In computer audio streaming, there are many terminologies and components involved which sometimes becomes the deterring factor to many audiophiles, especially during the set up stage: modem, router, switch, optical filter, renderer, streamer, Roon core, Roon nucleus, bridge, end-points,etc. The more complicated the path, the more potential sources of distortion and noise interference, be it just a simple transmission of ‘0’ and ‘1’.
Amongst all CAS hardware components, network switch receives the most interest from the audiophile community as one often uses it as a network filter filtrating high frequency noises from the internet. Having multiple switches in the chain often lingers in the mind of perfectionists to achieve the utmost cleanliness. However, the more components in the signal path, the more noises it radiate via power supply, cables and chassis creating a compounded distortion.
APL network switch conjures up my belief of ‘less is more’. In my CAS setup, I intentionally use one switch only. APL does the job exceedingly well unearthing wealth of details and silence between the musical notes making the music more emotionally touchable and soulful. Music is relaxing without the perceived agility caused by high frequency noises. The switch humbles somewhat in bass attack and weight. This is easily manageable by matching it with an appropriate power cable with speed and transient. In this case Sternklang Kannon serves the purpose well!
Inside the switch, it has a custom femto-jitter with ultra lownoise clocking to frame the data packet from the router to the receiving end. It is powered by built in LPS with custom Lundahl high quality transformer from Sweden. Superb build quality aside, it delivers a lively and intimate pacing of music making my previous switch sounds robotic.
The switch comes with 8 LAN ports running with fully discrete isolation transformers and filtering chokes. Each port has an either green light in the front panel to indicate a Cat 8 ethernet cable is connected or an amber light for a Cat 6/below ethernet. A tip in performance to share: use the ports farther away from the power socket would yield an even darker background reason being EMI/RFI noise is inevitably more intense nearer to the power input.
I was delighted to be the first stop of the roadshow by Dominika and Arthur of Arya Audio Labs.
We had a long conversation about positive contributions of Airblade and RevOpod at my showroom. We proceeded testing the level precision of the Da Vinci Gabrielle turntable. It was fairly good but not perfect based on Orbius’ reading.
Schubert Arpeggione cello sonata performed by Maurice Gendron is always my favorite reference recordings. Orbius rediscovered the space amongst musical notes. I could now comprehend Gendron’s pacing of tempo a lot easier than before. Dominika rightly pointed out a single musical note comprises of a leading edge, main passage and the decay. Orbius mirrors these them with utmost timing accuracy unleashing space amongst notes. The communicative space amongst different instrumental groups is almost tangible. The physical space of piano is well defined without intruding the flamboyance of cello.
The rendition of Offenbach Gaite Parisienne conducted by Karajan was a ballet dancing opera happened in a cafe in Paris. The joyful aura rendered by the orchestra was conveyed with vibrancy. The attack of each instrumental group was flamboyant, exemplifying the scientific merits of the Orbius.
Two Kyoons were plugged into the JMF Audio PCD 302 AC power filter. We then listened to Billie Eilish’s ‘What I was made for’ via streaming. When the first Kyoon was added, the lingering breath from the mouth cavity was transcended a new level of fidelity unheard of. Adding a second one brought immense intricacy and purity to her voice unsurprisingly given the cascading effect of two. The divine voice of Billie is progressively becoming more focus with rich harmonics. Unlike many similar products in the market, Kyoon doesn’t twist tonality at all. There was no energy/transients degradation making this device an insurmountable tool to clean up electrical noises. Battle against noise never ends. I am glad to be armed by Orbius and Kyoon.
Consuming years of painstakingly research, Origo ll was finally launched in first quarter this year. It comes with a sturdy chassis of 40kg, which arguably is the largest and heaviest one box SACD player existed on earth. It is compartmentalised into 4 partitions isolated by 10mm thick aluminium housing the disc docking, power supply, DAC and main control circuitry. It is equivalently to an amalgamation of 4 mechanically and magnetically isolated chassis into one single platform.
It features an optical reading mechanism which is an in house design for an ultra low centre of gravity simulating a vinyl turntable. The drawer of it reflects the horizontal position of module is notably lower than any CD player that I come across. The DAC portion is powered by 4 pairs of well matched PCM1704K with no digital processor and modulator inside.
The sound is beyond incredible! It is a SACD player which can deliver convincingly potent bass resolution where musicality finds its foundation. I am virtually teleported to the front row watching the athletic action of Ondekoza (鬼太鼓座）drumming rhythmically with continuous sweats in their album Fugaku-Hyakkei (富嶽百景）. The 5 feet wide 700kg Taiko (太鼓）rocked my studio with depth and progression. The energy delineation in the bass frequency range reaches an uncharted zone unheard of.
Dvorak Symphony No.5 ‘From the New World’ conducted by Istvan Kertesz with VPO is one of the best Decca recordings by Minshull, Brown in the Sofiensaal , Vienna. This is a SACD digitally remastered by Stereo Sound of Japan. VPO under the baton of the renowned Hungarian conductor was highly motivated and energised radiating multiple strands of expressive and spontaneous symphonic passages. Origo ll deciphers all these intertwining details with extreme precision on the pacing and tonality. The violins, horns, flutes and timpani were meticulously layered and located to deliver a beautifully played symphony. The timpani is captivating with an emphatic and elusive inner resonance unleashing the national grandeur of the USA in the eyes of newly immigrant: Dvorak.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was a German lyric baritone. His recording with the accompanist Gerald Moore on Schubert’s Winterreise is critically acclaimed as a legendary performance of the century. The diction in German, though I am totally unfamiliar with the language, possesses powers, breath control, pauses augmented by the elemental and comfortable piano played by Moore. Origo ll projects a deep intensity of the winter harshness and solitude from the vocal smoothened by the slightly distanced piano music. The melancholic rendition has been restored with richness and suppleness.
Musica Nuda is an Italian Duo with Magoni on female vocal and Spinetti on double bass. Contrary to the aforementioned Winterreise, where the baritone and pianist were singing and playing with a vast range of overlapping frequency, Magoni and Spinetti are literally performing in two sonically polarised zones in the song where the former manoeuvres on the low while Spinetti plays on the high region of the frequency spectrum. I am utterly stunned by Origo overarching the vast dynamic contrasts with solid spatial separations between the intimacy and immediacy. Listening to the glaring and flaring vocal mingled in the warm and rhythmic staccato of the double bass brings enormous musical pleasure beyond words.
The rapid advent of CAS has inevitably posed threat to the popularity of physical media such as vinyl and CD. Behind Synaestec is an elite team of enthusiastic engineers committed and focused to precisely reveal the musical content in its purest form. My applause to Synaestec in producing this masterpiece.
Comments
上星期到訪AE Central音響室測試由英國剛抵港的Reiki Audio Optical bridge (OB) Extreme Pro/Pro （旗艦型號）。
未接上OB連專用PSO PSU供電時，Engstrom Monica 前級/Eric Encore後級已經安裝了Dalby 《驚天一式》新世代防震機腳，而且房間亦已重新佈置了AGS的房効配件去處理註波，因此播放音樂時的背景黑暗感和清晰度已大為改善，和諧道更上一層樓。 接上OB後，輸入Wadex Reference Server數位串流裏的雜訊被消除，因應不同的曲，音頻能量密度提高、結象/音場晶瑩透徹、音色變得分明、樂器與人聲之間的空間感更加連貫和諧（比分隔度清晰更高層次），因此現場演繹更真實、自然。 Wadax Atlantis Reference DAC，全程用2V輸出，房間完全沒有超載。
我充心期待Reiki OB蒞臨自家系統！
Reiki's PRO PSU (LPS)
Reiki's Optical Bridge
「光之昇華」
最近再次探訪中環御品，器材大致無變，但KK竟然把整個系統拉前了好一段距離，方便管理線材之餘，Goebel小神曲的聲音變得更有活力，更有音樂感；視覺上也更整齊，美觀。
今次的主角是Reiki Audio 的 Optical Bridge Extreme Pro/Pro (RAOB)。用「光」作隔離噪音不是新鮮事，巿面上也有不少類似產品，我之前也用了一個有相當効果的香港品牌光隔。lRA的光隔系統有多種組合設定：可以用一個 “master” 和一個 “slave”，又或是兩個 “master” ，自家製的 LPS 獨立供電給予分體的光橋，總共由四個部件組成。除此之外，四件部件分別有一個接地位，可接不同的地線。當然還日後可以換更高級的網線和DC線，升級的彈性十分高。
未接它前，我認為中環御品的播放水平，以我常測試的音樂而言，可算是「接近完美」，無論能量、音樂感、像真度都已無可挑剔。當一接上RAOB 後，我立即感受到小提琴的「質地」，聽到不同琴手原來是用不同的琴。以前描述小提琴只會說很像真，並假設所有琴原自同一牌子。雖然我不太認知各名琴的特色(例如不同年份的Stradivarius 、Gunerai等），但它們的辨識度大大提高，除了音色外，就連它們體積大小也能感受到。這真正是 “High Fidelity” 的境界。
Billie Eilish 的 “What was I made for?” 在未接 RAOB之前的確已很悅耳，但接了之後，才能斷定她是有氣有力有技巧地唱（而不是hea唱），腔音清晰無比，完全帶給我對「真實感」的全新認知！這次我真的不能返轉頭，而且這次demo全部是跟機線，日後升級空間極大。
即使各項噪音管理已各司其職，RAOB的出現仍然帶來如此的驚人大躍進，音質提升極緻的程度，實在令我驚訝。我十分期待它在寒舍下的表現，以及日後換了更高級的線材後，又可以昇華至甚麼境界呢？
Mike Yu
In computer audio streaming, there are many terminologies and components involved which sometimes becomes the deterring factor to many audiophiles, especially during the set up stage: modem, router, switch, optical filter, renderer, streamer, Roon core, Roon nucleus, bridge, end-points,etc. The more complicated the path, the more potential sources of distortion and noise interference, be it just a simple transmission of ‘0’ and ‘1’.
Amongst all CAS hardware components, network switch receives the most interest from the audiophile community as one often uses it as a network filter filtrating high frequency noises from the internet. Having multiple switches in the chain often lingers in the mind of perfectionists to achieve the utmost cleanliness. However, the more components in the signal path, the more noises it radiate via power supply, cables and chassis creating a compounded distortion.
APL network switch conjures up my belief of ‘less is more’. In my CAS setup, I intentionally use one switch only. APL does the job exceedingly well unearthing wealth of details and silence between the musical notes making the music more emotionally touchable and soulful. Music is relaxing without the perceived agility caused by high frequency noises. The switch humbles somewhat in bass attack and weight. This is easily manageable by matching it with an appropriate power cable with speed and transient. In this case Sternklang Kannon serves the purpose well!
Inside the switch, it has a custom femto-jitter with ultra lownoise clocking to frame the data packet from the router to the receiving end. It is powered by built in LPS with custom Lundahl high quality transformer from Sweden. Superb build quality aside, it delivers a lively and intimate pacing of music making my previous switch sounds robotic.
The switch comes with 8 LAN ports running with fully discrete isolation transformers and filtering chokes. Each port has an either green light in the front panel to indicate a Cat 8 ethernet cable is connected or an amber light for a Cat 6/below ethernet. A tip in performance to share: use the ports farther away from the power socket would yield an even darker background reason being EMI/RFI noise is inevitably more intense nearer to the power input.
A visit by Arya Research team
I was delighted to be the first stop of the roadshow by Dominika and Arthur of Arya Audio Labs.
We had a long conversation about positive contributions of Airblade and RevOpod at my showroom. We proceeded testing the level precision of the Da Vinci Gabrielle turntable. It was fairly good but not perfect based on Orbius’ reading.
Schubert Arpeggione cello sonata performed by Maurice Gendron is always my favorite reference recordings. Orbius rediscovered the space amongst musical notes. I could now comprehend Gendron’s pacing of tempo a lot easier than before. Dominika rightly pointed out a single musical note comprises of a leading edge, main passage and the decay. Orbius mirrors these them with utmost timing accuracy unleashing space amongst notes. The communicative space amongst different instrumental groups is almost tangible. The physical space of piano is well defined without intruding the flamboyance of cello.
The rendition of Offenbach Gaite Parisienne conducted by Karajan was a ballet dancing opera happened in a cafe in Paris. The joyful aura rendered by the orchestra was conveyed with vibrancy. The attack of each instrumental group was flamboyant, exemplifying the scientific merits of the Orbius.
Two Kyoons were plugged into the JMF Audio PCD 302 AC power filter. We then listened to Billie Eilish’s ‘What I was made for’ via streaming. When the first Kyoon was added, the lingering breath from the mouth cavity was transcended a new level of fidelity unheard of. Adding a second one brought immense intricacy and purity to her voice unsurprisingly given the cascading effect of two. The divine voice of Billie is progressively becoming more focus with rich harmonics. Unlike many similar products in the market, Kyoon doesn’t twist tonality at all. There was no energy/transients degradation making this device an insurmountable tool to clean up electrical noises. Battle against noise never ends. I am glad to be armed by Orbius and Kyoon.
Origo ll - SACD Player by Synästec of Germany
Consuming years of painstakingly research, Origo ll was finally launched in first quarter this year. It comes with a sturdy chassis of 40kg, which arguably is the largest and heaviest one box SACD player existed on earth. It is compartmentalised into 4 partitions isolated by 10mm thick aluminium housing the disc docking, power supply, DAC and main control circuitry. It is equivalently to an amalgamation of 4 mechanically and magnetically isolated chassis into one single platform.
It features an optical reading mechanism which is an in house design for an ultra low centre of gravity simulating a vinyl turntable. The drawer of it reflects the horizontal position of module is notably lower than any CD player that I come across. The DAC portion is powered by 4 pairs of well matched PCM1704K with no digital processor and modulator inside.
The sound is beyond incredible! It is a SACD player which can deliver convincingly potent bass resolution where musicality finds its foundation. I am virtually teleported to the front row watching the athletic action of Ondekoza (鬼太鼓座）drumming rhythmically with continuous sweats in their album Fugaku-Hyakkei (富嶽百景）. The 5 feet wide 700kg Taiko (太鼓）rocked my studio with depth and progression. The energy delineation in the bass frequency range reaches an uncharted zone unheard of.
Dvorak Symphony No.5 ‘From the New World’ conducted by Istvan Kertesz with VPO is one of the best Decca recordings by Minshull, Brown in the Sofiensaal , Vienna. This is a SACD digitally remastered by Stereo Sound of Japan. VPO under the baton of the renowned Hungarian conductor was highly motivated and energised radiating multiple strands of expressive and spontaneous symphonic passages. Origo ll deciphers all these intertwining details with extreme precision on the pacing and tonality. The violins, horns, flutes and timpani were meticulously layered and located to deliver a beautifully played symphony. The timpani is captivating with an emphatic and elusive inner resonance unleashing the national grandeur of the USA in the eyes of newly immigrant: Dvorak.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was a German lyric baritone. His recording with the accompanist Gerald Moore on Schubert’s Winterreise is critically acclaimed as a legendary performance of the century. The diction in German, though I am totally unfamiliar with the language, possesses powers, breath control, pauses augmented by the elemental and comfortable piano played by Moore. Origo ll projects a deep intensity of the winter harshness and solitude from the vocal smoothened by the slightly distanced piano music. The melancholic rendition has been restored with richness and suppleness.
Musica Nuda is an Italian Duo with Magoni on female vocal and Spinetti on double bass. Contrary to the aforementioned Winterreise, where the baritone and pianist were singing and playing with a vast range of overlapping frequency, Magoni and Spinetti are literally performing in two sonically polarised zones in the song where the former manoeuvres on the low while Spinetti plays on the high region of the frequency spectrum. I am utterly stunned by Origo overarching the vast dynamic contrasts with solid spatial separations between the intimacy and immediacy. Listening to the glaring and flaring vocal mingled in the warm and rhythmic staccato of the double bass brings enormous musical pleasure beyond words.
The rapid advent of CAS has inevitably posed threat to the popularity of physical media such as vinyl and CD. Behind Synaestec is an elite team of enthusiastic engineers committed and focused to precisely reveal the musical content in its purest form. My applause to Synaestec in producing this masterpiece.