來自羅馬尼亞的USB界面 Hydra-X

breadvan

odysseyhk 發表於 2013-12-10 09:39
You are right that it is licensing issue, not technology issue.   It will not get released until S ...

"I'm not keen to buy DSD which is actually converted from PCM", ha ha, no kidding, neither I am gonna sucked into buying DSD files for the sake of buying DSD.  I am afraid many enthusiasts are spending hours ripping their SACD not knowing the source is actually PCM to begin with, Norah Jones “Come Away with Me” is a fine example, anything that is not native DSD recording falls pretty much in this camp, correct me if I am wrong.

Not to contradict with you since you obviously know much better than I do, but is DSD over HDMI really proprietary, like what Accuphase is using between their SACD transport and DAC, or even Denon (I am not even sure they are proprietary either)?

You can easily use an audio de-embedder to extract 24/176 or 24/88 PCM audio from native DSD data from players like Sony, Oppo and Pioneer, if that is proprietary I think these relatively cheap de-embedder wouldn’t even be able to read the data.

breadvan

For native DSD recordings, look for San Francisco Symphony Orchestra's Mahler cycle conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas, very expensive though like USD50 a pop, also Channel Classics.

odysseyhk

breadvan 發表於 2013-12-10 12:38
"I'm not keen to buy DSD which is actually converted from PCM", ha ha, no kidding, neither I am go ...

You are right, "propriety" is the not the exact word to describe the issue.  My apologies.

I need to find a better word.  I think a better description is that the transmission of DSD need to be in a way IP rights protected.  Whoever license this technology of DSD transmission have to agree not to output DSD unprotected.   

I did not study the DSD de-embedder devices.  I think they would not output DSD unprotected in DoP or raw DSD stream.  Am I right?  

breadvan

No need for apologies, friendly discussion ma !!

I think the term is encryption, one of the reasons why DSD could only be transmitted via HDMI, or USB, since coaxial and TOSlink do not have encryption capability.

No the de-embedder cannot output raw DSD.  I should add that these players (Oppo / Sony / Pioneer, etc) are able to either output native DSD, or PCM, via their HDMI, hence the de-embedder could extract the audio channel from it.  Sorry if I didn't make this clear.

odysseyhk

Some more tweaks to fine tune Hydra-X.

1/ We placed Hydra-X on to acrylic blocks and the results was great.  I did put acrylic blocks on top of Hydra-X as well.  I help tighten the sound a bit.  Like any source, the controlling the vibration is important to sound quality.  

2/ I tried switch off the power supply when play-back music.  There is further improvement.  Although Hydra-X turn off power when it play from battery.  But switching off the power supply still help improve the sound further.  Nice little tweak cost you nothing.
Yesterday, we had a customer came in and audition the system. We spent most of the time enjoying a wide range of music from vocal to jazz, classical and percussion.  Then we try direct UBS connection without Hydra-X, the difference was huge.  Hydra-X is bringing the music so enjoyable, musical and 3D to the next next level.  

I like his comment "if buying DAC2 with I2S, there is no reason not buying Hydra-X" as well.  

So after months of fine tuning and optimization with Hydra-X, it really exceeded my expectation what a D2D converter would make a difference.

odysseyhk

It is now Hydra-X+ version with better battery capacity and longer listening time to 40+ hours after a full charge.   Same as Hydra-X, you can enjoy music while it is charging the battery.

Also, now it come with Coaxial instead of Toslink.



Now we are using it to drive W4S DAC2 DSD / W4S DAC2 DSD SE / Rockna Audio WaveDream DAC.

We are going to have one more DAC supporting I2S over HDMI.  That is the Audiobyte Black Dragon which is coming soon.  As a preview, it is using dual AK4396.  Each for one channel.  Stay tuned.

So we are going to have choice of 3 DAC using different chips, all taking advantage the great digital source ( Hydra-X+ ) connected through I2S over HDMI :

ES9018 (W4S DAC2 DSD and DAC2 DSD SE)
MSB R2R DAC module (Rockna Audio WaveDream DAC)
AK9346 (Audiobyte Black Dragon) - coming soon

Cheers!

odysseyhk

Preview of Black Dragon:

odysseyhk

Draft User Manual Document of Hydra-X+.  Final version will be available on Audiobyte web site after they refresh it.

http://www.odysseyaudiohk.com/doc/HYDRA-X+_user_manual.pdf

Some of the refinements  of Hydra-X+:

The Hydra-X+ compared to Hydra-X, added Coaxial SPDIF output and removed Toslink.

The I2S socket is now "vertical" instead of "horizontal" which is better if you have heavy HDMI cable connected to it.

"In normal operation mode(USB connected), a fully charged battery can supply the Hydra-X+ for approximately 48 hours. A full charging cycle takes about 9 hours, so we recommend leaving it to charge overnight. "  While the Hydra-X support approx. 8 hours of playback.  Hydra-X+ is using a larger capacity battery.

The LEDs are small and dimmed in Hydra-X+ which is better.

Price is set to be the same.

breadvan

odysseyhk 發表於 2014-3-9 22:41
Preview of Black Dragon:

more info on the Black Dragon? a replacement of the Silver Dragon?

odysseyhk

Black dragon info will be available soon and production has started.  I'm ordering a demo.

I'm very excited having it connect to Hydra-x+ and compare to W4S and WaveDream.

Yes, it is replacing Silver Dragon.  Black Dragon not just refined the look, the circuit and firmware DSP are refined as well.

Black Dragon, W4S DAC2 DSD and WaveDream DAC are all compatible with Hydra-X+ Battery Powered I2S source which is a big jump in performance comparing to coaxial/XLR or UBS source.

Anybody want to have break through of CAS sound quality.  Hydra-X+ and one of these 3 DACs is excellent choice. And we welcome customer bring in their own CAS and DAC to compare.  

odysseyhk

I remember some c-hing asked if we have tried adding iFi iUSB power to Hydra-X+.  I brought iFi iUSB and the dual head cable for testing.

Tried 2 configuration.

1/ USB power by iFi iUSB but the signal directly from music server to Hydra-X+
2/ USB power by iFi iUSB and the signal go thru the iFi iUSB as well

Adding iFi iUSB would not further improve the sound quality.  In fact, the sound is less 3D and cut a bit of high/low.  So no need to add iFi if you already using Hydra-X+.

I did another test adding USB Noise Remover - UNR (we made it for our own use, a capacitor bank with silver cable for USB noise absorption).   UNR works pretty well to clean up the music server 5V power noise and works great with Hydra-X+ with no side effect.  So we will keep UNR in our demo environment.   The 3D sound improved will deeper and wider sound stage.  I like it.

odysseyhk

Internal picture of Black Dragon DAC.  The heart of Black Dragon, custom built DSP firmware running on FPGA instead of using off-the-shelf DSP chip. Make it possible to bring Black Dragon DAC to the next level without limiting it to the constrained choice of commercial chips.

Again, come with I2S over HDMI make it good match with Hydra-X+ to deliver superior sound.

If you are not satisfied with SPDIF and USB interface, come and join us using I2S over HDMI and you will find it is giving you the breakthrough to reach the next level of sound quality!

elo

What will be the price of Black Dragon ?

When is the demo unit available for audition ?

Thanks.