ISO Regen performance Improvement Cheap!

[Cornan]

Sweet spot is better. Low end bass has more impact and is better refind. Treble is glowing. Midrage surreal. Presence improved. Air is perfect. 3D & 4D is almost the same as Supra DAC. Super! This thing have just concur the dual Supra DAC!. Period! ?

 

[Cornan]

Just to get my analogue side happy and content I got three 180 g vinyl records today. A new album (Arcide Fire) and two old school! ?

 

[jaaptina]

1 hour ago, jaaptina said:

 

The uspcb may not be free but in my system it clearly enhanced sound quality compared to Supra usb cable. 

True 90° uspcb ?

[sandyk]

 Summit

The critical area of the frequency response as used in  Telecommunications as well, is 300HZ to 3,000HZ . This is where the response should be most accurate. The 1996 IEC 61938 standard recommendation was adhered to at the time by many headphones such as I quoted, but later fell largely into disuse, partly because of the lower voltage swings available from later headphone amplifiers using MUCH lower voltage supply rails.

 

https://www.google.com.au/search?source=hp&ei=vG4pW_OSGtmpoASRm6KgCg&q=i.e.c+headphone+output+impedance+recommendations&oq=I.E.C+headphone+output+impedance+recommendation&gs_l=psy-ab.1.0.33i160k1.7400.31926.0.35461.52.50.0.0.0.0.301.8770.0j31j12j1.45.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..7.27.5626.6..0j35i39k1j0i131k1j0i30k1j0i22i30k1j0i22i10i30k1j33i22i29i30k1j33i21k1.189.J9tw_pFfL5U

 

 

[BigGuy]

Planning on buying some muMetal braided shield and foil to try combination with copper braid.

 

In the process of exploring the site, found this resource...

 

<http://www.magnetic-shield.com/faqs-all-about-shielding.html>

 

In the pdf "Magnetic Shield Realities", opening paragraph makes recs regarding open ended shields...

 

http://www.magnetic-shield.com/pdf/magnetic_shielding_realities.pdf

 

[bit01]

4 hours ago, Cornan said:

Wow! @bit01 is a genius!

I could’nt stop myself changing out one of the 75 ohm coax to Supra DAC. Supra DAC for +Ve and 75 ohm coax for -Ve. Here is how I put it together:

 

 

To give you some more details I turned the LS-HPULNs around 180 degrees so I could get a shorter cable. I also cutted off the ferrite core to get an idea of its impact.

 

Sat down and had a listen. Wow, just wow! Instant dynamic improvement. Music glow is back. Shimmering midrange. Crispy treble. Presence and goosebumps! This thing is surely better than just Supra DAC on its own. It have all the advantages of the Supra DAC and 75 ohm coaxial cable put together. Awesome. Simply awesome from the first tune! ??

Glad that works  - you get the prize!

[fas42]

6 hours ago, Cornan said:

One thing that troubles me a bit though. Supra DAC clearly presents a wider sweet spot with my Gibson Les Paul 8 speakers. With the no-name 75 ohm cable I’ll need to be more in the dead center to enjoy it. With the Supra DAC I can be off center and still enjoy it immensely. Cannot explain why this is, but it is a fact in my perticular setup. ?

 

Okay, here is a marker for progress in optimising - a wider "sweet spot" says that the setup is working with less disturbing distortion; the mind doesn't have to work as hard in rejecting the 'crap' that the playback chain is adding to the mix.

 

The final stage of this progression is that the "sweet spot" is everywhere; the SQ is uniform throughout the room.

[paulkouhan]

Hi,

 

Cornan can you test the combo (supra + coax) for the v+ AND for the v- !? 

I like to have the same configuration on + and - wires. May be another good surprise...

[Cornan]

27 minutes ago, paulkouhan said:

Hi,

 

Cornan can you test the combo (supra + coax) for the v+ AND for the v- !? 

I like to have the same configuration on + and - wires. May be another good surprise...

 

Hi Paul! 

Sure, if you mean to just switch them around so Supra for -Ve and coax for +Ve? I will make another cable with the same config between LPS-1.2 and BluWave USB to Spdif board (powering the GI Spdif output only) as well. Hopefully I will have time to do it tomorrow. ?

[paulkouhan]

My idea was to use 4 cables ?.

 

One supra AND one Coax for v+

and the same for v-

 

May be a bit complicated..

[Cornan]

38 minutes ago, paulkouhan said:

My idea was to use 4 cables ?.

 

One supra AND one Coax for v+

and the same for v-

 

May be a bit complicated..

 

Ok, that is not complicated but it will simply be too big/thick. Not something I would like to use in my perticular spots.

[AnotherSpin]

For those who might be interested - I did today a short swap back from Supra DAC to Supra CAT 7 between Mean Well PSU and regen. And returned Supra DAC after few hours. It is clearly better for me (even though I liked CAT 7 for about a month prior to Supra DAC). 

[tims]

Hi Michael

For the coax dc design , are you using a good quality coax cable or a cheap/generic cable you had lying around?

Also, do you think there may be a difference in using a 50 ohm coax over a 75 ohm coax?

OT, but an interesting article between the two here:

http://cablesondemandblog.com/wordpress1/2014/03/06/whats-the-difference-between-50-ohm-and-75-ohm-coaxial-cable/

[Cornan]

53 minutes ago, tims said:

Hi Michael

For the coax dc design , are you using a good quality coax cable or a cheap/generic cable you had lying around?

Also, do you think there may be a difference in using a 50 ohm coax over a 75 ohm coax?

OT, but an interesting article between the two here:

http://cablesondemandblog.com/wordpress1/2014/03/06/whats-the-difference-between-50-ohm-and-75-ohm-coaxial-cable/

 

Hi tims!

 

I am just using cheap generic 75 ohm dual shielded coax that I had in a drawer. However, since the shield is not connected to -Ve but in a unconnected shield loop the impedance of this cable is likely significantly higher than 75 ohm.

 

I will most likely butcher my QED satellite cable to make a Supra DAC+ QED tomorrow. The interesting thing with QEDs coax is, except that they sound truly great, is their use of dual center core.

[charlesphoto]

FWIW I redid my SupraFranken cable this morning. Per Cornan's experiments, the -ve legs (either side of an LT3054) are now made up of some 75ohm coaxial cable I had laying around (direct Tv branded), and the +ve legs Supra CAT8, with all eight wires twisted together, and the outer shields all twisted together. I managed to solder on the Oyaide plugs by leaving off the screw downs and using liberal amounts of electrical tape to make sure there are no shorts or exposed wires. It's not a pretty cable, but sounds pretty dang good. I can hear the bass moving air on some recordings for the first time, and great separation of players. A slight increase in perceived sibilance, but I'm assuming some of that will disappear with burn in, and it may just be more transparency into the recording. I can tell the noise floor lowered as I can turn it all up a few more notches. I think I'm done monkeying with cables for awhile, but pleased with this quick upgrade using cable I already have. Thanks Cornan! 

[Cornan]

45 minutes ago, charlesphoto said:

FWIW I redid my SupraFranken cable this morning. Per Cornan's experiments, the -ve legs (either side of an LT3054) are now made up of some 75ohm coaxial cable I had laying around (direct Tv branded), and the +ve legs Supra CAT8, with all eight wires twisted together, and the outer shields all twisted together. I managed to solder on the Oyaide plugs by leaving off the screw downs and using liberal amounts of electrical tape to make sure there are no shorts or exposed wires. It's not a pretty cable, but sounds pretty dang good. I can hear the bass moving air on some recordings for the first time, and great separation of players. A slight increase in perceived sibilance, but I'm assuming some of that will disappear with burn in, and it may just be more transparency into the recording. I can tell the noise floor lowered as I can turn it all up a few more notches. I think I'm done monkeying with cables for awhile, but pleased with this quick upgrade using cable I already have. Thanks Cornan! 

 

You’re welcome! Great to hear that it turned out good Charles! ? After a lot of cable switching you’ll get fed up. I could have redone some cables today, but could’nt force me to do another cable. I managed to brake the screw terminal of the BluWave board and had to resolder it, so I really needed a brake from cables for a day at least! ?

[charlesphoto]

We'll, there are literally thousands if not millions of permutations possible, between brand of cable, type, whether it's the live or neutral, etc etc. Of course I could probably spend a lot more, but I'm kind of down with the sound improving with the free cable left over from the old cable install. 

[Bricki]

Yesterday after reading about @Cornan's success with some coax, I picked up some belden 75ohm coax on my way home for AUD$1.80 per meter. This cable has 4 layers of shielding. 2 foil layers and 2 wire mesh layers. I twisted the shields together at each end and taped it together because I wasn't sure if I was going to use it for longer than 5 minutes ?. I was only able to listen for a few hours while it was burning in and my initial impressions are that it's better than the supra cat8, which is what I wanted - so I can put it back as an Ethernet cable. I hope to listen some more after 24hrs burn in and then possibly finish the cable off with some mini JSSG 360's at each end (I don't have enough braid to go the full length). 

So far it sounds very dynamic with quite a rounded bass now. I'll see how I like it over the next couple of days. Thanks again everyone for sharing your experiments and ideas! ?

 

[Boomboy]

@Bricki what aussie shop did you pick up the belden 75ohm coax ? 

[sandyk]

22 minutes ago, Boomboy said:

@Bricki what aussie shop did you pick up the belden 75ohm coax ? 

 $1.80 per metre.

https://www.jaycar.com.au/belden-75-ohm-domestic-tv-coax-sold-per-metre/p/WB2002

[Boomboy]

Ah .. thnx . Thought it might be them .

[Bricki]

Yeah it was jaycar. The one I got was this one. 

https://www.jaycar.com.au/belden-brand-quad-shield-rg-6-75-ohm-coax-sold-per-metre/p/WB2009

 

It has 4 layers of shielding. I think it's slightly different to the one @sandyk linked above. 

 

I'm not promising that it will sound amazing. But it's a cheap experiment ??

[sandyk]

17 minutes ago, Bricki said:

Yeah it was jaycar. The one I got was this one. 

https://www.jaycar.com.au/belden-brand-quad-shield-rg-6-75-ohm-coax-sold-per-metre/p/WB2009

 

It has 4 layers of shielding. I think it's slightly different to the one @sandyk linked above. 

 

I'm not promising that it will sound amazing. But it's a cheap experiment ??

This close to 7.6mm diameter coax is very inflexible.  ( I have some)

 For DC use it is highly unlikely to outperform the cheaper Belden cable at 6mm OD after modification either.

[Bricki]

6 minutes ago, sandyk said:

This close to 7.6mm diameter coax is very inflexible.  ( I have some)

 For DC use it is highly unlikely to outperform the cheaper Belden cable at 6mm OD after modification either.

Yeah it is very annoying and inflexible. I chose it because of the shielding and it was a cheap experiment. There may well be much better options at jaycar ?. 

[bit01]

As for the DC -ve coax: I would try copper rather than copper clad steel, with as thick a wire as possible to minimize ground plane modulation