Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Thread Like Summary - Cleaning the bits

Dear all,

Right now I have: Netgear > Muon > MS600 > 5200SE.
I'm thinking of a reasonably economical SQ upgrade. Which might make better sense: a good network switch, or stay with Netgear but follow it with a reclocker with a good linear PSU?
Please share recommendations and experience, (DIY kits included), or pointer if this has been discussed at length before.

springlike

Hi,

The packetized data being transported across the network does not need cleaning, if there was a issue you would be hearing significant dropouts and/or clicking from your speakers not a change in SQ.

Arguably the quality of the SPDIF stream from the MS600 could be improved, for this I'd recommend replacing it with an 818.3 if funds allow.

That said investing in acoustic treatments for your listening room, is where I'd put my money first.

Regards,
Carl

FWIW, the SOtM sMS-200 also employs Diretta.

If you have not tried any of this in your system, maybe you should before commenting. You can try it and if not convinced it can be returned so you have nothing to lose except a bit of your time.

We are not learning anything. Audio types are making stuff up without any evidence and saying it is true.

Noise in and out of any device is easily measurable, yet not a single company or audiophile can show a reduction whist using an “audiophile”😂 device.

It's super easy to dismiss these videos and cry "snakeoil". "Bob S designed expensive speakers so nothing can be improved", etc etc.

My experience with Shunyata was much the same as in this video. I tried it on the mains feed just before my Ruby DSP8k (dedicated spur) and also on a dedicated ring main in the same room.

I did the cable changes and there was no slight-of-hand tricks anywhere. The reduction in noise was just as significant.

I did an extended home trial over 3 to 4 months swapping back and forth.

Each time the change was audible and repeatable. I concluded it was an improvement and not just "different"

I had the means and motivation to make these items a part of my setup and they remain so today.

I am sure they will, but that’s not what I am asking for, and that’s not what Audio Science Review are asking for.

The request is for a properly conducted double blind listening test and some null testing. ASR have conducted null testing on two power cables and I’ve posted the results here.

If we can get Audio Therapy to fund an independent double blind listening test then that will tell us rather more than one person making subjective remarks.

Chicken.

Seriously? This is a forum for adult audio lovers and you want to resort to that?

While I agree that speaker placement and interaction with the room are most important, I take issue with the bits-are-bits nay-saying concerning interconnects and filters. No, you don't need to "clean" the bits themselves, but you do need to prevent anomalies like RF/EMI from impacting your DAC if you want to hear more of the fine detail in recorded music. I've enjoyed wonderful M systems over the years without realizing what properly set up gear can actually deliver when the various types of digital noise are eliminated.

And there are very inexpensive ways to do this. Instead of upgrading my 218 to 818v3, I thought to try a $50 Raspberry Pi along with a decent power supply, loaded it with a quiet operating system (Audiolinux in my case - $199 for a multi-device perpetual license) and enabled the Diretta network protocol ($100, also perpetual) to leapfrog what I previously considered to be excellent.

I know that this is blasphemy for the majority of audiophiles because I've been lambasted left, right and center on certain forums filled with self-satisfied experts who already know everything. -But, having heard what my DSP9s are capable of when given everything captured by the recording engineers, I can't go back and am sometimes compelled to answer a question like this. If I'm not dismissed as delusional, and people here want more information, I can share what years of experimentation have taught me.