Part III: Waiting for Multibit....
The time finally came for me to send Gungnir in to the Schiit-Shop for it's upgrades. So, I had to put my Modi 2 Uber DAC back into the system while i waited for Gungnir to be transformed into Gumby.
I put my Modi 2 Uber back in, but this time I used it in conjunction with Eitr and the Shunyata digital cable, going into the SPDIF port on the Modi 2 Uber.
Okaayyy..using the SPDIF input on Modi 2 Uber in conjunction with Eitr takes this setup up quite a notch, IMHO. The musical presentation is now more natural, more full-bodied, sweeter-sounding, less sterile, and quieter than using the USB input only on Modi 2 Uber. NOT as good as Gungnir, but really quite good, impressively so when you consider what Eitr brings to the table for what it cost, and good enough that I could live with it. At this time, I also borrowed a friend's microRendu while I sent mine into Sonore for the Version 1.4 hardware upgrade, which basically upgraded the microRendu with all-new ultra-low jitter clocks.
So, while Gungnir was in the shop, I got my microRendu back with the version 1.4 hardware upgrade. This was a much more significant upgrade than I thought it would be.
I find that the new 1.4 hardware upgrade provided significant improvement in sound quality over version 1.3 What I noticed most was a lower noise floor, increased soundstage width and depth, improved articulation of musical instruments , more refined and delicate instrumental and vocal timbres and, increased resolution but not at the price of a more etched or sterile sound, Vocals and subtle instrumental details are notably improved in terms of “musicality”, but in a really nice, natural way. Overall, a more spacious, sweeter, musical, refined and most importantly, engaging musical presentation. Turnaround time from the time Sonore received the unit and shipped it back out was only a few days. And, in combination with Eitr, it made my Modi 2 Uber go from a DAC that I wasn't overly thrilled with to a completely enjoyable and musical-sounding DAC.
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components.
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