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Author Topic: Mani's Mach III -> Lush˄2 -> NOS1 -> Blaxius˄2  (Read 9837 times)
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manisandher
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« on: December 19, 2018, 11:36:41 am »

Hi everyone, I wanted to start a new thread to share my experience with my new chain:

Mach III -> Lush˄2 -> NOS1 B75 -> Blaxius˄2 -> MHz bandwidth mono amps

I think this makes more sense than contributing to the existing threads, which tend to talk about these components separately, as I think they all work together to form the particular sound I’m now hearing.

Firstly, I want to say a massive thanks to Ciska for putting most (all?) of these components together (especially the 8m Blaxius˄2 cables, which must have been a real pain to do), to Peter for being the out-of-the-box thinker he is, and to Paul who I’m sure also played a part somehow.

I spent the whole of yesterday laying the 8m Blaxius˄2 cable pair under the floorboards of our 130-year-old Victorian house. Ordinarily, this should have been a reasonably straightforward job – I planned to use a simple BNC socket-to-socket adaptor to connect one side of the old Blaxius to one side of the new Blaxius˄2, and gently pull on the old Blaxius from the basement, with Satty (my wife) feeding the new Blaxius˄2 from above . However, a couple of years ago we had 100mm insulation blocks installed directly under the floorboards between all the joists. The installers did a great job plugging all the gaps between the joists, so much so that they totally jammed the old Blaxius cables solidly against the joists. No way they were going to budge. Unfortunately, the basement doesn’t sit directly under the listening room – there is just a 1.5 m void under the listening room. So I had to take the floorboards up, take out the guilty insulation blocks, feed the Blaxius˄2 cables into the basement as I had originally planned, and then replace the blocks and floorboards. This took me pretty much 8 hours of constant, ultra-dirty work.

Totally exhausted, after showering up, I managed to hear the first sounds from my new chain at around 10pm.

My first impressions were of an incredibly clean and taut sound. Absolutely no bloom anywhere now. Instruments taking an eternity to decay. Sparkle and beauty everywhere. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything like this from any system anywhere.

BUT… where had all the bass gone? I wasn’t expecting this at all, as most reports in other threads suggested that switching to a similar chain produces more bass than before, and not less.

I think the key is in “no bloom anywhere now”. Also, I had literally just switched everything on and taken a listen, so no warm up of components, let alone any burn-in.

My suspicion is that I have the basis of something really special, but I think it’s going to take some work to get the sound I want. I intend to document my journey and the evolution of the sound in this thread.

Once again, a massive thanks to Ciska, Peter and Paul. We’re all very lucky to have stumbled on Phasure – there is simply nothing else like it out there.

Mani.
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
PeterSt
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« Reply #1 on: December 19, 2018, 02:54:47 pm »


Ha !

So, you dirty (old) man, it looks we should be happy that this wasn't bought including installation. Happy

First off, like you say yourself, there will be a relatively significant burn-in in order.
Next, please take into account an even longer warm-up time in general. So like I said elsewhere, this seems to have increased from ("my") 20 minutes to maybe double that. Maybe not for the good listening (this starts at ~9 minutes over here) but for the ultimate, yes (and it assumes everything to be on 24/7 to begin with).

Is this related to the bass ? I actually can't tell. But if you can exchange with your other Lush^2 (was it broken in on the same configuration ?), I'd do that. The combination of the two is not to be underestimated and when two together requires a burn-in ... I actually can't remember a (customer) situation where this was in order. For myself not either. Could be extra-bad at first.

Don't forget the (BIOS) tweak that the 14/28 processor is set to be a 10/20 (set to 10 cores instead of 14). I did not do that for you (although you might have expected it). But don't tweak too soon and give burn-in is chance first.

Best regards,
Peter
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For the Stealth III LPS PC :
W10-14393.0 - July 17, 2021 (2.11)
XXHighEnd Mach III Stealth LPS PC -> Xeon Scalable 14/28 core with Hyperthreading On (set to 14/28 cores in BIOS and set to 10/20 cores via Boot Menu) @~660MHz, 48GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 14393.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/0/0/*1*/ Q1Factor = *4* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = *10ms* / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *10.13*  (max 10.13) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / Stop Desktop, Remaining, WASAPI and W10 services / Use Remote Desktop / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD Off (!) / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *62* / Nervous Rate = *1* / Cool when Idle = n.a / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable / Custom Filtering *Low* (16x) / Always Clear Proxy before Playback = On -> USB3 from MoBo -> Lush^3
A: W-Y-R-G, B: *W-G* USB 1m00 -> Phisolator 24/768 Phasure NOS1a/G3 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (16ms) -> B'ASS Current Amplifier -> Blaxius*^2.5* A:B-G, B:B-G Interlink -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers. ET^2 Ethernet from Mach III to Music Server PC (RDC Control).
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere (also from the PC).

For a general PC :
W10-10586.0 - May 2016 (2.05+)
*XXHighEnd PC -> I7 3930k with Hyperthreading On (12 cores)* @~500MHz, 16GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 10586.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/1/1/1 / Q1Factor = 1 / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 1ms / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = 0.10  (max 60) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / All Services Off / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD On / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *43* / Nervous Rate = 1 / Cool when Idle = 1 / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = *Optimal* / Time Stability = *Stable* / Custom Filter *Low* 705600 / -> USB3 *from MoBo* -> Clairixa USB 15cm -> Intona Isolator -> Clairixa USB 1m80 -> 24/768 Phasure NOS1a 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (4ms) -> Blaxius BNC interlink *-> B'ASS Current Amplifier /w Level4 -> Blaxius Interlink* -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers.
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere.

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acg
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« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2018, 11:11:09 pm »

Mani, that's some dedication lifting the floorboards to replace a perfectly good cable. 

Looking forward to hearing about how you go with all the changes.

Anthony
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Audio PC
Stealth Mach II with Xeon E5 2698 v4 20 Core 2GHz  with Hyperthreading On [40 cores]/ 32GB Ram / RAM-OS / mobo USB port

XXHighEnd 2.11 RAM-OS (W14393 RAM)
Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Buffer 4096 / Q1/3/4/5 = 14/1/1/1 / xQ1 = 1 / Processor Core Appointment Scheme = Core 1-3 / PlayerPrio = Low / ThreadPrio = RealTime / ClockRes = 1ms / Not Switch during playback = off / Xtweaks Balanced Load = 43 / Nervous Rate = 100 / Cool when idle = 1 / Provide stable power = 0 / Utilize cores always = 1 / Time Stability = Stable / Time Performance Index = Optimal / SFS 0.90MB Max 120MB / Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect = on / Start Playback during conversion = off / Do not start playback at all = off / Copy to XX-drive by standard = on / Always clear Proxy before Playback = on / Stop Remaining Desktop Services = on / Stop Desktop Services = on / Stop Remaining Services = on / Stop WASAPI Services = on / Stop W10 Services = off / Keep LAN Services = on / Persist = off / Use Remote Desktop = on/ Arc Predict / Minimize OS = on / Peak Extend = off / Unattended

Audio Chain
Stealth MachII PC >> Lush^2 USB 1.1m >> NOS1a G3 B75, Driver v1.0.4 (4ms) >> Blaxius^2 >> 10Y DHT Preamp >> 6 way active horn speakers (Single Ended Triodes)
manisandher
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« Reply #3 on: December 21, 2018, 10:31:59 am »

Thanks Anthony.

(BTW, how are your speakers coming on - all complete now?)

Mani.
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
manisandher
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« Reply #4 on: December 21, 2018, 10:44:36 am »

A quick update...

I played full-scale white noise through the system (with amps off!) for a few hours before taking another listen yesterday evening. The sound seemed to have swung in totally the opposite direction. Much 'thicker' than before, and some 'LF bloom' now. I can understand how this might cause someone with well-extended speakers to want to reduce the LF a bit. But in my setup, with my non-assisted speakers, it's welcome.

Right now, I'd say the sound is pretty much on par with what I had before, with my [clock-upgraded] Mach II and original Blaxius cables. It's tauter than before, but with a tad less sparkle. But it's still very early in the settling-in process, and I suspect there's a lot more change to come (hopefully for the better).

Mani.
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
manisandher
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« Reply #5 on: December 21, 2018, 10:57:01 am »

But if you can exchange with your other Lush^2 (was it broken in on the same configuration ?), I'd do that.

I tried this, but there seemed to be quite a loose connection between the original Lush^2 cable and my NOS1 B75 - so much so that the NOS1 wouldn't be recognised unless I physically lifted the Lush^2 at the NOS1's input. This is really strange, because I'd been using this exact cable with this exact NOS1 with no problems for the last few months.

In any event, the new Lush^2 fits snugly into the NOS1 B75... and my old Lush^2 fits snugly into the non-B75 NOS1 in my office. So I'm stuck with listening to the Mach III, the Lush^2 and the Blaxius^2 all breaking-in together in my main system. With the way things sound at the moment, this isn't any hardship  Happy.

Mani.
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
manisandher
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« Reply #6 on: January 28, 2019, 02:37:33 pm »

Another quick update...

The sound has now 'blossomed' to easily the best I've ever managed to achieve during my time in this hobby... and in many ways, better than I've ever heard anywhere else. Describing what you hear in words is always difficult to explain, but I'll try.

The top-end is ultra, ultra clean, but not in an overly clinical way. It remains sweet (not sharp and edgy) and incredibly satisfying. There's a real sparkle to it. I think it has to do with two things:
1) the way things decay
- for example, there's no overly-abrupt damping of cymbals - they seem to continue shimmering for ever, which gives a sense of naturalness, ease and real vibrancy to the sound
2) an ultra-low noise floor
- there's a real blackness for the top-end to 'decay into' (if that makes any sense)

The mids are spectacular. The transient attacks make vocals and instruments totally life-like.
- for example, the strings of a cello sound detailed and textured and yet the wooden body vibrates beautifully and sounds 'hollowed out', as opposed to sounding full of wool and dead

The bass is easily the best I've ever had in my room. The speakers naturally drop away below 40Hz (no ports or LF servo-assistance whatsoever), and yet even without the bottom octave, the sound remains balanced and very satisfying on all genres of music. Very tight and tuneful. You can feel a kick drum on your chest. Etc, etc.

Interesting, I can kill much of the magic by simply changing the power amps to any of the others I have here. I wonder if the attached specs of the amp might give a clue as to why? At 1 watt, the 200kHz square wave is almost perfect. At 1 watt, the noise floor lies at -135dB or so below 1 watt.

Mani.


* First Watt F5 - 200kHz square wave _ 1 watt.JPG (19.45 KB, 363x266 - viewed 867 times.)

* First Watt F5 - harmonic distortion _ 1 watt.JPG (32.2 KB, 474x405 - viewed 960 times.)
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Main System:
Phasure Mach III (Win 14393.0 on RAM-OS / controlled by RDC, / connected directly to music server / XXHighEnd 2.11 / Minimize OS / Engine#4 Adaptive / DB=4096 / Q1=10 / xQ1=15 / Q3,4,5=1 / SFS=4.00 / XTweaks = 34, 10, 0, 0, 0 / Straight Contiguous / Clock Resolution = 15ms / Scheme 3-5 (low/realtime) / 8x Arc Prediction / switch #5 'up/off' / Unattended) mobo USB3 port -> Lush^3 -> Phasure NOS1a B75 G3 -> 8m Blaxius^2 -> First Watt F5 mono amps -> Tune Audio Anima horn speakers
Office System:
Phasure Stealth II -> Lush^2 -> RME ADI-2 Pro FS R -> Neurochrome 286 mono amps -> Tune Audio Marvel horn speakers
PeterSt
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« Reply #7 on: January 28, 2019, 06:00:03 pm »

clapping
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For the Stealth III LPS PC :
W10-14393.0 - July 17, 2021 (2.11)
XXHighEnd Mach III Stealth LPS PC -> Xeon Scalable 14/28 core with Hyperthreading On (set to 14/28 cores in BIOS and set to 10/20 cores via Boot Menu) @~660MHz, 48GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 14393.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/0/0/*1*/ Q1Factor = *4* / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = *10ms* / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = *10.13*  (max 10.13) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / Stop Desktop, Remaining, WASAPI and W10 services / Use Remote Desktop / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD Off (!) / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *62* / Nervous Rate = *1* / Cool when Idle = n.a / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = Optimal / Time Stability = Stable / Custom Filtering *Low* (16x) / Always Clear Proxy before Playback = On -> USB3 from MoBo -> Lush^3
A: W-Y-R-G, B: *W-G* USB 1m00 -> Phisolator 24/768 Phasure NOS1a/G3 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (16ms) -> B'ASS Current Amplifier -> Blaxius*^2.5* A:B-G, B:B-G Interlink -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers. ET^2 Ethernet from Mach III to Music Server PC (RDC Control).
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere (also from the PC).

For a general PC :
W10-10586.0 - May 2016 (2.05+)
*XXHighEnd PC -> I7 3930k with Hyperthreading On (12 cores)* @~500MHz, 16GB, Windows 10 Pro 64 bit build 10586.0 from RAM, music on LAN / Engine#4 Adaptive Mode / Q1/-/3/4/5 = 14/-/1/1/1 / Q1Factor = 1 / Dev.Buffer = 4096 / ClockRes = 1ms / Memory = Straight Contiguous / Include Garbage Collect / SFS = 0.10  (max 60) / not Invert / Phase Alignment Off / Playerprio = Low / ThreadPrio = Realtime / Scheme = Core 3-5 / Not Switch Processors during Playback = Off/ Playback Drive none (see OS from RAM) / UnAttended (Just Start) / Always Copy to XX Drive (see OS from RAM) / All Services Off / Keep LAN - Not Persist / WallPaper On / OSD On / Running Time Off / Minimize OS / XTweaks : Balanced Load = *43* / Nervous Rate = 1 / Cool when Idle = 1 / Provide Stable Power = 1 / Utilize Cores always = 1 / Time Performance Index = *Optimal* / Time Stability = *Stable* / Custom Filter *Low* 705600 / -> USB3 *from MoBo* -> Clairixa USB 15cm -> Intona Isolator -> Clairixa USB 1m80 -> 24/768 Phasure NOS1a 75B (BNC Out) async USB DAC, Driver v1.0.4b (4ms) -> Blaxius BNC interlink *-> B'ASS Current Amplifier /w Level4 -> Blaxius Interlink* -> Orelo MKII Active Open Baffle Horn Speakers.
Removed Switching Supplies from everywhere.

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