savoy014

Have you ever wondered what are the effects of your USB cable length on sonics ? Let's find out. I assembled three audiophile USB cables in different lengths. 1. Curious Cable (1.2m and 0.2m) 2. Wireworld Platinum Starlight Series 6 (2m and 5m) 3. Blackcat Cable Indigo Prototype (1m and 0.5m) Since my Melco NAS is placed a distance away from my DAC, I tested the Curious Cable and Blackcat Cable Indigo Prototype by hooking up my Melco NAS via a 2m WIreworld Platinum Starlight Series 2m cable to a SOtM tx-USBultra USB hub / regenerator, and then the cable in question to my Totaldac DAC. For the Wireworld, both cables were long enough to reach my DAC, and I ran the cables directly from the NAS to DAC (the Melco has a USB port). Listening to the various cables on test, it was hard to believe that length had such a great effect - not quite the results I was expecting. In the case of the Curious Cable, the 0.2m cable had drier and smaller images, while the 1.2m had a fuller sound with th...

Introduction I recently spent a few quality days with the Holo Spring Level 3 DAC, courtesy of Sound Affairs, Singapore distributor for Holo. There is plenty of chatter in various audio forums on the Holo Spring DAC, especially on the high level of performance it delivers for it's price. Description The Holo Spring is a really nice looking DAC (I adore those copper side panels), and is solidly built. It probably has the largest display I've ever seen, and the dot matrix panel is fully legible even from my listening position.  The Spring DAC is a  R2R DAC design. What differentiates the Spring from the rest of it's competition is that fact that DSD is decoded using a R2R circuit too. This is achieved by having two separate R2R circuits - one for PCM and the other for DSD. The front panel has four buttons. The first button puts the DAC in standby mode, while the rest of the buttons control the display intensity, oversampling mode and source. There are four oversampling modes,...

Introduction R2R DACs seem to be all the rage nowadays. However, not everyone can afford the DACs from MSB or Totaldac. Luckily we do have some more affordable options now. Soekris Engineering brought discrete resistor R2R to the masses, with an affordable full populated board - just add a suitable power transformer and you were effectively good to go. Wait a minute - can't read a circuit diagram to save your life, and scared of handling potentially lethal voltages ? Have no fear - our very own local company, Vinshine Audio has come up with a ready made product utilising a Soekris board. My review model came with the Rev 3 0.02 % board. To an oldie audiophile like me, the fuss about R2R is quite amusing. When I started out in the hobby, all CD players utilised R2R DACs. A short while later, Philips started extolling the virtues of bitstream DACs. In fact, I secretly lusted after a Marantz CD 10 that used a bitstream DAC. Fast forward to the present, and the DAC in my main setup is ...

Introduction Italian hand-made things are beautiful - artistic, and made with passion and flair. You may not necessarily agree with their aesthetics, but they invariably make a statement ! Neutral Cable are a Rome based company that makes their cables by hand. The cable on test here is the USB Reference I (Improved) and is their flagship USB cable. The conductors used for data are made of teflon insulated 7N purity solid core silver wires. Meanwhile, the power supply conductors are shielded and spaced from the data cables to avoid interference. The new improved version promises better separation between instruments, better dynamics and articulation of low frequencies compared to the USB Reference. My review sample came in a nice velvet case. The 1.2m cable was sheathed in a nice bright yellow jacket and was neatly and well-made with a single USB head (Neutral Cable's website mentions that a double-head type cable can be made upon request).  The USB Reference I is Neutral Cable'...

Introduction This is my first personal experience with SOtM products. Although I have heard them a number of times during our local AV show (ISSE), somehow they never made their way into my listening room. SOtM is a Korean audio company that has a line of interesting products, focussed in the area of digital audio. I first read about SOtM products quite a while ago when computer audio was in its infancy. They were one of the go-to companies for products such as filters (for computer fans, SATA interfaces and the like) and audiophile USB cards. Ray Ng from Raindrop Audio represents SOtM in Singapore and graciously supplied me with a number of products, including the sHP-100 which is the subject of this review. Description The sHP-100 is a diminutive USB DAC and headphone amplifier. Two additional digital inputs (coaxial and Toslink optical), and a single analog input (3.5 mm stereo mini-jack) are also offered. A variable line output (controlled by the volume knob in front) allows the sH...

Introduction It's finally here ! After what seemed like an eternity, the HAP-Z1ES finally made it to Singapore, with a product debut at ISSE 2015. It seemed like an incredible tease - a fantastic product launched in major markets, but not here. In a twist of irony, the product was being happily made just across the border in Malaysia - so close yet so far. Well, better late than never. The HAP-Z1ES is Sony's top-range high-res audio player. It is a self-contained solution with on-board storage and DAC. Contrast this with dedicated streamers like the Auralic Aries (no DAC and no on-board storage), Aurender (no DAC, and a choice of models with both board storage and without), and Lumin (with DAC, but no on-board storage).  Description The HAP-Z1ES is a really beautiful unit in the flesh. My review unit came finished in silver and felt substantial and well put together. A series of front panel buttons and a solitary knob control most playback functions and navigation.  A 1 TB int...

Introduction Aurender of Korea is definitely at the forefront of development of high quality music streamers. The S10 was groundbreaking in many ways, and each Aurender model released since has upped the ante for it's competitors. Aurender's approach has been quite unique. It is one of the few manufacturers to use an in-house designed motherboard. You also won't find any onboard DAC - Aurender prefers to concentrate it's effort on streaming performance.   Description The N10 slots in just below the flagship W20. For us mere mortals, the N10 carries a significantly lower price tag. You lose some of the W20's features like the battery power supply, external word clock connection and dual-wire AES outputs. Physically, the N10 shares the same indestructible build quality as it's siblings - that means copious amount of aluminum in those thick and solid panels. While the N10 is slim and quite compact at 430 mm x 83 mm x 353 mm, it tips the scale at a bruising 12 kg. T...