Gladac

I changed DIY Dual USB cable with IFI Audio Gemini 3.0 USB 2.0 and Audiophonics LPSU25 5V 1,25A. The LPSU remains cold even after 24/7 operation. Well, I don t know much about burning USB cable, but first impressions are positive, the bass timber and definition increases, everything is clearer a bit, more details. Not a substantial difference (for such an expensive cable) but still difference. The Pegasus proved again not to be weakest chain in my rig. I believe I nearly reached my audio summit, I am very happy with Pegasus sound. The only draw back is 6 boxes in my rack instead of two.

Well, in Europe the KTE Level 3 is more then 4 times more expensive then Pegasus. The way you described the sound of it, it is 10 times better. And yes, the sound of digital source can be better then analog in many aspects. The bass is one of them.

Before buying "better" DAC then Pegasus, maybe few cheaper upgrades should be considered first. After buying Pegasus, I did some upgrades to my NUC Tiger Canyon music server. First I replaced NUC case with fanless case Akasa Plato TN. This upgrade lowered the noise floor considerably, I heard more details and clearer. I did not expect that. This was the most cost benefit upgrade so far. Next, I installed Matrix element H with riser cable PCIe to M2. Matrix Audio support failed big time. They were reluctant to confirm the compatibility with riser cable M2/PCIE, and even with Windows Server 2019. So it was plunge into unknown for me costing over 400€. The external LPSU25 12V 1,25A was from Audiophonics. I was so relieved that everything worked fine. The Pegasus benefits greatly from this improvement. The remaining digital glare disappeared, as well as sibilance, the sound is now much more musical and relaxed. Maybe like going from Pegasus to Denafrips Venus II. I am not sure since I heard those two in different rigs and rooms.

Somewhere on some forum someone decided upon Pegasus after compared it with Pontus II and saved the money. Try to dig it. Though Pontus II looks impressive, extra 1000$ or more is really debatable IMO. Hope this would help.

Very good and precise description. BTW Matrix support is questionable at best, they claim that Element H may not be compatible with Windows Server 2019!? It however support windows 8, despite the facts that this is an obsolete OS for 4-5 years. I will report later my findings on appropriate threads. This Shaar USB card is probably hard to get in EU. Any Idea? I agree Windows Server 2019 GUI is superior to Windows 10, with AO 3.0 my Pegasus works like charm.

Hello, Please give us your opinion about element H. Do you have Windows OS or something else?

Hello Ray, Is it Matrix Element X or H (USB card)? What PC and OS do you have if Matrix Element H? Can you describe SQ improvement with Matrix. I am considering the same card. Sorry if I am going off topic a little bit.

Sorry, my assumption WAS WRONG! The problem is not with the driver installation, but with the RDS customization of Windows Server 2019. Apologies to Musician!

After couple of hundreds hours here is my assessment of Pegasus. My previous DAC Lite-83 (4x BB PCM1704)+ Singxer SU-1. The driver installation on Win 10 PC was straight forward and everything worked flawlessly. Every aspect of music reproduction is bettered. Better resolution and stereo image/focus, speakers disappeared. But not like day and night. The biggest difference is bass reproduction. Now the bass is cleaner, better defined with better dynamics. Overall, I am happy with this replacement. Except... When I tried to install the driver on PC with Windows Server 2019, the problem starts with USB installation. In several attempts, the PC did not recognize the Pegasus. Even more the input button for USB lights only when I turn off the Pegasus - very strange!? Obviously driver is not suitable for Win Server 2019. Any advise or help would be mostly welcomed!

Hello, What is the real SQ benefit of having very good clock in the USB card, when the signal will be reclocked in the USB-SPDIF converter anyway (I have Singxer SU-1)? Apologize if this topic is already covered, I could not find the explanation.

Bob, appreciated your advise. Currently I am using NUC I3 8gen headless, Win 10 Home and the same disk for system and library. Being 60+ years old, I most of the time do not hear what lot of people claim to hear. I do not hear the SQ difference if cooling fan is on or off. Some people claim they do, and not the fan itself, but SQ degradation EMI, RF etc. I did not try Audirvana, but tried Jriver, Hysolid, Winyl, MusicBee, and hear no SQ difference between them and Foobar2k when played over Wasapi. Some people on this site hear big difference in SQ and trashed Foobar2k a lot. Anyway, the fan is off most of the time, since temperature does not pass 41-42 deg C. The workload of the CPU is negligible at less then 1% when Foobar plays. But I did hear SQ improvement when changed to linear 19v PSU for NUC, and 5V for USB. So I guess, maybe other stuff influence sound too, and I can hear it, like two disks vs one. Or installing the Windows Server 2019 instead of Win10, or running fanless PC and so on. So many options to try in pursuit of happiness...

Thank you so much for quick reply, I thought that too, but was not sure. I want to keep power consumption as low as possible, and extra disk would not do for me anything useful.

Hello, Sorry if is it out of topic. I am building Win OS music PC server, Intel NUC I3 11 gen, linear PSU. My music library is around 500Gb, mostly 44/16, max 96/24 only PCM no DSD. I am using Foobar2k, which I think, load music to RAM before plays. I will only run music locally from installed disk/s. OS disk is Samsung Evo Pro 980 M.2. Is there any REAL benefit in terms of SQ when using separate disk (2.5 in) for music library? Thank You!

This is my first post and let me express my opinion about CA being a great site and source of information for CAT people. I own Lite DAC-83 connected to Primare CD-31 as a transport. The combination has definitely more resolution and dynamics and the same musicality/liquidity comparing to CD-31 own DAC (the same chipset 4xPCM1704UK). On different forums, comparisons have been made to Audio GD 7.1, some of which preferred the GD 7,1, but other preferred DAC-83. All in all, the difference between the two was not big. In Europe the cost of Audio GD 7.1 is almost twice of the Lite DAC-83, 1800 vs 1000 Eur, hence my decision to buy DAC-83. Still looking for appropriate converter/PC. The closest is the Halide Bridge or Kingrex UC192 with better PSU and Wireworld Starlight USB cable.