1markr

Happy New Year all! Wanted: Uptone Audio JS-2 I'm interested in buying a used JS-2 linear power supply in perfect working order and decent cosmetics. If you have one you want to part with, let me know and send pics! I'm 1markr on Audiogon, USAudioMart, and Ebay, so you can check my feedback there... Best, Mark

@BootzillaI had the Matrix running off of USB, and off a cheap switching power supply (both blah), and then I ran it off of an SLA battery, voltage divided to get 7 v. It was considerably better and listenable, but still not what I was Iooking for. I then put the LPS1.2 / 7v into the X-SPDIF2, and it didn't take long to open up the soundstage in all directions, added dynamics, and took a lot of digital glare away to sound more natural. I did not try other LPS products.

Lol, that was my quote above when I was without my LPS1.2 for a week, give or take a day or two. I can highly recommend it’s use with the X-SPDIF2. It transforms the Matrix into something really special and musical. I knew it would improve the sound, but I wasn’t prepared by the magnitude of positive change. Great synergy!

Same thing can be said for using the LPS 1.2 with a Matrix X-SPDIF2. It’s amazing how much the soundstage opened up with the Matrix with the LPS1.2.

One more point to add.... if I was locked in to ONLY use the USB input of either DAC, I would choose the E32. The USB implementation of the E32 is much better then the Onyx. I tried many of the de-crapifiers on the E32, and really none of them made a whole lot of difference to the sound. The E32”s input is galvanically isolated, but I don’t believe the Onyx is.

Definately try option A. It sounds like you already have everything for it, so the price of admission is free. Might as well, nothin’ to lose, as they say. If A doesn’t quite pan out, the trying the Eitr makes sense. Haven’t heard one, but have heard good things about it. Your good USB cable will play nicely here, and yes, a good digital 75 ohm cable will also be needed. As far as option C goes, be careful with this one. I went this route with an ultraRendu, but it didn’t pan out for me. Not the sound I was looking for, so I scrapped the option. This was with both DACs, the E32 and the Onyx. Rendu solutions get raves just about everywhere, so go figure... Keep us posted!

Sure... first off, both DACs are very musical and worthy of an audition in your system; there isn’t a right or a wrong here, just one that feels and sounds “better” in your system with your supporting gear; your ears will determine which is best for you! That said, I can live with either DAC very happily. Anyways, I decided to keep the Onyx after owning an E12 first, then the E32, for the past couple of years or so. Though the differences were small, ultimately I felt the Onyx reproduced piano a bit better in my system. While it might be just slightly less detailed than the E32, I preferred the smoother character, and slightly “rounder and warmer” presentation of the Onyx in my already revealing system. This manifested itself positively in piano tonality and human voices with less etch and harshness, especially on less than stellar recordings. I also like the fact that I can somewhat tweak the Onyx sound with my stash of power cables, while I powered the E32 via a filtered 12v SLA battery. Lastly, the Onyx has an MQA module option that I may investigate in the future. Also note that, as I mentioned earlier above, it did take the Matrix USB digital converter and LPS1.2 to make the Onyx come alive via the S/PDIF input. USB isn’t bad at all though, but the soundstage just became more dimensional with the add’l supporting gear. I wasn’t able to try the E32 with the Matrix / UpTone combo. Both are really good DACs...truly!

My personal experience with the Onyx, which I am running now very happily.... I agree with the SBAF reviewer. I much prefer the coax S/PDIF input on my Onyx (being fed via a Matrix X-SPDIF2 ddc powered by an Uptone LPS1.2) from my MacBook Pro’s USB output. IMO, and to my ears, using the coax input with this combination of gear sounds “significantly” better than the USB input. The improvement to the soundstage, instrument / performer separation, and transient response are all very noticeable. However, I’d venture a guess that my sonic improvements go beyond just the input differences on the Onyx. I think a good portion of my improvements are due to the Matrix and LPS1.2 combination. Hope this helps!

Good review MJ, and great story-telling! I really enjoyed it. I assume that you tested the DACs with their native power sources, whether factory power cords, or stock AC adapters and such? The reason I bring that up.... well, I'm a happy ExaSound E32 user, and have been most of this year (ran an E12 for a year or so before that), but I run it off of DC power from an SLA battery, which made a substantial improvement to transient responses of the DAC, and it put a little more "meat on the bones" on instruments and performers as it laid out the sonic picture. As for comparisons, the only thing I can add is that I much preferred the ExaSound E12 to the Holo Spring Lev 3 DAC, that I also owned, and it was fully broken in. The Holo was just too laid back for me, and didn't get my blood flowing listening to my tunes. Both were driven off of USB.

LOL... yeah, it's probably me and my writing!

@rickca - I should have been more clear... No it doesn't work with the ExaSound; I was able to return it back to Allo.

A little off topic (but not really)... This is just a shout out to the great Allo team (Andre, et al), and the awesome support that they have provided to me. Some of you may recall that I bought the Sparky/USBridge from Allo, only to find out later that I cannot use it with exaSound DAC due to the proprietary Linux drivers that is uses, and thus I couldn't use the USBridge. That is unfortunate as I really wanted to put it into my streaming loop. Anyways, Allo was understanding, and they took care of me! You see the support they are providing here, and with my issue resolved, I can't recommend them highly enough, and they are the real deal! Thanks Allo!

@ted_b Thanks for your thoughts there.... I will have to investigate more!

@rickca - LOL, I would certainly not part with my E32! I had the E12 before it, and now the E32 is my system's foundation. I absolutely love the wonderful DAC. Alas, for now, the PlayPoint is quite a bit out of my reach for now. I was talking about selling the Sparky/USBridge... I wonder if Allo will take it back?

Oh no, so that means I can't use the Sparky/USBridge with my ExaSound??!! Major bummer!! Anyone wanna buy it? Brand spanking new!