smart move Ian. This is one piece of equipment that I know you will be enamored with. It completely changed how I listen to music and it only keeps getting better with TAS. Roon, for me is something I haven't used in about 7 months because of TAS
Thanks, Steve. I kept seeing TAS and thinking about the magazine; once I learned what it meant it pushed me over the edge. I have been using Roon since it's inception but I currently despise it (well perhaps that's too strong a word, but I find it very frustrating to use now) and welcome using something else.
It was a big purchase for everyone but I can promise you that the enjoyment you get right out of the box will mitigate all thoughts about its cost. I decided as an alpha user that the path I intend to follow is not Roon but TAS which is so far like a book that is being written as we go and with each new chapter the sonic gains are truly wonderful. And if you are enamored with Roon and want to use it until TAS has a final version I can promise you that whatever Emile did to the Extreme to allow for TAS functionality, it has also made Roon better for some reason I cannot explain. There are several Extreme users who have not yet committed to TAS because it is still a beta version and a work in progress and they use Roon as a result and cannot stop raving as to how much better Roon is with TAS. So even in beta, TAS is a quantum leap beyond Roon and as stated I stopped using Roon when TAS was an alpha version and still a twinkle in Emile's eyes. Since last October TAS has been the go to method for my listening sessions where previously it was over 90% analog. IMHO Emile has closed this gap so well that I told Emile he has made me a hard core digitphile and finally the format of the files was always a big thing for me trying to find files that were the best versions of each song only to find that 16/44.1 sounds just as good as high res PCM and DSD. IOW, whatever the Extreme does, I can say that there is just nothing like it in the market. This, coupled with the amazing development team that Emile has assembled along with unequaled customer support to provide the very best sound has put me steadfast on the TAS path and I have no regrets. I love the sound and have never experienced digital as good as this
Hi Ed. Does this mean the TAS USB driver for CommTrue is now equivalent to the XMOS?
The SRC-DX uses a Ct 7601 micro controller which does the USB to SPDIF conversion
Would you say Ed it’s too early for deploying the TAS USB driver for SRC-DX, in the sense that it’s not yet able to stream audio data to the CT7601 chip?
I have bypassed the Amanero USB receiver of the M-Scaler with the iFi micro iLink USB to SPDIF converter (see attachments) using one of the BNC inputs of the M-Scaler followed by double BNC connection into my Dave/DC4. The improvement was significant and immediately noticeable. Much cleaner sound with more open and holographic soundstage. Also improved transients with better focus, definition and clarity. I had the impression that a veil was lifted from the sound. Streaming from Qobuz was already good but has become excellent. This change has really narrowed the gap between the sound quality of PGGB’d files and files run through the M-scaler.
You are right. I hadn't used it for a long while but it turned out to be very useful and it is a high quality converter. I just thought it would be of interest for other Forum members to report my findings. It really pays off to bypass the Amanero USB receiver of the M-Scaler.
It reminds me a little from the time where I was using a stacked Mutec MC-3 and a Ref 120 SE feeding a HMS. I even tried the ‘surgery’ of feeding the stack MC3 with double Farad Super3, all to feed the M-scaler. Long story short, although fun (and expensive sic), it seemed to me a rabbit hole where you can again tune the sound in many ways, but always seem to loose on something, and I ended up simplifying my system (thanks Emille!!). The SRC-DX seems however to keep the balence right. Shame I don’t have the Opto-DX anymore, as I feel that RF isolation might still matter, as commented by Rajev on AS the choice of BNC cables seems to matter still.
That does not cause any restriction to users of the M-Scaler since most of them will be passing 1FS (Redbook) to 4FS (176.4/192 kHz; the maximum Qobuz currently offers for HD streaming) to this upscaler.
