Upgrading 9018 to 9028 worth it.

[Harpy]

Would upgrading from a 9018 to 9028 make a big difference in sq?  The Dac is a Twisted Pear Buffalo SE.  I already have the Mercury analog section installed.  Cost would be about $365 as I need 1 regulator plus the board.  The 9038 is also an option, but with its higher voltage, I would have to replace regulators and change the resistors on the line stage.  Thanks.

[Ralf11]

what DAC could you buy for $365 + resale $$ from your Pear?

 

I can't specifically answer your question, but the above is one way to think about things.  And, there is a lot more to SQ of a DAC than the chip used...

[Dr Tone]

FWIW, if using one of the internal filters in the 9018, the 9028 Pros are quite a bit better from accounts.

[Harpy]

I am using this configuration to setup the chip:

 

bin/bash -e

 

dac_upd()

{

V=`i2cget -y 1 0x48 "$1"`

V=$(( (V & ~$2) | $3 ))

i2cset -y 1 0x48 "$1" "$V"

}

 

### input remapping

#dac_upd 14 0xf0 0xf0 # enable

dac_upd 14 0xf0 0x00 # disable (default)

 

### jitter reduction

dac_upd 10 4 0 # bypass and stop

#dac_upd 10 4 4 # enable (default)

 

### SPDIF autodetect

dac_upd 17 8 0 # disable

#dac_upd 17 8 8 # enable (default)

 

### use best DPLL

dac_upd 25 2 0 # disable

#dac_upd 25 2 2 # enable (default)

 

### DPLL bandwidth

#dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x00 # no

dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x04 # lowest (default)

#dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x08 # low

#dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x0c # med-low

#dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x10 # medium

#dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x14 # med-high

#dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x18 # high

#dac_upd 11 0x1c 0x1c # highest

 

### Quantizer and Differential mode

#dac_upd 15 0xff 0x00; dac_upd 14 0x8 0x8 # (8ch) 6-bit true (default)

#dac_upd 15 0xff 0x55; dac_upd 14 0x8 0x0 # (8ch) 7-bit pseudo

#dac_upd 15 0xff 0x55; dac_upd 14 0x8 0x8 # (4ch) 7-bit true

#dac_upd 15 0xff 0xaa; dac_upd 14 0x8 0x0 # (4ch) 8-bit pseudo

dac_upd 15 0xff 0xaa; dac_upd 14 0x8 0x8 # (2ch) 8-bit true

#dac_upd 15 0xff 0xff; dac_upd 14 0x8 0x0 # (2ch) 9-bit pseudo

 

### IIR bandwidth

#dac_upd 14 0x6 0x0 # PCM normal

#dac_upd 14 0x6 0x2 # DSD 50k (default)

#dac_upd 14 0x6 0x4 # DSD 60k

#dac_upd 14 0x6 0x6 # DSD 70k

 

I don't understand most of it, but it makes a huge difference for me.  Would it run on a 9028 or is that a different beast.

[Harpy]

Seems DPLL bandwith is is the is the only thing in the firmware that would change the sound.  What is DPLL bandwidth?  Why would going from default to the lowest setting makes a big difference in sound?

[barrows]

If you already have the Mercury, I would make the necessary changes and get the 9038.  The 9038 BuffPRO/Mercury combo is very, very good.  ESS made some serious changes with the 28/38 chips which increases apparent resolution and makes them sound more natural at the same time.