USB to PC chassis ground ? (noise) - The biggest change ever !

[pedal]

Great, Thanks!

I'll do it and report back.   

[pedal]

Gentlemen,

Do the Silverstone SST-EC04-P need additional power (4 pin Molex cable) or is it enough only to plug it into the MOB?

 

[juanpmar]

Gentlemen,

Do the Silverstone SST-EC04-P need additional power (4 pin Molex cable) or is it enough only to plug it into the MOB?

 

I connected it to the PSU with the molex and if I remember well here is said that it has to be connected to the power supply.

Regards,
Juan

[pedal]

And what about driver?
-There is a disk packed together with the soundcard.
-Do I first have to take the PC out of "minimized mode" to complete the installation of the Silverstone?

[pedal]

And what about driver?
-There is a disk packed together with the soundcard.
-Do I first have to take the PC out of "minimized mode" to complete the installation of the Silverstone?

I just tried it the easy way: Silverstone plugged into the MOB. No change of driver, no additional power cable. Plugged the USB from NOS DAC and it works!

Seems I got away from this DIY project with minimal effort 

One down, one to go: Next step is removing the ground wire inside the NOS.

[juanpmar]

Silverstone card http://www.phasure.com/index.php?topic=2844.0

Juan

[boleary]

Pedal, you don't want to lift the NOS1 ground wire until you insulate the USB card grounding from your PC. Peter has warned about that and, before he did, I tried just lifting the ground in the NOS1 and I had a terrible booming noise in the middle of the night! Woke me up it was so loud.

[pedal]

So far so good:

I installed the Silverstone without bracket.
Added some isolation tape around the USB sockets. See photo.
Silverstone worked with the first song, but after rebooting it lost connection with the NOS1, so I had to search my basement for a spare pc-cable. See photo.

Then I disconnected the earth cable inside the NOS1 and now it seems to work and play as it should.

Thanks for the help, guys!

----------------

And what about the sound quality?
It is faster and cleaner in a positive sense. I can play loader. Bass is very tight and detailed, but less prominent.

But I miss a little "ease" and natural flow. Maybe it can be re-gained with some other settings. This will require further listening. It's a pitty with all those screws on the NOS1 cabinet. A simple ground-lift switch on the DAC chassis would have been convenient.

PS: With the ground-lifted Silverstone setup the NOS1 sometimes disappears as the selected "device" in XX settings.

[pedal]

UPDATE: The Silverstone (ground-lifted both ends) lasted only 5 songs in my system, before I went back to the usual USB3 from the PC MOB.

First impression is that the Silverstone emphasizes the presence/treble, while at the some time (or as a function of), the bass is less prominent.

In short: Floating Silverstone appeals to my brain, my previous setup appeals to my heart. Heart wins.

At the moment listening with MOB USB3 + floating NOS1: Treble more in line now, but I *think* (not sure) if the bass is as solid and dynamic as I remember it with normal (unlifted) ground inside NOS1.

Anyway, gotta listen further of course, before any final verdict.

[nik.d]

Be VERY careful with USB ground left lifted inside NOS1 and USB cable connecting other USB3 port (than Silverstone card).
Peter already warned on this situation - can lead to frying NOS1's USB receiver...

[pedal]

Thanks, nik.d, I just put my screwdriver to work and voila! I am back where I started this morning: MOB USB3 and everything grounded - and - not to forget; The music is sweet as ever!

The qualities which Silverstone REMOVED are back: Slightly dark sound, full bodied, punchy and slightly "resonant" bass and that over-all "ease". Hey, even the soundscape is wider and more interesting.

So, it seems that the success of SS is highly system dependent.
I have high power amplifiers with very high band width, DC-coupled and everything balanced/XLR connected. All components star-connected to the same filtered 220V outlet, fed from a dedicated 40A line. -So, on one hand my electronics are sensitive to ground loops and such nastiness, but on the other hand, I have dealt with and solved those issues to a large degree. Experimenting with ground within a system can be a lottery...   

[PeterSt]

PS: With the ground-lifted Silverstone setup the NOS1 sometimes disappears as the selected "device" in XX settings.

Pedal - I don't think so;
This is a 1.186 bug. Deactivate all your non-NOS1 Sound Devices while in Normal OS Mode (under the small speaker icon in the Taskbar Tray) but leave one unconnected digital device (like HD Audio) and make *that* the default one (rightclick - set as default).
Now while in MinOs Mode this should not happen anymore.

Regards,
Peter

[boleary]

Hey Pedal, glad to hear you like the USB3 MB connection cause that's the way I do it too. I've always been so satisfied with it that I've indefinitely "put off" trying the Silverstone.

[pedal]

Yea, Boleary, I don't know why, but the Silverstone didn't succeed in my set up.

But who cares? The present SQ with 1.186 is phenomenal! I have been in all day playing a wide selection of music: Peter Gabriel, Johnny Cash, Bill Evans, Terje Rypdal, Pink Floyd, Gli Scapoli and several others. And most of them full albums till the very last song. Never had this kind of realism before. I am so happy!

[arvind]

Hi Peter,

It had been a long time since I attempted isolation of the Silverstone USB card & now with the addition of RAM OS disk, I thought I should reattempt it.

Just needed to confirm that switch #3 at NOS 1a to be put "up" means the "on" position...right?

Best regards,

Arvind