Not so hifi dongle DAC

 Many music enthusiast will know what is a DAC (Digital Analogue Converter). This is a device to covert digital signal into analogue so that it can be heard by our ears. Human ears cannot understand digital signal so anything we hear is analogue wave form. Lets not get into technical detail on it but generally most of the devices we use today has DAC in it. Can be a laptop, a smart phone, TV, BluRay player, media player, etc. As all our devices have DAC inside and why do we need another one ? Various reason, some DAC cannot decode certain types of digital format, some cannot support higher resolution, some just plain without much to offer but just can produce the sound as is.

Generally as music lover we want to hear the high fidelity that music can offer and therefore external DAC comes into the picture. There are many different kind of DAC from small to big size hardware. Also many different implementation as well but I won't go there. As today many people go portable as smart device is readily available and  music streaming is also common this days. Somehow most manufacturer of smart phones also decided that the usual 3.5mm jack of earphone is no longer needed. Many a times we have some nice IEM but can't be use with the phone. So the only way is to get some kind of converter. The converter sometimes is also called pigtail converter as is usually small and just short cable. This little converter is actually a DAC as well which it convert the digital signal to analogue so the ear phone can produce the sound for our ears.

This create a bottle to the audio especially hi-res audio. So to take advantage of the many hi-res audio streaming, this comes the dongle DAC. If you compare the dongle DAC and the pigtail converter, it look almost similar. This little dongle DAC only weigh few grams. So why the bothersome of getting this little DAC ? 

Look closer to this we can see the hi-res audio label for this little DAC. With this , now I can enjoy hi-res audio without the bottle neck. It can even support up to DSD512. Pretty impressive for such a small device. The good news is also this DAC cost about RM250 or so. I think is pretty affordable. 

So what I need now is just an earphone. I have mine JVC wood IEM. It sure doesn't a lot now with this simple DAC. Not just for hi-res , even CD quality streaming sounds very good with the DAC to my IEM. Although is a little bigger than the pigtal converter but is still pretty easy to tug into the pocket when I go into train or even going for a run. Simply amazing to have this. 

To gain a little more out of this DAC, you can use it as traditional DAC together with your computer. Easily this can be hook into your hifi system to listen to your favorite songs on streaming. For myself I have contacted it with the Surface 7, playing from spotify. Of course there is no hi-res but is still pretty good with it has to offer. 

Now does this output to the amplifier if is just 3.5mm jack. This can be solve with cable from 3.5mm to RCA. You can simply get this for less than RM15 or so. I am using the AudioQuest evergreen which is a little costly but it does improve the sound even more. So with the RCA , just simply connect it to your amplifier and voila you have hifi streaming with the dongle DAC. 

Apple Music this link to a video for what I have use it for apple music with the ipad with the same solution but additional converter needed for the apple lightning connection. Enjoy the music.

Vinyl Candy, Kuetsu Black By Musashino Audio Labo

The Koetsu Black MC cartridge from the 80's it had an output of just 0.25mv, so you'll need a high gain, low noise phono stage to go with it. Weighting in at almost 10 grams, this is a medium compliance cartridge.

After living with my Kuzma CAR-30 for a few months, I was just itching for a cartridge change to go with my Kuzma Stabi XL turn table set up. I was hoping to find a used Shelter 901 in any incarnation, as there was MKII and MKIII after the original. I know, the Shelter is not the latest & greatest, but it is a comfort cartridge so to speak. It's been around for years, the sound is familiar on the warmer side of tonality, which is what I love. Then along came this Koetsu Black by Musashino Audio Labo.........

Like the Shelter, Koetsu is another familiar brand that has been around for a very long time. The story goes something like this, Sugano-san is a retired automotive engineer at Toyota. Post retirement, he ventured in to the art of hand winding cartridges, as Sugano-san is also a music lover himself. His hand wound cartridges, then called Koetsu Black, due to it's use of a black, powder coated aluminum body, was a hit in the market and by 1985, Sugano-san was unable to cope with the orders that were coming in worldwide. Hence there after he commissioned Musashino Audio Labo to help with the manufacturing of the Koetsu Black. By the 90's Sugano-san was too old to continue with the business and his son took over and expended the empire!(so to speak)

With new management came new ideas, and Koetsu started to introduced new materials such as Rosewood, Vermilion Varnishes, then gemstones such as Jade or Coral stone to the body, to basically add flavor over that classic hand wound over boron cantilever motor since the Black. As a result of using ever more exotic materials, Koetsu prices also start to increase over the years, top that off with hifi inflation, which is never in single digit territories, you get the idea!  Today Koetsu is mostly seen as high end cartridge maker, with the entry level model, still called the Koetsu Black Goldline retailing at a cool USD 2,500 a piece!     

On the top side, where the mount screw holes are, is where you can tell if it's an original Sugano-san hand wound early model, or in this case, the 1985 onwards Muasashino Audio Labo produced unit, with serial number to boot.

As usual, I digressed. Anyway picked up an ol' Koutsu Black by Musashino Audio Labo from a contact who happens to live nearby, and mounted it on to my Kuzma Stogi S12 inch arm. With a square body, the Koetsu was easy to mount and complete alignment to the tone arm.  Once the tracking force was set to 2 grams, I can start to play my LPs. From the first note, I have never felt the serenity that a piece of hifi equipment brought to my audio experience! The sweet highs were rolled off for that soft fluffy, disappearing in to the thing air of nothingness, always to soothing to ear...... The rolled of highs kinda makes the mid range slightly pronounced, which to me ears is always a good thing. Bass is solid, full bodied, but can sometimes sound lumpy too. However, that's only when you start to dissect the sound. When heard as whole, the sound is at once rose tinted hue with lushness, and vocalist centric all rolled in to one homogenously. 

If you're still reading up to this point, you'd conjectured a rather warm and comfortable sound but could be boring in the longer term, question? The answer is NO, with each LP or recording being played, the tonal colors of the music are flushed out in full, never monotonous! I often find my self appreciating all those tonal colors I never heard before in a recording, even if I've heard them a thousand times before the Koetsu, trust me it's that amazing! With the Koetsu, the music always flow with musical foot tapping tune, no doubt about that. Which is why despite it's warm tonality which endears it so well to genre like vocals, especially female(Tsai Chin or Teresa Teng comes to mind), jazz, and simple baroque style classical music, the Koetsu actually surprises me with it's ability to rock too! I some how always play my air guitar when I put on a rock LP. Hmm.............. Last but not least, the Koetsu just wipes out all the LP's surface noise better than most other cartridges, reducing most pops & clicks to nearly undiscernible levels. How ever if an LP is scarred, then then grove rot can still be heard, but much less rude sounding.

Now it can't be all pros with no cons, right? Yes, there are short falls to when it came to resolution. When compared with my Benz Micro LP, a slightly newer MC cartridge design, which have been with me for over 10 years now, mounted on the various turn tables I have played with, the Koetsu would lose out by emitting the finer musical details & tonal shadings so apparent on the Benz. Also when comparing to both the Benz and the Kuzma CAR-30, the band width of the Koetsu is left somewhat wanting as well.  The Koetsu also have a tendency to sound a bit slow in the proceedings if your platter speed is tune to correct 33.3 rpm using the strobo scope. My review is based on the setting of pushed up speed button by 2 notches, on the Kuzma's electronics speed control, both on 33 & 45 rpm. Some times, doing it right technically just sounds wrong!

   

This is the current version of Koetsu Black Goldline, with a gold plate at the bottom and slightly tapered body at the front. However many say it sounds more like a modern interpretation of the older Koetsu Black!  

And here I am, a happy camper at last, and by now, you would have formed the conclusion that I love the Koetsu Black a lot!  However, with that said, my impression of Koetsu was never great to start with, as it always gave me the impression of an ol'man's cartridge. To be honest, I have never heard anyone playing rock music with a Koetsu up till now. My previous brush in with the Koetsu always had me listening to Tasi chin, and other audiophile music only.  Now that I have one, I have new found respect for the Koetsu Black cartridge.

Now, from what I heard is that the current Koetsu Black Goldline has a slightly less rosy hued view on music and come with a slightly more modern(i.e. watered down or flattened) sound signature compared to those 80's originals made by Sugano-san himself, or the Musashino Audio Labo version. Some of those who are lucky enough to have compared, also swear that the Musashindo Audio Labo version is already watered down compared to the original early 80's Sugano-san hand wound version! Personally I have no way to verify those claims unless I go crazy and buy all 3 versions of the Koetsu Black to try. So, now I can understand the mystical journey & the plot twist and turns of the Koetsu Black cartridge, which has come a long way since. And don't you just love hifi brands that have a tradition and story line that lasted more than 40 years & counting? 

Down Stream Dreams, Nakamichi DR-3

Nakamichi DR-3, looks exactly like the DR-2. The alpha model DR-1 has an extra knob for adjusting the recording tape head azimuth.

Sometime ago a Nakamichi collector & friend begged me to let him take my DR-2 home. After bugging me constantly for almost 2 months, I relented and he got him self a bloody good deal, as the following Nakamichi DR-2 models seen in local classifieds almost doubled in price. However, like all things in life, what goes around does usually come around. 3 months back, I got a WhatsApp message from a Penang friend whose not an audiophile, showing me what looks like a photo of a Nakamichi cassette deck, with a question "interested?" After a little digging, it seems this was a Nakamichi DR-3 that belonged to one of his family member whom had passed on, and they are now clearing his earthly possessions. So my friend thought I'd be the best person to ask as I am the only idiot he knows who is still in to cassettes. I made him an offer which I feel justifies the value of our friendship, and the following week, this Nakamichi DR-3 arrives at my door step.

As usual, I gave it a good clean up and service by Mr Oh before I put it in to my system and fire up. However let's talk a bit of the features of the DR-3 compared to my previous DR-2 model. The DR-3 is the from same vintage as DR-2, i.e. 1992 - 1996. In the model hierarchy the DR-3 being the starter and DR-1 being the alpha model, leaving the DR-2 as the middle child.  Nakamichi sold each model as 80% of the next model up in terms of performance & function. The DR-3 being the range starter is just a common 2 head, single capstan, 3 motor drive design. Next up, the DR-2 is a 3 head, dual capstan with pad lifter, 3 motor drive design. Ditto for the DR-1 at the top of the range same in every spec as the the DR-2, but with added variable azimuth adjustment. Both DR-2 & DR-1 have tape or record monitoring function to allow for real time recoding quality, which is a good thing. Common to all 3 models are beefy transformer with multi stage regulation power supply, All discreet output circuit with built in custom Nakamichi tape equalization and lastly manual tape selection!

For some reason, the Nakamichi DR-3 weights just as much as the DR-2, at just 5.4kg/unit. The DR-1 weights a good 7.3kg/unit, probably due to an even beefier PS tranny. Built quality is typical Nakamichi high standards. The aluminum satin black finish front fascia is understated in design with typical tape well on the left display middle and soft touch logic controls on the right.  Around the back is just standard 2 sets RCA output and record in.

The back panel is typical tape deck, one set of RCA output and another set for record in. Typically on the left is the factory fitted standard power cord(not seen here)

The internals looked very similar too, except there is way more filtering caps at the output section on the DR-2. Of course the mechanism is much simpler here too. The power supply(that section behind the mechanism) looks largely unchanged too.

Since I am no longer into the habit of recording, a high quality 2 head unit still appeals to me for playback only. And once I pop my first cassette in to the tape well, press the play button, and that familiar rich, full bodied yet robust at the same time refined Nakamichi sound greets me. The sound is almost exactly like that of the DR-2, very musical and totally lack of  noise and tape hash. In fact I must say in one area the DR-3 does better than the DR-2 is the ability to pull and play sticky old tapes without getting stuck. While the dual capstan with pad lifter design does look sexy on the spec sheet, in practice the reality is less than reliable. You gotta play really high quality tapes for that DR-2 mechanism to work as it should. For me, I am playing back a lot of old tapes, and mostly pre-recorded, the simpler DR-3 mechanism with still 3 motor drive really does the job way more consistently than the DR-2 sophisticated mechanism ever could. I could be happy with this Nakamichi DR-3 for a long....... time.

The simple standard 2 head, single capstan, 3 motor design of the Nakamichi DR-3

Don't get me wrong, the DR-2 is a recording dream machine, with it's real time monitoring feature, your can detect and reset the recording bias until you get it right, then only actually do the recording. With the 2 head DR-3, that is not possible, and you wouldn't know your recording quality until the side is done, and if you got your recording bias setting wrong, it will be a very frustrating double or triple work. So bottom line if you're still doing recording, the DR-2 is your go to cassette deck, however if like me, you're only going for playback, the DR-3 sounds just as good, but with better tape pulling reliability.  

However, a man's gotta have dreams, right? maybe this down streaming is just the current mood, and maybe, just maybe some day, I would still like to lay my hands on one of those elusive Aiwa AD-F 910, Onkyo R-1, Akai GX-95, Denon DRM-800 or maybe a Teac V-980 cassette decks? After all, we can talk it's about the music all the time, but let's not lie to ourselves, sometimes it's still about those dream gear. Agreed?

Nakamichi Dragon? thanks, but no thanks..........., may be a CR-7, hmm....................

Endless entanglement

In home cinema world , one of the most common topic is endless entanglement of cables. The reason for this is very obvious as home cinema usually will have multi channel audios which means multi speakers placed in the room with cables connection running around the room. Many a times this situation has become like spaghettis of cables especially behind the amplifier where all the cables comes into, like speaker cables, HDMI cables, interconnect cables, power cables. Most people will try to tidy up a little but many will give up after. I can tell you is not an easy fit which I have tried various ways to keep tidy like cable ties. Even tried with different kind of racks to separate the component but usually it will end up with whole entanglement of cables. So after scouring youtube and reading some online tips, I realized that many professional home cinema setup is done with those server racks uses for IT data centers. I gotten some research done and learning from different tutorial videos on how to do it properly. Mid of last year when I got around it decided to get a 33U server rack and give it a try. What I mean by 33U is how tall the rack is. Hardware size is usually measure by 1U =  4cm.

This picture shows how I have put up the hardware in the racks with the bottom being the Frank Power bank and slowly moving up with the power amps and to the processor and finally the oppo player. The reason I arrange in this manner is that the player and processor are the one at a height easier for loading of disc and controls. The power amps before are just switch to turn on and nothing else. This will be convenient and nothing else. I choose not to have any door on it as it will be easier to access the hardwares. 

Both sides of the rack can has panels that is removable for easy maintenance as well. The railing and the trays are all adjustable as there are many holes provided for you to screw in as you wish. This is very useful as sometimes hardware has different sizes and you won't have to worry about not able to fit certain hardwares. 

Putting up all the hardwares are pretty much straight forward but the challenge is again what to do with the cables. This is the back of the racks where all the entanglement will start. From the overview, there are multiple cables going into the different amps and processors. 

The basic idea is to group all the cables accordingly as I have mine goes with different connections for the different channels. With this arrangement, it will be easier to keep it tidy and of course will be easier to look for which cables goes where. Cable ties definitely useful and don't go cheap on it. Tie as many as needed to keep everything group up.

This is another piece of good cable management for the rack, it is inserted vertical in the rack so cables and run through and goes to different level of the rack.

The cables are each tag on both ends so it will be easy for any future maintenance. 

There are some really long cables, like my HDMI cables which I have it tie to the rack on the side and some other long cables which can be 10 meters long.

This is one important component. The trunking that is at the side of the rack which have all the cables running in to the rack which can be put in properly. The holes along the trunking will allow cables to go to any part of the rack easily. Is the same as how electric wiring trunking in a typical home. 

Other than trunking will be this long stretch of power sockets or PDU (power distribution unit). This is very useful as there many hardwares in the rack and can be use and more importantly with this arrangement will be easier to manage the cables as well. 

One final thing which is essential will be lighting. As you can see in all the pictures above there are lights on different level of the rack. This will be very useful as room lighting is not enough with this kind of rack. Good lighting will be needed for any future maintenance. Hope this will be a good tips for anyone going to setup a home cinema. Enjoy the movies.

IEC Socket Improvements?

IEC power socket

 

Typical standard factory installed power cord with molded 2 pin plug

 

As some of our avid readers will know that I have 2 cassette deck in my collection. I have a Teac V-670 & a Nakamichi DR-2. Both decks came with a standard factory power cable built in to the back panel, with molded 2 pin plug, as pictured above.

In my past DIY tom foolery, I also know that replacing that standard factory power cable with 2 pin plug with an IEC socket, which would then allow you play & experiment with power cords can bring about sonic differences or sound advantage. So I went about and did just that to both my cassette deck.

In any IEC socket replacement project, the major work is in drilling, cutting & filling out that rectangle hole, in which the IEC socket needs to sit in to. The Teac V-670, with it's plastic body & rear panel was a relatively simple task. All I need was to heat up my cutting knife and slice thru the plastic back panel to create the approximate opening, do so filling to even the finishing, solder the wires to the L &N pins of the socket, make sure to get the polarity right. Drill in 2 screw holes and use 2 pieces of self tapping screws to tightened and you're done! My work was completed in less than half a day.

With the Nakamichi DR-2 going thru the socket process is not so easy. Due to it's high build quality, the Nakamichi had proper steel 2U chassis, with a 2 layer steel back panel! I had to first drill, cut & file on the inner back panel as part of the 2U chassis. Then have to align the hole on the outer back panel, by drilling, cutting & filling over the same rectangle hole, but only this time, I need to be more precise as this is cosmetically exposed. It took me more then 2 days to complete the job!

Now that both the tape decks got an IEC socket, I can start to play with power cords. I had a piece of Gotham 85025 power cord measuring 1.5 meter & terminated it with US style NEMA-5 & IEC Copper Color plugs. These are realistically beer budget priced plugs with decent build & sound quality plugs. 

Copper Color power plugs, available in choice of copper, silver, gold or rhodium coating. IEC side is also available. Very good value for money to build & sound performance ratio. Serving most of my HT plug requirements now. Goes well with Gotham 85025 power cords too 

Now with my power cord completed, I can start listening for sonic bonuses. First up is my Teac V-670 cassette deck. Now with the capability to use the Gotham power cord, I find the Teac gave much better clarity and vocal focus. A layer of white or tape hash just wiped away. Highs are crispier, more well defined and bass is now less wobbly. The addition of the IEC socket & after market power cord brought a world of sound improvements to my Teac cassette deck!

Next to be played is the Nakamichi DR-2, now plugged in using the same Gotham power cord, nothing can prepared me the big counter surprise!  I was expecting some kind of sonic bliss, even if small, as from my knowledge, Nakamichi had a much bigger transformer & superior power supply design, with multi stage regulation. With an improved power supply in the Nakamichi, I was some how still expecting some improvement if not as dramatic in sound quality. I listened real...... hard, but I heard no difference what so ever in sound. I mean it still sounded as well as it could be, before or after the installation of the IEC socket & use of aftermarket power cord! However, as I listened on....... hoping to hear some sound difference, all I got was same old, same old, no better, no worse for sound!

So in the end I have to accept the conclusion that NOT all equipment may benefit from the fitting of an IEC socket or after market power cords. I think most do, but others like the Nakamichi do not. I think some equipment's power supply design is already well optimized, and will leave no scope of benefit from using after market power cord. Unexpected, but true!

And I just wasted 2 days of blood(really), sweat(elbow grease, lots) & tears(no sonic rewards)...........

                                                      

 

Fused In Gold, Bussmann, Aucharm & AMR Hifi Gold Fuse Comparo

Here is the Aucharm 13 amp gold fuse, compared to a standard grade Bussmann 13 amp fuse that comes standard with most high end equipment or power cord terminated with BS plugs

If you look at tweaks, and if you're like me, having toyed with almost any novelty that hifi tweaks dom has to offer, and scraping the bottom of the barrel for shit to write home about, eventually you'll come to this, Hifi Tuning Fuses! Now, I know I am not the first to write about it, and certainly will not be the last to do so too, but perhaps this multiple fuse comparo will interest your attention for just a few short minutes? 

I know based on web site statistics, now days the average attention span is 3 minutes or less, and the music producers knew about it a long time ago, that's why since pop music became available, the genre never broke the 3 minute long rule, until Freddie Mercury & his band Queen came about with a song called Bohemian Rhapsody, which is more than double the standard 3 minute time format!

Sorry I digressed, but this topics about the BS 13 amp fuse got me all hot & bothered, you know why? Because that little shinny gold tipped ceramic body fuse does changes the sound! And with each fuse brand, the sound is different too! For better or worse, only once you plug those pesky little gold fuses and you'll find out!

From here on I will attempt to describe each of the 3 gold fuses that I have in hand and how I used them in my system to get the sound & picture quality to my preference.

Bussmann 13amp gold fuse for bass prowess

First, I'll start with the Bussmann gold fuse. In hifi application, Bussmann BS(British Standard, not the other BS) 13 amp is the de factor choice of many hi-end equipment manufacturers in markets like Malaysia, or the Commonwealth, where the British Standard to 220V - 240V power delivery is used. And until now, virtually all my 13 amp fuses are this standard Bussmann grade, until I got one of Bussmann gold grade came with one of the MSHD plugs that I bought. Compared to the standard Bussmann grade, this gold fuse does sound slightly more muscular in the bass area. Bass comes across as BIG, BOLD & strong! the result is kick drums kicked harder, plucking of double bass has more force, and bass lines are solid, yet tuneful, and easy to follow without muddiness. I didn't fine much difference in the mids, but perhaps, top end was just a tad more refined! 

 The Bussmann gold fuse, with it's standard ceramic body & printing looks just like the usual standard grade, except the matt looking gold coated tips on both end caps. In other words, it is not a visual stand out from the standard Bussmann, in terms of appearance & sound. Certainly useful for those who want to squeeze a little more bass energy out of the system. 

Aucharm 13 amp gold fuse, for spot lighting high frequencies against a pitched dark sound stage or back ground

Next up is the Aucharm 13 amp gold fuse. The Aucharm looks better finished compared to the Bussmann, not make it off all three, with it's nice shinny gold coating on the end caps, and a very striking blue hue ink printing on the ceramic body.

Sound wise, the Aucharm is the direct opposite of the Bussmann, it's main focus lies in the upper frequencies. Top end is a little emphasized, but that may be the way because the treble is contrasted to the background is so......... dark, and completely hash free! If my hifi system presentation is correct, it sort of gives a slightly spotlighted effect on the cymbals & high hats, and percussion instruments. However, there is also a small downside to this fuse, that way it highlights the high frequencies, with some female vocal recording when she is coming to her hi-octave falsetto, there could at times be a bit ear pinching. I must say say it doesn't happen with every recording but just with the odd few CDs that I listened to, so happens. 

The good part is, the Aucharm is very affordably priced if you just look at Lazada or Ali Express.

   

AMR 13 amp gold fuse shows maturity in refinement & overall well balanced sound properties of a well tuned product, as can be expected froma hi-end equipment manufacturer like AMR

 

Lastly is the AMR 13 amp gold fuse. This is the most expensive fuse of the lot, at just the edge to my give up to purchase pricing, but it didn't stop me from getting 3 pieces. 

However, it's pricing does show a voicing maturity resulting overall balanced sound from top to bottom frequencies, and very refined top end. Bottom end is not as gutsy as the Bussmann, but nevertheless still nice and tuneful. the over all presentation is quiet, and free from hash(though not as dark background as the Aucharm). It also doesn't spot light the highs like the Aucharm. So in essence, it's just a very refined, quiet and noise free tuning. And like all well tuned products, it never lets a hair down, or have any rough edges to the sound. Everything is where it should sound like, but just more refined & less noise. 

So, in the end how did I used the fuses to tweak my hifi & HT systems? Yes, plural, because I have stereo separated from my multi channel HT system. 

First up, in my stereo system, I only used the AMR & Aucharm gold fuses. I used the AMR in the power line where all my pre-amp & sources are powered. Then I used the Aucharm in the power  lines that drive my power amp. I loved the refined balanced on the AMR for my sources but as I had a bit of rowdy bass response in my system, I would use the Aucharm in the lines that drive my power amp to tightened the bass and give and overall darker sound stage.

In my HT system, I used  the AMR again, to power all my source, AV Receiver, EQ and power amp. the Aucharm powers all my auxiliary items like Google Chromecast & Arcana HD Fury. And lastly the Bussmann Gold to supply juices to my twin SVS subs as I want the bass to rock my HT room, especially when watching those earth quake or natural disaster movies!   

As hifi tuning fuses are another controversial topic, if not more controversial than cables such as power cords, your comments & brick bats are welcomed in the comments section!