Alpha Audio Forum - Recent Topics

Re: Clocking

Sean — Thu, 05 Mar 2026 15:00:33 +0000

Sirs,

I may be in the market shortly for a clock for my stereo. I was wondering whether you might consider a formal review of clocks in the various price categories. Particularly the Vinshine, SoTM, Mutec and others. I am also interested in the noise injected into the system as you mentioned in one review of format. Thanks!

Ingang gain

Peter Arbeek — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 11:24:16 +0000

Ik ben gisteren tot een opvallende ontdekking gekomen:

mijn luisterrijke is vrij klein en daardoor kan ik de versterker niet zo ver “ opendraaien”

nu heb ik de input gain van de CD ingang ( hier is de streamer op aangesloten) aangepast met -10 dB.

nu kan ik de versterker verder opendraaien.

lees: zo rond 11 uur en het resultaat is een voller en in mijn optiek een “natuurlijker geluid, wat ronder, meer diepte en minder edgy, ik kan het nog niet volledig onder woorden brengen maar het klink meer “mature” en zelfs het uitsterven van tonen is wat subtieler. Dit alle is geen verschil van dag en nacht maar wel duidelijk waarneembaar. De Dac filter had ik op slow roll off en heb deze op sharp roll off gezet

dit tesamen met de gain aanpassing is echt een verbetering in mijn situatie.

ik ben niet super technisch aangelegd qua audio dus het is mij niet geheel duidelijk hoe dit kan.

Streamer: Aurender A100

Versterker: Leema Tucana II

speakers: Raidho X1

Alle kabels zijn van Shunyata m.u.v. de rca interlink, die is van Crystal Cable.

kan mij iemand uitleggen hoe de vork in de steel zit????

fijn weekend, Peter

Interference blocking question

Lars Buresø-Jespersen — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 21:10:43 +0000

I just got my first Streamer and DAC and got it setup last night, but I noticed I had to move the power cables around as they interfered (made noise) with the sound.
I'm using shielded XLR cables from the DAC, and a QED Performance Digital coaxial cable from the Streamer to the DAC.

After some testing and setup, it sounds really good, and I'm really happy with the setup, as it went beyond my expectations, but I can very faintly still hear some noise that I didn't have before, where I was only streaming from my mobile phone via a cheap FiiO KA11 mobile dongle and a cable directly to my AMP.

Now here is my question, would it help anything getting/ making shielded power cables, when I don't have ground in the wall socket?
It's quite common here in Denmark living in old buildings from the 1950 that we don't have earth/ ground in the walls.

I'm used to the sound of AA Tad Evo 2's which to me sound fantastic.

ryley bob — Tue, 09 Sep 2025 09:21:14 +0000

I drove 4 hrs each way to visit a TAD dealer, I listened to the EVO one tx, micro EVO tx, CE1tx and the CR1's on a TAD system with Siltech interconnects and TAD speakers cables. The Evo 1,mirco and the Ce1tx sounded sooooo bad, way too bright and harsh. Yet the CR1's sound much more carm and better but still nothing special

I've also listened to the CE1tx in the Patreon zone and they sounded very nice and pleasant with a lot of detail.

I don't understand what went wrong with the shop demo??

Afsluitweerstand op vrije poorten Switch nodig?

Hendry Alpha — Sun, 08 Jun 2025 09:02:20 +0000

Switchen zijn erg gevoelig voor ruis.Is het nodig om de vrije poorten van de switch storings dicht te maken met een switchconnector met afsluitweerstand?En zo ja met welke weerstandswaarde?

Sound Quality – Streaming vs CD/Vinyl

Reynalda Rush — Wed, 23 Apr 2025 08:47:30 +0000

In your opinion, can music streaming services like Tidal or Qobuz match the sound quality of CDs or vinyl records? If not, what do you think is the biggest drawback?

Could you clarify what you mean by "The ultimate network"?

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Mar 2025 08:19:08 +0000

Computer networking (e.g., best network architectures, cloud computing, or cybersecurity)? Social networking (e.g., building an online presence, influencer marketing, or professional networking)? A specific platform or service named "The Ultimate Network"?

Hypex Nilai DIY500 Stereo Modifications

Mark Dawson — Tue, 25 Mar 2025 13:27:11 +0000

My first modification was installing a second PSU into my Hypex Nilai DIY500 Stereo amp to double the power output into 4 ohms.
I disassembled the amp, drilled 14 new PSU mounting holes and five large holes to fit some metal Temu air vents. The additional PSU is supplied with two amplifier connection cables (not required), a power input cable and a 12 pin auxiliaries cable (J5).
I soldered the power input cable to daisy chain it with the original power input cable.
I also soldered five wires on the 12 pin auxiliaries cable to the original 12 pin cable. This required carefully removing some of the insulation from the original cable, soldering the ends of the new cable onto the original and then insulating with electrical tape. The five wires I connected were:
Pin 2: Ground
Pin 7: Pushbutton+
Pin 8: Pushbutton-
Pin 9: Trigger+/-
Pin 10: Trigger +/-
The end result sounds slightly better than with a single PSU IMO. The extra headroom seems to have given the bass more weight behind it and added to the overall clarity at louder volume. My second modification was adding a gain switch (on-off-on 6 pin) to the rear panel. Seems to work and can be easily reversed if it has any negative effect on the sound.

Chinese Clone Amplifiers

Mark Dawson — Mon, 02 Dec 2024 02:14:42 +0000

First up, I should clarify that most Chinese clone amplifiers are copies of high end designs that manufacturers have let their copyright/patents lapse. So as long as the clone doesn't carry original branding, they should be legal. Many of these amps provide an affordable way to get a taste of what high-end gear sounds like. Now I am positive that the genuine product would sound better, but would it sound three to ten times better as that is often how much more genuine amps cost over these clones? So far I have clones of an FM Acoustics FM711 MKII, a Burmester 933 MKII and a Dartzeel NHB-108. Note, my reference amp is a Hypex Nilai500DIY Stereo that I have converted to dual mono. The FM711 (SUQIYA-Reproduction FM711 MKII) has been big a disappointment. It was damaged in transit requiring a replacement left channel amplifier board. It works after fitting the new board but has a lot of interference coming through the speakers. I suspect it could be due to poor cable management in the power supply (bundles zip-tied together) that I will attend to in the near future. Sound wise it is tube like with rounded off highs, detailed mids and slightly sloppy bass. There are several manufacturers of these so maybe I just selected a bad one. The 933 (AMXEKR 1:1 Replica Burmester 933) is a lot better. Zero background noise with an input load. It is a warm sounding amp with nice detailed highs and mids and a fuller bass. I put this down to the 933 having less bass control than the Hypex. Otherwise it is a nice sounding amp and is great for those older recordings with thin bass. The NHB-108 (D9 Clone Dartzeel NHB-108 Hi-End) is the standout. It is also silent under input load and produces close to Nilai levels of detail and accuracy. It could be it's marginally less analytical nature that made it a joy to listen to. The only negative is that it gets quite hot, 40ºc on the cooling fins after 3 hours play. The case has minimal cooling holes so I will be adding some additional cooling vents.

Network Streamer vs Transport

Alan Green — Wed, 20 Mar 2024 16:07:51 +0000

Can anyone explain the difference to this neophyte? I swear that I cannot find it when I’m scanning a unit’s features or specifications. The latter always costs more so there must be something I’m missing. Thanks in advance.