Ceeker

I did try another DAC to check if the Auralic was at fault, and found the same issue.

Thanks so much for your detailed reply and excellent photos. extremely helpful! Really appreciate your advice! One last question. I was thinking I may try a less costly tube damper prior to investing in the HAL-0 111. Did you try any rubber/silicone dampers prior to the HAL-0 111? I know they have a poor reputation, but I thought they may at least let me know if I am heading in the right direction before talking to the bank manager.

Its not exactly a screeching sound, just a volume lift around 3-4k that gets worse at high volumes. "Edginess" is a good description. As I have experimented with vibration reduction, it has gradually reduced.

I was definitely considering tube damping but was shying away from it as many say it can suffocate dynamics. "Edginess" is a great way to describe the issue, though mine occasionally veers into screechiness. I had a look at Herbies website, may I ask which of the 3 models are you using? https://herbiesaudiolab.com/collections/tube-dampers Also, did you try damping the input tubes? On the Herbies site they recommend trying this first.

Thanks for the suggestion, maybe down the track, want to get vibration and power sorted first

Yeah... never going to get that past the boss!

Thanks, they do sound amazing with the Rogues, if I can just get rid of the vibration artefacts. Already have a KEF KC-62 which is a great match for the maggies

LRS+ I would have gotten the 1.7's, but the wife put her foot down when she saw the size LRS+ are fantastic

Auralic Altair G 2.1 The problem is the Magneplanars. Fantastic speaker which I love, but as they are dipole, there are a lot of sound waves (and vibration) behind the speakers where all of the components sit. The tube power amps (Rogue m180 mono blocs) are also being affected.

Just a quick update regarding my system issues, as these insights may help others. After much experimentation with power cables/boards and even interconnects, actually tracked my upper midrange glare (often screechy) and sibilance issues down to vibration. Actually stumbled on this as in frustration, I put my iso acoustics subwoofer stand under my streamer/dac and noticed an immediate reduction in sibilance. Now have 2 books, 2 heavy cutting boards, and a set of iso acoustics oreas under my dac/streamer and ethernet switch. Very ugly, but effective. 90% of sibilance and 70% of upper midrange glare solved. Now have a Taoc rack on order for the dac/streamer and ethernet switch and iso acoustics oreas for the mono blocs, hopefully this will banish all trace of sibilance/glare. Thanks again for everyone's help and advice. Will definitely still experiment with power solutions, but this will be to enhance the system ,not solve existing problems, thankfully.

Thanks, will definitely have a look at the Gigwatt range

From my earlier post: "currently have a Shunyata AU8 (PS8 with the Shunyata Defender built in) on loan, retail $3900.00. To my surprise I heard very minimal improvement over the Thor Smart powerboard I am using as a temporary measure until I can find a permanent power solution, retail $265.00. I really had to concentrate to hear any difference in the highs and midrange, although there was a definite tightening and deepening of the bass through the sub." Cannot physically plug all components into the wall

I do still intend to look into a more active power conditioning solution like the Isotek Aquarius

The dealer who loaned me the Shunyata included the premier cable to use with it. I am also using a Premier cable on my sub, and yesterday I experimented replacing the 2 Initium cables on the monoblocks with the 2 Premier cables (still through the Thor powerboard) which produced a much better result than the Shunyata powerbord. did. Highs were smoothed out, bass tightened up and midrange glare was reduced.

What power cord are you using from the wall to the shunyata AU8? Isotek Premier

I currently have a Shunyata AU8 (PS8 with the Shunyata Defender built in) on loan, retail $3900.00. To my surprise I heard very minimal improvement over the Thor Smart powerboard I am using as a temporary measure until I can find a permanent power solution, retail $265.00. I really had to concentrate to hear any difference in the highs and midrange, although there was a definite tightening and deepening of the bass through the sub. I am under the impression that the AU8 is mostly a passive solution with only minimal active noise reduction, so I am hoping for a more noticeable improvement with an active unit like the Isotek Aquarius.

As mentioned earlier in the thread, we are moving in the next few months, so room treatments and dedicated lines are not really an option. Thanks for your input regarding the power boards and cables. I currently have Isotek initium cables on the power amps (Rogue m180 monos) and a premier cable on the sub (Kef KC-62). I tried the premier cable on the streamer/dac (Auralic Altair G 2.1), but did not make an audible difference like the cables did on the power amps and sub. I'm guessing it has a very good power supply. What sort of difference did you notice with the more expensive Isotek power cables?

Thanks for the link. Glad to hear you are still enjoying it! Definitely something on my radar for the near future

Excellent info, thanks so much for your help, really appreciate it

Thanks, will give it a try. Did you get a chance to compare it to any other brands?

Thanks for the advice Congo. Unfortunately, we will be moving soon so not much point putting in new wiring. Contact enhancer is definitely on the list, been trying to wade through research and reviews etc. How did you come across Stabilant 22?

Just wondering what model power conditioner you have, and are you still happy with it?