HiFi heaven

Posted by: phil. S on 17 February 2017

Its not often I stick my head above the parapit for fear of being shot down but I have to share this story. I started on the Naim ladder with a 112 150 setup and built on that over the years to the heady heights of CDS3, XPS2, 252, SCap2, 250.2 so, I think I am aware of what a good system can sound like. Over the past few years, like many others for one reason or another, I have downsized my equipment before settling on a fabulous SNait2.

I stream from a Synology NAS which is in my office about 30 metres from the router and switch. This fed into a SB Touch and then into the SNait.

First I decided to experiment with the USB output upgrade for the Touch so, I purchased a Chord Mojo dac to insert between the Touch and SNait. A truly amazing upgrade in comparison to the cost involved.

The sound was excellent and I was more than happy. However, from the sale of my older equipment I still had an XPS2 sitting around doing nothing so, back in October I swopped it for a new HCDR to power the pre-amp of the SNait. The sound improved quite dramatically in the usual way that adding a HCap does - clearer, more dynamic, tighter bass etc. By Xmas it had run in nicely and was sounding superb.

Towards the end of January I read a review on the Jitterbug and for the reasonably low cost involved I decided to order one. I plugged it into the Touch's USB output and plugged the Mojo into the Jitterbug. Wow, I was just not expecting such a massive improvement. It has transformed the sound dramatically. I am not a musician and don't really have the capability of writing/describing how the sound has improved but I'll try. Not one veil has been removed, 10 veils have been removed. I have never ever (even with the old setup) heard such clarity in vocals and instruments. Not hifi ish at all, loads of PRAT and foot tapping music, it sounds superb, its lost any digital harshness and to me sounds very analogue.

Certainly the best sound I have ever heard in one of my setups. There is a delicacy to the sound, you can hear exactly how hard the upright bass is being plucked, vocals I had trouble understanding are now crystal clear, different tones and emphasis in the vocal have become apparant.

I could go on but I won't. All I can say is I have never enjoyed streamed music as much....I'm in hifi heaven.

Posted on: 17 February 2017 by Innocent Bystander

I don't know the Touch at all, however RF noise from the soirce can have a negative effect on DACs, and the Mojo is susceptible. It is very possible that the Touch's USB output is riddled with RF noise, as is normal for computers -after all, internally that is effectively what it is. I had a similar experience feeding Hugo from a computer source, when what I described as a veil lifted when I inserted an isolator.

Although I have yet to try, even the exalted Dave DAC, with extremely good levels of RF rejection, apparently can reveal an improvement with Jitterbug due to the even greater degree of removal -in fact IIRC two are even better than one!  -though I think the difference in the case of Dave is so small that it is only detectable on really careful critical listening for differences, and maybe not when listening to the music itself.

Posted on: 17 February 2017 by antony d
phil. S posted:

I could go on but I won't. All I can say is I have never enjoyed streamed music as much....I'm in hifi heaven.

Phil

i think you last sentance says at all, and that is all you need to aim for...........ENJOY THE MUSIC