What advantage to the Ian Canada HAT is there over the Pi2AES? Why do I need a HAT at all? I’ve got a 24v iFi iPower Elite + DC iPurifier 2 on the Pi, along with their ethernet Purifier.
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If you’re going USB out from the Pi you don’t need a hat at all. It just ALL helps.
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Oh, that’s very cool. I have another RPi4 I’m not using at all, so I could swap that one in and leave the Pi2AES one as is. I could use this ShieldPi Pro on the other one then, and use that for USB-only streaming.
Did the ShieldPi Pro make a big, noticeable difference?
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I know my v2 was usb, what did coop’s have? Ive been trying to find a used v2 and one with optical to replace my BF2 at the pc. But its hard to get away from schiits no fuss usb at the pc.
I agree here. The v2 sounded like a better bifrost, which is all i had at the time besides an asus dac and the short stint with the walnut. Outside of the huge technicalities jump, the X is more refined and balanced sound. Still Mojo but i would say not as bottom heavy. I dont know about forwardness but an AM or NC core would have more treble presence and detail.
To be clear, looking back i was not a fan of the Fe ferrous core version of the X (or at least not as much as i wanted to say i was) it just didnt feel like an improvement and felt one dimensional, i almost wanted the v2 back. I am glad i sold that and grabbed the SE with AM cores as i felt that was on the level it should have been.
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The V2 I have is coaxial only.
Not having heard ferrous cores or any other, I’m hoping I’m blown away because this DAC should be a pretty big step up over the GDA-600. But, I can always have it upgraded later…
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Welp, I just paid $3386 for a Mystique Y with the amorphous core upgrade. It’s currently configured with those and is out at Capitol Audio Fest right now. He offered an additional $500 discount if I opted to keep those, so $3999 total for the amorphous core upgrade (usually $5500). Ben offered $750 trade-in on the V2 SE and is letting me keep it until I receive the Y. He’s expecting to ship 11/20.
I’m SUPER excited. Slightly bummed it’s not an AD1862-based DAC, but I’m sure it’s going to be amazing, and a marked step up over both the V2 SE and my custom GDA-600.
Sucks to have to wait, though…
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Its only a week or so, but congrats. Ill be looking forward to your review.
I wish that V2 had toslink, i would have given you a little more and used it fir my pc. I do wonder if any were made with tosink at all tbh.
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Glad it worked out!
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Congrats. I was in the CAF room that used your DAC (so I got to see & hear it before you😂), and the system sounded great.
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I think I’m going to order the ShieldPi Pro tomorrow. Does it require a special case? Does it require multiple power supplies as well? I tried finding more information, but didn’t come up with much of anything.
It should work with most cases that support a hat. You don’t need multiple power supplies as it will power the Pi, just need clean 5V power fed to it.
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Emailed Ben earlier since I hadn’t heard and he said the guy from the show wants to keep that DAC. So he’s building me a new one with parts that just arrived, in a used chassis, and will ship on Monday. Hopefully. I’m pretty bummed. I stupidly thought I might have this in time for the Thanksgiving break. I’m also annoyed that I had to contact him instead of him updating me on the status of the item I fucking bought 12 days ago. Kind of wish I would’ve just bought that Z-chip Mystique 3 from TMR at this point.
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Yeah that is a bit shitty as you said. Why not give you that one and make a new one for the other guy?
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The V3 on USAM at the moment would be a wonderful pick if it wasn’t a such a bastardized config.
removed angry rant
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I feel for you man. I really do. Everyon in the hobby has a story of being tossed around. I can imagine looking forward to listening to your new gear over Thanksgiving and then nothing.
Buying for one man shops like these, where you’re dealing with the guy that does everything, things often don’t go as they very optimisticly planned and you’re left sideways. It’s not the kind of business dealing you’d expect from other industries or larger vendors but for some reason, the audiophile community almost “expects it” because we’ve all gone through the same. I’ve got two experiences such as what you describe, and both times from small vendors when I was buying new.
Let him know that you’re dissatisfied and why but life happens and knowing Ben and dealing with him a number of times, I know he’s not purposely doing it.
Imagine if you’d sent him your DAC back first. Things could be worse. Going non communicative never helps the situation.
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If he doesnt ship tomorrow there is the V3 that has been sitting, maybe theyll take less. TMR has an X SE for $4.6k, not sure how low theyll go.
But overall i am sorry to hear it has come down to this, taking away from the joy and planned listening time.
My amp is a few months overdue, but i thankfully get updates, i know it is moving. This is much shittier.
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That V3 with optical? Wouldn’t that be a major compromise in terms of what the DAC is capable of?
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Sadly yes. It’s why it hasn’t sold.
Yes, but only suggesting if you van get the price very very low