise is absent on the atom.
Save for handling (where it all started) the atom is superior on all accounts save for the highs in percussive elements. Let's not forget the two ps/2 ports that are the origin of this thread. Maybe I gan get it to work -my way- with a different mobo. Since Peter frequently mentions the highs to indicate improvements there must be some untapped potential in the i5.
Now I am going to enjoy music again in anticipation of 09z7.
Regards, Coen
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Ultimate Audio Playback / XXHighEnd Support / Cracking noise with 48/24 flacs @ 16X NOS1usb
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on: March 07, 2012, 11:23:51 am
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Hi Peter,
I was in the mood for some classical music and have a truckload of 48/24 FLAC files from B&W SoS. I observed a very audible and annoying haze of "tics" when playing (all) of these tracks with my normal settings (below). When the level increases the cracking haze becomes more prominent.
Throttling back to 8X AP everything sounds normal again.
Did I oversee a setting or is this some kind of bug or limitation?
Regards, Coen
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671
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Chatter and forum related stuff / Re: Sauermann Amplifier
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on: March 06, 2012, 10:39:05 pm
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Hello Gerd
Again thanks for the elaborate answer. I find your design intriguing, since it resembles familiar designs (totem poles) so much but is actually quite different in operation. In the end it is all about how it performs, and it seems it does very well on this critical forum.
Selecting and matching components to keep DC offset under control is a much more elegant way than a adding a servo. It keeps circuits simple but is also much more costly.
Furthermore I wondered why you chose for a balanced/bridged design. Save for the impressive reduction of even harmonics, it is a way to be able to use a single supply. Are the outputs floating or are they in some way referenced to the power "ground"?
Regards, Coen
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673
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Chatter and forum related stuff / Re: Sauermann Amplifier
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on: March 06, 2012, 02:45:28 pm
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Hello Gerd, Thanks for taking the time to clarify on your design! Hi Coen, You are pretty close but not totally right.
Since there is constant current flowing through the voltage gain stage this stage has an output impedance of some kilo ohms. This stage can not deliver any power or AC current at all.
The current source that is keeping the current through the voltage gain stage constant has a control loop circuit at a current gain of more then 10 million. This control circuit delivers any current the speacer draws in addition to the constant current flowing through the voltage gain stage. Due to the extremly high current gain factor of that controller loop the output impedance of a single current source drops down to as little as 6 to 7 milli ohms. So the symmetric amplifiers has an output impedance of about 15 milli ohms (which no other single stage single transistor amp can deliver).
One big advantage of this circuit design is that the distortion produced is independent of frequency and load impedance. It is just related to the output voltage. The distortion spectrum remains homogenious at nearly any load and frequency change.
Very desirable for a true voltage source. I remotely associate it with a similar strategy that was done in the Halcro amplifiers that included a high gain feedbackloop in the outputbuffer. Their basic design was a pimped up version of a standard Douglas Self bipolar though (containing a multiple bootstrapped currentsourced gainstage). But harmonic distortion is not the only aspect that matters. Group delay, phase shift, bandwidth etc. the entire behaviour within the time domain maters much more. And since my amps are very "fast" also at low impedance loads (1 ohm or less) - the current control loop operates at a bandwith of about 1 mega Herz, the amplifiers bandwith is above 300 kilo Herz - the behaviour within the time domain on complex (low) impedence is best.
The excellent complex impedance performance should be very favourable to electrostatic loudspeakers! But all these electronic technical aspects are not really the main thing. We talk about reproducing the illusion of music. That is what matters. In the end you have to have the feeling that someone real is making music in your room just for you. You have to be able to feel the "puls" of the music the attitude of the artist, his "message".
I tried to fine tune my amp by various means to give that illusion best. The circuit is only the basis. The next thing is the quality of the parts used and their exact values within the circuit (determined in listening sessions). Then the thermal stability and at last but not least the mechanical attributes. The cabinets of my amps and power supplies are assambled the way to be not sensitive to vibration. Every screw for instance is treated at least twice bevor being mounted. Plates are damped so that no vibration can cause any microphonic effect ....
All of this is responsible for the entire sonic result.
Gerd
I cannot agree more on this philosophy. Attention to all details seperates the good from the excellent products. You have got my attention! Regards, Coen |
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Chatter and forum related stuff / Re: Sauermann Amplifier
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on: March 05, 2012, 11:53:44 pm
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As i read the design it is about a way to decouple the amplifiers current path from its voltage path. Current is kept constant at the (bottom) voltage part so it appears unloaded. This has the advantage that there is no interaction between the voltage gain and load wich is a source of distortion. Unmentioned is the setup of the current sources. These are usually -100%- feedback powerfollowers and have very low intrinsic distortion provided the powersupply can deliver. These supplies probably float wrt the voltage maintaining a constant voltage to the currentsources. At least that would make sense given the voltage amp designprinciple. So it is more about minimising the interaction between loads IN the amplifier than an alternative way to put current in the speaker. If I understand it well it is designed as a class A bridged voltage source. Given the feedbackless design I expect it to have a higher output impedance than the megawatt amps. This means that any LF resonance will be audibly enforced. The whole interplay between amps, speakers and rooms requires that it should be considered as a system. Oh and Peter just added the source component with the 0.7 magic button... . That is a whole lot of variables to take on consideration! My 2cents on this topic, Regards, Coen |
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Ultimate Audio Playback / Playback Tweaks and Source related subjects / Re: Best pc mouse connection for SQ?
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on: March 04, 2012, 08:06:34 pm
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Fwiw I did a brief comparison in the post above. Yet I have a board with integrated graphics that might interfere with the card. If that is true a comparison is only possible with different boards/chipsets and then it is very hard to isolate the influence.
I haven't been checking all options but sofar the mouse is less detrimental to SQ in my setup than the card. The effects of the usb mouse are more subtle.
I encourage anyone with integrated graphics to put my observations to the test.
Regards, Coen
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