Ideon Audio: The Art and Technology of Restoring Music to Its Reality

[Tabl10s]

AudioVision S. F.... my favorite 'Brick-n-Mortar'. Because of the 'Frisco traffic, I only visit from Sacramento for a half hour, but I'm satisfied enough to do the four-hour, round trip, multiple times.

 

[Gregm]

Hello, I’m thinking of upgrading my USB cables in a piece-by-piece fashion. For a full Absolute Meta component stack that begins with an Alpha Wave, where should I start?

Musiconthebeach

I went through that quagmire recently
My experience confirms what Ideon George suggested above -- start with the first stage in the chain, i.e. streamer to Sigma. Then you go for the Sigma output cable.
Begin with changing the first cabe only and listen. Then audition the next cabe.
I use the Ideon cable for the first two steps and bog-standard stuff thereafter.
Regards

 

[geoli]

Really Great to see Ideon Audio here on the WB Forum. We feel they are making some of the most Musically Engaging Sound in the Digital realm. We had such a great time connecting with George & Vasilis last year at the Munich HiFi Show! Here is the U.S. we are still catching up with just how much every component in the Digital Chain makes a difference and this is something Ideon Audio really understands!

Good to hear from you guys ! It was our pleasure to meet you in person last year and hope to see you again this year in Munich.

 

[Musiconthebeach]

I went through that quagmire recently
My experience confirms what Ideon George suggested above -- start with the first stage in the chain, i.e. streamer to Sigma. Then you go for the Sigma output cable.
Begin with changing the first cabe only and listen. Then audition the next cabe.
I use the Ideon cable for the first two steps and bog-standard stuff thereafter.
Regards

Thank you Gregm, this does make good sense. However, geoli’s explaination describing the Siren cable’s build as worthy of treatment as a separate component does make it more difficult for me to go the piece-by-piece route as it kinda up-ended my thoughts on Cable upgrades. Now I really have an “itch” for a complete Ideon Audio USB signal “Loom;” wouldn’t that be fun! However, factoring in the Alpha Wave that is now in the mix; that would be a serious upgrade for me indeed.

I went through that quagmire recently
My experience confirms what Ideon George suggested above -- start with the first stage in the chain, i.e. streamer to Sigma. Then you go for the Sigma output cable.
Begin with changing the first cabe only and listen. Then audition the next cabe.
I use the Ideon cable for the first two steps and bog-standard stuff thereafter.
Regards

 

[geoli]

Thank you Gregm, this does make good sense. However, geoli’s explaination describing the Siren cable’s build as worthy of treatment as a separate component does make it more difficult for me to go the piece-by-piece route as it kinda up-ended my thoughts on Cable upgrades. Now I really have an “itch” for a complete Ideon Audio USB signal “Loom;” wouldn’t that be fun! However, factoring in the Alpha Wave that is now in the mix; that would be a serious upgrade for me indeed.

Dear musiconthebeach, the AlphaWave is a must audition if you stream - to get an idea of what it does.... The Alpha Wave LAN Optimizer is designed to be placed between a LAN switch or router and the source device—such as a PC or a streaming/server unit. While effectively replacing your device’s onboard LAN card, it simultaneously harnesses the advantages of an audio-grade, overengineered transformer; meticulously designed ultra-low-noise power supplies by Ideon Audio; Ideon’s proprietary femto-based reclocking architecture; and premium high-end components throughout. By integrating the LAN Optimizer into your system, you eliminate the shortcomings associated with noisy, 'dirty' LAN signals and the substandard components typically found in conventional LAN cards.

 

[Musiconthebeach]

Dear musiconthebeach, the AlphaWave is a must audition if you stream - to get an idea of what it does.... The Alpha Wave LAN Optimizer is designed to be placed between a LAN switch or router and the source device—such as a PC or a streaming/server unit. While effectively replacing your device’s onboard LAN card, it simultaneously harnesses the advantages of an audio-grade, overengineered transformer; meticulously designed ultra-low-noise power supplies by Ideon Audio; Ideon’s proprietary femto-based reclocking architecture; and premium high-end components throughout. By integrating the LAN Optimizer into your system, you eliminate the shortcomings associated with noisy, 'dirty' LAN signals and the substandard components typically found in conventional LAN cards.

I wholeheartedly agree. Apologies for not being clear. I have had the pleasure of knowing the Alpha Wave’s capabilities for a few months now. It was the kind of “leap-of-faith” sort of purchase decision that turned out extraordinarily well; a fortunate decision bolstered by your wildly enthusiastic and supremely knowledgeable and effective Technical Support Team… thank you Emilios and Thanassis! As with all Ideon Audio upgrades that I have experienced thus far, the improvements were immediate and noticeable. It was the sort of change in sound quality that once heard; impossible to un-hear. Improvements in the density of tone, sound-stage in all dimensions (Especially depth), made for a more engaging sound. I had great fun listening to my system with the Alpha Wave in-and-out of the signal chain and the improvements were, to my ears, readily discernible. With it in the digital chain the overall soundscape was just as precise as before but now somehow more palpable in texture with an increased sense of space being occupied by each sonic aspect of the stage; without, noticeably flatter and marginally less engaging… but still very good! After adding the Alpha Wave, I now find myself turning to plain old ROON for some of my critical listening. ROON!?! Thank you geoli!

 

[geoli]

I wholeheartedly agree. Apologies for not being clear. I have had the pleasure of knowing the Alpha Wave’s capabilities for a few months now. It was the kind of “leap-of-faith” sort of purchase decision that turned out extraordinarily well; a fortunate decision bolstered by your wildly enthusiastic and supremely knowledgeable and effective Technical Support Team… thank you Emilios and Thanassis! As with all Ideon Audio upgrades that I have experienced thus far, the improvements were immediate and noticeable. It was the sort of change in sound quality that once heard; impossible to un-hear. Improvements in the density of tone, sound-stage in all dimensions (Especially depth), made for a more engaging sound. I had great fun listening to my system with the Alpha Wave in-and-out of the signal chain and the improvements were, to my ears, readily discernible. With it in the digital chain the overall soundscape was just as precise as before but now somehow more palpable in texture with an increased sense of space being occupied by each sonic aspect of the stage; without, noticeably flatter and marginally less engaging… but still very good! After adding the Alpha Wave, I now find myself turning to plain old ROON for some of my critical listening. ROON!?! Thank you geoli!

Very cool! Thanks for sharing. Our team is always here to help.

 

[Musiconthebeach]

Hi all, Tabl10s recently brought to my attention that the Arya Labs RevOpod footers were worth checking into. Anybody tried them out lately? Aris Balgavis’s review in Positive Feedback was glowingly positive albeit a bit over the top. Nevertheless my interest is peaked.

 

[Gregm]

Tab10s told me they are excellent -- but costly.
I have more reasonably priced "extremo" under my DAC: one in front 9 cm from the left, another front 39cm from the left edge, and the thrid in the back, under the analogue output.

 

[Tabl10s]

Yessssss,

The plan for world Domination is coming along nicely(ahem).

 

[Musiconthebeach]

Being analog centric for many years I readily admit to have developed certain behaviors (rituals) in how I execute recorded music playback. Some observers have called it out as being frankly; odd, but in a friendly way and always in jest of course. I never gave this much thought till an observer noticed I applied the same kind of ritualistic behavior to my Ideon Audio Absolute Meta stack. My “routine” for powering up the stack always began with the Stream before the Signature V Time and then finally the DAC; powering down was always in reverse order; always, as those trusted few who are occasionally allowed to handle the stack found out with a quick but not at all serious admonition from me for having mistakenly deviated. Brushing aside any fearful thoughts of giving into the perilous trap of OCD, I continue in this behavior to this day. Recently though, a trusted source that has my respect for all things digital audio asserted that my power up and down routine for my Ideon stack did have actual merit and was indeed beneficial for the stable and consistent reproduction of music files but, unfortunately, with no explanation given for how or why. Not wanting to overburden the conversation with yet another question at the time, I left this thought hanging unresolved in my mind. If this assertion from this trusted source is true, can anyone explain it to me?

 

[Raphy]

As an Ideon distributor in my country, it’s very easy for me to identify with all that George and Vasilis said in their welcome post. The passion and love for music of the Ideon team is genuinely communicated through their products, or… when you talk to them. I am proud to represent that company.

A small story from recently: a ‘tough’ customer was curious about the Siren USB cable, after he ‘tried so many USB cables, including very expensive ones’ and had doubts this one would be any better. Guess what? The Siren won . The same guy heard the Eos DAC in his own system and it took him a couple of minutes to say to me: “that’s what I want”, after he had auditioned quite a few others , for quite some time.

 

[Gregm]

Being analog centric for many years I readily admit to have developed certain behaviors (rituals) in how I execute recorded music playback. Some observers have called it out as being frankly; odd, but in a friendly way and always in jest of course. I never gave this much thought till an observer noticed I applied the same kind of ritualistic behavior to my Ideon Audio Absolute Meta stack. My “routine” for powering up the stack always began with the Stream before the Signature V Time and then finally the DAC; powering down was always in reverse order; always, as those trusted few who are occasionally allowed to handle the stack found out with a quick but not at all serious admonition from me for having mistakenly deviated. Brushing aside any fearful thoughts of giving into the perilous trap of OCD, I continue in this behavior to this day. Recently though, a trusted source that has my respect for all things digital audio asserted that my power up and down routine for my Ideon stack did have actual merit and was indeed beneficial for the stable and consistent reproduction of music files but, unfortunately, with no explanation given for how or why. Not wanting to overburden the conversation with yet another question at the time, I left this thought hanging unresolved in my mind. If this assertion from this trusted source is true, can anyone explain it to me?

Now that you mention it, someone had explained to me why there is a "right powering sequence" in a digital chain -- but I forgot it, sorry
It does look like you're on to something, though!
On a different note, I notice that my DAC sounds best after being on for 3-4 hours. By better, I refer to better high frequency resolution and bass clarity. Other than my own OCD, there may be a cogent excuse for this: the Absolute has a very large power supply (80? 100? caps) which takes time to reach optimum operating status...

 

[Tabl10s]

Now that you mention it, someone had explained to me why there is a "right powering sequence" in a digital chain -- but I forgot it, sorry
It does look like you're on to something, though!
On a different note, I notice that my DAC sounds best after being on for 3-4 hours. By better, I refer to better high frequency resolution and bass clarity. Other than my own OCD, there may be a cogent excuse for this: the Absolute has a very large power supply (80? 100? caps) which takes time to reach optimum operating status...

Now that you mention it, someone had explained to me why there is a "right powering sequence" in a digital chain -- but I forgot it, sorry
It does look like you're on to something, though!
On a different note, I notice that my DAC sounds best after being on for 3-4 hours. By better, I refer to better high frequency resolution and bass clarity. Other than my own OCD, there may be a cogent excuse for this: the Absolute has a very large power supply (80? 100? caps) which takes time to reach optimum operating status...

Geoli would be the one to ask. I know it was recommended, almost 30 years ago, that you restart the transport which would realign the laser for optimum sound. If files on NAS/HD's operate the same way, does that mean all downloads are corrupted if the above wasn't done?

 

[geoli]

As an Ideon distributor in my country, it’s very easy for me to identify with all that George and Vasilis said in their welcome post. The passion and love for music of the Ideon team is genuinely communicated through their products, or… when you talk to them. I am proud to represent that company.

A small story from recently: a ‘tough’ customer was curious about the Siren USB cable, after he ‘tried so many USB cables, including very expensive ones’ and had doubts this one would be any better. Guess what? The Siren won . The same guy heard the Eos DAC in his own system and it took him a couple of minutes to say to me: “that’s what I want”, after he had auditioned quite a few others , for quite some time.

Hi Raphy, good to hear from you and thanks for your kind words, being yourself a perfectionist you can understand our approach...

 

[geoli]

Geoli would be the one to ask. I know it was recommended, almost 30 years ago, that you restart the transport which would realign the laser for optimum sound. If files on NAS/HD's operate the same way, does that mean all downloads are corrupted if the above wasn't done?

There is a logic—and we generally follow this approach—of powering on the streamer first. This is because it needs time to load its operating system, establish a network connection, and stabilize power for the CPU before it can start running its app.
Next in line is the re-clocker, as the streamer must connect to it once it’s up and running.
Finally, the DAC should be powered on last, since the streamer will now be ready to recognize and communicate with it.
You could say this is the proper sequence for powering on—and in reverse, powering off—a digital audio system. However, to be honest, we have no evidence that using a different sequence has any negative impact on sound quality.

 

[Musiconthebeach]

Now that you mention it, someone had explained to me why there is a "right powering sequence" in a digital chain -- but I forgot it, sorry
It does look like you're on to something, though!
On a different note, I notice that my DAC sounds best after being on for 3-4 hours. By better, I refer to better high frequency resolution and bass clarity. Other than my own OCD, there may be a cogent excuse for this: the Absolute has a very large power supply (80? 100? caps) which takes time to reach optimum operating status...

I feel the improvement you are hearing is real. I hear an increase in textural timbre and tonal density overall that makes for a more engaging listening experience. I found it quite astonishing actually as my Absolute Meta stack sounds so engaging even from a cold start. For me the moment I first noticed it it was in classic Frog-in-Boiling-Water effect fashion. Having listened for a few hours one evening, I noticed it and reflexively thought… Huh? What changed!?! I remember it vividly; it was a Thelonias Monk track that brought on a “chicken-skin” moment that totally captivated me. Your thoughts on how this happens seems very plausible. Let me share this… when I introduced the Sigma Wave and Alpha Wave into my system, I decided to make a small listening event out of it for a few enthusiastic friends. When I mentioned this to Thanassis at Ideon Tech Support, he beamed with enthusiasm and suggested I keep the entire stack turned on for 24 hours prior to the actual listening session to bring all components up to optimal operating temperature (paraphrasing). Since then, upon waking in the morning and immediately after my usual morning brew, I turn on the Ideon stack and leave it on for the entire day and shut it down after my evening listening is done. I’m thinking of leaving it on all the time but… the memories of my frugal parents makes me hesitant.

 

[Gregm]

I’m thinking of leaving it on all the time but… the memories of my frugal parents makes me hesitant.

I hear you !
But it's not as if it's a class A amp - i doubt consumption is very high...