New addition, Rega Elicit R arrived today. She’s a monster! I’ve also put the Pi+HifiBerry Digi+ back on the chain feeding the Pro-Ject S2 DAC via Coax. It’s much more refined than USB straight out of the NUC (as expected). I do lose DSD upsampling but have some upsampling via PCM (192khz) however I can’t say I notice a difference over straight flac from Tidal. Still torn between the Allo USBBridge or DigiOne (MQA over USB for the DAC or cheaper DigiOne and just upsample everything). With DSD upsampling my NUC5i5 can get to DSD128 with enough processing headroom.
Also added an Amazon Fire HD8 for Roon control, just need to figure out how to get it working in landscape mode. Final change that you won’t notice is new speakers. Another pair of black Kan II’s, however, these are the bi-wire version and were basically in brand new condition and couldn’t resist a drunken eBay bid . I am considering Isobariks now I have the power to drive them. Really need to save some money and have a house renovation to finish
Thanks Slim, I have found that. My issue is getting ADB and fastboot to work on my Mac due to Java versions installed. I believe I need Java 7 and haven’t found a download for it yet as it’s been retired.
Funny, I bought a Meridian Prime Headphone Amp, which was firmware upgraded to decipher MQA files. The Upsampling lights, and MQA light are white and I wanted blue for the MQA light. Trimmed the clear part of a tape flag, and shaded it with a dark blue Sharpie. Cheap, but functional solution.
The rack during the build, the silver cd/dac is a loaner until my black one arrives. The box in the middle holds my Pi3 screen with Ropieee and inside is the SOtM sMS-200 Ultra, Paul Hynes SR4 PSU and some other stuff to power the Pi and relays to power trigger outputs to my dac and amp.
Upgraded my headphones endpoint with a set of MrSpeakers Ether C Flow’s and a Pro-Ject Pre Box S2 Digital pre-amp/DAC. I picked up the headphones in Delft this morning after an hour of listening and comparing with a set of Audeze LCD-XC’s. The Raspberry Pi 3 is powered by RoPiee.
Awesome setup! I recently got turned onto the idea of ATC SCM40As as a possible upgrade to my Revel F208s. I love the idea of using my DEQX PreMate to drive the speakers and subwoofer(s) directly, knowing that active crossovers and onboard amplification or perfectly fitting of each driver. I’ve heard great things about these at high volume levels. Do they still shine at lower volumes?
Thanks. I’m really happy with it’s simplicity of my system and although i’m biased, the sound quality in my opinion is amazing for the £’s spent.
I’ve not come across the DEQX PreMate before but from what I read it looks to be a great piece of kit and a good match for the ATC SCM40A.
The 40A’s do go loud for sure and without a hint of distortion or loosing control. I chicken out before the speakers do! As for lower level listening they retain all their detail, tight accurate bass and of course the wonderful midband.
I originally had the passive 40’s with Naim amplification (NAP 250DR) which was a fabulous combination. However, when I auditioned the active 40’s with identical source, I was blown away and the credit card came out without hesitation.
You really do need to audition a pair and be prepared to bend the card!!
The midband is amazing, but I was very disappointed with bloomy bass (in a large room with the speakers in plenty of space) and non-extended treble. As always, what matters is your room and your ears.
. I am considering Isobariks now I have the power to drive them. Really need to save some money and have a house renovation to finish 
