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A Skeptics Digital Upgrade Journey

2 months ago I argued against the benefits of high quality digital cables. It’s just 1’s and 0’s right?

My Bluesound Node (N130) was a convenience - decent SQ for casual listening (SXM radio and Tidal). Focused listening sessions were vinyl only.

Back surgery forced me to take another look at digital - the records were too low to for me to get and my wife was doing enough without taking requests.

I started looking at DACs, and Denafrips was on my list. Thanks to @drmuso I ordered the LSY PSU with LPS ($280) from BEATECHNIK also run by Alvn Lee from Vinshine Audio.

I added a tube DAC from Black Ice and they arrived on the same day along with a Coax cable from Analysis Plus. Interconnects to amp were Nordost Purple Flare. Hard wired Blue Jeans ethernet.

  • The PSU+LPS on its own made a huge, immediate difference. If you have a Node and it’s out of warranty or you don’t care about voiding the warranty, this is a big bang for the buck. Customer service was top notch.
  • Adding the DAC improved the sound but I was underwhelmed even after over 100 hours on the tubes. I switched from the AP Coax to the supplied USB cable and things got better but highs were still a bit too bright/harsh.
  • I ordered Zavfino interconnects (Arcadia OCC) and USB cable (Majestic OCC) - immediately things warmed up. Sent the AP Coax back.
  • Lastly, I replaced the Svetlana tubes that came with the DAC with some NOS Mullards from Brent Jesse - let them warm up for 24 hours and WOW - now the digital source was warm and rich and sounding more like my much more expensive analogue rig. It's still early days on the tubes.

Very pleased with the outcome and I think the all in cost of $2,570 is pretty reasonable.

  1. Node $600
  2. PSU/LPS $280
  3. DAC $900 (on sale direct from Black Ice, list is $1,200)
  4. Cables: $340
  5. Tubes: $450

Lessons learned: everything matters including digital cables, apparently it is not just 1’s and 0’s. Serious listening library expanded exponentially.

Thoughts on my choices/path? Any one else done something similar?

macg19
macg19 OP
949 posts
 

@bikefi10 Good question. I already have a really nice TT/PS/Cart so I was done with analogue upgrades for the foreseeable future, so it was an easy decision for me even without the medical issue.

Not sure what your analogue rig is so take this with a grain of salt but I was blown away going from a Hana ML to an Aidas CU (details in my virtual system).

asctim
500 posts
 

I know things can go wrong with digital signal chains that result in degraded sound. The latest weirdness I heard in my system was crazy tempo shifts with corresponding pitch shifts - like a very badly warped record. I thought such a thing was impossible with digital! This turned out to be a problem with one part of the signal chain being set to 44.1 kHz and another part at 48 kHz. You'd think it'd just re-sample and play normally but instead it kept falling behind and then catching up by sporadically changing the playback speed. While I have fixed dropout problems with better cables I haven't heard changes in sound quality in my system from changing out the digital cables. I don't doubt though that there are times when a cable might be the culprit in very noticeably degraded sound quality.

macg19 OP
949 posts
 

@tksteingraber The monosaudio power cord went in today and back out after about 4 hours. It did prove that cables make a difference:) 

I've ordered the Zavfino Fina OCC for the DAC, 2 week lead time as 1m is custom. I also ordered a Pangea AC 14SE MKII Signature (Cardas copper) for $80 just for fun to play with in the meantime. 

I did order 2 fuses from ALI-E ($40, why not) for AMP and DAC, as well as a Synergistic Research Orange for my amp, on sale from CableCo for $100. 

Fun and games at this point...

tksteingraber's avatar
tksteingraber
632 posts
 

@macg19 good to hear you are having fun with trial and error.  It is what makes this hobby fun for me.  The power cable improved quite a bit after 60-80 hours.  I bought a plug adapter off amazon and plug it into my second fridge in garage for a week or so to break them in. Zavfino is my next go to company…great choice.

bikefi10
39 posts
 

@macg19 Tried to comment on your profile but kept erroring. Didnt want to sidetrack this thread.

My tt is Musichall 9.1mmf, cart is a lower end, but nice warm Nagaoka, Schitt PS, Odyseey amp, Magnepan 1.7i s, Rhymik sub. So, yes my cart is porportionaly low end for my rig. Im sure a big step up would make a noticeable diffetence.

My wife loves the variety with Qobuz, but even she says, " how much to make it better"? I say ALOT!

 

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