I would recommend people with the usbridge Sig to set the CPU Freq to a fixed frequency around (700-900) depending on if you don't get dropouts at lower frequencies, mine is currently set to 700mhz with no dropouts so far, if I'm not wrong this would also reduce switching noise from CPU even further right?
Delay in processing order 7010
@cdsgames
I placed my order on 29 Nov for a Shanti and USBridge Sig. The order was confirmed and my money taken, but no further progress 8 days later, other than “Preparation in progress”.
I have emailed sales at allo dot com, but received no response.
Others have praised Allo support, but that has not been my experience so far. I accept they may be very busy resulting from the Black Friday sales, but at least an email explaining the delay and expected shipping date would be appreciated. I was hoping to receive this before Christmas.
Regards, Rob
@cdsgames
I placed my order on 29 Nov for a Shanti and USBridge Sig. The order was confirmed and my money taken, but no further progress 8 days later, other than “Preparation in progress”.
I have emailed sales at allo dot com, but received no response.
Others have praised Allo support, but that has not been my experience so far. I accept they may be very busy resulting from the Black Friday sales, but at least an email explaining the delay and expected shipping date would be appreciated. I was hoping to receive this before Christmas.
Regards, Rob
Hmm would you still recommend connecting the ground terminal to the usbridge sig when measurements of the equipment i'm powering shows it works better with no/single ground connection Review and Measurements of Matrix Audio X-SPDIF 2 USB Converter | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Nirvana and Shanti power supplies...
Nirvana is apprears to be a single 5V output, so I assume that they're the same in terms of sound quality/topology. Just that the Shanti is dual rail offering a good solution for those of us that need to power both the USB Signature and a DAC. Therefore Nirvana power supply is for someone who doesn't yet have a Shanti, or will only own a Revolution DAC?
Nirvana is apprears to be a single 5V output, so I assume that they're the same in terms of sound quality/topology. Just that the Shanti is dual rail offering a good solution for those of us that need to power both the USB Signature and a DAC. Therefore Nirvana power supply is for someone who doesn't yet have a Shanti, or will only own a Revolution DAC?
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A very interesting read ...especially with Revolution coming up with a unique feature...the ability to listen not only to perfect (-121 to -124 THD) = inaudible distortion ...
But also we will give the ability to tweak H2 and H3 independent (ie to increase distortion on those harmonics for euphonic gain)
Please read : Katz's Corner Episode 25: Adventures in Distortion | InnerFidelity
But also we will give the ability to tweak H2 and H3 independent (ie to increase distortion on those harmonics for euphonic gain)
Please read : Katz's Corner Episode 25: Adventures in Distortion | InnerFidelity
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A few highlighted quotes from above article :
""Adding a certain amount of second harmonic can improve the purity of tone and depth of amplifiers without losing any detail, impact or transient response. ""
""
A Look Toward The Future
I believe that second harmonic distortion is sonic gold for audiophiles: It's very seductive, especially if you want a warm sound quality, three-dimensionality, and beautiful reproduction of ambience and depth. Based on the listening tests, there does not seem to be a sonic negative side if the proportions are done right""
""
So I hope some designers will embrace this approach: A smart designer might produce an outboard box with variable second harmonic level like my Blender.""
We did. Revolution has now official support for H2 and H3 increase .
""Adding a certain amount of second harmonic can improve the purity of tone and depth of amplifiers without losing any detail, impact or transient response. ""
""
A Look Toward The Future
I believe that second harmonic distortion is sonic gold for audiophiles: It's very seductive, especially if you want a warm sound quality, three-dimensionality, and beautiful reproduction of ambience and depth. Based on the listening tests, there does not seem to be a sonic negative side if the proportions are done right""
""
So I hope some designers will embrace this approach: A smart designer might produce an outboard box with variable second harmonic level like my Blender.""
We did. Revolution has now official support for H2 and H3 increase .
A little feed back on the association digione signature, usbridge signature and shanti. I used for more than a year the digione signature fed by the allo stock supply on the "dirty side" and battery lifepo on the "clean side", the connection is made by BNC. The tests were done with the usbridge and shanti out of the box so no burned in. I started by plugging an output of the shanti on the clean side of the digione instead of the battery, I perceived a difference in sound signature, a feeling that there is more sweetness with the shanti but I would not tell which solution is better because the shanti is not burned in and I did not push the tests very far. In any case, the power on the clean side of the digione has a great influence on the sound, I have already compared the battery solution with my Teradak 400w, again you can easily listing the difference, I perceived more dynamic with the Teradak. I will return to comparisons between the shanti and the battery solution when the shanti will have passed the 200 hours of break-in. I then replaced the allo stock supply of the digione on the dirty side by the other power cable of the shanti (3A) and there, the improvement was impressive, I win at all registers, this shows that it is also beneficial to treat the dirty side. Comes the moment when I unassociated the digione of the raspeberry PI3 + to associate it with the usbridge signature, I could not do tests before / after given that I did not see me disassemble and reassemble the digione but from the first listenings I realized that it was not necessary. Going to the Shanti has taken my system up a level of sq and the transition to the signature usbridge with the signature digione on it has brought up an extra level in sq. At the top or the bottom of the register, it's better than before, I gained clarity, spatialisation and micro-details. I did a listen after 50 hours of break-in, I felt improvement again. When I listen to songs that I'm used to listening to for my comparative tests, I tell myself that it has never been so pleasant to listen to until now. On the site Allo, we can have the set for 770 dollars plus a nice discount for black Friday. At this price, I doubt we can find a better solution.
Thx you jonjon77 , I agree with your assessment .
Mark at -121 to -124 db distortion is consider inaudible by majority of articles I have read
PLease also note that we are at the floor of our AP machine , I expect an improvement of 1 to 2 db on a better AP machine .
In the end its not significant , but I think that most people will enjoy the euphonics aspect of Rev much more than perfect THD . We had the same experience with Katana THD vs SQ. Main difference was H2 and H3
I also think that most people dont realize how "great sound with 3D stage" has some strong H2 harmonics associated to it.
In any case , I am playing at the moment with H2 and I am amazed how it changes the sound (at rather lowish levels)
I believe that some H3 harmonic component might be further beneficial (less than H2 levels)
New Revolution PCB is under testing .
ps. I think that we got rather better results than datasheet of es9038 (thd+h at -120) , our THD is -124.5 on one channel . We are employing a new trick on MCLK
Mark at -121 to -124 db distortion is consider inaudible by majority of articles I have read
PLease also note that we are at the floor of our AP machine , I expect an improvement of 1 to 2 db on a better AP machine .
In the end its not significant , but I think that most people will enjoy the euphonics aspect of Rev much more than perfect THD . We had the same experience with Katana THD vs SQ. Main difference was H2 and H3
I also think that most people dont realize how "great sound with 3D stage" has some strong H2 harmonics associated to it.
In any case , I am playing at the moment with H2 and I am amazed how it changes the sound (at rather lowish levels)
I believe that some H3 harmonic component might be further beneficial (less than H2 levels)
New Revolution PCB is under testing .
ps. I think that we got rather better results than datasheet of es9038 (thd+h at -120) , our THD is -124.5 on one channel . We are employing a new trick on MCLK
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A second article on what is H2 and what it can do for sound quality
Pass H2 Harmonic Generator - Positive Feedback
Pass H2 Harmonic Generator - Positive Feedback
Seems to me I was able to show that one can hear very low level distortion down around -120dB or so by adding small amounts of 2nd or 3rd harmonic just as Revolution is able to do. Have you done a careful test to see the smallest amount of harmonic distortion you can hear?
I should add, there is something specific to listen for: if you take a CD rip like 'Black Cow' by Steely Dan which is very well recorded, it is easy to hear small amounts of IMD added by 2nd or 3rd order HD when group vocals are sung. The vocals will be more garbled together rather than individually distinct. This assumes, of course, the dac is otherwise very accurate and so are the power amplifier and speakers (or headphone setup). The amp and speakers/headphones should be very low distortion and very low noise to make hearing small IMD easier. (Also, I prefer to listen at low volume levels when doing such tests, as I found loud sound desensitizes hearing for me. Others may want to try to find what works best for them.)
I should add, there is something specific to listen for: if you take a CD rip like 'Black Cow' by Steely Dan which is very well recorded, it is easy to hear small amounts of IMD added by 2nd or 3rd order HD when group vocals are sung. The vocals will be more garbled together rather than individually distinct. This assumes, of course, the dac is otherwise very accurate and so are the power amplifier and speakers (or headphone setup). The amp and speakers/headphones should be very low distortion and very low noise to make hearing small IMD easier. (Also, I prefer to listen at low volume levels when doing such tests, as I found loud sound desensitizes hearing for me. Others may want to try to find what works best for them.)
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