Cormorant

Exactly was the point I was trying to make by bringing up the electrical engineer designer. There is a magic dial for digital audio but the magic is all about science and engineering. It sounds like some magic will be incorporated into some future Uptone projects -- that's cool!

Didn't John Swenson wave his magic dial around and increase the resolution via a new design?

I posted some thoughts on the new opticalRendu Deluxe in the Signature Rendu SE Deluxe thread: I have to disagree with Jesus here on his comment "there is no magic dial to increase and decrease detail or warmth." The cool thing about the audio hobby is that there are plenty of ways to change tonal balance more to one's liking. Pretty much time I've upgraded a component that is more resolving and neutral and dynamic, I've had to make some other change to my system to regain my preferred tonal balance. Guy says: <<To be clear, I do not look for more details (the OR has plenty) but for a ‘warmer’ sound (with the details / nuances of the OR, it would be fantastic).>> That is exactly one of the fun challenges of the audio hobby. Achieve more resolution but maintain realistic tone. There are lots of ways to do it without getting new speakers or headphones: * Better power supply with a touch of warmth as Jesus says. * New power cord on that power supply. * New fuse for the power supply with a bit of warmth. Like a Synergistic Purple (or the new Pink? not sure) * New power cord and/or fuse on the DAC * Warmer fiber optics cable like the Cisco 10Gb SFP+ AOC. * Use EQ and Phase correction. It's a very powerful tool to get one's preferred frequency balance. I recommend Audiolense. It's a big project, though. :). It can save a lot of money on "tonal angst" - for example, changing treble response by 0.5 db is often a stronger effect than an expensive power cord. * Etc., etc. as one goes up the chain

Mercman, that is a nice concise review that matches my experience. I've got the opticalRendu Deluxe. In particular: * As Mercman says, more dynamic. Music sounds more powerful and lively and real. * As Guy M said in the "Introducing Thread", more resolving. Across the frequency spectrum, not just treble. * Gets rid of a touch of upper midrange and treble hash/grunge leading to more realistic high frequencies. * Runs quite a bit cooler than my original opticalRendu. I have to say this is a great upgrade! Good work, guys.

Switches can definitely affect sound quality. Perhaps the designer was thinking about how to have the best sound quality at the lowest cost.

Hi Deric, No, the Holo Serene does not have a HT-bypass function.

Sonore opticalModule Deluxe, of course.

In my system the Cisco SFP-10G-AOC is too dark. The Finisar 1475D3BTL transceivers are too bright. But the tone on the fs.com Cisco compatible AOC is just right! https://www.fs.com/products/30890.html

I've got 2.9 installed and it does seem like it offers slightly increased clarity over 2.8, which is great. I notice a touch more clarity across the frequency spectrum including a tad tighter and more dynamic bass. It looks to me like you do have top notch gear! I looked at a Stereophile review of the KEF Ls50 Anniversary Edition. Measurements are here: https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-ls50-anniversary-model-loudspeaker-measurements Here is the spatially averaged frequency response of the Ls50 speakers in John Atkinson's room (red line): I don't know what your in-room response looks like, but the JA room frequency response isn't really going to make most of our ears and brain happy at all, particularly in the treble. Most listeners prefer a down-sloping frequency curve from bass to treble. If your in-room response looks anything like the chart above, using Acourate or Audiolense room/speaker correction software could fix your prominent treble issues. Most speakers need EQ to shine, in my opinion.

Having used both Audiolense and HQPlayer for years, I agree. Both Audiolense and HQPlayer are really excellent. Audiolense will actually make a bigger positive difference than HQPlayer in most speaker based systems.

From Jussi: USB doesn't need any PLL because the clocking is at DAC side. PLL is only needed when DAC needs to regenerate clocks from external source (S/PDIF, AES or optionally I2S). Which is not the case with USB where clock is solely at the DAC side... There's not much point in DAC regenerating clock from it's own clock with PLL. It would only degrade performance. Original post is here:

Yes, the Nilai input stage is fully discrete - not op amp based. The input stage is designed to work very well with the rest of the amplification circuit - it isn't a bolted on 3rd party add-on. The input stage also has a shorter signal path than Purifi implementations - it's just millimeters from the rest of the circuit on the same PC board.

I've had a pair of the new Hypex Nilai 500 monoblocks in my system since the beginning of January. I find the treble to be superb -- extended, very clear, and tonally excellent. The smoothness really makes one appreciate low distortion in the treble range. I have not heard any Purifi amps in my system to compare.

It may be that single-mode vs multi-mode is a canard and the big improvement is with the smooth but clear sounding Finisar transceivers. In which case you are good to go. Maybe others will weigh in?

Definitely experimental range, haha. But it all works and the sound is excellent. It's a Holo May DAC using HQPlayer.