AllenB

I also have to report the same issue, the 'Reboot' seems to completely shut down the mR, leave it as long as you like and it does not come back up. A 'Power Down' closes the mR down but the ethernet light blinks constantly, however the browser GUI is not able to log back into it. For both, only turning the PSU off and on again brings it back online. Software is on 2.1 and does not report any update available in the GUI, so I do not believe I am missing any update.

So, if one owns a Uptone JS-2 already (as I do), or indeed any other very good LPS, why would I want the Ultracap?

Thanks for the pic Paul, I have been in contact with Panic Music Services (Cambridge) who are the main service agent for TC and they say they can sort it out, will telephone them tomorrow to see what the costs are. Hopefully, as you suggest, it will be a small replacement job. Thanks Allen

Nice one Paul! Unfortunately, my K8 needs a service after the dig out phono socket was ripped out by an over-tight rca plug on a Naim DC1 cable (see my other thread). Which serves a a friendly warning to Konnekt owners - the RCA outputs are pretty fragile. Probably extends to other lower priced equipment also. Such a hassle now to get the thing fixed, may not be worth it either! Cheers Allen

According to TC web page, the service agent in the UK are Panic Music Services. Think I will email TC direct and see what they say. Cheers Allen

Anyone know where I can get a K8 serviced? Unbelievable, got myself a Naim DC1 cable, and the blooming thing was so tight it's actually ripped the RCA socket out of it's housing in the K8. If this can't be fixed I'm left with a useless (for me) K8. I peeked inside and it looks like the Dig In & Out sockets are surface mounted, I hope this doesn't mean a whole new mainboard :-( Allen

Dan - if you read my second posting in this thread I did mention briefly how I ended setting up my K8. With my Mac Mini the K8 takes over the clocking duties and the setting is for the K8 Mixer. As I am using as a straight convertor, all the other settings are pretty much irrelevant as there are no other inputs. Referencing some of the other postings, I would reiterate that the purpose for me of the K8 was to utilise and compare the firewire output from the Mac into my Lavry DA10 (which doesn't have firewire), against the straight mini-toslink connection between Mac / Lavry DA10, so in my setup, to see if there was a difference. I reported a small but noticeable and valuable improvement. I don't really want to comment on EA / Steve's indifference to the Konnekt, other than to say that he mentioned an implied cost of $100, which begs the question as to which Konnekt he was referring to? Was it the 6? Who knows, as far as I'm concerned and as others have said, I would take his comments with a 'pinch of salt'. And that's not getting on any 'high-horse' either just because I purchased the K8. Regards

I wanted to explore whether the toslink connection between my MacMini and Lavry DA10 could be improved upon. I use the Chord Optichord connecting lead to avoid the horrible plastic adaptor that's necessary with most other toslink cables (I have never quite understood why Apple couldn't just provide a normal toslink out on their equipment). So I took a punt on the K8 to use firewire out of the MacMini, at less than £200 it's less than what many of us spend on a cable. The K8 is physically bigger than I thought it would be, slightly wider than the DA10 but not as deep, a bit of an ugly duckling, but then this is pro-audio kit, as such it seems to be well meade and robust. I downloaded the latest 'TCNear' software and driver package, installed this on the Mini, connected up the K8, no problems here,the driver installs and the 'TCNear" shows up in the system preferences and the audio midi control panel. I then updated the firmware which is necessary to match the software supplied. I am using the firewire bus to power the K8, I did not want another power adaptor if at all possible. Now as some people have mentioned, albeit with maybe earlier versions, the software is not all that intuitive, it took me a little while to suss out what settings were needed. Going for the SPDIF settings is a red herring as this relates to connected equipment, effectively the unit in this situation has to be set for the internal Konnekt mixer, thereby it takes over the clocking duties away from the Mac. I have used a reasonable quality cheapie digital coax cable to connect the K8 to the DA10, definately some improvements could be had there with a better cable. OK, the important bit. There is definately an improvement in audio quality using the firewire output from the Mac, overall it seems to bring more lucidity to the soundstage. It's not huge, but through my system (552/500/NBL's) it's noticeable. Not being great at describing subjective impressions, I would say it's akin to the difference one hears between a CDX2 and a CDS3 from Naim's CDP range. Not as big certainly, but along those lines. There seems to be some digital hash on the previous toslink connection, (probably the inherent and infamous jitter) but it wasn't something that I had noticed particularly, only with this different setup has it just become perceptible. The firewire setup just sounds that little bit clearer and incisive, instruments and voices do not seem to have any 'edge' to them. One metaphor I can use here (only because I find it easier to describe the differences I am hearing here) is, if for instance you take Madonna's Ray of Light title track, it's very busy, a lot going on in all areas. I have always found this track can seem very harsh at volume depending on how well any system copes with it. It can cut through you, to me it's a good test of the system set up. The firewire K8 setup, it feels like the music hits you and cuts through you with a very sharp and clean blade, the toslink connection, it feels like the blade is ever so slightly blunt, it's it's got an ever so slight rough edge to it. So, I am not suggesting everyone should go out and get a K8, but it's proved worthwhile for me given my preference for the Mac / iTunes / iPod Touch remote that I like to use now. I don't like the extra box count, but I guess the K8 could be tucked away, there is no inter-action with it once connected, only through the software if necessary. The Amarra software just isn't doing it for me, I have now tried the full demo and the mini demo. Full demo no difference. Mini demo, I heard a difference but rather than opening things out, it closed things in a bit. The full demo definately appears to be working, the meters jump up and down, and I get the intermittent breaks in playback on the demo version. I am using AIFF files to check this out. Maybe it's just not compatible with the K8 or Lavry. Maybe the MacMini / Konnekt 8 / Lavry is just performing really well, it certainly sounds that way. My system is very revealing so I would expect to pick up the differences easily. Regards Allen

Will do Dan, the Konnekt 8 should arrive early next week. Allen

HI to all, my first post here. I have just ordered a Konnekt 8 to use with my Mac Mini server, i.e firewire out to Konnekt 8 then co-ax digital cable from the Konnekt 8 to my Lavry DA10. The co-ax cable for now is just a Profigold cheapie. Can I expect an improvement over the mini toslink connection (Chord Optichord) currently being used between Mac and Lavry? Also, can I run the Konnekt 8 off the firewire bus, or should I use the power adaptor? Also, will this set up be compatible with Amarra? I have the demo but TBH, I was quite disappointed with it in my current set up, although I have to admit I only tested it briefly. Regards Allen