GDHAL wrote:

charliehatch wrote:
And so mine did to me. Only now it's better. There's another interesting aspect to this. Because of the interrupt problems, for a long time I've listened to my TV audio via my Oppo. So that's the sound I've been used to. The Oppo was -- I think -- reclocking on input, then processing, then sending out the digital signal via coax to my DAC.

Yet I heard a big change when I reclocked on the optical side. That tells me that I heard a difference between that and what the Oppo had been doing. So now I suspect the Oppo signal path.....

Charlie

Hi Charlie -

You can of course simply call Oppo and ask, but I'm almost certain the re-clocking in the Oppo is only applicable if you are using the HDMI outputs or analog outputs, and are not applicable to the SPDIF digital outputs.
oppodigital.com/blu-ray-udp-205/blu-ray-udp-205-Features.aspx

As to your samsung smart tv and dac not "getting along", I have a similar but manageable scenario. If I go optical digital out of the "smart box", I've found that to get a precision lock on the signal I sometimes have to toggle the input selector on the DAC to another input and then again select the optical as input. This is only the case from the smart box. My DAC has two clock's (VCO / VCXO) and it displays which one is in use (auto selected by the input signal). This is how I know that re-selecting the input results in the better clock VCXO being used.

When possible avoid optical and use coax. And, within the realm of coax, a BNC connection is preferable over RCA, but unfortunately the Oppo only has RCA.

GDHAL, thanks. The fact that you have to toggle the DAC input is a sign that something is pretty marginal there. My DAC has no input controls other than selecting the type of input, and I've tried switching from another input with no help. And, I've tried everything at the TV side, including selecting and deslecting the digital output. The TV smart box only has optical out, unfortunately. I would have loved to try coax there. Such is life.

My Oppo 105 is destined to say goodbye to my system, for many reasons, mostly related to really cranky firmware that has driven me insane. It is interesting that the 205 (mine is 105) is reclocking HDMI. Maybe the 105 doesn't reclock optical in, but something's different in there that makes it tolerate the madness coming from the TV. Maybe a better designed input stage.

Charlie

Steveo wrote: I have had a sever case of "upgradeitis"" over the last few months...

I truly believe these products will help enhance almost any usb configuration as they are isolating and re-clocking the signal. It just sounds more musical. Its not that the Nimitra is bad sounding (far from it) it just benefits form these devices as most other USB sources would. I do say "most other" because I assume there might be some USB devices out there they are very expensive and over engineered where these devices might not make as much of an impact. It would be a good experiment to test actually. I would say that these devices we are talking about might be more expensive than the rest of our systems put together.

This review on audiobacon.com can explain it better than I can.

audiobacon.net/2017/07/11/uptone-audio-iso-regen-review/

I would have called you crazy if you told me 3 years ago USB cables make a difference in digital but I have found it was one of the biggest jumps I had in my sound quality.

I have heard many times before the GE speakers really appreciate good quality components and are very sensitive to changes in components. I have heard this myself which is excellent as it just shows how revealing and well engineered the GE speakers really are.

Stevo, thanks for the detailed response! I agree with everything you're saying. I too suffered from upgradeitis, but it seems to be curable if you throw enough money at it. At least I thought it was cureable. Now I'm back in the spiral. I definitely agree that the GET speaker resolution is so good that we can hear this stuff. It's mind blowing.

I went to the audiobacon link, and discovered a link there to a white paper that I find very interesting. There are so many sources of problems in digital! I had no idea of the extent, but this information explains why such simple sounding things as USB links can need improvement. A more direct link to the paper for those interested:
cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0660/6121/file...GEN_tech_summary.pdf

Thanks for the excellent information! And, if you ever get to Nevada, I'd be happy to show off my system. You too, Wayne.

Charlie

charliehatch wrote:
Now I’m wondering about my Oppo 105’s digital coax output. Since the Remedy also has coax connections, I’ll try seeing if using it in that chain will make a difference.


Charlie

Hi Charlie

Now that experiment would be of interest to me. I know the 205 has added some degree of reclocking to HDMI out and I do wonder what that does for digital SQ vs the 105.

I use HDMI out for most playing I do on the 105 since 90% of that playing is multi channel including heights. But it has crossed my mind to try my Wyred 4 Sound reclocker, still attached to the upgraded SONOS Connect, on the coax stereo out on the 105 when playing 2 channel CD's . I'd need to run yet another interconnect, coax from the 105 to the reclocker, and coax or optical to the receiver, but that's no big deal.

If you like what you hear, I may try that also. And, it may give us all a clue as to how much of a SQ kick the new clock precision on HDMI out on the 205 gives that vs HDMI out on the 105. If there is a kick, that gets me more interested in the 205....

Rick

Hi Charlie,

Good points. I am aware of the possible improvement of upgraded cables in general. I forgot to mention that I am running Fidelizer Pro on my music laptop. Fidelizer Pro is "optimizing" my already-stripped-down laptop for music processing.

As for my laptop sound card, it is not clear to me exactly what role my sound card plays. MusicBee is streaming the files, the signal is 192 khz digital when it leaves the computer, my laptop recognizes my external Dac Magic Plus as the Playback Device - doesn't seem to leave much for the sound card to do.

Best,

Art

Hi GDHAL,

Thanks for the additional jitter info. I think I'll let this one lie as is, until the time comes when I think I am hearing audible distortion.

Best,

Art

ArthurDaniels wrote:
I will probably return to the dealer for another audition during a future visit to Raleigh. But, at this point, I am not ready to invest in the References as replacement for my Ones. The only way for me to be able to determine if the References would be worth the cost to me would be for me to place them in my current setup in place of the Ones, while making no other changes. That approach is not an option.

I am as interested in achieving audio nirvana as anyone in our little GE group here on this forum, but I am just not willing to make the additional funds investment on the chance that I would be enough pleased with the results to warrant that investment. Perhaps being 76 plays a role.

It would certainly be fun to be able to visit everybody and hear their systems. Fun, but not practical. So, we continue to swap ideas and impressions, which is also much fun.

Hi Art,
I also bought my equipment from Audio Advice. I don't know if it is feasible or if it would help you decide, but you could possibly take your amps and DAC with you and connect them to the speakers at the store.
I live in Thomasville, NC and you and your wife could come by my house on your way to or from Raleigh and listen to my system. It is a work is progress (I just added my Bel Canto Ref600M amps last night!) but it would give you an idea of the TRefs in a home environment.
fred