Hi Folks,

I wanted to start a thread where we can share tips and tweaks for getting the best sound out of our Sooloos equipment. I have an MC200 and use the digital output to a DAC. So far have found a few things that seem to make a difference in terms of the sound:

1. Placement of the Sooloos. When I moved the Sooloos off of the shelf above my amp to the hardwood floor beside my audio stand I got an improvement in sound - better dynamics and articulation. I think proximity to high powered amps is a real issue, as the manual does state!

2. Power source. I have all my audio equipment (DAC, pre amp and amp) plugged into a Nordost QB8 power bar. In doing so, and following Nordost's instructions on the order of sockets in the powerbar in which to plug these units to take advantage of the star earth grounding system, I got an improvement in sound over plugging the units into the wall or into my power conditioner. However, when I plugged my Sooloos into the powerbar the sound through the Sooloos was kind of muted and noticably lacking in high frequency extension. When I plugged the Sooloos into the wall instead, the sound was much improved. Strange!

3. Digital cables. I've started a discussion on digital cables in another thread as I'd like to get other's opinions on cables that pair well with the Sooloos. Suffice to say ( and I know some find this controversial and even "hogwash"), my experience has been that digital cables influence the sound I get out of the Sooloos. I was hoping that digital cables would be more immune to this phenomenon than analogue cables, but his has not been my experience. So far I have been unable to find a digital cable that pairs with the Sooloos to create the same sound I get from CD with my Simaudio 650D transport/DAC, which is frustrating because both are using the same DAC!

4. File type. I find I get the best sound out of wave files. I'd love for the FLAC files ripped from CD using Contol PC to sound as good as wave files to save space on the hard drive but alas, although it is close, they are not quite as good. I still use FLAC for most of my music on the Sooloos but i use wave for my best sounding audiophile albums. AIFF files sound significantly worse than wave and FLAC on my system - who knows why but they sound so thick and muted that I can't listen to them! I won't get into ripping software but I think I've heard differences there too - I use Exact Audio Copy (EAC) for wave files. I understand Sooloos also uses EAC as its native ripping software for FLAC.

Looking forward to hearing tweaks from others and helping each other get the most out of our Sooloos equipment!

Last edited by Kerry; 2012-06-09 09:51.
Roon, MS600, Simaudio 780D, Simaudio P-8/W-8 and Revel Studio 2s