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So today a new experiment in the quest for good food for audio, adding a balanced isolation transformer to keep the crud from the power line out....we'll see what it does once it fires up, hopefully not literally (@3000VA)
 
Isolation transformers only work if your mains cable cost more than 500 euro :p
 
Let us know if you can hear a difference. I use power conditioners for all of my gear but I’m not sure I can hear a difference. I mostly use them because they give me a place to plug everything in and they protect my gear from power surges.
 
The verdict is good, I was already using a dedicated power 'strip' using some mystical components and a bunch of furutech NCF schuko sockets connected in a star configuration and some good power cable plug and wall outlet.
Adding the isolation transformer clearly helps in that it the noise appears to be separated/cleaned from the low level detail that usually drowns, except for that magical hour every now and then when the phases of the moon seem to favorably align with the stars or something.

So in a nutshell; if you know the 11PM effect, it's that... but more of it...and at any hour of the day (remains to be seen what happens when it's 11PM tonight)

The thing also comes in handy when snow hits the road and I need to add some weight in the trunk to keep traction on the rear wheels....it weighs a whopping 40Kg.
 
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I am also looking at changing powercords, most likely into Furutech. Does anyone know a place where I can buy Furutech by the meter, and connectors, and where they assemble it into a cable, for not that much money? Euro-based, ideally the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, or France. Thanks!
 
audiophonics sells Furutech parts and cables, I buy stuff here regularly (no Furutech though)
or furutechwebshop.nl
Peacockaudio.nl (bought a 230V power board fuse holder)

and plenty others...
 
MarcelNL said:
audiophonics sells Furutech parts and cables, I buy stuff here regularly (no Furutech though)
or furutechwebshop.nl
Peacockaudio.nl (bought a 230V power board fuse holder)

and plenty others...
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Ah yes, I’ve seen these, and do they also assemble the cords? A while ago I did the same with Audio Note speaker cable through the UK shop hificollective, but what with brexit and all probably not a good idea to order there again. They did an excellent job though. I’ll ask some of the shops you mention. Thanks!
 
assembling a cord takes aprox 1.5 hours for the first one and approx an hour for the next few (unless you select a multi strand cable where you need to strip many wires and parallel connect them. The thicker the cord the more difficult it gets to handle.

I know Peacock does assemble, I normally make my own using Viborg pure copper as I tend to dislike plating.

When investing in power cords pls think about sockets too (both ends).
 
hmm, another possible benefit of the balanced isolation transformer is that I can potentially omit the leak current safety switch....for safety sake I will discuss with an EE...
 
So I finally found a decent and decently affordable linear PSU for the network switch handling audio data over fiber....NICE! Subtle but worthwhile, good thing is I have two identical switches (don't ask why) so I can do A/B fairly quickly
 
I found a used Allo Shanti, doing 3 Amps @5V which should be enough (only using 2 ports of the 26 the switch has),
streaming all sounds cleaner and tighter. Also tinkered a bit with the Xilinx fiberoptics card so it runs a bit cooler, it was very hot last week and it reached it's critical limit.

Last (if there ever is one) hurdle is the PSU for the audio PC...that is a big project for a linear PSU....50-70 A @12V on the EPS and a myriad of lower voltages for the ATX connector, guess I will start with the EPS as using decent wire made the most difference there.
 
gregfisk said:
What PSU did you get? I’ve found power supplies to be important with digital audio.
Click to expand...
me too, much to my surprise initially as it is sort of counterintuitive after decades of 'indoctrination' telling us digital is not affected by noise etc...
 
What are you using the caps in? A crossover for your speakers? When I upgraded the caps on my OB midrange and tweeter it was like I removed a blanket that was in front of my speakers.
 
I built them from scratch and the caps that were originally used in the crossover design weren’t letting all of the magic through. Kind of like ALL commercial audio equipment😚. There is good sounding equipment and then there is amazing sounding equipment. Most people don’t have a clue how much better a system can sound. Most systems sound like they have a blanket in front of the speakers.
 
in true form of one step forward two steps backwards I'm now troubleshooting an issue that sounds like a data / computer issue (RAM?)....no sound but for intermittent clicking and noise. The I2S output card has been tested, the DAC is repaired and checked, so tonight is likely going to be a rebuild from scratch of the audio PC. Trouble is that the OS I'm using is dedicated to audio and does not show diagnostic data on much else than a few temperature readings....

TBC
 
MarcelNL said:
a tweaked computer running Daphile, attached to more power supplies than you'd care to know about,
Click to expand...
MarcelNL said:
in true form of one step forward two steps backwards I'm now troubleshooting an issue that sounds like a data / computer issue (RAM?)....no sound but for intermittent clicking and noise. The I2S output card has been tested, the DAC is repaired and checked, so tonight is likely going to be a rebuild from scratch of the audio PC. Trouble is that the OS I'm using is dedicated to audio and does not show diagnostic data on much else than a few temperature readings....

TBC
Click to expand...
I wonder what the problem is..
 
Probably an audiophile cable 😁

All PSU's are checked and OK, this has to come from within the computer, but the weird thing is that the OS boots and is functional. It may be something silly like a PCIe port being disabled in the BIOS.... I will start reflashing the previous BIOS to rule out new BIOS settings that may be incorrectly set.

And we're back in the room...turned out to be some fancy-prancy Bios setting in the new version ...not sure what exactly but I suspect it may not be compatible/covered by the Linux kernel used by Daphile, at least the whole exercise serves to once more teach the lesson to stick to one step at a time.
 
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One beneficial side effect of having reset the Bios to the most boring settings is that the 12 core CPU that will arrive tomorrow or so should work straight away
 
The 12 core CPU is installed, and I think it'll stay there...I know it can not and should not make a difference, at least not one I can fathom or explain, yet like with a car where there is only one substitute for cubic inches (displacement) other than more cubic inches....an audio PC thrives with processing power, not that the CPU load was anything serious at 0.X percent previously...still more power means more control, depth clarity, larger image, better attack & decay and all those buzzwords audiophiles come up with.

The main task for now will be to tame it's heat...105W TDP is hard to cool passively, I have a kit with copper heatpipes and a copper CPU clamp waiting to be installed but I need to source some serious heat sinks to connect it to first. Where the octacore ran at 50ish C or so the 12 core creates more heat making the fan switch between RPMs quite nervously.
 
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MarcelNL said:
The 12 core CPU is installed, and I think it'll stay there...I know it can not and should not make a difference, at least not one I can fathom or explain, yet like with a car where there is only one substitute for cubic inches (displacement) other than more cubic inches....an audio PC thrives with processing power, not that the CPU load was anything serious at 0.X percent previously...still more power means more control, depth clarity, larger image, better attack & decay and all those buzzwords audiophiles come up with.

The main task for now will be to tame it's heat...105W TDP is hard to cool passively, I have a kit with copper heatpipes and a copper CPU clamp waiting to be installed but I need to source some serious heat sinks to connect it to first. Where the octacore ran at 50ish C or so the 12 core creates more heat making the fan switch between RPMs quite nervously.
Click to expand...
MOAR CFM!
 
Panda, you may appreciate that I have a purifi amp on the way. I'm going to set up a sciencey system for the wife. The sources will be limited to Tidal streaming and our library of ripped CDs. I need to find a streaming solution she can run while using phone, ipad and/ or laptop. Will feed it through a chi-fi DAC/ preamp. Bluenode is an option for the streamer, but we already have a 2i and I'm not crazy about going that route just for a streamer.

This will be in contrast to my Class AB amp, tube preamp, TT, etc. I'm looking forward to playing with some of the new stuff that is on the market and is much more affordable then the nosebleed audiophile equipment has become.
 
There is some great reasonably priced gear out there, no need to spend half a million buck on a system. Just keep in mind that all chains of the link are important, yet pay special attention to the front and back end...meaning source and speakers, that is where your bang for the buck is biggest. Especially speaker efficiency (and design principle) is important, the biggest challenge/trade-off area IMO is size versus efficiency.
 
The speakers are the one wildcard. I am waiting on a pair of Zu Omen 'Dirty Weekends'. The initial plan was to get a flea amp but in the months I have been waiting for the speakers to be built I reversed course on the electronics and decided to go for as neutral as possible. I may wind up with some equalization in the chain but somehow, but I can't make the system too complex or my wife will not use it. But the speakers are inexpensive enough that I should be able to sell them without much of a loss if they don't work well with the system.
 
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