The Lush

[BertD]

This afternoon I've reconnected the Clarixa again and damn, what a nasty experience. Everything was getting cold and thin with the feeling as if all was more dynamic and tight....

Fake dynamics if you ask me because I could not stand the added pressure feeling on my ears for much longer and eager to turn the volume down after a few minutes..

Back to the Lush again and all is just clean, dynamic and powerful without a trace of harsness... very enjoyable again!

Edit: Do not look at my signature settings... needs changes for some time already!

[manisandher]

 

Hey Bert, I decided to try my BD30-SPR amps with the Anima horns, and...



Mani.

[BertD]

What can I say... 

Next step the Lush... you'll like it and brings back some goodies from the tube amp. 

[KnB]

Hi Peter,
150cm  thank you!

[PeterSt]

Peter, what really pushed you to create the Lush? Do you see it as a way to solve some lack of the Bass upgrade impossible to solve otherwise? If this is so, should it be understood as part of the Bass upgrade?

Hi Juan,

Actually the Lush is nothing more or less then the next step at the hardware level after all the B'ASS/G3 upgrade has been accomplished and is in production. So notice that only such a stage allows me to proceed with anything next. And for me, USB is the obvious thing to grab at the horns at this moment.

Maybe in the original post it wasn't make clear all that much (I wrote the post as a whole two times before I thought it was honest all over ) but it was my explicit attempt to make a USB cable for audio specs (but notice that it would be my own specs as such) instead of Clairixa which is a USB cable make to USB specs (as good as I could). And both are completely different.

In the end it was nothing else as an attempt to again improve on the USB cable, knowing that the could not be "it" for audio. But mind you please, back at the time (over two years ago I think) I couldn't do anything else than create the cable to USB specs, which appeared might difficult already. The step I could take now is based upon more experience, mostly with the isolation and its behavior and sound. Thus there too, we already learned that isolation and isolation are two completely different things, were it for audio sound. From there I worked on the cable.
... And in my view it is beyond belief what it can achieve (laying many various albums by now) ...

Best regards,
Peter

[PeterSt]

What you see here is something I totally forgot to tell.
[...]
No matter how confusing it might be, try to keep in mind that the Lush cable itself has been explicitly made to deal with the 5V USB, which also is how NOS1a/G3 owners will use it. And I said explicitly (as in : don't use that and the cable will be out of "balance"). However, this does not mean that the NOS1a/G3 is at its best when that - behind the (Ph)isolator is fed with 5V, in this case.
Of course you can try it with the 5V, because nothing breaks. But if all is right, the sound will become very "tight" because of it, which is sort of the opposite of musical.

Because I see that the post I quote this from can be confusing, I like to summarize again what this was about :

a. The Lush must be used with 5V just live or otherwise it does not perform as intended;
b. For the combination with the NOS1a/G3 which has a USB Isolator inside (the Phisolator) the small USB cable which loops through from the Phisolator output to the USB input of the G3, best be cut for the 5V, because the NOS1a/G3 does not like the 5V the best in this situation (for the normal NOS1a it probably does not matter a thing).

So the confusing part of it, is that it is the Lush cable and the cable alone which likes the 5V to be live.
Let's keep in mind that this USB power also influences the impedance in certain ways, and that we can only make one impedance for the cable. This now *has* to be including the power, just because we must assume that most devices require the 5V over USB, which as a matter of fact now is the NOS1a/G3 also (NOS1a does not need the 5V). And this in itself is because otherwise the Phisolator is not powered and then it does not work.

On a side note, I "know" (between quotes) that for the Clairixa cutting the 5V also does not work for the better for the same reason : it is made to best match the USB Impedance and this implies usage of the power as well - so nothing different !

The only thing to take into account - and this is for G3 owners only - is that the small piece of USB cable which goes out and into the left leg, better not carry USB power. And I only say this because I think it sounds worse with power (and quite noticable).

To make the confusion complete :
You might also try the "Short Clairixa for the Intona" instead of the small piece of (stock) USB cable; you will see that that too does not sound well.

I hope it is clear better now !
Peter

[Gerard]

Ok

1 question. What. Does not sound well The little.stock.or the little Clarixa?

[PeterSt]

[...]

I'm in a position where I simply don't need a 'lusher' sound than I'm already getting (assuming I understood your initial description). I'm not using either of the Phisolators in my respective NOS1s (preferring instead to use Intonas) and I'm concerned that the Lush will take the sound in a direction I don't like. The Phisolator hasn't worked out for me, and I'm concerned that the Lush might not either.

Any advice on what I should do?

Hi Mani,

The more serious reply (relative to my other response to the post I just quoted from) is that if you don't "need" the Lush, IMO/IME first something else is "wrong".
So yes, you probably were right initially, but you may not be when other issues are solved first (of course by now I/we have some off line information IOW, easy for me to say now, but still ...).

In an attempt to summarize this :
Suppose we filter out highs by analogue means, possibly because we want to make the sound more lush, then any improvement on a digital connection making the sound more lush, now won't go along with each other much, up to not doing anything really. Well, that is what I expect. Or, compare with a deadening preamplifier; now any "better" USB cable may not show itself. Point of course is : we must take for a base the very best situation - then (try to) see that a best digital could be too much of digital (which you only know when you go back - also see Bert's last post in this topic) - and lastly improve on that digital itself.
Suppose we put this the other way around : we are not going to solve a poor digital path by putting filters in our speakers, right ? Well, maybe some do, but it is not the way to solve matters (and matters really won't be solved).

As I said, all easy to say in aftermath, but we got where you landed for a reason of course.

Best regards,
Peter

[PeterSt]

Ok

1 question. What. Does not sound well The little.stock.or the little Clarixa?

Gerard,

The little Clairixa in this very position. Just try it for yourself ...
(and tell when you don't agree please !)

Peter

[juanpmar]

Peter, what really pushed you to create the Lush? Do you see it as a way to solve some lack of the Bass upgrade impossible to solve otherwise? If this is so, should it be understood as part of the Bass upgrade?

Hi Juan,

Actually the Lush is nothing more or less then the next step at the hardware level after all the B'ASS/G3 upgrade has been accomplished and is in production. So notice that only such a stage allows me to proceed with anything next. And for me, USB is the obvious thing to grab at the horns at this moment.

Maybe in the original post it wasn't make clear all that much (I wrote the post as a whole two times before I thought it was honest all over ) but it was my explicit attempt to make a USB cable for audio specs (but notice that it would be my own specs as such) instead of Clairixa which is a USB cable make to USB specs (as good as I could). And both are completely different.

In the end it was nothing else as an attempt to again improve on the USB cable, knowing that the could not be "it" for audio. But mind you please, back at the time (over two years ago I think) I couldn't do anything else than create the cable to USB specs, which appeared might difficult already. The step I could take now is based upon more experience, mostly with the isolation and its behavior and sound. Thus there too, we already learned that isolation and isolation are two completely different things, were it for audio sound. From there I worked on the cable.
... And in my view it is beyond belief what it can achieve (laying many various albums by now) ...

Best regards,
Peter

Peter thanks, I understand perfectly your explanation, all but "Thus there too, we already learned that isolation and isolation are two completely different things" 

The evolutionary process of the NOS1a, with the Bass upgrade followed by the Lush, now appears as a logical sequence.

The only doubt I have is that you have created the Lush based on your system, including the two components that connects the USB cable, your Stealth LPS PC and the NOS1A (with the Phisolator and the Bass upgrade). What will be the behavior of the Lush with another Audio Pc? I guess the only way to find out is to try it.
I keep my 1m order 

Regards,
Juan

[acg]

Today I have played around with various arrangements of USB devices.

In all cases I used the Lush 1.5m USB from my Stealth PC.  These were the iterations I tried:

• 1. Lush >> Phisolator >> Short generic USB with 5V blocked >> G3
• 2. Lush >> G3
• 3. Lush >> Intona >> Short Clarixa >> G3
• 4. Lush >> Intona >> Short Clarixa >> Phisolator >> Short generic USB with 5V blocked >> G3
• 5. Lush >> Intona >> G3

I had absolutely no issues changing the Intona in and out of the system even in series with the Phisolator.

Best is #1.  Clearly.  Gives that growl in the female vocals that all men love.

Adding the Intona seemed to take the entire presentation up in pitch sometimes adding a slight shrillness whether or not the Phisolator was in series with it or not. 

So, I am selling my Intona, and probably my Clarixa's as well, and staying with the current de facto Phasure setup:  Lush >> Phisolator >> Short USB with 5V blocked >> G3.

Happy days!

[juanpmar]

Hi Anthony, great test! I guess the short generic USB was anyone you found around because the origininal one from Peter wasn't short. If so, it seems to me that the choice of that standard short cable depends on luck since all the cables in the chain have importance. Have you tried more than one generic short USB cable?

Juan

[PeterSt]

Hi Juan,

From this post :

Re: B'ASS First Review HERE AT LAST!!!

the picture is I added here again :

That short cable is part of the Phisolator Upgrade (or in general : the G3 upgrade).
Is is not a random cable as such, because it is the same cable as the good old $1 stock cable. And in case we forgot : this is this cable which I was lucky to buy for the very first NOS1/USB and which worked out so well, and when we ran out of it, the supplier ran out of it too. It took me two months to find it back again on some part of the globe.
This one is now shortened and provided with a new A connector.

So now you can see which short USB cable Anthony could replace which his short Clairixa and that this indeed does not work out for SQ. Also, what I have expressed more often, if the same Clairixa is used to provide the internal pieces of USB wiring, it again does not sound well.

Kind regards,
Peter

[PeterSt]

Best is #1.  Clearly.  Gives that growl in the female vocals that all men love.

Anthony, man, what a great share this is.
And yes, good description of what the Intona does to the sound. But let's keep in mind, only for 14393.0 that works out so (to be "over"). 10586.0 is fine with it.

Personally I would always stick to such devices and cables. This is for the reason of things being able to drastically change for all the reasons you may run into in the future (which we can not predict).

Regards and super thanks,
Peter

[juanpmar]

Ah ok Peter, I did not realize you were using the old USB cable as the short. Thus everything is under control. I remember writing some post about the qualities of the original USB when people were looking for usb cables out there, even ultra expensive. If possible I would also like to have 1m of this original cable. I already asked for a spare once, but when I moved to a new house I lost it again

Regards
Juan