MDAC first listen (part XVII)
- Thread starter Sebbyp
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JohnW
pfm member
JohnW
pfm member
The Island of Islay is 'my' whisky trail with 12 distilleries on an island 20 miles by 20 miles.
How is anyone ever sober enough to make the stuff ?
Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig, Bruichladdich, all hail from here
My error, the Whisky appears to be from your neck of the woods in Bowmore
My limited knowledge of Scottish Whisky I presumed it to be from Moray area...
John
JohnW
pfm member
RF energy injected into a HiFi system can cause "Glare" so always worth trying an isolator - I'm sure cheaper an much more effective then your expensive USB cable!
But also the MDAC does need a week of running in...
John
JohnW
pfm member
I'm still awaiting for my reseller's reply but afraid that it will take too long time to be repaired...
Since yesterday the screen runs well again; John what's about a bad contact ?
I doubt its a contact issue I suspect its more PSU related or simply a faulty OLED panel... understand that I'm just making an educated guess without seeing your unit...
John
JohnW
pfm member
The Volume control function in the MDAC is performed by the ESS DAC - we have no external access to this Data to route an attenuated datastream to the MDAC's DOTX outputs.
As the TDAC has an FPGA DSP we could add this feature to the TDAC at a later date.
Best wish for the New Year
Hello John,
If I've had your your advice earlier, at least I would have bought a cheaper wire! Where is the reliable source to get a usb isolator then?
BTW, aren't you in europe at the moment? don't you need some sleep as I was quite shock with the time you answered our posts, take care we all count on you for the great things coming!
lapkwan.
JohnW
pfm member
I'm still awaiting for my reseller's reply but afraid that it will take too long time to be repaired...
Since yesterday the screen runs well again; John what's about a bad contact ?
Is your location very cold when you have the issue (Cold winter months)? - Did I understand you correctly that you mentioned your unit always functions OK when powered up "warm"?
JohnW
pfm member
Yes - working away here in Czech Rep. - I work better at nights, always have done basically I work until I drop then sleep a few hours, then back to work so my sleeping pattern shifts during the week, work about 18 hours a day then sleep for 6 or 7... My wife believes I'm trying to avoid her in the bedroom - understandably she believes I love my work more then her!
Nevermind, now have a bottle of Scottish whiskey to keep me company
Others have posted recommended USB isolators in the thread - I searched Amazon and found this as a first hit - looks OK:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00899UVGW/?tag=pinkfishmedia-20
Most are built upon the same internal Analogue device IC... so not much to choose from in performance - just what's easier for you to source..
Back to the Whiskey and work...
John, You're really so helpful, we all love you, let alone your wife! I think my mdac's sq is taking shape.
My MDAC told me the other day that he's waiting eagerly to meet this new fellow MIMP he heard so much about.
fusion5, me too, also the power supply, is it called the MPAX? Am I correct getting information from previous posts that the MPAX upgrade has to be done together with a mainboard update?
Sounds good - Thinking of where I can put it lol.
fusion5
on the dark side of hifi...
fusion5, me too, also the power supply, is it called the MPAX? Am I correct getting information from previous posts that the MPAX upgrade has to be done together with a mainboard update?
The MPAX package will include the PSU, mainboard modifications and a new power board.
The mainboard modifications are kind of field tested already. John wanted to cheer me up, so he offered to upgrade my MDAC to the Sovereign+ spec. Well, he ended up modifying several units. To me it's a big improvement over the stock MDAC. Can't wait to hear it with the new psu and power board.
If I remember correctly the final mainboard upgrade will include another tweak (Sovereign++).
Regards,
Michael
sam_cat
C'est Crounchifique!
And I am one of the very lucky individuals (only 2 of us I believe) that got upgraded to Soverign+ DC... I had to build my own DC PSU as the standard PSU couldnt be used anymore.
We took the time to compare a stock unit, a stock unit with a better PSU and my unit..
Stock unit sounds good. Adding an external PSU cleans up the sound, improves the staging and gives it a bit more bass definition. The DC mods gave it more of the above. Each step was a similar size improvement (stock -> stock with DC psu -> soverign+ DC).
Be warned though, it really highlights badly mastered tracks.. Some sound awful.
Sam
Going back to the sq issue between different FW versions...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only update that may have affected SQ is the workaround for the Sabre's left channel locking bug. Maybe as a result there is some sort of delay between one the other channel of the MDAC? This could sound like more distorted sound stage and less distinction between instruments... this is just my theory of course
John, maybe you will consider to rollback the workarounds for Sabre's bug in the version that is being prepared right now and leave them for the next one when you have time to analyse the sq impact? Or (if possible) add them as an option in the menu?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but the only update that may have affected SQ is the workaround for the Sabre's left channel locking bug. Maybe as a result there is some sort of delay between one the other channel of the MDAC? This could sound like more distorted sound stage and less distinction between instruments... this is just my theory of course
John, maybe you will consider to rollback the workarounds for Sabre's bug in the version that is being prepared right now and leave them for the next one when you have time to analyse the sq impact? Or (if possible) add them as an option in the menu?
Two lucky guys above, jealousy! If I've got it correct MPAX shall be around easter 2013. But would sam or michael or anyone tell me what's specifically about the upgrade? Do we just buy the PSU and the new power board and fix it at home, but then who do the mainboard modification? Put it simple i don't understand!
If you're really interested in the topic, I suggest reading all 15 threads
There at least should be a seperate threads for other products like MPAX, MAMP, power supply DIY and so on.
This way, the thread is unusable and same questions are repeating over and over again.
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