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Buffalo II - Assembly for the Electronically Bewildered.

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flashgo said:
Well, I'm certainly digitally bewildered. I've got a weird issue with the new TeraDak USB to S/PDIF converter. Occasionally, it'll drop out for a fraction of a second. Sometimes it's fine, and other times it's unlistenable due to stuttering. I suspect a USB issue associated with the 2009 Mac Mini because:
  1. The optical digital out straight into an S/PDIF receiver on the Buffalo never stutters.
  2. It seems to start after some USB mouse clicking.
It is not a function of overall CPU activity. Both CPUs can be 100% occupied with an mp4 conversion, and sound can be perfectly smooth.

The TeraDak USB is plugged directly into the Mini and doesn't go through a hub.

Another issue with the TeraDak is that sometimes it doesn't appear on the Sound Preference Pane until the USB cable is unplugged and replugged.

This is a long shot, but could there be some sort of ground issue that's messing with the USB? The Mini and TeraDak are on separate circuits.
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There are a number of tricks you can try, look at the PureMusic site, they have recommendations for Mac settings. Using your Mac while streaming via USB is probably always going to be prone to some problems, the USB service is just shared by too many things. Do the drop outs occur if you are not using the mac for anything else? Also, try a different USB port.

As to the TeraDak not appearing unless replugged in, I think that's a Mac OS issue. My M2Tech Evo is the same, and the problem only occured after an update to the Mac OS earlier this year.

Regards
 
flashgo, sounds as though you have a buffer under-run issue. I don't know what the drivers for your device are like, but if you have a buffer setting somewhere, try increasing it.
 
Thanks, all. It's not the buffer as I tried increasing it to no effect. I'll try playing with various USB possibilities and look for a USB sniffer to see if the drop-outs correlate with anything.
 
My Placid HD BP & Legato 3.1 turned up today. The Placid's quite a bit larger than my old one, so fun trying to get two of 'em into the case withe all the other bits & bobs needed for dual-mono.

As I've got the transformers, 2nd Placid & Buffalo, think I'lll make up another complete workable Buffalo pending the availability of another set of Tridents. It'll be interesting to compare with my old one. The way it's going I think I'll have to remove the Tridents, set up the dual-mono & hopefully reinstall when I've got the second set.

PS, any luck with the Teralink flashgo?
 
Nice Tony. My legato 3.1 has been playing away for a few days now (once I'd sorted out my doofus issue). Initially I had the same impression I had with legato 1 - syrupy and slightly sat on sound. In fact it gave me a headache the first day of listening. I've swapped out the 8 2.2nf mkp caps for 1.5nf polystryenes and it's opened out hugely. In fact it's probably the best sound I've had. Sometimes a little bit harsh, but that may be because it's making me play progressively louder :)

Somewhere I said I wasn't going to tinker with this board, but you know how it is... I think the only other change I'm going to make is the 100pf caps - changing those to polystyrene as well.

Got a mail today to tell me placid HD is on its way.

Enjoy your build!
 
Suffolk Tony said:
PS, any luck with the Teralink flashgo?
Click to expand...

Gotta wait for the weekend. I've ordered a compatible optical "cable" so the Teradak can be on the computer ground and separate from the DAC ground. There shouldn't be any degradation from the optical link, should there?

I'm also looking forward to putting together the Legato 3.1 with James' cap mods....
 
Don't go taking my word for anything :) Install the mkp caps first and see what you think. They're definitely warmer with more bass than the polystyrenes I have, but there was something thick and dense going on that I wasn't too happy with. Made listening uncomfortable.
 
James Evans said:
Nice Tony. My legato 3.1 has been playing away for a few days now (once I'd sorted out my doofus issue). Initially I had the same impression I had with legato 1 - syrupy and slightly sat on sound. In fact it gave me a headache the first day of listening. I've swapped out the 8 2.2nf mkp caps for 1.5nf polystryenes and it's opened out hugely. In fact it's probably the best sound I've had. Sometimes a little bit harsh, but that may be because it's making me play progressively louder :)

Somewhere I said I wasn't going to tinker with this board, but you know how it is... I think the only other change I'm going to make is the 100pf caps - changing those to polystyrene as well.

Got a mail today to tell me placid HD is on its way.

Enjoy your build!
Click to expand...

James,

Interesting observations. Mine were generally quite different though, I found the L3 to be faster and more dynamic than the 1 and 2. I did use OSCONS as PS caps on the L3 which couls perhaps affect the sound, as the Legato boards have no onboard regulation. The other factor perhaps could be burn in / conditioning of the standard electrolytics on the Legato, they would get better after being subject to applied DC for a while.

Where I do see similarity is a little more edginess than the L2. I put this down also to the sound being more accurate and like you, I am playing a fair bit louder as well as a result.

I am really intersted to see how Tony and yourself find the Placid HD, I have mine built but cannot use it yet as my case is too small. (case mods will be more expensive than the Placid + Legato :( )

Regards
 
Thanks for the L3 impressions guys.

BTW , if the original 15nf output filter caps was left in L2 this would make the sound quite different to L3 with its 2n2 output filter caps. I found the 15nf's far too high making the sound compressed and flat.
 
Martin

I agree that L3 out of the blocks sounds snappier than L1. Still sounded a bit mid heavy for me. Whether that's the cap value, or simply cap type I don't know. If I'd had 2.2nf polystyrenes to hand I'd have fitted those. As it is I only had 1.5nf. Made a huge difference. But again, whether that's due to cap value or cap type I don't know...
 
James Evans said:
Don't go taking my word for anything :) Install the mkp caps first and see what you think. They're definitely warmer with more bass than the polystyrenes I have, but there was something thick and dense going on that I wasn't too happy with. Made listening uncomfortable.
Click to expand...

James, I followed your advice to swap caps on the IVY-III to lower value polystyrenes, and it was an absolute winner! The sound went from muddy and stressed to clean and natural – a real revelation. One of these days, some 2n2 soviet teflons will show up in my mail box. I'd like to try those in place of the polystyrenes as they seem to have the ultimate clarity and openness. The tracks on the TPA boards don't hold up well to mods, so I'll try installing some pins to facilitate swapping.

Cheers,
Flash
 
Placid BP HD built & installed. It's quite a bit larger than the old BP one (and a lot more components!) -

bp-placid---placid-hd.jpg


Very early days yet but on half-an-hours' listening it's definitely added weight to the sound, maybe more clearly defined. Got some new vinyl to listen to now but I'll give it more of a critical listen later on.

One thing I noticed; with the recommended initial settings for the variable resistors the current was way too high, 950 mA or so. It got very hot before I turned it down!
 
Thanks Tony for the feedback on the Placid HD. When you are running under 'normal' conditions do you feel that the BP runs any cooler than the old version?

Cheers
 
Sorry, haven't had a chance to try the DAC again. My iMac decided to pack up on me (fortunately still covered by Applecare) so away having a new hard drive fitted. Luckily my ancient old Toshiba laptop, running XP, is still working. 75 Gb of storage. Wow!

I've been soldering up the new Legato & another Placid. Just had notificationn from TP that the second Placid HD & Legato 3.1 are in the mail. Now all I need is another set of Tridents...

I've been trying to figure out how best to accommodate 2X Buffalos+ Legatos, Placids, Placid HDs, MUX 4:1 & three transformers into the existing case. It'll all go in by lengthening the box (either front or back) using spacers & longer bolts & maybe doing a similar thing with the top panel to gain some height.
 
Now there's a new Placid HD showing up on the TP website, just the image and listing, but shows as out of stock. Keep your eyes peeled, it will likely be up soon.

I kind of wish the TP guys would slow down on developing new items and stock a few more pieces!
 
Oh ffs! :)

Out with the credit card again then, when it's available. They really have been to the steve jobs school of development haven't they.
 
Golly, its not hit home yet but i just won a Legato from TP, it can sit by my toslink module for company until I hit it lucky with the Buffalo :)
 
Readers of my continuing TeraDak USB to digital audio converter saga will recall that I've got a stutter where the sound drops out sporadically. The optical out from the Mac Mini, by contrast, has no stutter but doesn't sound as good.

So I put the TeraDak on the same circuit breaker as the Mac Mini and connected it via optical and/or 75 ohm RCA to the Buffalo II. The 75 ohm RCA sounded better – really open and engaging. I can't say whether the format or the particular cables accounted for the difference in SQ.

All went well for about 45 minutes and then the stuttering started up. CPU usage was below 10%.

Next I'll try an "audio" USB cable when it arrives and play with other software players.

The TeraDak is such a step up in SQ that it's worth sorting out the stuttering.

Meanwhile, my 2.2nF teflon caps arrived, so the Legato 3.1 awaits....
 
Bemused said:
Golly, its not hit home yet but i just won a Legato from TP, it can sit by my toslink module for company until I hit it lucky with the Buffalo :)
Click to expand...

Wow! Well done mate. Now you've just got to wait for the Buffalo III to become available.

Having spent a good bit of yesterday rearranging things in my Modushop case to accommodate the extra stuff for dual mono & bloody TP goes & changes the Placid board. Oh well, the new HD ones will have to wait for a bit. Fortunately I managed to gain lots of extra room by repositioning the transformers upright. The Modushop case has a groove along the middle of the side panel which is T-shaped and can accept a captive nut. A bit of quick grinding work on the heads of the transformer bolts and they fit a treat, so all three will fit along the side.

I've had a chance to listen a bit more with new Legato 3.1, BP HD & Buff with Tridents. A considerable improvement again, with extra clarity & bass weight showing the most gain. The BP HD still runs just as hot I'm afraid Martin.
 
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