Not exactly. They do make XLR to RCA adaptors @displaynameah sorry I didn’t realise your amp was s/e only. Yeah that makes it a non starter
The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.
- Thread starter Ed Selley
- Start date
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Yes true!
displayname
Well-Known Member
True, but just not sure I want it that badly. I think the mods would need to come in under like $500-600 for it to make sense. Which it might, but I expect this mod to be impressive but fairly expensive. Probably doubling the cost of the unit.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
Looking at the cost of their other mods I’d be expecting in the $2k range tbh. It’s a lot more than the unit, but could well be worth it depending. I’d be waiting for a lot of positive feedback before dropping that kind of money on a unit that cost that much. That said I’d not rule it out either
displayname
Well-Known Member
Yeah, with the shipping and taxes that would probably be around $3500. Probably still competitive but you could get something like a Node 2i and Musical Paradise MP-D2 for $1500 base or fully loaded for under $2500, so this would need to really perform to justify an extra $1K compared to that. And just adding a tube circuit to the existing DAC in the CXN, but who knows until they announce pricing and details.Looking at the cost of their other mods I’d be expecting in the $2k range tbh. It’s a lot more than the unit, but could well be worth it depending. I’d be waiting for a lot of positive feedback before dropping that kind of money on a unit that cost that much. That said I’d not rule it out either
displayname
Well-Known Member
Well details for this mod are out now, and I must say it looks more interesting than I was expecting. Pricing is just below my guess, coming in at $1500 + shipping and the cost of the unit. So $2600 + shipping if we're to go brand new today. That's pretty compelling.
ModWright Instruments | Cambridge CXN V2 Tube Modification
Beautiful amplifiers, pre-amplifiers, and equipment modifications for the discerning audiophile
www.modwright.com
What is included in the tube modified upgraded?
1. Replacement of stock DAC power supply with our own design.
2. Replacement of the entire stock SS analog stage with our own all-tube based analog stage and its own power supply.
3. Fully balanced in to out, with both RCA and XLR outs.
4. The entire mod is enclosed in one box, no outboard supply or umbilical.
Keeping RCA outs was a concern for me, so glad to see they've kept that. Having a Class A tube circuit DAC and respectable streamer in a single unit is quite impressive. They are also including a 3 year warranty on the work, which is also impressive.
It's still significantly more than a stock MP-D2 + Bluesound Node 2i, but that set up isn't Class A either. But this still slots in comfortably below something like a Lumin U1 mini + a quality DAC. I'd actually love to hear one of these now that I've seen the details.
duke86fan
Well-Known Member
tbh i now want an audioquest dragonfly because no need for recharging like the hipdac and the promotion in the music direct catalogue and recommendation on stereophile but i also know there probably wont be much of a different (i tried them, the red and the cobalt sounded the same on my phone though better than the phone tbh), but i also know i am a lot more limited in audio formats i can use (no DSD or 192, those are very popular in audiophile stuff), and i didn't like the sound when using on my laptop on a 70 dollar monolith USB dac
duke86fan
Well-Known Member
darko said to take the "audirvana challenge" and legitimately i could not tell a difference, i sometimes thought "maybe the bass is a little more improved on this" or "i think audirvana has a better timbre".. but legit its hard to really tell a difference, maybe my monoprice dac just sucks but its honestly hard to notice much an improvement (though i must say i do like audirvanas layout more than foobar and when it came to one OST i did notice more of a strong timbre in audirvana)
bother
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't worry too much about that-- truth is, most of these improvements are very small and on the margins once you get past a certain point. Having better, more revealing equipment will help, but it's still diminishing returns. I can't imagine using Audirvana would make massive differences (not NO difference, just not a massive one). And frankly... there may not be a difference at all.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
100% agree and the people crowing about Audivana etc sounding better than say Roon (certain audiophiles batter it’s sq for some reason) are doing it with a music server feeding a streamer and separate dac that can go into the tens of thousands. I can’t see that the difference will be as marked on a lot of the gear that some of us are using.
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bother
Well-Known Member
I couldn't help myself and had to check it out-- I've been using Roon for a while now. My main headfi rig is a Schitt Bifrost 2, Schiit Asgard (3? the latest one, I forget), and a pair of Audeze LCD-3. I installed Audirvana on my macbook and compared Audirvana vs Roon playing the same 96/24 track from my NAS.
If there's a difference, it's subtle. I'm talking maybe the Audirvana has crisper attacks, making the bass sound tighter, cymbals a little sharper. I've been listening and swapping for maybe 20 minutes so this isn't in depth, but I've got a decent setup and the differences aren't insane.
That said, Audirvana is like $96 for a single license-- that's lifetime. One payment of $96. Whereas Roon's a yearly subscription I'm pretty sure? Audirvana actually was easier to set up and the interface is just as nice.
I gotta admit, if the recommendation engine is halfway decent, and the streaming capability is there (ie, I want to be able to make an Audirvana endpoint with a Raspberry Pi like I did for Roon) then Audirvana might be a way better option than Roon. Then again, I already have a ROCK set up, and I don't know if Audirvana has something similar available.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
How is Audirvana for streaming. The integrated library and UI for Roon is a huge selling point for me. I also have a rock set up too and really like it. I’m actually thinking of moving away from my pi and to one of these to allow for DSD playback over usb whereas my pi + Hifiberry digi is limited to PCM over coax.
USBridge Signature Player - Ultra low noise RPI
USBridge Signature Player - Ultra low noise RPI
www.allo.com
bother
Well-Known Member
Haven't tried streaming just yet-- I have a CXNv2 and I'm guessing Audirvana will work with that? I'll play around with it later today and report back.How is Audirvana for streaming. The integrated library and UI for Roon is a huge selling point for me. I also have a rock set up too and really like it. I’m actually thinking of moving away from my pi and to one of these to allow for DSD playback over usb whereas my pi + Hifiberry digi is limited to PCM over coax.
USBridge Signature Player - Ultra low noise RPI
USBridge Signature Player - Ultra low noise RPI
I was looking at that exact thing a few months ago and was really tempted to pick it up. Went with a pi with ropieee and an Allo audio hat on there. Sounds great through Roon, real simple and easy. Basically the same setup as you have-- I don't mind it though, my headfi setup is sort of my secondary system. If you do end up getting that Bridge, post about it at some point and let me know how it goes.
I'm not sure how Audirvana would handle streaming to a pi, but I suspect it's possible from the very brief glance I took at the Audirvana forums. It definitely recognizes the Kef LSX speakers I have downstairs, so that's a positive, and seems to function much like Roon does. Although Roon feels more integrated in terms of all the services-- Audirvana breaks them out into their own "categories" so you're not mixing and matching between them. Even still, for the price, Audirvana seems pretty good. Doubt I'll switch, but it looks nice and sounds good, so it's a solid option.
Joe Mac
Well-Known Member
I thought that the CXN was natively a Roon endpoint and that you didn’t need a stand-alone bridge? I don’t know about audirvana but I’m sure it’s website will set you ok the right path.
I’ve been kinda humming and hawing over buying that thing since it came out a year ago. I do have a good amount of DSD stuff and it’d be nice to make the most of it, but then streaming/files is my third most common option (vinyl first, CDs second) and its not like the pi and hifiberry sounds bad. I’ll probably pick it up at some point and if I do I’m be sure to post a review on here!
bother
Well-Known Member
OK did a bit more digging-- Ropiee XL would allow Audirvana streaming, since Audirvana works over DLNA or whatever. It also streams fine to my CXNv2 without any additional setup, it just appeared when I booted it all up.
Seems to me that Audirvana is equivalent in sound quality. It's $96 lifetime vs $700 lifetime (or $120/yr) for Roon. The interface is nice, the images etc are nice. It's very easy to install and seems to take almost no setup to get started, whereas Roon has a learning curve.
However, Roon's recommendation engine is much better. The services are tightly integrated and seamless compared to Audirvana. I think Roon's metadata is better as well, but not positive about that. I'm going to stick with Roon because I'm locked into that system and I can afford it, but Audirvana is a great, cheaper alternative.
I don't know why I spent the last couple hours doing this.
Oh yeah it's a native endpoint for Roon, I meant I wasn't sure how it'd work with Audirvana-- but it's totally fine.
duke86fan
Well-Known Member
I might buy audirvana not because I hear a difference (I kinda do but it's so subtle it could be placebo). But I love integrating both tidal and my foobar library into one system, thus no issues with exclusive mode unless I decide to watch a video on YouTube without stopping the music
bother
Well-Known Member
Honestly i think Auditvana is totally worth it, assuming you can swing the cost of course. Room to grow into it too, add more devices, etc.
duke86fan
Well-Known Member
i feel like im definitely going to but it...
if just because i love the idea of integration between tidal and my current library so i can basically uninstall both foobar AND tidal and get a ton of convenience… (i just wish there was last.fm support).
It's almost like roon but made for those like me who want a good integration but no need for multiple different endpoints (and no insane magazine recommendation mode)
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displayname
Well-Known Member
I still love mine, and I still think it stands alone at it’s price point. Above the node 2i (not massively, but has some nice additions for the money).
Tidal connect will be icing on the cake once they roll out the update.