USB Nervosa Thread Decrapifiers, pro interfaces, and bears oh my

Thanks for the tip.

 

Anyone try intona? How's it?

 

So as I posted previously I was using the ethernet path to my PWD but switched when I tried the Wyrd along with cooking the usb cables.

I recently added a 2nd Wyrd and a short 6" 'jumper' cable between them along with a Schiit Pyst USB cable.
After cooking these new cables the results are most impressive.

The biggest single improvement was to the soundstage.
It became much more coupled, cohesive, and coherent for not just the 'voices' but the entire 3d space as well.

Well worth the $130 for the 2nd Wyrd and Pyst cable.

JJ

 

I have an Intona Industrial (thanks Luckbad!) sitting in front of my Mutec MC3+ USB which is sending AES to Yggdrasil. The Intona is the replacement for the ancient powered USB 2.0 hub I was using because I was having issues getting the Mutec to play nice with my MBP USB ports.

I hate to say it because it's getting ridiculous with all the things in the chain but honestly, the Intona made a big positive improvement in my setup. The Intona smooths out the entire signature (in a very good way) making it even less fatiguing and really enjoyable to listen to. No loss of resolution or warm goo but rather awesome bass and smooth grain free treble like it should be. Combine with the soundstage/imaging improvements the Mutec adds and it's the best my digital has ever been. Listening to my LP transfers is a real joy with this setup.

 

I used to own an MC-3+ when I didn't have the Yggdrasil around, but all this talk about how it elevates Yggdrasil's performance tempted me to contact MUTEC again. I have a USB cleaner called made by Waversa (which I'm sure no one has heard about) that does a decent job with my Yggdrasil, and I expect to keep it since the MC-3+ seems to benefit from an extra USB decrapifier upstream.

 

The biggest trouble of it is you have to send it back to German to update the firmware. The time of updating is less than one min.

 

I think you are referring to the Intona having issues negotiating link with some DACs/cables? Not sure if I have the latest Intona firmware but with Belkin Gold ($7 CDN per 6ft cable) on both sides the MC3+ USB auto detects perfectly.

For sure if you are considering buying an Intona check if someone has used it with the gear you have in your system. I suspect a lot of USB cables marketed at audiophiles are not actually USB spec compliant which may be aggravating the issue.

Edit: My Intona has the "NF" option where it does not blink when operating in high speed mode so it's likely the latest firmware.

 

Uptone Regen came in and it feels like a DAC upgrade.

 

Wait till you try a USB to SPDIF, that's a whole two levels higher, normally. Your setup will show it too, as it can scale well.

 

Damn it man thats like a thousand bucks. Don't tempt me!

Edit: I believe in the USB to SPDIF thing though, seems like the $100 cmedia usb convertor isn't doing the dac justice. Maybe I'll get the Gungnir first.

 

Yeah, it is, sorry. I just got prices back from all the folks I wanted to ask, I'll send updates tomorrow.

 

I recently tried changing from USB to optical (Toslink) for the PC -> Bifrost Multibit connection and noticed that the faint background RF noise I had become accustomed to went away with that change.

Changed back from optical to a different USB cable, this time one with ferrite chokes, and the RF noise was there again. Realized that my cable ties had the USB cable running together with a heap of other USB and power cables and separated out that USB cable. Also moved it to a different USB port on my PC, which happened to be a USB 3 port though that probably has nothing to do with it. RF noise now seems to be pretty much gone.

I still think there is a hint of RF noise audible with my USB setup, whereas with optical that was gone entirely. On the other hand, I think USB sounds a touch better overall. Could be placebo. Both sound great now that I have the bulk of that RF noise sorted.

 

So I decided to add a 2nd Wyrd to the data path, which also included a change of USB cables.

I added a short (6") Belkin USB cable from Wyrd-1 to Wyrd-2 and replaced a 2 meter Belkin Pro Series cable with a 1 meter Pyst USB cable.
I also cooked these new cables for 24hrs.

The most noticeable change was to the soundstage.
It tightened up and became WAY more focused with each 'voice' gaining a sharper 'edge' in terms of where it is placed within the soundstage and where it isn't.
Changes also manifested in the soundstage itself as its acoustic presence became more noticeable and more 'real'.

But I didn't stop there.

I also modded both Wyrds by adding .1mfd 100v non polarized bypass caps to the 2 main power supply filter caps as was suggested in another thread here in SBAF.

My system is reaching new heights in soundstage precision and 'voice' integrity.

Just like I like.

JJ

 

Have you hopped on the Mutec train yet?

 

Gotta link?

JJ

 

http://mutec-net.com/product_mc-3-plus.php

I personally like it in black ; )

Still need to try one out.

 

It's pretty f'ing amazing if you want to bypass USB into your DAC. Yep, the black does make it look like you are an airplane pilot.

 

Uh for 1K$ for the usb version I would hope it serves coffee, or sumpt'n.
Using 2) Wyrds and the Pyst and 6" USB cables is ≈ $250.
And while it would be nice to compare it to a few DDC's, at this point I see no need.

That isn't to say they may be better SQ wise, but at 2 - 4 times the price, I would hope so.

But I did manage to very quickly compare a bel canto DDC to my dbl Wyrds and they were very close with a slight edge to the dbl Wyrds, at least to me.
The owner of the bel canto thought his setup was slightly better.

So the differences were slight and more open to expectations than that one is obviously 'Better' than the other.

JJ

 

There is a low end usb to spdif board that's starting to attract attention, the XMos xu208 usb bridge that's more your budget, but that is the raw board with no power, and of course a decent LPS brings it over $300, IIRC. It will run off the power from the Regen, if you had one.

They said that the thing comes out in a box in June,
http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/headph...nterface-with-xmos-xu208-cpld-dsd256-dop.html

and is said to copy the Berkeley Audio Digital Alpha USB, for 1/6th the price, based on looking at the layout? Who knows, really as it hasn't shipped yet.