DCS Vivaldi

BMCG

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That's what I'd been led to understand. I'll be using the Transparent XL initially between the Vivaldi DAC and Upsampler. So, it appears, in my case anyway, adding the Clock means adding 3 more XL's. Pretty strange that the cost of the clock is less than the 4 Clock cables. C'est la vie.
Yes .. clock cables make a rather surprising - if not emphatic - difference ... perhaps more so than the signal carriers... go figure

and given that a pair of Chord Music chime in at broadly the same cost as the clock... the “ ancillaries” rapidly either equal or surpass the boxes in cost
 

jfrech

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Thanks. I've been urged to splurge on the Clock cables as these make a big impact on how well the Clock does its job with the DAC and Upsampler. Has that been anyone's experience?

I'd go for the clock first. If you can. I added each Vivaldi piece one at a time. Fascinating to hear what each brought to my listening experience. Clock cables DO make a nice improvement. You can spend a little or a lot here. Cardas is a great buy and nice improvement if you don't want to spring for Transparent XL right away. I will say you'll be floored by the Transparent XL improvement....

Glad you love your upsampler ! My guess is the upsampling is vastly improved over the NB. I do think the NB and UPS are using similar ethernet boards and stuff.
 

Barry2013

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Every time I have added a clock on my DCS journey it has been well justified and yes I'm afraid to tell you but expensive clock cables do make a difference for the better.
You may already be using dual AES cables on the DAC but again if not highly recommended.
 

stevebythebay

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Oct 21, 2012
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Thanks to all. I'll see if it makes more sense to begin with a purchase of 4 Transparent Reference Clock cables first and trade up later for the XL's. As I recall Transparent has an upgrade program that provides some financial "relief" in upgrades.
 
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JimmyS

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Sep 1, 2013
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I bought the clock at the same time as my DAC and Upsampler, and recently hooked up my SACD player to spin a CD via the upsampler and the system sounded broken.

Borrowed a SACD player with a clock input to try and system sounded great. That clock really makes a difference in overall music presentation, and I’m only using some basic 75ohm studio clock cables.
 

stevelgbch

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Aug 18, 2013
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I was initially using a Puccini clock with my Vivaldi. I then had a few bucks and bought a lightly used Vivaldi clock. I could not believe the difference. I thought it made more of a difference than when I got the Upsampler. I asked John Quick about cables and since at the time I was going to use Nordost, he said Heimdall II at minimum. I’ll have to try something like the Transparents, I think.
 

stevelgbch

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stevebythebay

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Seems that the Upsampler responds more quickly with Roon when using Roon’s Internet radio functions. Sonically, I am getting greater depth of image, among other things. But I’m so new to the Upsampler it may be hard to get a real fix on what might be happening. I do seem to find that certain instruments like tambourines and castanets sound more realistic than ever. I’m interested in the opinions of those who’ve lived with their Vivaldi gear for more time than me. And I’m still awaiting the Vivaldi DAC.
 

jfrech

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I was initially using a Puccini clock with my Vivaldi. I then had a few bucks and bought a lightly used Vivaldi clock. I could not believe the difference. I thought it made more of a difference than when I got the Upsampler. I asked John Quick about cables and since at the time I was going to use Nordost, he said Heimdall II at minimum. I’ll have to try something like the Transparents, I think.
I hear you....I used my former Scarlatti Clock for a few months thinking it was good enough...The Vivaldi clock is just better
 

jfrech

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Seems that the Upsampler responds more quickly with Roon when using Roon’s Internet radio functions. Sonically, I am getting greater depth of image, among other things. But I’m so new to the Upsampler it may be hard to get a real fix on what might be happening. I do seem to find that certain instruments like tambourines and castanets sound more realistic than ever. I’m interested in the opinions of those who’ve lived with their Vivaldi gear for more time than me. And I’m still awaiting the Vivaldi DAC.

I think Roon sounds a bit better now. I still prefer minim server and the dCS app for sound quality (however it's a slight diff vs night and day). Roon is just plain easier to use however...
 

stevebythebay

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What hardware are you using to run Roon Core? I know that moving from an Apple Mac Mini to a Nucleus made a difference in SQ, though that was a year ago, and I’ve made many changes to my system since.
 

jfrech

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What hardware are you using to run Roon Core? I know that moving from an Apple Mac Mini to a Nucleus made a difference in SQ, though that was a year ago, and I’ve made many changes to my system since.
I'm running Roon Core on my Synology NAS drive...
 

stevebythebay

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I’m assuming your particular Synology is more than capable of handling Roon, especially if you’re using DSP and more advanced features. Guess it might be worth trying a ROCK based server if you’ve a chance to see if it provides a better sonic result.
 

Sa683s

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What hardware are you using to run Roon Core? I know that moving from an Apple Mac Mini to a Nucleus made a difference in SQ, though that was a year ago, and I’ve made many changes to my system since.

I use Roon on Mac mini 2009, 8G ram, 128G SSD for my Vivaldi stack. I try compare with Nucleus (not Nucleus+) and to me, Mac mini is more musical where the Nucleus have more details. But both cannot compare with transport, so I stick with my Mac mini and use money on elsewhere.
 

stevebythebay

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Interesting. I believe you about using a transport like the Vivaldi, Spectral, or other very high quality transports. My experience with the Nucleus (non plus) is quite different. Likely either/both system dependent or in musical tastes. I found moving from the Mac Mini that the noise level (even using single and dual Ethernet wired right into the switch) was less and the overall noise floor dropped. And I stripped the macOS bare to eliminate any possible issues. Oh well...
 

shapo

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Jul 5, 2018
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Question about the Vivaldi Clock: Does the power cable make a big difference for this device?

I know for both my Vivaldi DAC and Network Bridge changing power cables made a huge difference in sound, but I'm not sure about the Clock.
 

jfrech

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Question about the Vivaldi Clock: Does the power cable make a big difference for this device?

I know for both my Vivaldi DAC and Network Bridge changing power cables made a huge difference in sound, but I'm not sure about the Clock.

Yes, but maybe not as much as other devices. I'd say better BNC clock cables for sure are a first if you haven't done this yet....
 

stevebythebay

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Oct 21, 2012
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I'd go for the clock first. If you can. I added each Vivaldi piece one at a time. Fascinating to hear what each brought to my listening experience. Clock cables DO make a nice improvement. You can spend a little or a lot here. Cardas is a great buy and nice improvement if you don't want to spring for Transparent XL right away. I will say you'll be floored by the Transparent XL improvement....

Glad you love your upsampler ! My guess is the upsampling is vastly improved over the NB. I do think the NB and UPS are using similar ethernet boards and stuff.


Finally received the Vivaldi DAC on Wednesday and set it up. Only interesting snafu in setup was that although everything was wired correctly and logically on the software side of things, trying to play MQA files caused insanity between the Upsampler and DAC. But I was able to get things to work correctly after powering off/on the Upsampler. My suspicion is that it's the "driver" in this arrangement and needed to "sync" up with the DAC. I surmise this as I had no issue when swapping the dCS Network Bridge with the new Upsampler and using with my existing Berkeley DAC.

Other odd bit is that shutting down the Upsampler and powering it on again, I lost all of settings I'd made to it. Would not have thought that would happen.

Anyway, I'm ensconced at the moment "breaking in" the new DAC (figure a few hundred hours will do. And trying to discern the various filter settings as they affect overall sonic results based on how I've set up the Upsampler for various bitrates. Currently enabled DSD passthrough and DSX for all PCM. The various filter settings are really subtle.

Expect to have the Clock by sometime in early March, given the dCS backlog on this device.
 
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jfrech

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Every once in awhile i have to "reboot" my upsampler. It's a computer after all...power glitches can upset it also...I have to do this maybe 5-6 times per year tops...The settings should not have been lost. I am guessing after your reboot all the settings will stay this time. I'd try it to double check...

Are you using Mapper 1, 2 or 3? I tend to stick with Mapper 1 and DSD filter 5 on the DAC. Occasionally I'll use Mapper 3 and DXD upsampling and Filter 5 on the upsampler and 6 on the DAC...

I also found I liked different filters after the DAC broke in. Your mileage will certainly vary on filter choice...

Congrats on the DAC ! It'll be fun adding the clock in March !
 

stevebythebay

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I figured powering off might wipe out the settings, but not restarting. In any case I’ve backed up my settings on both units, hoping at least to be able to quickly return from whence I’d come.

As for current settings I’ve enabled both DSD and DSX along with F5 for DSX, with F3 on the DAC, though F6 is a close alternative. As for the Mapper I like Map1 so far. Likely it’s a matter of how I like to experience music from my system (specificity of soundstage over other factors). And it may also be driven by the other components that I’ve chosen, which put precision and speed to the max.

And I’ve not found pushing DSD to the max bitrate (disabling DSD) is to my liking.

Guess in a few hundred hours of break-in I’ll have a much clearer idea.
 

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