Modula Xtreme follow up

[---k---]

Another "classic" Telarc Jazz CD, from 1994, latin based acoustic guitar and other instruments. Some flavorful music, and a great recording to boot.

$0.07 + $2.98 shipping used from Amazon. Hard to pass up.

[JimS]

Up too late......

I'll throw this out there....

Rite of Strings

Got to like this combo......

Those unfamiliar....quite the delight....

+1

found this one 10+ years ago and it is still on my high-rotation list

[JonMarsh]

Another fun blast from the past...

Spinning now...

Latin influenced fusion jass/rock, with above average recording quality, from the 90's.



One of Al Di Meola's more obscure albums, I think; long out of print, but available used on Amazon.


If you like him, you may want to check out the 2006 release, which is available on SACD- Consequence of Chaos. I have that and Elegant Gypsy on SACD, now converted to 24/176.4 PCM.

[Jonasz]

If you like him, you may want to check out the 2006 release, which is available on SACD- Consequence of Chaos. I have that and Elegant Gypsy on SACD, now converted to 24/176.4 PCM.

How do you convert SACD to PCM?

[JonMarsh]

How do you convert SACD to PCM?

I use a hardware modification to a Pioneer DV79AVi, with a board using a custom FPGA bought from a small company in the Czech republic; it uses a 20 conductor cable which has to be wired into critical signal points on the main DVD/Audio processor board to collect the DSD signals and clocks after decryption, along with the PCM and control signals from the DAC chip set, and produce an S/PDIF output of the DSD converted to LPCM by the FPGA. (a lot of acronyms there!). This Czech company usually does the installation, as it's somewhat complex, but I just bought the board from them and did it myself. The S/PDIF output does include the SCM bits (serial copy management) which is intended to prevent copying, as a nod to general legalities. Normally this is just used for playback to an external DAC.

I then capture the S/PDIF using an RME Fireface 800, which ignores SCM bit coding, and supports single wire S/PDIF I/O up to 24/192. I'm looking into another much lower cost Firewire interface (TC Konnekt Impact Twin) which may be able to support the same S/PDIF I/O functionality. I use Wave Editor (from Audiofile Engineering) to record the incoming 24/176.4 data to Wave Editor's native 32 bit file format, then edit to tracks and export as 24/176.4 AIFF. Meta data is then embedded using Max.

Those AIFF files will play in most software players, including bog standard iTunes- any that support quad rate files (Songbird doesn't, for example, though). They can also be converted to WAV files that will play on ThomasW's PWT+PWD combo. I don't use WAV because of the lack of meta data embedding.

I pursued this partly because I have a large SACD collection, including many Sony single layer DSD only disks, without the hybrid CD layer that can be ripped easily. This way I have high resolution LPCM of my disk collection archivable and usable on my Mac mini based players. In many cases, these SACD examples represent the best mastering effort as well as the highest resolution format available for those recordings.

There have been thousands of SACD's released, and though some are saying the format is dead, there are still more releases of interest to me every month. It's the best way I know of to get a large library of high quality digital recordings, available downloads are a piffle in comparison. And given the variability of performance in SACD DACs, this opens up things to a much wider array of playback devices.

While I have no doubt that the top dCS and Meitner units are quite good, I get VERY good results on a Metric Halo LIO-8 at a fraction of the cost of a dCS, and with better results than I've heard from SACD players in the $5K to $10K range.

No Flux Capacitors are necessary for the extraction of this music, and the power requirements of the new Mac Mini (about 8 watts playing back music) and the Metric Halo LIO-8 (about 24 watts) are far below that needed for time travel. The musical results can be rather sublime with good recordings...

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :B :W

[JonMarsh]

Back on topic, LBL has been ordered for the front panel builds for the new piano black woofer modules, and "Russian" Cardas 6X Crosslink for the internal wiring. (this is a special batch of Crosslink that Cardas built for a Russian distributor who disappeared when the wire was ready- six major conductor strands instead of 4, net AWG8.

Image not available

[JonMarsh]

Talk about getting lucky this morning

Was working from home, as I have to go into SF on business this afternoon (no BART in South Bay), and the nice lady from the Post Office delivered the waveguides from Jantzen in Poland.

The material is VERY nice, a very high quality plastic, and the machining looks to be first class- I'm quite pleased. They might work with the Millenium Excel, the diameter of the opening is OK, but I'll be trying them with the TW034X0 and maybe with an adapter, the D2608.

Not a very good cell phone pic, but enough to get the idea.



Interestingly, the outer diameter is exactly the same as the H65, the flange depth is the same, and the overall depth for the same size throat hole (as to fit the Millenium Excel or Audax) is pretty close to identical. Much nicer plastic, though, and quite inert.

[igy137]

... This Czech company usually does the installation, as it's somewhat complex, but I just bought the board from them and did it myself. ...

John, could you share the name of this company with me? I'm only aware of a Swiss product at the moment, but that's quite a bit expensive...

[ThomasW]

AudioPraise

Let's take any future Q&A regarding this particular topic to this forum

[Steve Goff]

While I have no doubt that the top dCS and Meitner units are quite good, I get VERY good results on a Metric Halo LIO-8 at a fraction of the cost of a dCS, and with better results than I've heard from SACD players in the $5K to $10K range.

No Flux Capacitors are necessary for the extraction of this music, and the power requirements of the new Mac Mini (about 8 watts playing back music) and the Metric Halo LIO-8 (about 24 watts) are far below that needed for time travel. The musical results can be rather sublime with good recordings...

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! :B :W

So Jon, I take it that the Berkeley Alpha DAC is no more. I've been following the discussion of the LIO-8 on the computer audiophile board and elsewhere, and find it very interesting that a pro audio company has come out with such an outstanding product. Maybe you should get the DSP package and go for fully active crossovers.

[JonMarsh]

So Jon, I take it that the Berkeley Alpha DAC is no more. I've been following the discussion of the LIO-8 on the computer audiophile board and elsewhere, and find it very interesting that a pro audio company has come out with such an outstanding product. Maybe you should get the DSP package and go for fully active crossovers.

I still have the Berkeley Alpha DAC, used in my secondary system, with an Antelop DA; but it's not my primary reference, though it's still no slouch, and used to be the best digital I'd ever heard under $10K. It is a bit weird to some (myself included) at time that a pro ADC/DAC like this can be so good, at what is really a pretty moderate price. '

And I fully plan to get the DSP+ software package when I'm ready to try a system design with fully active crossovers; it's more a question of what and when, rather than whether or not. It has the capability to do a three way plus subs, and still have a separate DAC for the headphone output to drive a full range secondary system or monitor.

In fact, the first couple of days of listening to it was just in my DAW, with the headphone output driving the DAW monitors, which alone convinced me of how good it is! And that was just testing with 44.1 CD material!

Give one a listen if you can find a pro dealer in your area. I bought it just based on recommendations and some PMs, got it from Granite Rocks Live, Steve Devino, who apparently also does a fair amount of business with our company in Germany.

[---k---]

Jon,
I went to the manufacturer's website and honestly had no clue what it did after reading the page. Doh! So, are you just using if for the DAC?

[JonMarsh]

Jon,
I went to the manufacturer's website and honestly had no clue what it did after reading the page. Doh! So, are you just using if for the DAC?

I'm presuming you were on this page?

Metric Halo LIO-8

It probably makes a little more sense if you've seen this page(s)


Metric Halo ULN-8

as the LIO-8 is a "subset" of the ULN-8. In fact, the LIO-8 is field upgradeable to the complete ULN-8 configuration.

Comments from an SF based user of the ULN-8:

The ULN-8 is a game changer, of that there is no question.
In a blind test among the Beta Team members the ULN-8 converters consistently beat what many consider to be the gold standard in Analog to Digital conversion.
Considering that the other unit in question is 4 times the cost of a ULN-8 with a quarter of the number of channels, that's incredible. The ULN-8 analog section alone is more than worth the MSRP of $5995.00.
Having sold the fine boutique Channel Strips and preamps in my studio replacing them with the ULN-8 (I didn't sell them because I needed the money, I sold them because I didn't use them any more -- ever) my racks now looked ridiculous with so many open spaces that I literally went to my local used gear store and asked them if they had any broken units for sale that at least turned on and lit up - so I could fill in the spaces.
My advice: Run, don't walk, to get a ULN-8."

David Wilcock, Tacklebox Music
founder, Tacklebox Music
San Francisco, CA

http://www.TackleboxMusic.com

The ULN-8 includes 8 channels of very high quality mic preamp in addition to the 8 channels of ADC/DAC which the LIO-8 has; plus the ULN-8 comes with the DSP+ solution- basically, they took out those functions in order to reduce the up front cost for those who want a complete analog to digital and digital to analog solution for recording/live sound/playback.

The hardware is pretty dang Sierra Hotel, but the MIO console software on top of that makes this the equivalent of a very high grade 8 channel mixer/crossover in a single height rack mount box that can be completely configured and setup by software via the Firewire connection on a Mac. Their software only runs on a Mac, though the unit can be configured and have a master configuration for boot up downloaded from the Mac, and "snapshot" alternate configurations downloaded and selectable from the front panel.

At the moment, I'm just using this as a two channel DAC. That takes about 7% of the available DSP processing power, and just one pair out of 5 pairs of DAC channels. (8 main channels and the headphone/monitor channels) It does very high grade ADC, too, recording is obviously an intended function.

Some guys are using the ULN-8 at home with feeding turntable phono signals into the mic preamps and doing RIAA equalization in the digital domain in the internal DSP, reportedly it's a killer vinyl setup used that way.

Flexibility is definitely the middle name. You can probably do an Orion style system, or other active crossover three way, no sweat. And you could patch analog sources into it, via the ADC line inputs. Multiple channels can be controlled with one output master level control, and the level controls are encoder controlled circuits in the analog domain, not using the digital. It's easy to adapt it to different line levels, whether you want consumer -10 or -4, +4, or +10. All done via software, but then the front panel controls are surprisingly complete.

For example, the main output level control (rotary encoder) starts controlling master output volume, bump the know in, it switches to headphone output level controls. The main front display is multi-channel LED bars for signal level including VU ballistics and a peak hold function tracking separately, but when you rotate a level control, it switches to showing the dB level numerically while you're adjusting things, then going back to normal bar graph a few seconds after you've stopped adjustments. Just a lot of slick functionality and thinking went into these units.

I blathered on about it a bit in this post in the thread, too.

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36370&page=6&pp=35

[Saurav]

That's interesting. The first time you mentioned the LIO-8, I went and looked it up, and something that could do A/D/A without any EQ/XO functions in the middle didn't seem like something I would use. But the ULN-8 sounds more like something I'd be interested in.

Still way outside my current budget range though I'm guessing comparisons to something like the DEQX would be hard to come by, since the target audience is so different?

[JonMarsh]

The LIO-8 does parametric EQ, but you need the DSP+ software license to do the heavy lifting stuff, like LR crossovers. That's about $650 more.

Target audience of the companies is very different, I'd say, though there is some similarity in capabilities.

The LIO-8 is a general purpose studio or live sound device where ADC and DAC may be needed, the ULN-8 version includes a full set of 8 mic preamps of very high quality. Where as the DEQX is focussed on speaker crossover applications in stereo for up to three way operation, and has six unbalanced analog outputs on RCA, the LIO-8/UNL-8 is much more general purpose, can be used for multi-channel environments, has all balanced outputs (a DB25 interface box is available from 3rd parties that provides complete conventional connector patch bay), and includes 8 channel of AES/EBU input and output, in addition to 8 analog channels in and out.

The LIO-8 also provides full support of sampling rates to 24/192, instead of 24/96 as the DEQX does, and uses an internal 80 bit data bus for the highest accuracy in equalization and processing computations.

They don't offer the same kind of crossover functionality, and if you want to go with the high slope format DEQX offers, then that will be your choice. The DEQX only has S/PDIF and AES/EBU inputs (one each), while the LIO-8/ULN-8 support asynchronous Firewire for audio; while my acquaintances say the MH sound quite similar on the S/PDIF and AES/EBU inputs to the Firewire, that is, the basic character is maintained, they agree the Firewire sounds best, more like analog high speed tape. Or more like the mic feed, as that's their reference, being recording engineers.

[Saurav]

if you want to go with the high slope format DEQX offers, then that will be your choice

While my grasp of this is very slim, I thought the more interesting part of the DEQX was the linear phase / FIR filters.

[JonMarsh]

Yeah, well, funny thing, the CD player and DAC player guys are moving away from those, to minimum phase filters, because of the time distortions they create. Meridian, Ayre, PS Audio, others. The white papers on the Ayre site are easy to follow.

[Saurav]

I remember the Ayre white papers. I wish everyone would just agree on the right way to do digital

[Steve Goff]

The ULN-8 includes 8 channels of very high quality mic preamp in addition to the 8 channels of ADC/DAC which the LIO-8 has; plus the ULN-8 comes with the DSP+ solution- basically, they took out those functions in order to reduce the up front cost for those who want a complete analog to digital and digital to analog solution for recording/live sound/playback.

The hardware is pretty dang Sierra Hotel, but the MIO console software on top of that makes this the equivalent of a very high grade 8 channel mixer/crossover in a single height rack mount box that can be completely configured and setup by software via the Firewire connection on a Mac. Their software only runs on a Mac, though the unit can be configured and have a master configuration for boot up downloaded from the Mac, and "snapshot" alternate configurations downloaded and selectable from the front panel.

At the moment, I'm just using this as a two channel DAC. That takes about 7% of the available DSP processing power, and just one pair out of 5 pairs of DAC channels. (8 main channels and the headphone/monitor channels) It does very high grade ADC, too, recording is obviously an intended function.

Some guys are using the ULN-8 at home with feeding turntable phono signals into the mic preamps and doing RIAA equalization in the digital domain in the internal DSP, reportedly it's a killer vinyl setup used that way.

Flexibility is definitely the middle name. You can probably do an Orion style system, or other active crossover three way, no sweat. And you could patch analog sources into it, via the ADC line inputs. Multiple channels can be controlled with one output master level control, and the level controls are encoder controlled circuits in the analog domain, not using the digital. It's easy to adapt it to different line levels, whether you want consumer -10 or -4, +4, or +10. All done via software, but then the front panel controls are surprisingly complete.

For example, the main output level control (rotary encoder) starts controlling master output volume, bump the know in, it switches to headphone output level controls. The main front display is multi-channel LED bars for signal level including VU ballistics and a peak hold function tracking separately, but when you rotate a level control, it switches to showing the dB level numerically while you're adjusting things, then going back to normal bar graph a few seconds after you've stopped adjustments. Just a lot of slick functionality and thinking went into these units.

I blathered on about it a bit in this post in the thread, too.

https://www.htguide.com/forum/showth...0&page=6&pp=35

I was thinking that I could use this to replace my preamp/processor, using Shawn Fogg's mod on my Oppo to feed four S/PDIF inputs with the eight channels from the Oppo. I'd hook up a Mac Mini for serious two channel listening via Firewire. I could use the DSP to equalize the bass range of the speakers and subwoofer. An audiofool's home theater setup.

[Steve Goff]

Another though occurred to me: With an Oppo modified to have 4 S/PDIF outs, you could use it and the LIO-8 to get 2 to 7.1 channels of DVD A or SACD (DSD converted to PCM by the Oppo) into a computer.

[JonMarsh]

Yes, you can, and with the master console control completely configurable, you can have it pretty much any way you want.



Can you spell, "FLEXIBILITY"? :W

[augerpro]

Jon if you had to recommend a DAC or simply and external soundcard, of the models you've used what would you suggest? Within price ranges of course, I probably can't play like you yet

Also what do those who you correspond with have to say about a turntable < $1k? I'm currently using an NAD 355 I think it is, it's a Rega P2 clone anyway. So far I like it but the arm movement causes noises so I'm looking into that. Most noise though the record which I'm also looking into. Sometimes you get lucky and find NIB Classic Records LP's of the entire Zeppelin collection, which I got So now I'm looking for something that can take the less than perfect LP and remove the noise.

[Face]

In the $1,000 to $1,500 catagory, check out Wyred 4 Sound's DAC-1 and DAC-2.

If your NAD is a P1 it's a 533, P2 is the 555.

[JonMarsh]

Jon if you had to recommend a DAC or simply and external soundcard, of the models you've used what would you suggest? Within price ranges of course, I probably can't play like you yet

Also what do those who you correspond with have to say about a turntable < $1k? I'm currently using an NAD 355 I think it is, it's a Rega P2 clone anyway. So far I like it but the arm movement causes noises so I'm looking into that. Most noise though the record which I'm also looking into. Sometimes you get lucky and find NIB Classic Records LP's of the entire Zeppelin collection, which I got So now I'm looking for something that can take the less than perfect LP and remove the noise.

One line in turntables I'd give a close look at is Pro-Ject; a lot of offerings at different price points, and they're made in Eastern Europe, not China.

Pro-Ject at Needle Doctor

When you say table less than $1K, is that including cartridge or not? Makes a big difference, though you don't want to go overboard on cartridge with a budget table. For example, I'd consider a Pro-Ject RPM1.3 at $499, and spend the balance on a cartridge, and if needed, a good budget outboard phono preamp such as from Cambridge Audio (designed in England, but unfortunately made in China).



I still have a table and arm which is at ThomasW's, it's a Denon table with a Linn Itok arm. Somedays I'm tempted to buy a new cartridge for it, and I probably would have by now if I hadn't gotten so deep into digital with the SACD extraction project and the Metric Halo DAC.

Because I use Mac's, and heartily believe in Firewire as an audio interface (have used Firewire interfaces for measurements for years and years), under $2K, I'd personally look closely at a Metric Halo ULN-2. In fact, the only reason I didn't buy one of those this time or last year was because I was looking for 24/176.4 support, due to my SACD project. I've already written MH a couple of letters about updating the ULN-2 to the LIO-8 technology. The ULN-2 includes the DSP technology of the ULN-8/LIO-8 with very flexible configuration options, and has a more conventional connector interface (no DB-25s) .



Obviously not an audiophile piece. Configuration and programming beyond the base boot up configuration requires a Mac, as that's the only platform their software runs on. Any console configuration can be saved to the hardware as the boot up state. Part of my interest in the LIO-8 was the potential for a full blown active crossover and EQ running straight off the Mac and with AES/EBU inputs AND analog inputs, with separate full range monitor output available. Kind of like a really, really high end DCX24/96.

One other thing I have to say about the MH LIO-8- like the Berkeley Alpha DAC I have, the "sonic goodness" didn't require hundreds of hours of break in to manifest- quite evident in comparison to other units right out of the box.

In the sub $1K range, there are so many options out there it's hard to be conversant with a large number of them. I've owned a PS Audio DL-III which made pretty nice music, but I wouldn't describe it as very dimensional and I'd say it had what I consider a classic SRC kind of sound; along with less dimensionality, a somewhat pureed or homogenized harmonic structure not really true to the original, and not as much inner detail or micro dynamics in the presence of macro dynamics. Think of it as being an improved Benchmark DAC, and that pretty well describes it. Overall what it does to source material is like most sub 1K DACs, it's like a generation of copy in analog tape, at the least; maybe 2 generations. I prefer the sound of the TC Konnekt 8 interface on Firewire, coming off my old quad core Powermac G5.

What I wish I could find is a good sounding budget pro sound Firewire interface under $1K. I've got an Impact Twin from TC Konnekt just received to evaluate for 24/176.4 capture for SACD extraction; will also give it a listen in the system as a budget Firewire DAC ($399) (it does have S/PDIF support to 24/192, but it should sound better on a Firewire source, as the TC Konnekt DICE II interface chips are pretty good, even used by Weiss Engineering).





Of course, no audiophile or their wives want to see gear like this sitting in their system.

This either, I expect!



Of course, everyone has different wants and needs, YMMV, etc, etc. In the end, we all just have to do what makes us happy, and the balance and blend that does that can be all over the map.

[JonMarsh]

Now Playing....

Up too late......

I'll throw this out there....

Rite of Strings

Got to like this combo......

Those unfamiliar....quite the delight....

And I thought I was a fan...

Of all three back in the day... from 1995

Don't know how this one escaped me.

Lovely full sound and color- great compositions and ensemble playing (IMO, YMMV)

This is a marvelous album.

A few years ago (2006) saw something similar but quite different- Stanley Clark, Bela Fleck, and Jean-Luc Ponty, in Denver. ThomasW procured some very righteous seats (2nd row if I recall correctly). I don't think any recording ever came out of that tour.

[JonMarsh]

It's smokin' hot...

And that always reminds me of Louisiana, and puts me in a Zydeco/Cajun frame of mind. Which means it's time to get out the Sonny Landreth...




And if you're in a Sonny Landreth kind of mood, what can be hotter than Sonny with Mark Knopfler, Eric Clapton, Robben Ford, Eric Johns, Dr. John, Jimmy Buffet (huh? Jimmy Buffet? Mr. Margaritaville?!), Vince Gill, and Nadira Shakoor?

Sweltering... like the day!

Now lets all go cool off!

[sdl2112]

Now for something completely different

Sugar Mountain – Live at Canterbury House 1968



This is a gem in my mind. Kind of the Star Wars approach...this one is the first of the Archives Performance Series but released after volume two and three. It has that "innocence", "you are there" and "goose bump factor"...a must if you like Neil Young. The recording is captured from a TEAC two track tape recorder. Some background noise but the music is captured pretty well.

[JonMarsh]

I've heard of this one, and it's on my To-Do list- I have Live at Massey Hall, from 1971.

[sdl2112]

I have both and Sugar Mountain is just really unique...one of a kind.

Now for something different again......

Genesis - Selling England by the Pound



This is one of my all time favorites...not for everyone...it just grows on you. The remastered version is surprisingly good for 1973. I was also surprised how well Phish did "Watcher of the Skies" at the Rock n Roll HOF.

[1Michael]

I was a big Genesis fan back in the day :T Never really cared for the newer stuff...

[sdl2112]

Troels' large dome study

This large dome study may be of interest for this thread. Troels tests include the TW034X0.

[JonMarsh]

Cool- I'll check it out. I've got a pair of the TW034X0 to test as soon as I can clear a few other tasks out of the way.

Very interesting write up. Too bad he didn't measure the off axis curves for the TW034X0- above 10 kHz, where the output level on axis is much lower, the waveguide should be increasing the dispersion substantially. That's why the on axis level drops.

Raises some interesting questions about modifying the tweeter as he did to kill that resonance and the impednace blip at 2 kHz and adding and end cap- of course, I'll have to use LBL bamboo, not MDF! Got plenty of scraps around, if I decide to go that way.

Thanks again for the link. I can't believe the shape he received the Ciare tweeters in. I'll have to look around, see if they're available in the US. They appear to be readily available from Lautsprecher.de. But who knows, with a mod to the Audax, I may not care so much, depending on how the nonlinear distortion measures with the planned crossover. OTOH, with the full copper ring in the gap, the Cieare should work rather well...

Gotta think about that one. This system is getting weirder and weirder... but it's sounding better and better, too.

[Steve Goff]

What I wish I could find is a good sounding budget pro sound Firewire interface under $1K. I've got an Impact Twin from TC Konnekt just received to evaluate for 24/176.4 capture for SACD extraction; will also give it a listen in the system as a budget Firewire DAC ($399) (it does have S/PDIF support to 24/192, but it should sound better on a Firewire source, as the TC Konnekt DICE II interface chips are pretty good, even used by Weiss Engineering).

Of course, everyone has different wants and needs, YMMV, etc, etc. In the end, we all just have to do what makes us happy, and the balance and blend that does that can be all over the map.

Jon,

Can the LIO-8 take an 8-channel digital input from four S/PDIF connectors at the same time? If so, sfogg has a board you can add to a player such as the Oppo to output eight channels via S/PDIF. And the Oppo will internally covert DSD to PCM. If the LIO-8 will do this, I suspect it will also let you record to the computer via firewire, no?

[Steve Goff]

Following up on my previous post, Lots of folks with Meridian audio gear use Shawn's board to get Hi-Res audio from DVD Audio and SACD discs into their processors without having to buy Meridian's HDMI box. You can find info here.

[JonMarsh]

Actually, the LIO-8 can take an 8 channel AES/EBU input set (remember, this is a pro unit). But no S/PDIF inputs (that's greasy kid stuff... )

The LIO could be patched to do that- I've heard about the sfogg board. The "fly in the ointment" is that four channels of wideband high grade S/PDIF to AES/EBU conversion will cost almost $2K using four RDL HR-UDC1!




Nice to know that's possible, but the price tag kind of takes the shiny off the proposition unless I should come into some unexpected money!

Now, I think I ought to have at least ONE of these just sitting around on general principles, you know, part of the tool kit. Four requires some thought.... can buy a lot of speaker parts or NSX parts for that money!

[Steve Goff]

Ah, too bad.

[Saurav]

That's interesting. I'm using a $25 transformer from Markertek to send the ROKU's S/PDIF output to the DCX2496's AES/EBU input. This is an active unit, and the webpage says:

The input is decoded, re‑clocked and retransmitted to the output. All pro/consumer, emphasis, and sampling frequency bits common to both S/PDIF and AES/EBU standards are inserted in the output data stream.

Wonder what the differences are in the two formats, if the conversion can be done both passively and actively. I used to think it was just an impedance difference, but I guess it can be more than that.

OK, I need to read this I guess:

http://www.rane.com/note149.html

[Steve Goff]

I've read about transformers, including ones from Canare, but was not sure whether they worked, given that the protocol is different and the voltages vary so much.

[Saurav]

Well, in my limited experience, I had music when I just had an RCA-XLR cable between the ROKU and the DCX, and I still have music with the Canare transformer in the signal path. I can't really tell you if one sounds better than the other (and I'm not sure if there's any reason to expect that it should sound any different), because too many other things changed at the same time when I put in the transformer. Note that my UPnP server is transcoding FLAC to LPCM, and the ROKU I believe converts 44.1kHz to 48kHz, so it's probably pretty different from what you'd get out of a CD player, and the transformer may not work for any other setup. The Rane article has a good explanation of the issues involved with passive S/PDIF - AES conversion.

[JonMarsh]

with the commonalities of the standards, a passive conversion may work MOST of the time. OTOH, this box also does optical to electrical conversion, something that can't be done passive.

My RME fireface, while externally single ended, uses a transformer coupling, and can provide compatibility with S/PDIF levels and codes as well as AES/EBU. At the price it goes for, you should expect that. Sometimes, a transformer coupled S/PDIF device will more or less work directly with just a pin conversion cable, but you're taking your chances, obviously.

Since I'm not setup or planning to runn multichannel soon, for me stereo with my present "decoder ring" setup is fine.

[Steve Goff]

It is easier to get the audio off a DVD Audio disc into a computer, using software such as DVD Audio Extractor. I'm using it to rip my discs for playback in j. river Media Center 15, which has WASAPI output. But it is PC only. Anyway, this is kinda far afield.

[Hdale85]

So you think a 2k dollar budget for these is a bit optimistic?

[Face]

Drivers alone are just about $3k.

[Hdale85]

Oh I was going to ask, I'm guessing you can't just run the TM portion? Has to be setup as a 3way? That's why I was dreaming about 2k :B.....

[JonMarsh]

The 7" Accuton mid really is a mid- super low Qts, relatively low Xmax, high sensitivity (92-93 dB). Not adaptable to a two way. This isn't a two way with bass bins.

There are some other Accuton 7's that would be adaptable to a two design, but most of them have a rising HD profile at 1/3 the upper break up mode. This mid uses some elaborate but expensive processes to damp the cone.

I am thinking about some ideas for an MT or 2.5 TMM using the Jantzen waveguides. One idea is using illuminator woofers with a Ciare MT320, and a lowish crossover point, somewhere in the 700-1400 Hz are where the ear doesn't have a good localization mechanism, possibly using a Modula MT/NatalieP style LR3. Might got for a small box with flux caps. Just in the idea stage at this point.