... and the best ever.
Wow, have I been breeding long on this one ...
It was April 2015 when I started testing the Poweramps for the NOS2, that I saw forthcoming something for the NOS1(a). Purely by accident and just because something wasn't working well for those poweramps.
The poweramps went through a reincarnation hence a 2nd version and from there on I got even more convinced I could do more with them; much more.
Envision a project of listening to uncountable variations of different operational amplifiers in sequence (in a chain), where also the amount of them wildly influences. That is, when it is used as a kind of pre-amplifier. No, wait ... Post Buffer.
This is what I wrote back in May, 2015 :
Maybe it is hard to follow, but this is thus the exact other side of the "chain" to test as this is no load at all. However, there's infinite current available were it for headroom. In this built (config) case this is 750mA while normally we use 80mA for our NOS1(a) (and then usually into 50-100K).
So what I found, unexpectedly, is that this matters a LOT. It is a bit of the same thing as people calling you names when you come up with a 6GB bandwidth long distance video solution and name it Blaxius, which also matters a lot. Do the math with capacitance and all (and the 80mA) and you'll come up with 20m+ of cable length. But make an even less capacitance cable and it helps vastly. What I did here was increase the current possibiliy and again it helps vastly.
And this is what I now made formal and name it
B'ASS
I forgot a bit because of too many things happening lately, but it will have been since last October that I have my solution in there permanently, without ever wanting to take it out. And up till today I am thinking that it got better *again*. So I suspect quite some burn-in time although it is always difficult to pin-point.
So I told about all these combination possibilities, right ?
Well, now *that* bugged me ! I even found out what element in the NOS1(a) is causing the burn-in of it needed. If was an exact same thingy I put on the B'ASS board and that caused an unjudgable situation were it for Sound Quality. But how could I know ...
Ok, I'll tell you :
You don't want to know how much I desired this to be an outboard thing. I am not even sure why, but I guess I felt it was possible. Thus, for one time NOT evertybody sending out his precious NOS1 or NOS1a. Man, do those DAC's have a mileage on them by now !
Envision me testing all these situations with one purpose only (and I am super serious) : have more bad ass bass while no drop of accuracy is lost.
But wow, that is a difficult task, I can tell you !
The two types of PCB's I obtained, both served all the "chips" in the world needed (this is about pin layouts). This is about a required operational amplifier (OpAmp) and they tend to make "sound". But as known, I don't like sound. You don't either. Neutral is key ...
None if it would sound like I wanted it to (which is "not sound") until ...
Until at some stage I thought to recognize something of burn in. It was the same situation as in the NOS1(a) already (for that chip) and to my strict ideas it shouldn't make a difference for sound. But it did. However, as it was the best performing setup so far, I let it in for over a week and started to hear improvement. And only then I thought : okayy, so why not take out my own burned in part (from my NOS1a) and move it to in there. And then listen again.
Tadaaaa ...
By this, the most stange situation happened and this is about my NOS1a now being criple as one of its required parts was in the B'ASS (temporary) box. I didn't care much, but it suddenly made me see the light ...
With these things, all is about feedback and no feedback. So feedback technically is good but may not be good sound wise, while no feedback is technically bad but something is out of the signal path so it should be better, "audio" wise.
This is why the PCBs are able to do both. That is, one of them could - the first version.
I'm afraid it is impossible to understand, but exactly this "feature" of the board made it possible to see that light ...
I could create the exact same situation by putting back that chip in my NOS1a and nothing in the B'ASS box for that matter. So all the B'ASS contains and does is having a few chips which add current with no feedback whatsoever. And while they measure as good (about the technical thing) they sound superb (with the feedback - officially required - it was so-so).
So here you see a picture of how the THD measures (this is Single Ended hence RCA output) and I can tell you that totally nothing is added for distortion. We would see the same without
B'ASS.
But there is a difference with :
The bass.
Yeah, who would have guessed that eh ?
Actualy it is uncanny;
With the careful selection of the amount of current to push through (believe me, that took months all together, including the other permutations) I now have a bass over here I previously only perceived at concerts. But actually it is not the bass as such;
As usual it is hard to explain. But let's say that it is about slam to begin with. How everything receives a layer under it, pushing upwards that everything. How this really is the finishing touch to let people sing with their own unique voice. How you see them taking a breath for the next phrase to sing.
So what has this to do with bass ?
Apart from the slam maybe not so much. But it is about power. Power in everything. How the cymbals start to sound infinitely long. Ehm, how current usually does that ...
It makes a guitar string a guitar string. Like you can see that you can pull the string up and let it go. How the zzzingg now is a real guitar string.
Actually it is about all but the bass. But ...
But bass is made of so much more overtones ... and it is them doing the job.
So ... On to the most crucially occurring matter ...
It is about how
electric basses now so much shine.
Err, WHAT ?!?
Yes.
THis is so "bad" that from now on you will recognize the wood the bass guitar is made of. And might you not know - oh yes, this is what bass guitars are chosen for by their players. For how they sound. We may think this is the amplification which let sound a bass guitar how it does, but this is really not so. And now you can hear it.
This is so much so that you now can see how the bass player is holding his instrument. How he stands.
This is so much so that you are going to pick any next album on more of that. I'll give a super simple example, encouraging for your "what ?!?" once again : The Police.
Easy to think "The Police so what ?". Well, try it. Your familiar album will sound like totally new. So much is this a new dimension now ...
It
is not so that there's a slamming bass now everywhere, no matter I used the noun "slam"; it
is not so that it is all over deep low sound everywhere; nothing of that kind. It is so that those basses now have a most profound colour and therefore play the lead rythm. The walking bass lines so often played are now suddenly there while previously they (were there all right but) went unnoticed. Some times this is so full with emphasis that it looks like I'm taking the bass out of the music and amplify it separately. Btw something I suggested to do in the very early days of XXHighEnd. Just because the bass guys on stage do so too (their own amplification) which is actually mean because we can't.
Because the application implies electrically more speed, there's also the most clear purity now springing from instruments and voices, which otherwise wasn't even known. That guitar string again as the example, but which somehow implies a "focusing depth". Very difficult to find the words for it; it is how a voice is talking to you from the far end in the room, you also not having problems with it actually springing from one source point. This is the same and I guess it is about reality. But anyway, it creates depth and makes the room full with sound, without being fuzzy at all (the opposite).
I am sure this will be your greatest NOS1 upgrade so far. It will also be relative cheap because you won't need to send off your NOS1(a) indeed. We also don't need to send it back to you. All what will happen is that we will send you this nice poplar-wooden (which is very soft and white) box with B'ASS capabilities.
The sort of downside is that we can choose of 3 flavors :
1. With RCA only;
2. With XLR and RCA;
3. With BNC only.
#1 and #3 are cheaper because it requires half of the "amplification".
#2 is required when you use XLR (Balanced).
#3 is required when you use the Blaxius interlink.
... which latter also formally requires small pieces of Blaxius, which makes #3 more expensive than #1.
And of course, try to envision that what goes out, goes in the very same. Thus for example : Have RCA+XLR out, means that you also have RCA+XLR In.
Prices (ex VAT and shipping)Edit, April 2, 2016 : Added the option of BNC Differential.
All in wooden box of 23(W) x 36(D) x 7(H) cm (9.2 x 14.4 x 2.8 inch) with 120/240 switchable linear power supply and On/Off switch. No switches in the signal path anywhere.
1.
With RCA-in and RCA-Out. Single Ended Stereo B'ASS. Output Impedance 33 Ohms.
Including Headphone output jack. Output Impedance 2.9 Ohms.
610 euros.
2.
With RCA-In + XLR-In and RCA-Out + XLR-Out. Balanced Stereo B'ASS. Output Impedance 33 Ohms.
Including Headphone output stereo jack (Single Ended). Output Impedance 2.9 Ohms.
790 euros.
3.
With BNC-In and BNC-Out. Single Ended Stereo B'ASS. Output Impedance 75 Ohms.
Including a pair of Blaxius BNC Interlinks of ~ 50cm / 20".
Including Headphone output jack. Output Impedance 2.9 Ohms.
740 euros.
4.
With 2x BNC-In and 2x BNC-Out. Balanced Stereo B'ASS. Output Impedance 2x 75 Ohms.
Including Headphone output stereo jack (Single Ended). Output Impedance 2.9 Ohms.
920 euros.
With all this, you will have a totally differently sounding NOS1(a) (or other DAC), while you can always choose to (not) use it.
Hope you weren't fooled too much !
Peter