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rocker9999

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  1. So, how's the digital anarchy working out for ya'all ?
  2. Ted, Thank you for the great review. The e12 is definitely on my buy list. Your commentary is very helpful with a great narrative description - job well done and most appreciated!
  3. Trappy, Wow - that's great news! Thanks for sharing your first hand observations - I guess most components need a slight burn in before they really start singing. Again, thanks for the first hand observations.
  4. I don't think you need a pre-amp. The owner's manual says you can take the line level - RCA outputs directly to your Amp in - Rocker9999
  5. So….what about the SPDIF vs USB issues that seem to show so easily on the HD? Well, as in the HD review I first used my own $250 Matrix X-SPDIF (24/192 and DSD64 capable via DoP) and try and try as I might I don’t really hear anything about the SPDIF (RCA coax in from X-SPDIF BNC out) that makes me want to use it. Why….well cuz it doesn’t work. ?? I then realize something that may change my whole theory on this USB vs SPDIF Chord debate….the X-SPDIF needs 5V from my USB card. I have installed the new JCAT (from the makers of JPlay) USBcard, which among its amazing capabilities is the flexibility to have one or both USB ports powered or unpowered (the card itself is powered via 3.3V internal PCIe). So I reconfigured the card to have the lower port powered by my same external Red Wine Acopian 5V that powered my PPA card (the one used in the HD review). Voila. The Matrix X-SPDIF sees the DAC and away we go. Except, again… try and try as I might I don’t really hear anything about the SPDIF (RCA coax in from X-SPDIF BNC out) that makes me want to use it. In fact, it sounds a hair less immediate and a hair less resolving. ? So I waited for the Audiobyte Hydra-X Plus, a new upgrade from their Hydra-X..a vaunted USB/SPDIF converter from the mind of Nicolae Jitariu and the folks from Audiobyte in Romania. This converter is powered and has several nice features including I2S (remains unused for me) and is one of few external SPDIF converters that can go to eleven, er, 24/384k (and therefore also supports DSD128 via DoP). This is a very nice converter for under $1k, has the support of several folks here on CA, and is built well, etc. However, I still don’t hear the improvements that would make me want to deal with the extra cabling etc. That is, until I decide to plug the EX USB back in to the powered port 9rather than the now preferred unpowered port) of the JCAT card. NOW the USB is relegated to second class citizen and the SPDIF converters show a slight improvement (X-SPDIF) to clear improvement (Hydra-X Plus). But when I switch back to the unpowered port (each port can have filtering on and off, via jumpers, too, by the way) it becomes obvious that this signal path (USB unpowered) is the way to go for the Chord Qute EX to shine its best. Read this, and then read it again. Why is digital - Still, such a tangled mess?
  6. Don't understand all this new digital stuff? Oh, are you referring to the fact that NO ONE ever says - "gee, my system doesn't sound "digital enough" ?. I really prefer a more cold, sterile, grainy and overly bright presentation - yea, you know that "digital sound" - the sound with less than "organic harmonics" - yea, that's what I want! Nope, nobody ever says that. What analog guys want - is the way music was meant to be heard. The computer was never designed to transmit digital data representing an organic sound. Digital data simply provides a convenient "simulation of sound", the computer offers significant flexibility when re-arranging the playback selection for your "simulated sound". If I'm wrong, then please let me know why all reviewers consistently comment about DACS they like by saying -" ....the most analog sounding Dac I have ever had in my system" - they never compliment a Dac by saying - "The most digital sounding dac, I've ever heard." That's why Analog guys don't get it, they aren't willing to settle for less. Why are you ?
  7. Yea, just park it all on a cloud - then, just wait for the day your internet service goes black. No music, no access - no fun? Hey, while you're at it - why not just park your car in someone else's garage? As long as the door is unlocked when you come back, you'll be able to drive your car that day. If not, I guess you'll end up walking. Forget the cloud, keep your own music in your own world.
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