chrisd552

Generally speaking, ethernet runs experience less interference. Wifi is subject to greater network instability. And, activating wifi on the Mercury will mean more EMI right against the box. For these reasons I try to avoid wifi near audio devices or for streaming audio.

I think you can wire it without much trouble at all. Its 4 pins I think. And a common problem is there is no cabling standard for I2S (I think the Mercury uses the PS Audio mapping). :)

I ordered a Mercury v2 but it hasn’t arrived yet. Has anyone experimented with different PSUs yet? Is SQ impacted a lot by choice of power supply?

Maybe I should have been more clear...clearly the Bifrost doesn't take I2s without some internal mods. So, I would need to swap DACs. But have already been looking at a swap to a Denafrips. But if going that direction, maybe its more practical to peel the I2s from Allo Kali and send it directly to the Denafrips. Its certainly a less expensive route than the Mercury v2. What's unknown for me is whether or not the Mercury and Kali are equally effective at delivering I2s from the stream to the DAC.

Hi Zack. I see what you mean. I ask because I'm looking for a major improvement in streaming SQ. I've been using a Mac mini with Audirvana Studio, into a Shiit Bifrost 2. And SQ is just not there. So, I decided to investigate Pi based solutions and stumbled onto the Stack Link II in the process - its gets some pretty strong reviews for SQ (my experience so far is that service from Stack is not good - I've been trying to reach them for a week without luck!). I did pre-order a Mercury v2 and will experiment with that. While I haven't done experimentation with I2s myself yet, I understand the basic rationale for using it in lieu of composite alternative (being as close to raw as possible and avoiding encoding and decoding of USB, SPID/F, etc). But there is a fair amount of info suggesting that modern and well executed USB streams (with clean power, etc) are not distinguishable from an I2s feed directly into the dac. Again - I don't have any first hand knowledge on this yet not having experimented myself (I guess I'll be in a position to do that when the Mercury arrives). But would love comments and feedback from anyone who has walked these paths or experimented similarly. :)

Hi. I am new to this site. I have an interest in high-quality stand alone streaming solutions (especially sans the cost of esoteric solutions). I am just curious is anyone has done a comparison (casual or formal) between the Mercury 2 and the Stack Audio Link II. If so, I would love to hear your observations and opinion regarding the compare. -Chris