your setup continues to intrigue me, though I'd look for a less "all in" device than yours since I literally would just want it to play files.
Nothing of that streamer says that it provides better sound quality without its own DAc. I already have a DAC I love. Don’t care for another one. sorry frustrated with this stuff. Not about you man. Lol
I use mine with an external DAC but the internal DAC is very good. It is very nice as a Roon endpoint.
What exactly is the HQ Player and how is it implemented? I know you used RPi 4 when you used an RPi, mainly for the I2S output I'm guessing. I've had my eye on the Allo units as they prioritize cleaning up the signal via isolation and they offer a nice robust power supply. My current conundrum is that you rave about the Zen Streamer after using a RPi and it just makes me wonder if I should look at the Zen Stream -but you went I2S with a RPi4 and Allo still uses RPi3 and focuses on a clean coax out or USB, so there is no real comparison there. If the Zen Stream has a USB (or balanced) out and you can upgrade the power supply then it may indeed be the way to go (for me).
In people's experience, is USB the reason why streaming via computer doesn't yield the same sound quality as CDs do via coax, etc?
HQPlayer is a software upsampler and I use it to convert PCM to 4x DSD (DSD256). I feed it data from Roon, and it runs on its own, powerful PC. It's not simple nor cheap relatively speaking, but I enjoy it's impact on digital files and streaming. Zen Stream comes with the iPower SMPS and it measures extremely quiet for noise and is virtually jitter free. It's only a digital output, but they do employ some USB reclocking and "cleaning," and I believe it is effective as I no longer feel the need to use a DDC for either my Venus II or my May. I hope that helps! I'm on my phone in a car (not driving!) so not my ideal keyboard scenario
welcome! pontus ii is a good choice. i have been usinng mine a lot for about 4 months now with 0 issues. no clicks or micro skips and i feed a node2i and marantz cd player into it.
I've used it both ways. Currently have hardwired just because an ethernet cable is handy to its location.
@Tone? & @timind ... +1 on the Node. The Node 2i has been replaced by the Node. Officially, the new model hasn't been given a number but is widely known as the Node (Gen 3) or the Node (N130). Amongst the relatively minor changes are an updated DAC (Burr Brown PCM5242, replacing PCM5122) and Bluetooth is now 2-way. There are a couple of other changes. I have a Node 2i hooked up to a Pontus II (RCA coax to BNC coax) and, so far, no problems with either component.
Cool. Thanks ! I’ll wait till they do the software update so the USB out can be used as this is usually better sounding. thanks again ! Looks like a good solution
(@three_paws ) Agreed, I only bought mine 4 yrs ago because I didn't know nothing about streaming and stuff at the time. And because I found it easier to rip cd's straight into my device (instead of having to use a pc to do this) and I liked the fact that I could just rip/record my lp's as well straight onto it. But these days I would also get a much simpler device, requiring just a HD to host my files. Have a look at their N15D, this is less all in but you can slide a 2.5" HD or SSD into it! Much less expensive too at €500/$600 (give or take). At the moment though it appears to be unavailable anywhere...one thing that bothers me a bit about this company is that they seem to change models very often/frequently, which might be a consequence of digital development moving fast in a best case scenario, or a sign that they constantly change models trying to meet a certain kind of sales level in a worst case scenario. NOVATRON
Thanks for the information / company info. However, we will look for a DAC-le$$ unit - the Pontus II DAC via I2S does things so amazingly well for us that it makes no sense to pay for the built-in DAC that won't perform to the Pontus II's level. Wonder if any streamers use I2S for output.
Of course, my X40 has a built in dac which is also pretty basic/ pedestrian-sounding ( which is why I use the Ares2). Don't know if there are many streamers without built in dac though...
Just yesterday my Pontus II fed by Bluesound Node 2i started skipping as others have previously described. Tried coax, optical inputs with same result. Does not matter whether I'm streaming Qobuz, Radio Paradise or USB. Sent and email to Vinshine. Hope to resolve this situation as I love the sound the Pontus II produces.
You guys are all very tolerant of the Denafrip DAC glitches. I have the Denafrips Hestia & Hyperion which does have it's own glitches, luckily not sonically though. Before that I had Kinki EX-M1 Amplifier which I had to return due to all the intrinsic issues it had. It seems to me a number of these Chinese products while sounding good, did not go through the level of testing/debugging required before making their way to market.
It's very odd how it's affecting some and not others. It clearly is an issue - there are too many reporting it - and I'm completely with the "lets get it resolved asap" sentiment. Fortunately, it does seem Vinshine are genuine so fingers crossed. Somewhere in the chain(s), there must be a connection that explains why some and not all are being affected. All at the same time, I really want to know and really don't want to know. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe there is something in my setup chain (without realising) that explains why, so far, I'm skip free. If anything crosses my mind, I'll post so that others can look into it (including Vinshine!). One thought: any difference when connecting with balanced XLR / SE RCA cables? As an aside, I visited a friend this week and used the Node 2i > Pontus II directly into his Mytek Brooklyn Amp (not the current model) - the Node was effectively being used as pre, of sorts. Definitely no skipping - my friend isn't even aware this is an issue with some Denafrips models and he would definitely have noticed. Fingers crossed for all those affected!
I was recently told by Alvin that Denafrips is working on new firmware to optimize the FIFO buffer and reclocking.
Rockaddict, the situation is further complicated by the fact that not all source data triggers the error. Some CDs might evade detection If any of those so far untroubled are eventually exposed to the problem, it will indeed test their tolerance….
A bunch?? Like what? Besides the once in a while glitch/skip there are no qc issues as far as I know.
When streaming, tracks periodically and unpredictably sound insanely distorted. Echo, metallic sound, as if a connection were loose. Unlistenable. It sometimes fixes itself when the track ends. That makes me think data processing is off (rather than output issue), but that's just a guess. I've also had skipping and then moments when it dropped out and came back in, coupled with distortion.