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MDAC first listen (part IV)

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Mains filters can be an issue with power amps that draw a variable amount of current from the mains, i.e. class A/B or B - the most famous example is Naim, my NAP250 sounded awful with any mains filter I tried. Class A, which is how the majority of line level stuff works, seems to be ok with most mains filters, and my EAR890 valve amp, which is class A, is happy with a simple mains filter. I built a mains distribution box which has one mains lead in and six out in a star earthed "hydra" fashion, and I have a separate mains filter on each output so each device is separated from raw mains by one filter and from other units by two. Its works fine and I can switch my Linn Lingo on and off and it makes no difference to the sound of the system (well, the LP12 slows down...) for the first time ever. I also use screened mains cables and a DC blocker and have two switched circuits using RF switches so I can switch the system on from work, so its warmed up when I get home! A pretty geeky box!
 
DC blockers, RF switchers ... A little out of my comfort zone Jem, so where do I pick one of these up from :).

Back to my original question does anyone know of any decent mains filters off the shelf in the uk ?

Cheers for your reply Jem , interesting. I looked into sorting my mains out a while back , but unless I split the consumer unit from a seperate tail I was told I was "p...ing in the wind". One day when I have chance to sort out ring main in my lounge . Until then I'm looking at a simple extention block or wall mount.
 
Will the CD/CDQ upgrade path also become available for the 8200-DQ ?
I'm still not 100% decided:
  • should I get MDAC and wait for MPAX as well,
  • or go for the DQ and immediately have the HT-bypass I really need.
    (and then upgrade maybe later to get maximum SQ)

I still have time to decide : Still no MDAC in the Netherlands :mad:
 
JemHayward said:
Mains filters can be an issue with power amps that draw a variable amount of current from the mains, i.e. class A/B or B - the most famous example is Naim, my NAP250 sounded awful with any mains filter I tried. Class A, which is how the majority of line level stuff works, seems to be ok with most mains filters, and my EAR890 valve amp, which is class A, is happy with a simple mains filter. I built a mains distribution box which has one mains lead in and six out in a star earthed "hydra" fashion, and I have a separate mains filter on each output so each device is separated from raw mains by one filter and from other units by two. Its works fine and I can switch my Linn Lingo on and off and it makes no difference to the sound of the system (well, the LP12 slows down...) for the first time ever. I also use screened mains cables and a DC blocker and have two switched circuits using RF switches so I can switch the system on from work, so its warmed up when I get home! A pretty geeky box!
Click to expand...

Most interested in a mains filter each for my M-dac and Adam active speakers. And definitely in a DC blocker Jem.

Could you let me know where you got your stuff please [and what it is? :) ]

I think I'd like to give it a shot making something similar if I can.

Cheers.
 
JohnW said:
Hi Ben,

The version we are building for Audiolab is a Bug Fix update:

1. DPLL settings

2. Correctly load the selected digital filter in SPDIF Mode!!!

3. Bug fix for the Bit Perfect test 24/96 "Awaiting Trigger" message (when the test fails at the very start of the testing procedure)

The "Lakewest" version we will include as many of the requested features as we can.

The "Uploader" for the PC has taken our time - now that it appears Dominik has the uploader working, we can now turn our attention to the actual software updates.

John
Click to expand...

Hi John,

Thanks for that.

The ones I am keen on sound like they're in the Lakewest one, the source remaining and display off option. I've taken to turning the DAC off at night to save the display in the meantime!

Any ETA on this release?

Ben
 
Chronic said:
Im using the Samsung V+ box, strange you have no droputs over optical, during testing mine dropped out religiously every minute or so for a split second, perhaps on certain channels it doesn't 'step' its output as much as others. Before this software update i mostly used optical from my TV as then the dropouts were very rare.

After installing the software update i watched a good few hours yesterday with no dropouts, mine toggles with a bandwidth of around 0.641k, not sure if this means i'll have to use the highest DPLL bandwidth setting as per this software update or a lower setting once the full release is out.

Its good to know its generally sorted ;)
Click to expand...

Hi,

Sounds like we have the same box then. Odd you have the issue and I don't. I am using a 2 Metre QED Performance Optical Digital cable.

I don have drop outs if I connect my TV up, but it's not something I needed to do anyway and that's on a massive 7 m optical cable.

Ben
 
John, could I ask about upgrade options for us international folks (i.e. outside of Europe)?

I gave up on the MDAC and went with a CDQ and am loving it. I have it hooked up to a pair of small Dynaudio active monitors and it sounds fantastic. So thank you for all of your work on it!

I was planning on just buying a MDAC once they're available and hopefully an MPAX eventually, but now I'm wondering about the upgraded CDQ. The big question for me is if either upgrade option will be available/supported from North America, and, even if the CDQ upgrade is available, whether the cost/duty issues/etc. of shipping to and from the Czech Republic would be prohibitive?

Is there any chance that you'd authorize a shop in NA to do the CDQ upgrades, or some other arrangement like that? And are you still planning on not officially offering the MPAX outside of Europe?

Thanks!
 
Hi John,
Sounds like you've got a lot of projects on the go at the moment, and I've no intention of hassling you, but I'm really keen to hear how you're coming along with the SB Touch clock lock ?

The CDQ upgrade sounds very cool too. I'm sure you know what you're doing, but isn't this likely to reduce the demand for the M-PAX? I'm certainly reconsidering what path I should take now. Also, I can't help wondering what you're going to do with the discarded guts from the upgraded machine... throw it all in the bin? :eek:

Cheers,
Tim
 
quad2fan said:
Hi John - at the risk of over-loading you with requests, I have a 'Lakewest' potential addition to the firmware. When I'm not using my Mac mini (via USB), I use a Rotel RCD-965BX CD player as a transport. Works fine and sounds marvellous. However when skipping tracks the first second or so sometimes stutters, or there's a brief silence which cuts off the beginning of the track. If you play the CD straight through there's no glitches, only when skipping to the next or previous track. It's as if the M-DAC needs a few seconds to lock on each time/each track. Not a biggie, but if it could be addressed at some point it'd be cool.
Click to expand...

I had the same problem when using my RCD-965BX as a temporary transport in my TAG AV32R a few years back. So it's digital output is probably a bit odd?
 
JohnW said:
Hi Steven,

With all the Voodoo spoken about the subject on the internet I can understand why you ask.

If you own and MDAC with its Bit Perfect test then you already have the tools to confirm that WAV and FLAC should perform the same.

There are four ways the PC can effect the SQ of the audio conversion process.

3. RF pollution and Ground noise injected into your DAC via the PC USB connection. A USB isolators will break the Ground loop (Earth Loop) - however its not so clear-cut at RF levels where USB isolators can be ineffective.

4. RF pollution of the mains supply by the PC / Monitor effecting the Audio system - a decent Mains filter is recommend.

John
Click to expand...

John,

Do these still apply if youre using a low power battery operated device such as netbooks and laptops?

Can anything be done to reduce/cancel RF levels?

What are the audible sypmtons to look out for if RF pollution and ground are having an effect i.e. how do you know there is a problem in the first place?
 
TimR said:
Hi John,
Sounds like you've got a lot of projects on the go at the moment, and I've no intention of hassling you, but I'm really keen to hear how you're coming along with the SB Touch clock lock ?

The CDQ upgrade sounds very cool too. I'm sure you know what you're doing, but isn't this likely to reduce the demand for the M-PAX? I'm certainly reconsidering what path I should take now. Also, I can't help wondering what you're going to do with the discarded guts from the upgraded machine... throw it all in the bin? :eek:

Cheers,
Tim
Click to expand...

Hi Tim
Dont know if its the same but have you seen that you now can connect a usb DAC to Touch by a firmware mod from Triode in the touch forum... I have tested it and it works in 16/44 for my cdq 8200 but for 24/96 you will need a high speed usb hub. Br Kurt
 
First post... I got my M-Dac just a couple of hours ago - pain free installation, sounds great with SB Touch as transport.

However, as several other people have experienced, connecting my TV via optical I have drop-outs every 30 seconds or so at the exact same time as the M-Dac changes from 44.002 to 44.003 and the reverse. What I would like to add to the equation is that this doesn't happen at all (as in not a single drop-out ever) from the same TV, connected via the same cable, to a Matrix Mini-i dac. A software update to resolve this would be much appreciated (I browsed through the thread but can't find an actual link although people are talking about some form of patch being tested?). Help!
 
daekis said:
First post... I got my M-Dac just a couple of hours ago - pain free installation, sounds great with SB Touch as transport.

However, as several other people have experienced, connecting my TV via optical I have drop-outs every 30 seconds or so at the exact same time as the M-Dac changes from 44.002 to 44.003 and the reverse. What I would like to add to the equation is that this doesn't happen at all (as in not a single drop-out ever) from the same TV, connected via the same cable, to a Matrix Mini-i dac. A software update to resolve this would be much appreciated (I browsed through the thread but can't find an actual link although people are talking about some form of patch being tested?). Help!
Click to expand...
Hello ,
It is a known issue with some source connecting to MDAC . I have the same issue with Cambridge ID100 , but help is on the way. a fix ( firmware update) will be available for PC soon as John and his team is working on uploader now.
just visit the forum everyday for the uploader to be available.

Thanks
Raymond Lim
 
arthur said:
Most interested in a mains filter each for my M-dac and Adam active speakers. And definitely in a DC blocker Jem.

Could you let me know where you got your stuff please [and what it is? :) ]

I think I'd like to give it a shot making something similar if I can.

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I'll start a new thread for this, as its going to be a bit confusing inside the MDAC discussions.... give me a few minutes!
 
RotelMan said:
Hi Tim
Dont know if its the same but have you seen that you now can connect a usb DAC to Touch by a firmware mod from Triode in the touch forum... I have tested it and it works in 16/44 for my cdq 8200 but for 24/96 you will need a high speed usb hub. Br Kurt
Click to expand...

Yep, I've seen that - looks good. My SBT is currently with JohnW, so I can't give it a try unfortunately. Are there any issues with "plug & play" and firmware updates ? Much as I don't mind playing around with these things when I have the time, I think I've now got to that stage in life where what I really want is user-friendly solution :)
 
Bolle said:
I had the same problem when using my RCD-965BX as a temporary transport in my TAG AV32R a few years back. So it's digital output is probably a bit odd?
Click to expand...

Looks like it's just not a good partner for the M-Dac then. Arghh that's so typical! A pity as it worked perfectly well with my old DPA DAC, and the Gigaworks 24/192 pseudo-diy job. And it's got a nice Phillips swing-arm transport inside it too. Despite that initial glitch it sounds fantastic with M-DAC.

I'm hoping they'll be a way around it, but it's not the end of the world if there isn't a fix as I tend to use the Mac mini for all daytime listening. Just prefer a CD transport in the evenings via headphones (what a superb headphone stage MDAC has!) as it's quieter.
 
Just tried my Oppo BDP-83 with the M-DAC. I still get the first half-second or so of each track which either cuts out or starts again - the peak level indicators also (for a split second) read 'Encoded Bitstream' (shouldn't it be PCM?) when either starting a new CD, or skipping forwards (or backwards) to a track. I believe this is the M-DAC locking onto the digital signal each time. Never had this problem with any other DAC to date.

No problem at all with USB.

Really hoping there isn't an error with my unit, as I bought it from another Pink Fisher. Though it was brand new and sealed, not sure if I'd be covered by any guarantee or not.

Feck :eek:
 
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