The Viva limits your options because it technically requires 5U4GB’s, but the Elrog and most new production 5U4’s meet the higher spec. The higher voltages also eliminate a lot of similar tubes if you want to run them in spec.
I’ve never seen anyone reverse engineer the Viva, but I’d imaging the B+ line for the 845 is probably somewhere between 850 and 1100V, and it probably uses the rectifiers in series to reach those voltages.
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Latest addition to the IEM family: Campfire Audio Solaris OG version. By far the widest soundstage IEMs I’ve heard, with excellent detail and dynamics. Used these are a great deal!
Also picked up the new(ish) Campfire Time Stream cable to go with it. No real commentary on sound quality yet, but the ergonomics are top notch, no tangle, very comfortable, highly recommend checking them out.
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Some records. First one I preordered last month after noticing it was being released by pure chance. Absolutely amazing dark ambient music. OST for Warhammer 40K: Mechanicus.
This one arrived last week. Had to wait a year for a repress to be released and was able to snag one in time. OST for Hardspace Shipbreaker.
Since all the music is a click away all the time I’ve started to look for these more unusual limited releases of game OSTs.
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I wish there was one for Darktide that included lossless files as well.
I was thinking of, and probably should grab the Quake 2 one. Quake II (Limited Edition Deluxe Double Vinyl) – Laced Records
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Matrix x spdif 3, finally got a nice ddc for my exogal
Lets see how it does on its own while the PSU and AES cable arrive
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What power supply did you get?
Im interested in getting one too!
Just so I can use AES
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I bought an ifi elite for it because it makes the most sense cost wise. Hasnt arrived.
Right now I have a generic audio technica SMPS that I will test, I think its a good smps myself
The cable is worlds best cable mogami AES cause I was low on cash lol hasnt arrived
Currently im using toslink
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Nice pick up. I’ve been happy with mine (also using an iFi Elite with a Supanova).
One thing that I’ve noticed is that although it does a good job of reclocking the signal, the usb cable makes a significant difference (which was very surprising to me).
Looking forward to hearing your impressions.
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You mean the usb type b cable? I thought that one wasnt as important for the ddc as the spdif cable… maybe it can make a good improvement
You’d think but it does. Easier to just not wonder why and just accept. I’ve actually got a FTA Calisto as the USB input to my DDC and you can so hear it. Yes the digital out is noticeable but unfortunately so is the digital in.
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Fucck
Do you guys recommend pangea, blue jeans, audioquest, supra? Those I think do a bit on the budget side of cables based on what ive read… I dont know how updated is the cable recommendation thread thats on this forum, but ill do my best to try and finish cleaning up my system
I dont know if I should get some pangea power cables or some other brand but these seem like a bang for buck
As for data cables idk, supra excalibur to start things of? Blue jeans cables seem too cheap to be good but look very good at the same time also…
Yeah, what @dB_Cooper said. The digital in makes a difference.
I recently picked up an Audioquest Coffee and I was surprised by the improvement it made over the iFi usb it replaced. I don’t know why, but it does make an audible difference.
I’m sure any of the cables mentioned would be worth trying. Maybe take a look at the cables that don’t break the bank thread.
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I have a Supra Excaliber USB cable, and I think @hifiDJ does or did as well. It’s a good sounding, well made USB cable that is pretty high performing given its relatively modest price. It is very thick and inflexible though, so routing it can be challenging. It’s what I would call a recalcitrant cable! 
Lachlan (Passion for Sound on YT) did a review of it and some other USB cables at the time, worth a watch.
I’ve seen and heard Blue Jeans interconnects, but kind of in passing. They seem well made, and certainly sounded decent enough. Depends on how fussy you are about cables. Probably would be a weak link in a higher end setup, however you define that.
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@MacDLaw
Agreed. You’ll have to reflect upon what level your setup is. It wouldn’t make sense to go overboard on a cable if the rest of your chain is not quite at the same level.
At the same time, the USB cable had as much change as and if not more than my speaker cables. So yeah, it can make a decent difference.
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I had good experiences with pangea usbs, and anything blue jeans (though not their usb specifically).
If you want something a bit higher end i really liked the cardas clear usb, amd theu can be “reasonable” when bought used.
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I still do, it’s a good cable for the price. But I have heard an instance where it sounded horrible in a certain configuration on my system. Can’t tell you why, it didn’t make sense to me either. If you wanted to go the safer route, I’d probably go for the regular supra, seems less picky than the Excalibur.
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Hello,
What about usb cables from Furutech?
They’re not bad either, but I don’t think it’s their domain.
The usb cable from subra I also only have in the simple form, no Exalibur.
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Finally took the OLED plunge. I typically skip two Olympics between TV purchases and getting ready for 2024 so I bought this;
It’s is replacing a very early 50" Vizio 4K that I purchased late in 2015.
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Thank you all for reaffirming my need for better cables, the usb seems to be surprising most ppl so ill start with that. Blue jeans do seem a little too nice for the price.
Ifi ipower elite arrived to use with the matrix xspdif3
First impressions
@Alfredo3001
The matrix ddc does an immediately noticeable and positive change to the sound quality on pretty much all of my chains, if I had to quantify id say sound is 8% better (over than with douk u2 spdif) thats without and external psu and on stock cables and toslink.
my ath smps didnt fit the matrix
The ifi power elite furthers the positive qualities to around 11% again if I had to put a number
At first its hard to identify what the exact changes are but I think it comes down to several subtle changes
More dynamic feeling
Better layering
More tonal density which may also result in more colorfulnes
Less noise, maybe more control
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