The SugarCube Is Here At Last...Clicks & Pops R.I.P.

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by DigMyGroove, Nov 12, 2017.

  1. 926am

    926am Senior Member

    Location:
    rochester, ny
    I just sent Dan an email asking about the future of the sc1 as far as updates....
     
    keiron99, jon9091 and Anton888 like this.
  2. 926am

    926am Senior Member

    Location:
    rochester, ny
    Dan:
    Sure – they share a common operating system.
     
  3. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    I hate clicks and pops, but not to the point of spending that kind of money.
     
  4. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    But, can an SC1 be updated to an SC1+?
     
  5. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    Just return it. You have a 30 day return window with Music Direct.
     
  6. 926am

    926am Senior Member

    Location:
    rochester, ny
    I'm unclear of the difference between the sc1 and sc1+...
     
  7. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    I did not look through all 25 pages, but hey, this thing really looks nice, terribly expensive, but anything that can isolate clicks and pops as this device appears to do is just really nice indeed. I don't know if anyone has given this link to the YouTube demo, but it really does cut the mustard.
     
  8. jon9091

    jon9091 Master Of Reality

    Location:
    Midwest
    New power supply, new improved AD/DA and the ability to not only remove pops and clicks but also surface noise. Plus a USB/B that can go straight into Mac/PC and then into a DAW or Vinyl capturing program.
     
    926am likes this.
  9. Mintsauce

    Mintsauce Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Wales
    Would that mean that you could feed your own usb enabled DAC? Might also be useful for anyone who uses room correction software as it would avoid another AD conversion.
     
  10. keiron99

    keiron99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockport, UK
    I've also written to them asking for more info regarding ongoing support and software updates for the SC1. I will of course report back.

    The new range seems curious to me.

    I absolutely see the place for a unit that incorporates a phono stage. I would have bought that at the time.

    I also see the need for the SC2 for those who wish to digitise their vinyl.

    But the SC1 mini, on the face of it, doesn't seem to be enough of a departure from the SC1. Yes, it's cheaper, but it's still a lot of money. I was kind of expecting a simple black box with no buttons or display, where it's all controlled via the app. I can't see how it will encourage people who were holding off on the original SC1.

    As for the SC1+, I don't get the purpose of it. Apart from one or two connections (which may be more useful to some than I imagine), the claim is that it has higher grade components/sonics from what I can tell from the video. But given that most of us here seem to find the SC1 completely transparent anyway, how much better can it be?

    They are indeed a very entertaining and intriguing company!
     
    926am and r.Din like this.
  11. Anton888

    Anton888 Forum Resident

    When will they sell the new ones?
     
  12. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Outputting the digitized audio via USB to a PC would essentially grant the user the ability to record the declicked/denoised audio via a DAW. Instead of a STB design like the SC-2, it'd be the SC1+ and a PC to accomplish the same thing. Not as elegant but if one could save $1500 adding a PC into the equation for recording purposes instead of buying an SC-2, that's a lot of records one could buy. :)
     
    SamS and keiron99 like this.
  13. hammr7

    hammr7 Forum Resident

    This is the question I have been trying to ask. Most everyone here seems to think the Sugar Cube's A/D and D/A conversions are close to perfect. Other evaluations instead claim some conversion loss, but that the minimal losses are well worth the tremendously cleaned output for otherwise unplayable vinyl.

    The claims that ongoing archival applications imply everything is "perfect" are not quit true. Archivists are under pressure to archive NOW, in the most cost-effective way possible. They will go with the best / most automated method they can find, even if it is less than perfect. Either Sugar Cube provides a huge productivity increase with much less manual processing.

    So maybe SweetVinyl sees the need to further improve the conversion aspects so people like me end up with a no-brainer purchase decision. Same with a phono preamp. Now that PS Audio has stopped manufacturing their Nuwave Phono Converter, perhaps they see a way to extend their market niche.

    The problem is that Sweet Vinyl seems stretched very thin. It isn't comforting that they seem to be failing existing customers as they pursue their next generation of customers.

    I worked with a number of British high tech companies in the 1980's and 1990's that had similar business philosophies. They were among the best idea people I ever knew. But they were so busy chasing new ideas that support for existing customers deteriorated. Most of them went under by the mid-90's.
     
    r.Din likes this.
  14. Dane Argentini

    Dane Argentini Forum Resident

    Location:
    Texas
    SC-1 mini will be $1500
    SC-1 mini plus with added phono stage $2000
    SC-1 plus (no phono) with digital output and other upgrades $2500
    SC-2 will still be $3000
     
  15. Strat-Mangler

    Strat-Mangler Personal Survival Daily Record-Breaker

    Location:
    Toronto
    Assume this is accurate... ouch!
     
  16. 926am

    926am Senior Member

    Location:
    rochester, ny
    Does the sc1 mini have upgrades over the original sc1? Or just smaller?
     
  17. Matt Richardson

    Matt Richardson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Suburban Chicago
    I’m think I'm gonna wait until Pro-ject comes out with a $300.00 De-Click It box. Until then, I'll bear the ills always associated with vinyl.
     
    Litejazz53, Nephrodoc and The Pinhead like this.
  18. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    Great post, my thoughts exactly. This product is so new and they are going in so many directions, it seems a purchase now would ultimately be regretted. Many people I'm sure would like to opt for a unit that has the phono stage built in, the one box solution, which as I understand is still in the design stages. When I was reading the information on advancing the processing past 7-8 and having certain instruments chopped off, it reminded me of my old DBX days, specifically the 3BX-DS, certainly not the same as the cube, but I remember the warning about advancing either the dynamics control or the impact recovery controls past the safe point, which caused the unit to create a less than desirable "breathing" during quiet passages. This is just another opinion, but really, two or three thousand dollars for this product, come on! Personally, I can't afford to work with any company that has very limited distribution, so hopefully that will change in the future. I have never considered working with Music Direct, as they offer no discount or deals on anything, straight list price, and we all know where that gets us when it's time to sell, up the creek with no paddle and a hole in the boat! I was looking at the information on Music Direct, NO further discounts on these items, so typical, but why should they worry, people are willing to pay $3,000.00 for a vinyl pop filter, let the good times roll. If the company is not offering gold plated customer service on their first generation product, and it already seems these customers are being neglected, this is not a good sign. For two thousand dollars for their basic unit, my gosh, you should be able to set the gain on 10 without loosing instruments on electronic music. I say sit on a purchase of this magnitude until they get the product perfected, have more dealers, get their customer service act together, and get real on "reasonable" pricing, honestly, they are not a drug company, is this too harsh? :shrug:

     
    Last edited: Apr 18, 2019
    aroney and Anton888 like this.
  19. I bought mine from Music Direct with a discount.
     
  20. Litejazz53

    Litejazz53 Perfect Sound Through Crystal Clear Digital

    I should have defined what a discount is, I'm sorry, at least 30%.
     
  21. Mintsauce

    Mintsauce Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Wales
    Perhaps you should look at the Click Repair RT thread, as you like the concept, but not the pricing. Works pretty well too.
     
  22. keiron99

    keiron99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Stockport, UK
    I wrote to Dan at Sweet Vinyl asking for more information on the noise reduction software and whether it could be installed on the original SC1. Here is his response:

    The SVNR – or SweetVinyl Surface Noise Reduction software applies a psycho-acoustic model remove sampled surface noise when the noise has a high SNR ratio. It is somewhat destructive as it has to remove broadband noise from music and so needs to be used wisely.

    It will remove up to 9db of noise during quiet passages without doing much harm – it is very useful for 78s, tape hiss and in particular classical music.

    It will need to be a hardware upgrade to the SC-1 (not available on the SC-Mini line) and will be available for you from Henley in the UK by shipping the unit to them. We expect it to cost about $500 in an upgrade.
     
  23. Mintsauce

    Mintsauce Forum Resident

    Location:
    North Wales
    Thanks for that. It doesn’t sound particularly appealing to me though if it’s destructive, but I don’t think I’m the target audience anyway.
     
    FrankieP likes this.
  24. Ok, then they could just raise the MSRP by 30%. The discount 'game' is just that.
     
  25. hammr7

    hammr7 Forum Resident

    New products usually have a high initial price. I remember the original consumer audio CD players (not burners) back in the 1980's had prices over $1,000. If sales volumes stay low, we may never see Sugar Cube retail prices dropping below the $800 - $1,000 range. Of course, if SweetVinyl ignores their initial customers, that will ultimately undermine the resale price of those units. Ironically, low resale prices on the original SC-1 units could force new product prices lower.
     

Share This Page

molar-endocrine