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  1. agisthos

    Watkins Generation 4 Speakers

    Thanks for a very detailed report on this speaker. When Olshers review came out years ago it seemed like an exciting find and potential giant killer. I expected to see more reviews and some forum buzz and instead there was….. nothing. Good to hear they are back with an updated and improved...
  2. agisthos

    Ethernet cables to and from your switch?

    I have 4 Melco C100 cables in my system. They are directional and perform best with the label/grounded end at the switch and the floating end at the final component such as streamer or tv. This was also the case with a NAS, which despite sending data back to the switch, performed best treating...
  3. agisthos

    Super3 - a supercapacitor LPS, by Farad Power Supplies

    @cosie I found it very difficult to find an 'audiophile' quality GX-16 connector as they are normally very cheaply produced. Finally found 2/3/4 pin gold plated copper ones on Aliexpress https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003444685190.html But as with everything on Aliexpress who knows if they...
  4. agisthos

    JMF HQS 7001 Amplifier Review (Stereophile)

    JMF Audio are one of the few who's monoblock amps are not just a bridged stereo amp.
  5. agisthos

    Comparing Stillpoints Ultra 6 v1 and v2 under my speakers

    Apparently the Stillpoints Ultra 5 is specifically designed for speakers, and the Ultra 6 for electronics. No doubt the 6 will work under speakers as long as the load is not too high.
  6. agisthos

    NEW RECORD DAY

    I did Ron's train track speaker positioning method a few years back. Where you have each speaker between 1/4 and 1/3 of the way from the sidewall. There was a point where you could find almost holographic imaging, which was lost or found by moving the speakers millimetres. After much laborious...
  7. agisthos

    Zilplex Resonant Devices

    Here is some pics...
  8. agisthos

    Zilplex Resonant Devices

    I can give a limited report on Zilplex. I have not played with positioning at all yet, just marked up the locations and put them in. Be warned I have no experience in room treatment apart from basics - throwing some cd/dvd rack and plants in the corner to break up room nodes, and putting a wall...
  9. agisthos

    Audiophile Fuses

    I had every round of SR fuses - SR20, black, blue and then Red. Skipped Orange and Purple. I am tempted to get the Master series but we are really getting up there in price. I tried a few other fuses that were cheaper, like the AMR gold series. The AMR just a different flavour of sound, not...
  10. agisthos

    Zilplex Resonant Devices

    There is now no dealer system for Zilplex (not that there ever really was one) so we have to buy direct from Zilplex. Apparently each set is made by hand and quite labour intensive to produce. The owner Wiebe Greydanus is a retired guy who still does it for the love of it. I now have a...
  11. agisthos

    Zilplex Resonant Devices

    Please re-up those files. I have a set of Zilplex on its way. Read Norm's review all those years ago and thought; that's a great alternative to the very expensive Frank Tsang bowls, or putting all those hideous sound dampening panels all over your listening room. Ten years later I finally...
  12. agisthos

    What ethernet cables are members using?

    I used a Nordost Heimdall 2 for quite a while and then tried the Melco C100, which was quite a bit better at 1/5th the cost. It surprised me. The Melco uses a floating ground at one end, so perhaps my systems ground plane noise was high and it benefited from the break just before entering the...
  13. agisthos

    Waversa Audio EXT-LAN Reference Plus - My Take

    The Network Acoustics filters probably have components inline the signal which require more break in time vs the Waversa which is just the wire wrapped around these machined magnetic discs (they look like HDD disk platters). Two totally different methods of filtering. Very interested to hear...
  14. agisthos

    Waversa Audio EXT-LAN Reference Plus - My Take

    The dealer, John Ketcham, said the EXT-2 has 3x the filtering of the EXT-1, so it should be better, not just a cosmetic chassis change. The EXT-REF apparently had 10x the filtering of EXT-1, so the EXT-REF still has over 3x the filtering of the new EXT-2. I am using 2 of the EXT-1 and they...
  15. agisthos

    Recommendation for a power strip and outlet

    The best passive/parallel filter strip I have tried is the Nordost QB8 - but with Nordost power cables. There is a synergy there that may not be present with other brands power cables.
  16. agisthos

    Ethernet cables to and from your switch?

    There are plenty of Ethernet cables that claim directionality and have grounding at both ends. Why is a good question. But most Supra cable is directional.
  17. agisthos

    Ethernet cables to and from your switch?

    I tried the C100 both ways, and it was best, logically, as you suggest with the noise draining back to the switch end.
  18. agisthos

    In-wall cable question

    After all my decades long attempts to use power conditioners and a box full of parallel power filters, I actually found none worked best, and the Nordost Qbase power strip in particular sounded better than anything else. Power filtering always takes something away and its never apparent what it...
  19. agisthos

    In-wall cable question

    There is another audiophile in-wall option, Gigawatt LCY EVO. It’s 11-12 gauge, and has an extra drain wire that touches the copper shield. You float the drain wire at the wall end but connect it to earth at the breaker box end. I had a 10m run installed and so far it seems fantastic but I...
  20. agisthos

    Nordost - "Making the Connection"

    @Big Dog RJ Note how Nordost has now seemingly dumped the QX2/4 line of products in favour of these QSource things, which all need the multiple 5v out LPS to power them all. Or maybe that's just a different product altogether and the QX will be back in new versions?
  21. agisthos

    Ethernet cables to and from your switch?

    Devices like the Muon will need break in, so I would not dismiss it just yet. Try the comparison again in a week with 50 hours on it, preferably 100 hours.
  22. agisthos

    Ethernet cables to and from your switch?

    The Melco C100 is awesome and far better than BJC cables, and my 4x more costly Nordost Heimdall Ethernet cables. But I don’t have any recent experience with newly released Ethernet cables, so don’t know how it would fare against them. But for its low price it must be hard to beat.
  23. agisthos

    What ethernet cables are members using?

    I just sat down and had a good listen, changing the direction of the Melco C100 back and forth 2 times. In my system it was obvious the Melco label (ground) should be on the switch side, not the streamer side. It was quieter and more transparent, blacker background e.t.c I think this is going...
  24. agisthos

    What ethernet cables are members using?

    Well straight out the box the Melco C100 is much better than the Nordost Heimdall 2 ethernet. Its not subtle. I was just hoping for an improvement over the Blue Jeans ethernet given the relative low price of the C100, so this is a welcome surprise. A qualifier... I am just using a basic Netgear...
  25. agisthos

    What ethernet cables are members using?

    @TRHH I just received my Melco C100 in the mail a few hours ago. I got one specifically to test this asymmetric ground theory. Will try it later tonight. But the chart posted above seems to be the reverse of how I planned to connect it. Shouldn’t the grounded end be at the source, and...
  26. agisthos

    What ethernet cables are members using?

    I have been using LPM upgrades for over a decade on many devices, including Uptone's own JS-2. While this rule about SMPS is generally correct for digital devices such as DAC's and streamers, I was surprised to find on switches the iFi's X and Elite SMPS was better than the JS-2. Hans Beekhuyzen...
  27. agisthos

    What ethernet cables are members using?

    @Network Acoustics tell us a bit about your upcoming switch. What’s it do that is unique or the design focus ? And are you still of the opinion that switches prefer a high quality smps rather than a lps? I have found that myself.
  28. agisthos

    What ethernet cables are members using?

    @treitz3 Maybe your revelatory experience with the Muon Pro is because you combine it with the Shunyata Omega cable also? I would like to know how far off the Muon Pro cable is compared to this. If you buy the Muon Pro as a package deal you get the pro ethernet cable for only an extra $600 USD...
  29. agisthos

    Caig Deoxit G100

    I used to use Stabilant 22. The pure form, not the variants cut with alcohol or limonene. I found over time it would gummy up the connections, so I stopped using it.
  30. agisthos

    Caig Deoxit G100

    I appreciate your testing and advice on Caigs. But you are trashing a product here you have no experience of, and are ignorant of. That's unfair. For example, Rick claims the formulation of NPS-Q45 is specifically designed NOT to evaporate or go hard. He claims that it can last for decades...

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