Pedal, this is probably not very helpful, but here is what I would look into...

1) Get a wordclock output working from your DAC to your interface. Of course, I understand that this may be very difficult, impossible even. Not only do you have to figure out what to do on the hardware side, but you also need to figure out a way to switch rates at your DAC. Even if this is possible, it's a right PITA.

2) If this is a no-go, then I'd play around with different spdif cables. There is one that not many people know about, which is supposed to be better than any other, irrespective of price. It is the Belkin Platinum Synopsis cable (#F8C310-06-PLT). This will definitely take out any trace of digital sound that you have. But, you won't be able to find this anywhere - people who have this cable will not change it for anything else. However... I have a spare cable (brand new, still in package). Although I'd rather keep it, I'd be happy to sell at the same price I paid for it (~€50 IIRC) .

3) More practical, I'd keep your current settings and play around with the split file size. No doubt you've followed the thread - it really changes the sound, with a higher split file size providing a 'more relaxed' sound - a Red Bull detox.

Mani.

Thanks Mani and Peter for your feedback. There is consensus between us that the Weiss is several dB louder and that it has a completely different sound than the RME family. "Different" in the meaning of brighter, more edge, etc.

Yesterday evening I had another hour of critical listening. First I reduced 1dB on my electronic crossover at 800Hz (I have a ribbon tweeter covering 800-40kHz). This improved the subjective tonal balance, making the system quite neutral on most records.*

Still I could enjoy a sharper definition and "faster" sound. I got more realism from guitars and brass. I would not say it sounded TOO edgy or "metalic". Also I hear more recorded details, with a better sense of acoustics. The stage gets bigger, simply put. There is a see-through quality missing from the RME.

But there is a catch. I miss the relaxement and ease of the RME. With Weiss it sounds like the musicians drank too much Red Bull in the studio.

Open question to everybody: Any suggestions how to change my XX settings to add more "relaxement" and ease? [Similar to what we experienced here on the forum when reducing Q1 from 14 down to 4 and below]. Today I use (see signature) Engine 4, Adaptive Mode, Latency 1024, Q1=1 Q2-5=0.

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The Weiss is on loan. I am not buying it. But this is an interesting and educating territory, well worth exploring. Hopefully the I2S interface from PHASURE will combine the 2 traits: The RME ease combined with the WEISS speed.



*FYI: There is no fasit which XO settings are correct. I have a 3-way system, where bass and treble can be adjusted in relation to the (fixed) midrange. The principe of tuning is rather simple: As much bass as possible, without getting boomy or without getting too chesty male vocal. Same principe with the treble: Maximum level without sound edgy on "most" records. There is no setting which is perfect for all records. I tune it to suit a large range of neutral quality recordings. Sometimes I wish I had 0,5dB steps instead of 1dB steps.

Yes, this is interesting.

But the obvious question is, what is causing the interference? Perhaps anything with a motor has a negative affect on SQ? (I know that many people cite the motor and servo-system as being the main issues with CD-transports.) If so, then you've got to get all the HDDs and fans out of the PC (the route that I've taken). This should lower the power consumption of the PC also, which might help.


This is also interesting. My experience, playing around with wordclocks, PLLs and RAM buffers in DACs is that this is what less jitter sounds like. Some people describe jitter as sounding 'muddy' and 'muffled'. In my experience it sounds more 'edgy' and 'bright'. But perhaps a lot is dependent on the jitter spectrum.

Mani.

This is (probably) why I have always said that it is sufficient to have a SSd in here. Just that. Don't play music from it or whatever ... it just has to be in there (powered).

So I will believe it.

Maybe a little offtopic, but I think you will find that interesting. I unmounted my Samsung 1.5TB eco (5400RPM) hdd from PC and placed it on a docking station with separate PSU. The connetion with PC is through eSATA, so basically the same. I thought that would eliminate the negative impact of the HDD on my sound card, but guess what, even that the hard drive is 30cm away from PC, the interference goes over the ground of eSATA cable or back to the socket outlet, don't know, but what I know is that when I unplug the docking station's PSU from the socket, the sound becomes more open, less edgy/digital - better. So don't tell me that storage doesn't matter. People laugh when somebody writes about different SQ when it comes to HDDs. It's not about performance, it's about sth else - negative effect on power.

That's exactly what I suspected - use the fastest sustain write drive for XX... and for the OS also (why not?). I'll report back if I feel the SQ has changed.

Thanks.

Mani.

1. XX on the fastest sustainable write drive.
2. Put the OS on the XX drive.
3. Sell the other one on eBay.

I am not sure about 2, and therefore not about 3.

Peter

You should use the fastest SSD for system. It doesn't matter where you keep your XX folder as long as it's on a fast drive imho. Maybe Peter will clarify that for you.

I need some advice...

I have two different types of SSD:
i) OCZ Vertex Turbo (120GB) - read up to 270MB/s, write up to 200MB/s, sustained write 120MB/s
ii) OCZ Vertex 2 (90GB) - read up to 285MB/s, write up to 275MB/s, sustained write 250MB/s

Which option do you think will yield the best SQ?
a) both OS and XX on Vertex 2
b) both OS and XX on Vertex Turbo
c) OS on Vertex 2 and XX on Vertex Turbo
d) OS on Vertex Turbo and XX on Vertex 2

EDIT: I should have mentioned that I use the 'Copy to XX drive by standard' function.

Cheers,
Mani.

Thanks leif.

Having a "colour on colour" problem myself I sure know what you can mean. Sorry for it. The colour is not much different from any "modern" equipment with a display, and I (indeed) wouldn't be able to read it from a distance where anyone could.
It all started out as a customizeable thing, but in the end I had to let that go. Later ...

Thanks very much for the feedback; I knew someone would come up with it at some stage ...
Peter