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Ifi Neo Streamer + Denafrips Terminator 12+

So, a bit of an update and problem:

 

I have connected the ifi neo streamer using aes/ebu to the terminator12+, and it seems to have changed the sound pretty dramatically, but not in a good way. 

 

Somehow, compared to straight USB from my computer, it dulls and smoothes the sound. 

 

The Terminator now shows changes in sample rate when run through the ifi streamer whereas when run directly via usb, it almost exclusively stayed at 44.1.  Using Tidal.

 

I thought using a digital out on the ifi would bypass the ifi's DAC, but, best I can tell, the DAC seems to be doing something in the streamer before sending the signal to the Terminator.

 

I am not the best critical listener, but the difference was immediately noticeable and somewhat dramatic. Again, when running aes through the ifi to the terminator, the sound was dulled and smoother. It just lost something. 

 

On its own, the terminator has been playing music nonstop for over 100 hours. It's still a bit harsh, but better than before. I think this could be because it's a near field set up with Wilson speakers. 

 

Anyway, any idea what's going on with the ifi aes to the terminator?

 

Any idea whats going on?

nlynchard
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 

doesn’t the ifi streamer have usb out? you should use that into the terminator, otherwise try rca spdif and also i2s if that is offered... dena dacs like i2s if available, but make sure the pin format is correct

that said, listening to wilson nearfield may well lead to a sense of treble harshness...

soix
9,456 posts
 

What AES/EBU cable are you using?  I’d highly recommend using the i2S out on the streamer to your DAC if at all possible (get the i2S pin out configuration of the iFi and check with Denafrips to see if it’s compatible first if you can).  I have a Musician Pegasus DAC, which is very similar to the Pontus ll, and when I switched from the USB to the i2S input (through a Denafrips Iris DDC) the improvement was dramatic.  And this was with using a cheap 6” HDMI cable I bought from Monoprice I got just to make sure the i2S input would work.  I’d say just get the shortest version of this cable you can (i2S doesn’t like distance, which is why I got a 6” cable) and see if it works and provides a significant improvement.  Definitely worth a try in your situation.  Hope this helps, and best of luck.

https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=13578

nlynchard OP
8 posts
 

Thanks for the replies. I am using the Blue Truth models of BetterCables AES cables

 I've had good luck with their cables in XLR and RCA and USB in the past. 

I2S - how do to check/change the PIN configuration between the ifi and denafrips. They both have I2S out, and I can get an hdmi cable, but, beyond just hooking it up, I'm not sure how to proceed.

I did notice that, when using the ifi as a streamer, I'm not able to change the tidal settings on Master to allow fixed volume, mqa pass through, or dedicated source. 

I have changed this with the USB directly to the denafrips from my computer - turning / leaving pass-through off as the denfrips doesn't do mqa.

 

soix
9,456 posts
 

I2S - how do to check/change the PIN configuration between the ifi and denafrips. They both have I2S out, and I can get an hdmi cable, but, beyond just hooking it up, I'm not sure how to proceed.

I’d ask Denafrips first as iFi customer support is near non existent (so lame) and they may know if the i2S configuration of your streamer is compatible or maybe at least be better able to find out for you.  Also, my DAC has several different i2S input configuration options by pressing and holding the NOS button and cycling thru them, and I suspect your DAC may have something similar so worth checking into as well.  If you have an HDMI cable you can use you can just try hooking the i2S out from the streamer to the DAC’s input and see if it works.  Who knows, you might just get lucky. 

nlynchard OP
8 posts
 

Thanks! I'll give that a go. 

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