Tír Na HiFi

jkeny wrote:

Peter Stockwell wrote:Hi,

Posting for the first time here, hope that it's not the last. I was lured here as a result of sumething of a pie fight on pfm. ....

Peter

Hi Peter & welcome
Is that not what PFM stands for "Pie Fight Methods"?
I always thought so as it is a regular occurrence there & many there are well practised in the art

I think the "M" is for measurements.

welcome aboard Peter.

Peter, I just caught your report to the troops back at the Pie Fight front-line.
Remember, the thread "Build an Audio PC" is pushing the envelope, somewhat & there are findings of importance for sound found there:
- first was eliminating the spinning fan & going to passive cooling
- next, I think were the Power Supply factors - we went from linear to battery power & got an increase in sound at each step
- then the OS - core server with Audiophils script (which minimises the OS profile, I think) was another improvement in sound

So, with all these changes & a good resolving playback system (note that this doesn't mean expensive) we are hearing a sound that equals or betters the best vinyl we have heard. Oh, back at the PF front you (or us) will be disparaged for saying any or all of this, I predict.

But any of them are welcome to listen to these systems & decide for themselves. MaxFinn was already invited but I believe keyboard terrorists have an aversion to social contact/exposure.

jkeny wrote:

Peter Stockwell wrote:Hi,

Posting for the first time here, hope that it's not the last. I was lured here as a result of sumething of a pie fight on pfm. ....

Peter

Hi Peter & welcome
Is that not what PFM stands for "Pie Fight Methods"?
I always thought so as it is a regular occurrence there & many there are well practised in the art

Nah, Pie Fight Mayhem! ;)

Peter Stockwell wrote: Nah, Pie Fight Mayhem! ;)

Ah right :)

jkeny wrote: Remember, the thread "Build an Audio PC" is pushing the envelope, somewhat & there are findings of importance for sound found there:

- first was eliminating the spinning fan & going to passive cooling

- next, I think were the Power Supply factors - we went from linear to battery power & got an increase in sound at each step

- then the OS - core server with Audiophils script (which minimises the OS profile, I think) was another improvement in sound

So, with all these changes & a good resolving playback system (note that this doesn't mean expensive) we are hearing a sound that equals or betters the best vinyl we have heard. Oh, back at the PF front you (or us) will be disparaged for saying any or all of this, I predict.

But any of them are welcome to listen to these systems & decide for themselves.

Mark @ item was trying toget that sort of discussion started on pie fight, but was chased out of town, for diverse reasons. One of them being his trade status, which sat unwell with some mayhemmers.

Anyway, I only just started the build a computer thread on here, and I'm reseistant to a lot of the extremes, it's supposed to be simple, isn't ?

But my first question will be ... on another thread.

Peter Stockwell wrote: Mark @ item was trying toget that sort of discussion started on pie fight, but was chased out of town, for diverse reasons. One of them being his trade status, which sat unwell with some mayhemmers.

I know, I got some of that too ut not to the same extent as Mark. In fact, one reason I started posting on PFM was in support of MArk as I thought his treatment was disgraceful. I actually blame TonyL for this state of affairs as he could have stopped this at any time. I have stopped posting on that forum for those same reasonsm as you know.

Anyway, I only just started the build a computer thread on here, and I'm reseistant to a lot of the extremes, it's supposed to be simple, isn't ?

Sure, I agree. But remember that thread is the experimentalists thread (some actually think it is just the mentalist bit that applies to it) so there are lots of things tried. When something proves to be sonically beneficial, there is then an attempt at refining - look at the car batteries moving to Anker consumer battery case.

As regards the complexity of it - yes, it's an unfortunate truth - computer audio is complex to get the best sound out of it. And one could argue, as I have been known to do, that PCs are not a good platform to base our audio systems on. We end up with a lot of complexity ironically trying to make the processing simple :)

ut that's where we are at the moment & we are only discovering the boundaries of what's important & what isn't for sound.

As you can see, this isn't hampered by theoretical dogma but also it isn't a free-form, logic-free experimental area.

But my first question will be ... on another thread.

Cool, yes, that's where we should e talking about Audio PCs

Hi Everyone,

I just discovered the Ciúnas DAC online today and I am thinking about ordering one.

I read the recommendation in the user manual to use a direct USB connector, but I'm having trouble visualizing how I would connect it to my Mac Mini with its vertical USB ports. Is it really better to use a couple cheap connectors instead of one quality USB cable? Has anyone figured out how to connect a Ciúnas DAC to their Mac Mini as recommended in the manual?

I also shut the Mac Mini down when I'm not listening to music, but I do have a powered USB hub that could be left plugged in all the time. Would this work to provide power to the internal battery charger using the provided USB charger cable?

Thanks in advance for any info or tips.

Cheers.

Hi welcome aboard. No doubt John might come along later to give you some advice. Really wouldn't worry about what you use to connect to it.
You can always experiment later. The direct connectors in tests going back ages ago using whatever version of Jplay was about at that stage and with no streaming seemed slightly better than either basic usb cables and I think either a basic Nordost or Wireworld cable.

I would suggest you happily use the quality usb cable. I used direct connectors for a long time but now use a short elijah audio cable.

Macmini questions can't answer.

The powered hub will charge the dac. It doesnt have to be left charging all the time but importantly remember to turn off the dac if not being charged when all is turned off. Otherwise the lifepo4 battery will discharge. That seems to be regarded as bad. It has happened to me occasionally as the dac is behind my pc and sometimes I forget to turn it off when disconnecting the charger. The dac/battery has survived but regardless best to try and get into the good habit of either leaving it trickle charging or make sure to turn off after use.

Hi Streetcore
Welcome to the forum
I'm the developer of the Ciúnas devices & will try to answer any questions you have.
The recommendation of USB adapters is just that a recommendation. Some prefer the sound of a good quality USB cable, including some posters here. It really is down to the practicality of using USB adapters Vs USB cable Vs costs Vs sound. The adapters are mentioned here https://sites.google.com/site/hifacemod ... provingusb

Yes, your powered USB hub will work fine as PS for the internal battery charger. Alternatively an external PS can be used.

Hope this helps? Feel free to ask any further questions here or via PM/email

Edit: I see Tony has jumped in first - thanks Tony.
Just one slight correction - it is probably better to have the DAC on charge at all times.

Thanks for the quick replies. I actually stumbled upon the Ciúnas while looking for info about the Eastern Electric Minimax Plus. I like the flexibility and the options available on the Minimax, but I only need a USB input and prefer the small size of the Ciúnas. I'm currently using an HRT Music Streamer and prefer a DAC that is heard and not seen. So I was happy to read that the Ciúnas compares favourably to the Minimax.

My one concern is the battery. I've seen too many perfectly good power tools, cell phones, laptops, etc, rendered obsolete over the years because the battery died and replacements either weren't available or were too costly. Some of my concerns were alleviated when I read the battery in the Ciúnas is on a constant trickle charge, rather than being repeatedly charged and depleted. However I'm still a bit sceptical of the claims that the battery should last 20 years. Is there a life-time warranty on the battery? What about the DAC itself? I don't see any info regarding warranties on the website.

Thanks again.