CAS and LPS, to be or not to be (Unanswered)

Letter from Hong Kong (20-6): Pandora's Box? LPS did not pass muster and Eric L keeps wondering

Editor's Preface: Eric is toying with the idea of getting into hi-res audio or CAS. Given his love of Bluetooth and somewhat populist sympathies, this is a bit surprising. I'd urge blog authors and others to weigh in. Instead of using Comment, Blog authors, like I, can directly add their thoughts to the end of the article. 

CD Diehard
All through the years I have been a CD diehard. Would have loved to be an LP diehard if I had not sold my Linn LP12/ Naim combo and my generous cousin had not given away all my valuable vinyls to others after I flew back to HK. CD then became my only choice of source and I never bothered to look at CAS as I always believe, to get good sound one has to put in some physical effort, like getting out of my seat to change discs!

Myself as Top Audio Salesman...
Little have I mentioned to friends that, back in my days in Canada, some 30+ years ago, I was a top salesman in the Audio Department of the now closed down Future Shop. Well, although I was not good enough to sell a refrigerator to an Eskimo, I did set a record of earning $10k in commission in the month of December selling audio equipment, a legend back in those days! The so-called Audio Department sold mostly low-fi, but there were some good gears like CDPs from Technics (I sold plenty) as well as Philips (CD473). With my hifi background, selling to the mass was a piece of cake. CD was the main mediium used to demonstrate, though some stereo combos (from $499 up) still threw in a cheapo plasticky turntable!

My store manager Rick, whom I look up to, is a wise man. He used to be store manager at a Hi End HiFi shop on Broadway. He once said to me (and I took it to heart): "You sell to the Class, you drink with the Mass; you sell to the the Mass, you drink with the Class". [Ed: just brilliant] To this day, I still remember that vividly. To be a high end hifi salesman, one must have passion and love for this hobby, otherwise one would not last long.

Why CAS/NAS?
Kinda drifted away as usual~ After I acquired the Gaincard some years ago, due to the lack of input selection, CD playback have been my sole and trusted choice. I was happy about the quality so there's no urge for me to venture into CAS which was then starting to bloom. My recent acquisition of the passive preamp icOn4 gave me 3 more inputs, and now I could play CD, stream music through Tidal using my cheapo BT unit and also hook up my TV or perhaps and a radio tuner or a Server/Streamer/DAC combo. I want to actually experience for myself if hi-res PCM or DSD formats are really superior to CD's humble 16 bits.

As a newbie to CAS, to kick start the process, I would like to buy some hi-res DSD/PCM files for playback. I also gathered that, since I have a sea of CDs, I would like to rip and store them in a server, so the streamer can search through the TBs of memory to send to the DAC. Even more convenient would be is to directly send the digital signals to a pair of active speakers with power amp, bluetooth, wi-fi and DAC built-in!

My ideal streamer shall also receive signal from multiple music platforms like Tidal, Qobuz, but I don't care if it is ROON ready or not. It shall also be Bluetooth ready. There are standalone units , Server/Streamer combo, or all-in-one Server/Streamer/Dac/Dig preamp available in the market for one to choose. I would prefer to use separates. I estimate, to go cheap but not too cheap, I need a server (at least USD 400 for a I-O Data Soundgenic, 600 for a Volumio and 1.3K for an Innuos Zen Mini MkIII). Then a Streamer and a decent standalone DAC that is better than the DAC inside my Sparkler CDP. There are many well known "new" brand names such as Auralic, Aurender and Cocktail brands, as well as conventional brands like LINN , NAIM, PS Audio etc which offer numerous solutions for CAS and NAS. Where should I start???

In addition, to clean the digital noise from server or streamer, I would also need a LPS as well as high grade USB and Ethernet cables etc etc which costs $$$ and the minimum bill adds up to $2.5k+. Wait, my good ole Sparkler S503II only cost me a little less than $1.2k USD! Is it worth the investment??

If I did not have my cheapo Bluetooth H10U (7 USD) and Tidal subscription (only $18 USD/month, good for 5 "family" members), $2.5K is still not a hefty investment. But to outperform significantly my H10U (the little wonder) is not easy. Given the landslide spread, I am very hesitant indeed. If I truly want to listen to best quality, I'll go back to my CDP . But if I want convenience, I can switch back to my H10U/Gotham GAC4 combo and control everything from my Huawei P40 Pro+!

I need a damn good reason to setup a proper Streaming system! [Ed: you said it!]

LPS, to be or not to be
Not only streaming units needs clean DC, I also discovered the DAC inside the S503 can be hooked up to an external 12V LPS. As one way or the other I would need an LPS, why don't I try them out first to see if it can really improve the sound of my built in DAC!

I discussed it with another friend, who said his friend is using an ultra expensive DIY LPS individually for each of his component, at a cost close to 5k USD each unit !!! Also, he is using a very decent one himself too. He would lend me a no name LPS to try out first, and predicted that, once hooked up, it will be like a night and day experience and I'll be forever humbled in front of the almighty LPS!

Reality check, while I was full of expectation that even a pedestrian LPS would give me a glimpse of the Holy Grail of LPS, it was far from being the case! With the LPS connected, music does not sound natural at all and the microdynamics are completely gone; there were more cons than pros.

My friend and I concluded that we were too naive and had concluded that the Sparkler Audio had done a respectable job on power treatment that ordinary LPS could not match, but instead deteriorate the sound. He then was so kind to lend me another better LPS from Zero Zone, still not expensive but yet costs 150 USD. The look, feel and built is much better than the previous one.

This time, there were improvements: instruments had better separation, every note was more clearly portrayed and the background had less veil. The music presentation seemed to stabilize, even slow down, with more ease. It was as if it had a different tempo! However, the best trick of the Sparkler, that is the brilliant portrayal of the silent gaps between the notes is simply missing. The difference among slightly fast, quite fast, fast, faster, very fast, freaking fast and fastest that is usually clearly heard from Sparkler had become blurred, which is also true for the "Slow" category! Need to give tons of credit to Tsukahara san for the effort on designing the S503II ! Well, I guess I would need a really great LPS (maybe Plixir or KECES etc) in order to better the built-in circuitry of the CDP! Or another option is to get a Power Conditioner from Long Yu to stabilize my voltage.

S503II follow up
Performance of S503II goes from strength to strength. I think the the whole setup running through 47 Lab cables , the precious icOn4 and Gaincard has successfully maintained the nuances, timing, shades of music! The gaps or empty space between notes are so well portrayed that music just flows, wholesome and mesmerizing. Speed and Capture are spot on. With that, any minor HiFi flaws are easily tolerated. I could use more slam, more flesh, lushness, better soundstage, instrument separation etc, but none of these factors are important if the whole picture doesn't sound musical and right. With S503II, I can hear and connect with how the musicians perform more than ever! Even I'm actively looking for ways to improve the sound by adding a LPS or DAC, my gut feeling is that I would have to pay a fortune in order to improve the already satisfying sound. Well, who knows, I absolutely welcome surprise and improvements! Wonder if the first generation Auralic Vega DAC or Meitner MA-1 can further improve the SQ...hmmmm

doctorjohn: 1) North American Hong Kong immigration history was closely tied to the city's capital and political developments. In the 70's to 80's, HK did not have nearly as many universities as now, and many students went to study abroad. Many of my secondary school classmates came to the US for study, and stayed. In the 90's, before the handover to China, many HK citizens chose to emigrate (Canada was by then even more popular than the US; Australia came later) and start over. Many of these were professionals who had to start all over in more menial jobs (due to lack of jobs). Some years later, when it seemed China was more or less leaving HK alone, many returned. Given what is happening in HK now, this is ironic, as people are once again considering emigration, some for the second time; 2) On CAS, I'd do it on the light, and not bother with hi-res at all; 3) On Power Conditioning, personally I feel this is rarely done right. To each his own. For those who value PRaT I suspect it is usually detrimental. Think PS Audio Power Plant, a friend was using the flagship, and we always joke that his system sounded better when the Power Plant was off. Overdone power supply are a dime a dozen and that is probably behind the deadly dull performance of a CD transport (recorded at the end of this article).

To Dr. J
Why the interest in hi-rez ?I would like to test the territory of hi-res which is something that I always want to prove whether it's worthy or not, by my own assessment and of coz without spending too much. Much like the use of LPS or power conditioning etc. , I need to go through the process before I can say it out loud. There's a lot of heresay  which I tend to agree to but I want to prove it to myself and judge whether I am for or against it~

Yes, I graduated in civil engineering in Canada and am now 30 years into this profession involving in many mega projects in HK since I came back from Canada after quitted my job as a top salesman (one of my sales TRAINEE was the GM of Watxxxs who flock from HK!). I landed Canada long before the 1989 and never dreamt of coming back to HK during that time, but here am I more than 30 years back to HK, such is fate. Anyway, I have no intention of moving back to Canada in near future until the day I would retire~