Mercury V3 Streamer/DAC Impressions

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by artur9, Dec 24, 2024.

  1. Guidostrunk

    Guidostrunk Acquaintance

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    Thanks for the reply brother. I did try that plugin and if I'm being honest, It's not for me. It does imo affect the sound quality. The sound just seems like there's a restriction on it even if nothing is adjusted and even turned off.
    I'm more than likely just going to get the loki max at this point. Same footprint as the MJ3/ G2 and I have knobs right in front of me lol.
     
  2. Josh Schor

    Josh Schor Friend

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    I just bought a v3. I am being told by some older audio buddy's that the v1 sound the best. so of course my obsessive mind goes a little crazy. Anyone have experience comparing the v1, v2, v3 . is it different not better? appreciate all experiences
    best,
    Josh
     
  3. Aklegal

    Aklegal Friend

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    My experience was that the V1 and original Pi2AES sound identical. The V3 sounds better than the Pi2AES.
     
  4. Josh Schor

    Josh Schor Friend

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    just got my v3 and I am so happy I got it working(im a complete noob with computers) need help with how to switch from wifi to wired? cannot find how to do this only on the initial setup, do I unplug the cable? any help much appreciated
    best,
    Josh
     
  5. Josh Schor

    Josh Schor Friend

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    also USB not working going to Gungnir 2? any thoughts
     
  6. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    what software are you running? most will allow you to enable WiFi and use that instead of wired. Not sure if there is an auto switch between them.
     
  7. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    the underlying Linux audio software cannot output USB simultaneously with theinternal I2S port. It is one or the other. Enabling usb will disable the use the low jitter, low noise digital audio circuitry on mercury.
     
  8. Huhnkopf

    Huhnkopf Friend

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    Will a potential v4/v5 address improved USB?
     
  9. Josh Schor

    Josh Schor Friend

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    Been listening for a few hours, coming from the Lumin U1, I was nervous. Well I think im going to be happy with the Mercury, its very good, Will wait to see if the highs smooth and loose some slight brittleness with break-in. I ordered a SGC LPS 12v 8amp power supply, will see if it makes an improvement. Using toslink, coax and aes all very good with slight differences. Im quite proud of myself that I figured out how to get it going. Being a complete noob with a previous bad experience this was really a pleasure.
    Did a quick internal dac listen, its okay, not great, very ess to my ears.
    Big shout out to Michael at Pi he responded quickly and was very helpful.
    best,
    Josh
     
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  10. Guidostrunk

    Guidostrunk Acquaintance

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    Use the AES brother. Imo it sounds better than the Unison. Congrats on the V3.
     
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  11. Josh Schor

    Josh Schor Friend

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    Quboz was working great just craped out WTF. waiting for it to reboot, if this is the norm the mercury is gone will need something with stable software, anybody have suggestions for dealing with this?
     
  12. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Patience grasshopper! :)

    As you mentioned to me you are new to this. There is a learning curve and I know we can get you there! What OS did you choose? Anyone out there know what works best with Qobuz?
     
  13. AlPastor

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    If running Volumio, use the software update feature to get the latest version. That seemed to solve my Qobuz dropout issues (the Qobuz icon would disappear) on Mercury v2. Been super stable after software updates.
     
  14. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    thanks for the hint. But, he should not grab the updates from their site. I will make a new version because there are some tweaks. I have to do to make it work with Mercury. I will post it on the website later today.
     
  15. Josh Schor

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    Hi Michael,
    I have Volumio using my iphone to run the mercury. Yes I am impatient with tech. Will running it at a lower sound quality affect this? I have it set in volumio to highest possible? I have the latest volumio.
    best,
    Josh
     
  16. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    Not sure what you mean by sound quality. Are you referring to the frame rate (ie 48khz versus 192khz, etc). Faster rates can cause buffering or skipping problems if your network is a bit dodgy.
     
  17. r66cort

    r66cort New

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    EARLY Mercury V3 Impressions

    Current Chain:
    BS Node 130 (w/LPS) vs Mercury V3 > Gungnir 2 > Freya N > AVA SET120 > DIYSG Fusion 12 Tempest Speakers

    Impressions:
    I have been playing with the Mercury v3 for a couple days, and find it excellent. It is a nice jump in sound quality when compared to the Bluesound Node 130 with a linear power supply. I have been using Balanced AES from the Mercury, Bluesound coax and USB to the G2 (Unison). Forkbeard via G2 has been clutch with transitions. First, I generally prefer the USB Unison to Coax from the BS - Unison is more detailed and separated with a very slight etch, coax is a bit softer and more romantic (which is perfect for its TV volume / HDMI eARC use case). The Mercury v3 with AES, thus far, is a particular step above in realism by way of its dynamical and placement quality. Unison via BS sounds comparatively flatter. Mercury stage is wider and deeper - I've never heard sounds quite so far outside of my speakers. Crowds on live recordings sound more like real crowds, with heightened localizable and nuanced clapping hootin'/hollerin'. Drums are really excellent with additional resonant information and decay. Parts of the bass presentation I'm trying to wrap my head around, which I admit may be a G2 thing or burn-in - need time to tell.

    Additional Considerations:
    I am investigating various RPi OSs to understand their effect on SQ. Thus far MoOde via upnp (iOS Linn App) and PiCorePlayer via LMS. Both sound quite good with no blatantly obvious distinctions in my limited testing. Both have UX/UI compromises, but are at least fairly fast to load and navigate with a decent network. Equally interested in Gentooplayer. Will need more time for all things. I do not have Roon, and find myself having difficulty swallowing yet another subscription service, which includes Volumio Premium or JPlay. If someone has thoughts about SQ or UX/UI, I would love to hear them - could save some pennies for a good path forward. Further, I am presently using WiFi, which works well, but am open to hacking an old router into an AP to get wired ethernet, if folks believe that will improve SQ.

    Finally - BIG thanks to Michael and Pi 2 Design for the Mercury! Wonderful piece and crazy value!
     
  18. MKurup

    MKurup New

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    Michael,
    are you saying we should not update Volumio from within the app while running on the Mercury V3?
    I did that and my version says 3.785 now. Are we supposed to download the image from your site and flash it to an SD card? I did not notice any problems after using the update feature, and Qobuz has been very stable for me. I did upgrade to Volumio Premium on Volumio.com as you mentioned...

    Thanks!
     
  19. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    sorry, my bad. I forgot that Volumio will preserve the unique settings that we created during the update process. MOODE and ropiee do not.

    I will still look at updating to the latest version and posting that on the website. Just so we stay somewhat in sync with them.
     
  20. r66cort

    r66cort New

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    Following up on MoOde (Linn) vs PiCorePlayer (LMS) in the Mercury V3 - I prefer MoOde, but as noted across this forum, almost certainly due to synergy. The G2 is more relaxed than my previous G1A2, and despite many benefits to the upgrade I missed some of the G1's forward upper mids and treble. Mercury with MoOde and the Linn App (iOS) brings a touch of that back, allowing for more of the realism I spoke of previously. PiCorePlayer via LMS is solid, maybe more weighty, but softer and a touch too relaxed in my system. I live in an apartment with a slightly higher ambient noise floor than some, so this might also play a small factor.

    Further, both interfaces are more than decent, especially if you're in this for SQ. RPi interfaces were something that kept me from taking the Pi2Design path a couple of years ago, but they are only a step behind Qobuz, two steps behind Tidal or Spotify. Frankly, they are at the level of BluOS, and faster with a decent network, once you get acclimated.

    Best part - trying both was fairly straightforward with Mercury. All it took was a very small edit in the Config file of the OS image, a little reading about setting up OSs, a bit of methodical patience getting everything talking. Both rock solid.
     
    Last edited: Jan 17, 2025

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