Lynx PCIe AES interfaces: AES16 and E22

Speaking of getting away from USB, does anyone remember the Logitech Transporter? I still remember the hype back in the day.

 

I've never used a CDP as a transport to an external DAC before. Are you only playing CDs on that or are you getting the signal from the computer to the CD player somehow?

 

Curious if you anticipate issues with latency driving the DACs out of sync?

 

He's playing CDs with the Marantz which is coaxed out to the Gungnir Multibit.

 

@Marvey , did u get a chance to check the soundaware d100 that is highly praised by @Hands . If It is equivalent to the marantz modded ce spinner or the Lynx that might be a great alternative to be considered...

 

AFAIK Marv is not a big fan of Chi-fi, but the D100 might be different. Going Lynx is more expensive than one might expect, especially if you consider the additional cost of an expansion chassis.

 

That's what I figured, thanks!

 

How about these digital media players(with AES output)

X30, X40, X50:
https://www.cocktailaudio.de/

 

I am currently trying out a live booted* daphile booting off a bogstandard Asus K43SD Laptop with it's Asmedia usb 3.0 port connected to Mutec MC3+USB(as well as Yggdrasil Gen3 USB). Even with the Gen3 USB direct(no wyrd), I didn't really notice any major usb related digital noise at first listen. Mutec v1.03+Wyrd sound abit more smoother than gen3.

* live booting means you boot daphile through a usb flash drive without having to overwrite your laptop's internal operating system.

I am just trying out the non-real time version and I must say(subjectively) Daphile sound quality exceeds what Windows with any kind of ASIO player can achieve. Later I shall try out the RT version.

Not sure if the Lynx or the other PCI-e cards are supported, maybe SBAF with the PCI-E cards should try and report back.

Iso download location(note there are three versions: x86, x64 and x64 Real Time)
http://www.daphile.com/

Windoze tool to get iso onto a usb thumb drive:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/usbwriter/

Mac users have to follow installation guide

Installation guide:
https://www.daphile.com/download/DaphileInstallation.pdf

Maybe it's time for me to invest in a very low powered intel NUC or equivalent audiophile variant and use it as dedicated daphile system.

Edit: the latest RT version has R/W usb access. Meaning you can just use the live boot version to adjust settings and it'll remember. Also you can store music on the free space of daphile usb boot drive.

Highly recommend for SBAF to consider trying daphile with their systems before plunging $$$ into other "out of usb jail" solutions.

 

Alright, well, I'm going to toss my impressions in to the arena here. @Marvey can let me know if I'm insane. @drfindley wanted to know what I hear, and @brencho has one now, so the cat's out of the bag around here already anyhow. Some of this is a repeat from various texts, too. Lastly, keep in mind this is the E22 version (same audio chip, as noted by @zerodeefex) and beware of hype below, because I really like this thing.

Chain: MacBook Pro -> Thunderbolt -> Akitio PCIe chassis w/ Lynx E22 -> AES -> Yggdrasil -> ZDS -> HD600

First, an analogy. USB is that annoying insecure bastard in 5th grade. He always raised his hand in an overly enthusiastic way when the teacher asked a question. Before long you just wanted to backhand him. Lynx is the quiet, confident, bright kid. He never raised his hand, but he had all the right answers. Let's see if that makes sense...

In @drfindley terminology, my "Graceland" is "Find Your Right Mind" by Doug MacLeod. This is a song @RKML0007 and I have discussed at length in the past, and essentially we believe that the label Reference Recordings isn't pulling any funny business. That is, there are a lot of natural back ground noises and nuances in this track. An obvious example is that Doug recorded this while sitting in some kind of old, creaky chair. At many points in the track you can hear him make it creak as he rocks and leans. Now this is revealed clearly by both the USB chain and the Lynx chain. However they are in stark contrast to one another. The USB chain just blurts out "Wow!! Listen to his chair creak!! Aren't I resolving and isn't this awesome!?!". The Lynx chain gives you the chair, but puts it in its proper place. The creak isn't coming out of his mouth; now it's layered behind the guitar and underneath his voice. But it's there, and if you listen, it's just as detailed. It just doesn't stand out. When @Marvey says "natural", that is the best way I could describe what I hear on this track. And it didn't stop there. As I go through my music library, I am hearing old familiar songs in a different way. And if music moves you, then this is an emotional experience, to be honest.

In general, I would say things like: smoother without being less resolving if that makes any sense; better separation, i.e. a clearly less homogeneous and more nuanced presentation; Realistic, natural, etc. Is this what peeps call "organic"? I never know how to use that word when I'm not talking about food. I mentioned some issues I was having with some recordings to @drfindley , and he suggested I upgrade the cart. ;-) It may or may not be related to the Lynx but every once in a while I think the Yggdrasil's lock goes slightly askew and I hear little pops eerily similar to vinyl surface noise. Hehe. But it has been a couple hours this evening and Yggdrasil hasn't missed a beat yet, so it's very infrequent. Restarting audirvana seems to cure whatever it is, when it does happen. Anyhow, bottom line - I really do feel there's no looking back. USB is absolutely done in my book. Who needs an Intona? Actually, friends don't let friends use Intonas. I'll peddle that elsewhere.

 

Nicely put @bazelio ! I've also been noticing more naturalness, like the lynx is hitting the g-spot. Baz highlighted this experience of hearing details placed more naturally, so I paid more attention to this... been listening to that Doug Macleod track, and others I'm more familiar with as well (blues with foot tapping, vocalists' breath, jazz with lots of good upright bass plucking, sax keys being pressed, reflections of sound off walls, etc). It's as though USB was compressing the dynamic range of songs such that these details stuck out in relation to the rest of the music. It feels as though this solution avoids that compression issue and presents things more naturally. Not exactly sure that's what is going on, just an interpretation of the phenomenon i'm hearing. Still have to AB more, since quite frankly I haven't wanted to switch back. I'm sure we'll all meet at some point for some more comparisons as well.

 

@bazelio, thanks man. I was at an audio/video show yesterday in my hometown and there was exactly one vendor peddling a DAC which was connected to a Mac Mini through a CAT5 cable. This got my interest and I found out it was a Swiss made DAC (http://nadac.merging.com/) using a Sabre chip. He was playing two-channel and in the din, I could not hear a damn thing. Anyway the reason for saying all this is that it costs $12 grand here in India. Your set up (Chassis + Lynx) must cost a little over a grand right?

 

Maybe something like the Burl Audio B2 DAC? These guys are right "over the hill" from me and I'd be really interested to hear it. It's more like $2500 I think. On the one hand, it has all the interface mumbo jumbo solved. On the other hand, it's a $2500 DAC that uses $5 DAC chips. Not sure where it'll be for SQ, really.

The Lynx was on sale for me as I bought it on our "Labor Day" here in the US. The combo was under a grand, and I've even heard of someone finding the E22 for $400 on Ebay. So with patience, you can find some significant savings out there.... EDIT: My enclosure was $219. They go up in price from there. No clue what advantages the spendier ones offer.

 

Glad others are starting to try out the Lynx cards. I sold my first to @velvetx and a few days later I bought another. I thought the Rednet 3 was going to replace it for me, but the simplicity and cleanliness of the Lynx setup appealed enough that I settled on it.

 

P.S. The Lynx passed my "did Luckbad buy this at least twice?" test.

Grabbed a Lynx E22 for review in April. Sent it back. Bought it in June, sold it. Bought it again in July and never sold it that time. It's been in my PC ever since. It was running in S/PDIF mode until maybe a couple of weeks ago after I got a Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 MKII for the second time (this time SE+). I forgot it could switch to AES mode and my nervosa told me it improved the sound.

Other gear I have that passed the multi-purchase test: Garage1217 Project Horizon/Sunrise, JVC HP-DX1000, the aforementiond Sonic Frontiers SFD-1 MKII, MHDT Labs Atlantis (modded the second time)

The only gear I have owned exactly once and have no plans to get rid of: Sennheiser HD650, ampsandsound Mogwai

Other gear that has somehow survived in one of my setups magically for multiple months (that is decades in Luck-Years): Future Sonics Spectrum G10, Singxer SU-1