Clairixa USB

[PeterSt]

I assume that you are still using the isolated Silverstone card.  Is this correct?

Anthony, Correct.

After your 5 day "trial period" I would be most interested if you would perform a few experiments with the Silverstone and try it:

Yes, I can imagine that this is interesting. But say I'm still catching breath from the current exercise and that I am not ready for a next one already. Maybe next year.

Regards,
Peter

[christoffe]

Hi Peter,

  Since NOS 1a does not require the USB 5V power, would it be possible to have the Clairixa be without the power leg? Will this further improve on the SQ?

Daniel

Hi Peter,

a reply to Daniels questions would be interesting for me too.

Joachim

[PeterSt]

Since NOS 1a does not require the USB 5V power, would it be possible to have the Clairixa be without the power leg? Will this further improve on the SQ?

Whoops, never saw this post ! (thank you Joachim)
Sorry !

This must be considered not possible (well, what is impossible);
The NOS1(a) officially uses the 5V for ESD protection and besides it is a general appliance (meaning : not dedicated for the NOS1(a) at all). But what I'm more afraid of is that while finding this good means of normal USB cable is already a pain, making that an uncommon application will be undoable.

What I can do though is when I am ready with this, make a next one with the power wires not connected at both ends and use that if nothing happened, and then watch for differences I may notice unconsciously.

...

Peter

[PeterSt]

I assume that you are still using the isolated Silverstone card.  Is this correct?

Anthony, Correct.

After your 5 day "trial period" I would be most interested if you would perform a few experiments with the Silverstone and try it:

Yes, I can imagine that this is interesting. But say I'm still catching breath from the current exercise and that I am not ready for a next one already. Maybe next year.

Regards,
Peter

I could have answered this similarly as I just did with the power connections, so before someone comes up with that :

No, not really. This is because I'd need to switch on the in the BIOS the Legacy USB2 plus the USB3 support and *that* I don't like, because I would be making two changes at the same time (different USB port and as less lean BIOS). And I think I am not the only one who does not like to change things once he is happy (which I still am after day 5 ).

Peter

[PeterSt]

So about day 5 :

This has actually been the first day of listening almost exclusively to my ambient sh*t. But I did that for a quite explicit reason : improve again by now filling up those perceived (nice) holes I talked about earlier. So, sound had become more metal and this is all good (no complaint anywhere) and I thought that refining that by means of adding ~1.5dB of high output would add more space/air (I can do this easily with the speaker - the Fletcher Munson curves).

And so it did;

Playing quite random material, that normally not requiering the higher highs output, or better : that normally resulting in too much of hissing or "white", now just added that spaciousness. But so much so that all sounded new again. Quite unrecognizable. And already looking forward to tonight's listening session for more of that.

The last 45 minutes or so I went back to more normal music to see whether that still worked out, and for what I played during that short while, it did.

This may be not of much interest for most of you, but what it clear prooves to me (and what was my intention to proove) is that there must be a really clear difference and I am not fooling myself. So before I wouldn't last long with the extra highs because I'd always run soon into a track/album that can't bear it. That now did not happen for several hours.

That meanwhile the highs got louder *again* in good fashion is something else. And so I am wondering how crazy it now is to listen to such super fresh and still very OK music which in this realm is in such a different league from say a year ago that people who hear it for the first time at my place may say that all must be super out of balance.
But still I don't think it is.

More of it tonight although I already have decided ...
Peter

[sondale]

Peter,

(My first post)

I am currently using an iFi iDSD Micro dac along with an iFi iUSB Power unit; for this combo I would like 2 Clairixa USB cables, both 1 metre, one USB A to B and the other USB A to an OTG Female. Is this OK/possible.

At the moment I am fiddling about with the Silverstone USB connector versus MOBO, not tried the isolated version yet.

I will update my profile - soon.

[PeterSt]

Hi there sondale, welcome !

For your first post ... it is not an easy one for me. So I found this a.o. :
http://twiki.org/cgi-bin/view/Wikilearn/IRulu_OTGvsStandardUSBCables
and got a bit dizzy.

Besides this, at least two sizes of OTG connectors exist (mini and micro).

So I must honestly say that I don't feel very confident at this moment.
Thus hmm ...

Regards,
Peter

[sondale]

Peter,

My first post was misleading/incorrect! The iFi iUSB has two male usb output sockets, both type A, so the lead would need to be Female type A to Male type A. I was confused by the otg socket on the side (that is my excuse).

So it would be very much like an extension cable.

(Thanks for the note re Fan controller)

Alan

[PeterSt]

OK, Alan. So :
1x normal A to normal B;
1x Normal A to Female A (hence normal extension cable).
And both 1m.

Correct ?
Thanks,
Peter

[sondale]

Peter,

That is correct.

Alan

[acg]

I assume that you are still using the isolated Silverstone card.  Is this correct?

Anthony, Correct.

After your 5 day "trial period" I would be most interested if you would perform a few experiments with the Silverstone and try it:

Yes, I can imagine that this is interesting. But say I'm still catching breath from the current exercise and that I am not ready for a next one already. Maybe next year.

Regards,
Peter

I could have answered this similarly as I just did with the power connections, so before someone comes up with that :

No, not really. This is because I'd need to switch on the in the BIOS the Legacy USB2 plus the USB3 support and *that* I don't like, because I would be making two changes at the same time (different USB port and as less lean BIOS). And I think I am not the only one who does not like to change things once he is happy (which I still am after day 5 ).

Peter

If you have to alter the bios to change the USB port, then that is what you have to do and I would be quite happy to call that "one" change because the bios change is necessary for the hardware change and there is no way you can do it without.

I understand your reluctance to do it Peter, but at far as I know the Silverstone card is out of production and not everybody that has one right now will be isolating it from the chassis.  If the Phasure mantra is something along the lines of "advancement through a cooperative effort" and not the entire co-op has the Silverstone or is able to get the Silverstone, then in some ways it sort of makes that USB card redundant.  I makes the argument out "two changes not one" largely irrelevant in my view.

Anyway, just thinking out loud.

Cheers,

Anthony

[sondale]

If the Silverstone USB card is the SST-EC04-P then it is still available from:-

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/silverstone-ec04-p-pci-express-card-with-4x-usb-30-ports

I bought one just a couple of weeks ago.

[Scroobius]

There will be no problems with bending really. But think 10cm (4") diameter of a circle to be on the safe side.

No problem but I may go for longer anyway just to give some flexibility in terms of equipment placing but will let you know before I order.

Cheers
Paul

[Tore]

Peter,

i`m curious. Do you still like the Clairixa?

Tore

[PeterSt]

Tore, you bet I do !
But I couldn't find the time to again put up some crazy post about it. Anyway, today (wanted to be very sure first) ordered some more parts for at least the first 10 and this should be here upcoming Tuesday or Wednesday and then ...
then I'll have to see what happens, because that is exactly when we (most probably) are not there for a few days.

You could say "bad planning" but I rather be confident and a bit later than the other way around.

Regards,
Peter