DCS Vivaldi

[number95]

Even with Ref 10 being used, I preferred 6v thru DAC. As a single source unit, I also keep using 6v. With just DAC used as volume controller w/p a preamp, I realized that I was increasing the volume more than I used to, not because the sound level was low, but it was a pure, grainless, natural musical entertainment, say between -30/-20. At last weekend, I pushed volume control to -16db (Companion, Patricia Barber) while 6v selected, oh boy, it was such a delight to listen to. I measured the db level of the room with iphone application as assuming it is not the most accurate one, I got sound pressure levels around 95-105db, which is quite unusual for me. So that is why I am so surprised here. No preamp, just digital volume control, wrong calibration for interconnector but just how loud I was able to listen to perhaps speaks for itself. Btw, the figures above are for day time listening )

Hercules might have 26db gain if I am not wrong

 

[number95]

I suspect it is. The tuning with Transparent makes noticeable differences to me. I just ordered a Opus Gen 5 to Magnum Opus for my dac to pre amp interconnect...

Hi John,

Please report after your Magnum Opus Ic arrives, how it goes

 

[MadFloyd]

Even with Ref 10 being used, I preferred 6v thru DAC. As a single source unit, I also keep using 6v. With just DAC used as volume controller w/p a preamp, I realized that I was increasing the volume more than I used to, not because the sound level was low, but it was a pure, grainless, natural musical entertainment, say between -30/-20. At last weekend, I pushed volume control to -16db (Companion, Patricia Barber) while 6v selected, oh boy, it was such a delight to listen to. I measured the db level of the room with iphone application as assuming it is not the most accurate one, I got sound pressure levels around 95-105db, which is quite unusual for me. So that is why I am so surprised here. No preamp, just digital volume control, wrong calibration for interconnector but just how loud I was able to listen to perhaps speaks for itself. Btw, the figures above are for day time listening )

The Magico MPro is incredibly clean (as I imagine your amps are too) and when you bypass the Ref 10 I imagine you would hear a lot less tube distortion (which is what usually makes it sound 'loud'). Did you find the bass better bypassing your Ref10?

 

[number95]

The Magico MPro is incredibly clean (as I imagine your amps are too) and when you bypass the Ref 10 I imagine you would hear a lot less tube distortion (which is what usually makes it sound 'loud'). Did you find the bass better bypassing your Ref10?

That is a good question. My view is, although midbass strength was slightly more pronounced when Ref10 was in charge, the general bass texture and definition were definitely more neutral and deeper bass was more audible when Ref10 was off. As if there was more hump with Ref10 and a feeling as if bass was stronger which actually has not been the case in terms of bass texture and linearity. That said, I need to warn you about the fact that there is a critical interconnector between amps and DCS which is calibrated to 600 ohms which should be recalibrated to 3 ohms for optimum performance. I have no idea how much change it makes related to bass definition.

 

[MadFloyd]

That is a good question. My view is, although midbass strength was slightly more pronounced when Ref10 was in charge, the general bass texture and definition were definitely more neutral and deeper bass was more audible when Ref10 was off. As if there was more hump with Ref10 and a feeling as if bass was stronger which actually has not been the case in terms of bass texture and linearity. That said, I need to warn you about the fact that there is a critical interconnector between amps and DCS which is calibrated to 600 ohms which should be recalibrated to 3 ohms for optimum performance. I have no idea how much change it makes related to bass definition.

Ahh yes, the downside of Transparent cables. That would definitely make a difference.

 

[Al M.]

Even with Ref 10 being used, I preferred 6v thru DAC. As a single source unit, I also keep using 6v. With just DAC used as volume controller w/p a preamp, I realized that I was increasing the volume more than I used to, not because the sound level was low, but it was a pure, grainless, natural musical entertainment, say between -30/-20. At last weekend, I pushed volume control to -16db (Companion, Patricia Barber) while 6v selected, oh boy, it was such a delight to listen to. I measured the db level of the room with iphone application as assuming it is not the most accurate one, I got sound pressure levels around 95-105db, which is quite unusual for me. So that is why I am so surprised here. No preamp, just digital volume control, wrong calibration for interconnector but just how loud I was able to listen to perhaps speaks for itself. Btw, the figures above are for day time listening )

Be careful with your ears, it doesn't matter if the loud sounds are clean or not. I follow NIOSH recommendations for sound exposure (dBa scale):

https://www.gcaudio.com/tips-tricks/decibel-loudness-comparison-chart/

Also, I'd recommend to buy a good dedicated SPL meter, you can get one for 30 bucks or less. The iPhone app may be off by up to 10 dB or more.

 

[microstrip]

That is a good question. My view is, although midbass strength was slightly more pronounced when Ref10 was in charge, the general bass texture and definition were definitely more neutral and deeper bass was more audible when Ref10 was off. As if there was more hump with Ref10 and a feeling as if bass was stronger which actually has not been the case in terms of bass texture and linearity. That said, I need to warn you about the fact that there is a critical interconnector between amps and DCS which is calibrated to 600 ohms which should be recalibrated to 3 ohms for optimum performance. I have no idea how much change it makes related to bass definition.

Can you connect the Opus calibrated to the Vivaldi directly to the Hercules II's? The critical calibration is for output important impedance, the input impedance of the receiver is more forgiving. Probably you would get a much better result using this cable and would get a more reliable feeling about the direct connection.

 

[number95]

Can you connect the Opus calibrated to the Vivaldi directly to the Hercules II's? The critical calibration is for output important impedance, the input impedance of the receiver is more forgiving. Probably you would get a much better result using this cable and would get a more reliable feeling about the direct connection.

That would be nice. The pity is I need 9 meter IC between amps and source due to location of amps/speakers vs rest of system

 

[number95]

Be careful with your ears, it doesn't matter if the loud sounds are clean or not. I follow NIOSH recommendations for sound exposure (dBa scale):

https://www.gcaudio.com/tips-tricks/decibel-loudness-comparison-chart/

Also, I'd recommend to buy a good dedicated SPL meter, you can get one for 30 bucks or less. The iPhone app may be off by up to 10 dB or more.

Thanks for the sincere advice. Even if I have a seperate microphone suitable to use with iphone and given my humble observation that there is 3-4db difference in measurements, I have been lazy enough to measure spl with iphone only. Also I used the similar method to measure spl when Ref10 was connected and definitely I was able to listen to louder and cleaner when Ref10 was off.

 

[microstrip]

That would be nice. The pity is I need 9 meter IC between amps and source due to location of amps/speakers vs rest of system

Then you have my problem - I have one 2m and one 9m Opus pair tuned for ARC and can not decide which I should tune for the Vivaldi. To make thinks even more difficult I have been now using the Vivaldi in single ended mode and it also sounds very good, but different from balanced ...

 

[MadFloyd]

To make thinks even more difficult I have been now using the Vivaldi in single ended mode and it also sounds very good, but different from balanced ...

Different how? With the same quality cables?

 

[microstrip]

Different how? With the same quality cables?

Single ended seems more "tube-like" than XLR. I used XLR and SE Crystal Dreamline cables in these comparisons.

 

[number95]

Some of you following this thread might remember I used to ask about usage of dither function at Vivaldi clock. I had inconsistent results when I tried dither each time so concluded dither off would be safer. Months after the clock arrived, accidentally I left dither on for both clocking groups. When I found out that the music sounded more detailed but without being harsh or edgy including improved dynamics, I realized that I always tried dither on for the group that DAC and Transport were connected to 44.1khz sampling and left dither off for the other group which was not used. That was the puzzling part. So no other gear was connected to to the second group but if dither was off on that, even if dither was on for the main group, the overall performance was audibly degrading. I was much happier with the results when both groups had dither on. I asked that to DCS and even if they claimed the two clocks are seperate and work identical and one having no impact on another, the reality was different. At least I am happy to use dither on now without any doubts, it has been strange to discover that grouping impact. It might be a small crosstalk between two groups perhaps. If anyone has tried that please can he share his experiences? Thanks...

 

[jfrech]

Some of you following this thread might remember I used to ask about usage of dither function at Vivaldi clock. I had inconsistent results when I tried dither each time so concluded dither off would be safer. Months after the clock arrived, accidentally I left dither on for both clocking groups. When I found out that the music sounded more detailed but without being harsh or edgy including improved dynamics, I realized that I always tried dither on for the group that DAC and Transport were connected to 44.1khz sampling and left dither off for the other group which was not used. That was the puzzling part. So no other gear was connected to to the second group but if dither was off on that, even if dither was on for the main group, the overall performance was audibly degrading. I was much happier with the results when both groups had dither on. I asked that to DCS and even if they claimed the two clocks are seperate and work identical and one having no impact on another, the reality was different. At least I am happy to use dither on now without any doubts, it has been strange to discover that grouping impact. It might be a small crosstalk between two groups perhaps. If anyone has tried that please can he share his experiences? Thanks...

I remember you posting about this awhile back. I guess I always had dither on or off for both groups...and preferred the on...

 

[mribob]

Different question new Vivaldi owner

need thoughts/guidance:
I have Vivaldi Dac2 going into Veloce pre via RCA single ended analog out, as my pre only has 1 balanced input, now being used for HT.
Reading manual, DCS suggests using full balanced connections is best-anyone compare AES balanced out vs SE RCA analog into preamp? What sounded better, and why? I can swap my cabling but it's not so straight forward.
Thanks for sharing your opinions.
Bob

 

[microstrip]

need thoughts/guidance:
I have Vivaldi Dac2 going into Veloce pre via RCA single ended analog out, as my pre only has 1 balanced input, now being used for HT.
Reading manual, DCS suggests using full balanced connections is best-anyone compare AES balanced out vs SE RCA analog into preamp? What sounded better, and why? I can swap my cabling but it's not so straight forward.
Thanks for sharing your opinions.
Bob

It will depend a lot of how the balanced line is implemented in your preamplifier and your system characteristics - IMHO you must listen.

The Vivaldi outputs are completely separated - you can use both SE and XLR simultaneous. But remember that some systems change volume by 6dB when going from SE to XLR.

 

[Kingsrule]

anyone know what's changed with today's update?

 

[jfrech]

anyone know what's changed with today's update?

I just texted my dealer...installing the update now...I'll let you know when he replies...he was just overseas at dCS a few weeks ago...

 

[XCop5089]

anyone know what's changed with today's update?

Not sure!

It took about half an hour to complete the software update and "Version" is now showing Upsampler Control Board 2.02 and Upsampler Front Panel 2.01.

Network Board Version is still 350.

I'll investigate next time I stream something to the Upsampler!

 

[jfrech]

Not sure!

It took about half an hour to complete the software update and "Version" is now showing Upsampler Control Board 2.02 and Upsampler Front Panel 2.01.

Network Board Version is still 350.

I'll investigate next time I stream something to the Upsampler!

Mine shows after the update:

Control board: 2.01 -> 2.02
Front panel: 2.01
Interface board: 2.00 -> 2.06
Network board: 350

It sounds better to me. More palpable, more drive, maybe a tad more resolution and 3d dementionality. Seems like a definite improvement for streaming off my NAS using Roon...haven't tried the transport yet...