Schiit Eitr Preview Thread

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by Rotijon, Jul 17, 2017.

  1. willsw

    willsw Friend

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    You seem to lack a full understanding of what's going on here.

    The AC is rectified into DC, filtered, and regulated when it arrives at the Eitr. The linear, regulating circuit is internal to the unit so my interest is in whether the quality of the transformer would impact the unit's performance.

    AC is much noisier than DC but as the AC becomes DC immediately upon entering the case of the Eitr, this alone wouldn't add anything more than a normal internal power supply. The transformer is in an unshielded plastic case and the cable is also unshielded, so adding a transformer in a grounded metal case and using a shielded cable could result in lower noise.

    If anyone would like to try my transformer with their Eitr, let me know.
     
  2. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    Yes I understand that I am not elaborating clearly.
    You seem to be knowledgeable,
    Go take a look at the board of the Eitr at schiit site, and tell me if you see any semblance of a "normal" PSU, or a bridge rect, or anything besides two tiny electrolytics...
     
  3. schiit

    schiit SchiitHead

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    I believe the bridge is on the bottom of the board, or maybe under the electrolytic. Modern bridges that are rated up to 2A AC are only about 3 x 5mm, some even smaller.

    Edit: I looked up the BOM. This is the bridge we use: https://www.mouser.com/datasheet/2/80/CDBHM120L-HF Thru. CDBHM1100L-HF RevD-769752.pdf, which means its on the bottom of the board, like Modi Multibit, which uses the same part.

    Interesting fact: a linear power supply can use a standard bridge, a Schottky bridge for lower Vf loss, or it can even use a controller and MOSFETs to achieve near-zero forward voltage drop for higher efficiency. Many linear power supplies may not look like what they used to (though we have yet to use a zero-Vf scheme yet).

    When we use a switcher, we say we use a switcher, as in Fulla 2.

    Eitr uses, as stated, a 100% linear power supply.
     
    Last edited: Jul 21, 2018
  4. Maxx134

    Maxx134 Dunning–Kruger effect poster boy

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    Oh duh, ok my bad..
    of course you would use other side board.

    That sounds much better now,
    but I would have also preferred an optional dc input to use external PSUs,
    because of the popular consensus of the benifits of better power supplies.

    There is a huge market for this, and I myself use a Regen in front of these type devices.

    I see that walwart,
    then I look at a regular laptop PSU wallwart and could not reconcile the difference without the clarification which you posted.
    Thanks for clarification.
     
  5. abvolt

    abvolt New

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    I'm going to give one of these a try..
     
  6. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    You can still shove a DC input into it. The rectifier will still do its job. No idea if half of the diodes will like 100% duty though. Keep in mind AC is RMS so DC needs to be x1.414.

    If you want to get fancy, just locate the big caps after the rectifier and directly connect the right DC to the leads there.

    No guarantees against explosions.
     
  7. LVF1

    LVF1 New

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    What's the recommended length for a spdif cable from a Modi Multibit to a modi? And is there a recommended brand of cable?
     
  8. LetMeBeFrank

    LetMeBeFrank Won't tell anyone my name is actually Francis

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    If you mean from Eitr to Modi Multibit and they are stacked, Blue Jeans Cables can make custom lengths, I used 1ft but others have used 6-8 inches just fine. Choose 1505f Belden with Canare connectors for best results and flexibility.
     
  9. Gruss Gott

    Gruss Gott Almost "Made"

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    After initially using my my gear (eitr, Modi Multibit, jot) with basic cables (like $3 amazon cables) I've experimented with many including blue jeans, pangea, and AudioQuest. Ultimately what worked best for me was AQ golden gate RCAs, AQ cinnamon spdif and an AQ carbon USB cable (and I'm using a pangea amp power cable). Prior to this I had some ground loop and EMI issues, but this set of cables gives me the right mix of sound / $
     
  10. zalive

    zalive New

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    Length of a S/PDIF cable depends on digital device's rise time. It's something that should be specified for each S/PDIF source. And for less knowledgeable, cable length recommendation (range) should be nice.
    If it's not specified all you can do is experiment.

    All I've experienced is with Eitr and results were following:
    - 20 cm long cable proved to be too short in the end, after some longer evaluation. There are some sonic benefits from shorter cable that can be heard but also some jitter related distortions
    - I currently use 40 cm long cable with Eitr; I never tried 50-60 cm though to see if it further minimizes jitter

    I still might suppose that 0.5 m digital coax should be a fine recommendation, and I'd try that with Schiit devices.
     
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2018
  11. buonassi

    buonassi New

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    a rule of thumb for 2 channel (and I see no reason why headphone chains would be different) has been to keep the coax run as short as possible, but no shorter than 1 meter. As you state @zalive, it's about rise times and square waves. The rise time of the transmission and receiving component ideally would be perfectly matched, but this isn't always the case. So when a square wave arrives at the receiver, it doesn't pass the exact same amount of wave that was sent - the rest is reflected back. Somehow the math to minimize reflections yet control jitter, comes to just over 1 meter - so 1.5 meters has always been the "safe bet".

    This is not to say that you're going to have problems if you go shorter. It is just a default install length for the audio nervosa that plagues some of us.
     
  12. willsw

    willsw Friend

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    Blue Jeans Cable seems like the best bet at the price point of the components. If you're looking at smaller companies or DIY, just make sure the connectors are compression connected or another method that maintains impedance through the connector (disregarding RCA vs. BNC).
     
  13. buonassi

    buonassi New

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    agreed, I have a 5 foot BJC spdif and have no issues with it at all - well, the rca connectors are a little loose when fitted to the coax input of my DAC, but that could be my DAC.
     
  14. msommers

    msommers High on Epipens

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    Yeah that seems rare actually.
     
  15. zalive

    zalive New

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    There's potential for better sound with shorter coax if transmitting digital device allows it. Reflections aren't the only thing that matters - no shielding is perfect, and shorter is better in this respect.

    From the current point of view, I myself would always want to have a 0.5 m coax on my side together with a longer one, then do A-B for the given setup. I've heard a positive difference which a well matched (shorter) length coax can make - on Eitr - I wouldn't bother much it was just about theory.
     
  16. Gruss Gott

    Gruss Gott Almost "Made"

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    I use a 0.6m AQ cinnamon out of the Eitr, however I only A/B'd it against the blue jeans 1m - and I believe there's a improvement with the AQ cable, but the core of THAT is that I replaced ALL cables with AQ golden gate and a carbon USB ... which I tried for 3 weeks, then went back to my blue jeans cables (and pangea usb) - there was a distinct difference with all of the cables in place.
     
  17. Delirious Lab

    Delirious Lab New

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    I use a 25-foot Monoprice cable b/w Eitr and Modi Multibit (laptop and Eitr close to me, Modi Multibit close to 2-ch system). No issues.
     
  18. damaged-goods

    damaged-goods Acquaintance

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    Does the Eitr LED is on all the time them the Eitr is powered on and not connected to a computer?
    When I switch my Eitr on (no USB or coax attached) the LED goes on for half a second and the goes off again. Might the unit be defective?
     
  19. zalive

    zalive New

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    It's normal LED behaviour on Eitr.
     
  20. Delirious Lab

    Delirious Lab New

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    The LED won't stay on unless USB is connected.
     

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