I been listening to Mercury for some time now using my B3SE... and i must say it's really good. Transparency, detail, dynamics - all very good. The only thing i can complain about so far is that Legato while somewhat brighter (which always annoyed me)- has a bit more "meaty" and tad more smooth/musical sound than Mercury at the moment. This usually changes as board sees some use (some burn-in) so if it gets me a bit more bass and less upper treble in time i'll be a happy man.
hymn, that actually prevents me from es9038pro. I just love meaty legato
Centaur is a high current single low noise single linear power supply - suitable for B3SEPro etc. It has bigger input smoothing cap and a higher current rating and lower noise regulator than the LCDPS it is designed to replace. It was designed to better cope with the higher current demands of these DACs.
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Sorry, life has been getting in the way. I will get that page completed soon. Kits are ready...
Ping... I'm holding off on an order for the Placid HD BP... I've read in some of your documentation that it would be the best choice for Mercury (as well as Legato and IVY). Is there an estimation on when it will be back in stock?
Assuming Russ & Brian are overworked or on vacation recovering from overwork.
I did have the thought that terminating the input should allow the input servo to function correctly. Can anyone weigh in on whether it makes sense and would be ok to put a 200R-500R across each input to the input ground connection?
I'm just eager to hear what the Buff-IIPro ES9038 & Mercury can do!
TIA!
Greg in Mississippi
I did have the thought that terminating the input should allow the input servo to function correctly. Can anyone weigh in on whether it makes sense and would be ok to put a 200R-500R across each input to the input ground connection?
I'm just eager to hear what the Buff-IIPro ES9038 & Mercury can do!
TIA!
Greg in Mississippi
Sorry, was visiting the parents 😀.
Short the inputs (in+ and in-) to ground for offset measurements.
Brian,
Again, thanks for the quick note. I shorted the inputs and rechecked the input and output offsets again... zero or near. So I hooked it up and it's making music.
So far I've run a BuffIII ES9028 with a 'truncated IVY'... just 1 OPA1632 per channel and lighter filtering AND with a Legato.
The BuffIII ES9038 of course with the Mercury.
The ES9038 wins my head... but that ES9028 with the Legato wins my heart. I think I'll leave that one in awhile!
Greg in Mississippi
Again, thanks for the quick note. I shorted the inputs and rechecked the input and output offsets again... zero or near. So I hooked it up and it's making music.
So far I've run a BuffIII ES9028 with a 'truncated IVY'... just 1 OPA1632 per channel and lighter filtering AND with a Legato.
The BuffIII ES9038 of course with the Mercury.
The ES9038 wins my head... but that ES9028 with the Legato wins my heart. I think I'll leave that one in awhile!
Greg in Mississippi
AS...
The output stage used is different, it is going to be difficult to come to any real conclusions about the differences between 9028/9038. One will have to build a 9028/Mercury DAC and a 9038/Mercury DAC to get a good idea of the difference. Typically output stages make for more of a sonic difference than the DAC used.
On paper the 9038 has the advantage with its higher S/N ration, otherwise my understanding is that the two models are identical. So the 9038 is technically "better" if the output stage is good enough to realize the difference. I am listening to the 9038/Mercury (with a few tweaks to parts) and it is exceptional. I am oversampling to DSD 256 as well, which i prefer with 9018/9038 chips. Fantastic sound. Big stage, "live" sounding, with superb dynamics, and excellent timbre/tone.
The output stage used is different, it is going to be difficult to come to any real conclusions about the differences between 9028/9038. One will have to build a 9028/Mercury DAC and a 9038/Mercury DAC to get a good idea of the difference. Typically output stages make for more of a sonic difference than the DAC used.
On paper the 9038 has the advantage with its higher S/N ration, otherwise my understanding is that the two models are identical. So the 9038 is technically "better" if the output stage is good enough to realize the difference. I am listening to the 9038/Mercury (with a few tweaks to parts) and it is exceptional. I am oversampling to DSD 256 as well, which i prefer with 9018/9038 chips. Fantastic sound. Big stage, "live" sounding, with superb dynamics, and excellent timbre/tone.
But you can try directly in voltage mode without the output stage. Technically "better" doesn't mean musicaly better as well.
I don't like stereo, and waiting for BIV 8ch version comeout. Before Russ mentioned BIV is ready, but he is digging in 8ch output stage for it. I would suggest to start design amplifiers capable to accept current input.
I don't like stereo, and waiting for BIV 8ch version comeout. Before Russ mentioned BIV is ready, but he is digging in 8ch output stage for it. I would suggest to start design amplifiers capable to accept current input.