Who has an AP and willing to do measurements for other ASR members, raise your hand

[GXAlan]

Is this what you are referring to?
View attachment 310097

Is this Grade A/B/C a setting, a threshold, different models of this ADC? What does that mean? Sorry I'm not an analogy guy.

It's sort of like a CPU. They all use the same ESS ADC chip, but some are better than others. The E1DA Cosmos ISO has isolated power (but then you need two cables) as opposed to being bus powered.

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Getting grade B means you "only" measure to 126-127dB SNR as opposed to 128-129. Grade B is plenty and what @VintageFlanker uses, I believe.

 

[CleanSound]

Getting grade B means you "only" measure to 126-127dB SNR as opposed to 128-129. Grade B is plenty and what @VintageFlanker uses, I believe.

I'm probably wrong, so asking for clarification.

I thought that is the spec of the unit. And to accurately measure the DUT, you need about a 10dB buffer. (Read this on the Quant Asylum forum)

So for example, if the device is spec'ed at 128 dB, then you can accurately measure a DUT up to 118dB?

 

[CleanSound]

We are incredibly fortunate to have him here, and that software to freely use.

I have the QA401, along with a few other boxes of theirs, and it has been an amazing learning experience. It is very easy to use, has lots of very helpful automated test routines, and a helpful community.

The guys who know what they are doing with analyzers make it look easy to figure out what means what. Let's say it was very humbling to see how I really had no clue about anything.

May consider the Quant Asylum, knowing it won't perform as well as the Cosmos ADC, but all in one easy package to kick the tires.

Then maybe move on to using the Cosmos ADC setup. And then when I hit the lottery, it be an AP.

 

[BDWoody]

May consider the Quant Asylum, knowing it won't perform as well as the Cosmos ADC, but all in one easy package to kick the tires.

Then maybe move on to using the Cosmos ADC setup. And then when I hit the lottery, it be an AP.

For amps and older gear (which I have a fair bit of), the resolution is more than adequate. If you get to where you feel like you are being held back because you can't measure down to where the Cosmos or an AP can, you can make that choice but it's a pretty cheap way to get started.

I got the separate crystal oscillator/notch filter (QA480) so I could peek down a little more, but that was more to play with it than because I needed it.

You'll find yourself hooking up everything in your house once you get it in hand.

 

[GXAlan]

You'll find yourself hooking up everything in your house once you get it in hand.

+1 for this

The QA is great. It's US manufactured, has superior technical support, etc. etc.
The biggest problem was supply chain during Covid and AKM factory fire.

It also doesn't have the issue with the DC offset or need an extra box to deal with input impedance issues.

An RME ADI 2/4 is a good ADC that has the benefit of being a good DAC and headphone amp also. It doesn't get you to that last bit of noise performance but it's more practical because it has no DC offset so doing tests that may be affected by it is better.

E1DA is cheap, for the reason that the technical support doesn't really exist (though it's simple and the designer, whose English fluency is limited, posts here and is accessible).

 

[Chrispy]

Perhaps Erin (Erin's Audio Corner) could be convinced to do some testing, too. He's in the southeastern US I believe....

 

[CleanSound]

For amps and older gear (which I have a fair bit of), the resolution is more than adequate. If you get to where you feel like you are being held back because you can't measure down to where the Cosmos or an AP can, you can make that choice but it's a pretty cheap way to get started.

If the DUT is hitting the QA's limitations, then chances are the DUT is up to snuff. Just that you won't be able to tell how good the DUT is.

Very good conversation here.

 

[CleanSound]

Perhaps Erin (Erin's Audio Corner) could be convinced to do some testing, too. He's in the southeastern US I believe....

I don't believe he as an AP for electronics. He definitely has a Klippel NFS for speakers.

 

[Chrispy]

I don't believe he as an AP for electronics. He definitely has a Klippel NFS for speakers.

He has an APx555B https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/electronics/mcintosh_mc462/

 

[CleanSound]

He has an APx555B https://www.erinsaudiocorner.com/electronics/mcintosh_mc462/

Did not know. . .now I know.

 

[Rick Sykora]

Having owned both, my QA401 was way easier and more convenient than an E1DA-based test rig. I think it is worth the extra investment for more casual users. I really do not care about measuring infinitesimal differences in noise, I went the E1DA route to deal with higher power amplifiers. The QA451 is a convenient dummy load but kept burning it up as it cannot handle more than about 300 watts. You can use the QA451 with external loads, but it will be noisier. I also liked the more open software approach (REW for me), but has much steeper learning curve.

 

[Rick Sykora]

I don't believe he as an AP for electronics. He definitely has a Klippel NFS for speakers.

You are correct, although he had a loaner, he decided to forgo purchasing an AP…

McIntosh MX100 A/V Processor Review (by ErinsAudioCorner)

Looking at the specs, and now measurements too, it almost seem like the MX100 is a clone (a much better version) of a Denon AVR, or maybe a Marantz AV8805A.:p When McIntosh was part of the D&M group, that was pretty clear. Later, I think I have seen YouTube interviews which note that the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Chrispy]

You are correct, although he had a loaner, he decided to forgo purchasing an AP…

McIntosh MX100 A/V Processor Review (by ErinsAudioCorner)

Looking at the specs, and now measurements too, it almost seem like the MX100 is a clone (a much better version) of a Denon AVR, or maybe a Marantz AV8805A.:p When McIntosh was part of the D&M group, that was pretty clear. Later, I think I have seen YouTube interviews which note that the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Ah, guess that's why there's only three reviews of electronics....thanks

 

[amirm]

The issue is less of owning an analyzer and more of having the time, motivation and energy to test products with no direct compensation.

On shipping, the number of lost/damaged packages is incredibly small for me. Most of the time items come with original packaging which is designed to survive shipping. On the cost, retail shipping costs is incredibly high and insane at times. I have a commercial account and is so much more reasonable that I am amazed almost every time I ship something. I was paying massive fees before getting this account.

 

[CleanSound]

The issue is less of owning an analyzer and more of having the time, motivation and energy to test products with no direct compensation.

On shipping, the number of lost/damaged packages is incredibly small for me. Most of the time items come with original packaging which is designed to survive shipping. On the cost, retail shipping costs is incredibly high and insane at times. I have a commercial account and is so much more reasonable that I am amazed almost every time I ship something. I was paying massive fees before getting this account.

Thanks @amirm , Good to know. The next purchase, I may just ship it directly to you to test and send you the money to use your account (with a cheaper rate) to ship back. (Unless the manufacturer aren't confident with the test results, they may just refuse to ship it to you directly. )

 

[Salt]

Had an apparently disapprovement by offering buying a Audio-GD Master 19 from audiophonics to be sent directly to @VintageFlanker to measure ... never got a reply to this at all ...

 

[VintageFlanker]

Had an apparently disapprovement by offering buying a Audio-GD Master 19 from audiophonics to be sent directly to @VintageFlanker to measure ... never got a reply to this at all ...

Ah. When did we discuss this ?

The issue is less of owning an analyzer and more of having the time, motivation and energy to test products with no direct compensation.

You don't say.

 

[CleanSound]

@GXAlan @BDWoody @Rick Sykora

I just put in an order for the QA 403, they don't have it in stock, so just a deposit. From what it sounds like it may take few months to stock up and ship.

Can't wait, it feels as if I now have some sort of super power. Feel like I can walk around with my chest pumped out.

May start a dedicated/consolidated thread on how to set it up and use it after I learn, however long that may take.

 

[Salt]

Ah. When did we discuss this ?

We did never discuss this,
it's audiophonics did not reply ...

 

[Jeromeof]

Is there a detail write up on ASR on how to set these tools up, configure them, use them and links to where to buy them?

It would be good if there was such a sticky post as I would also be very interested in setting up something in my garage.

GXAlan said:
1) Get an E1DA Cosmos ADC, Scaler, APU. It's not free, but it's pretty cheap. The ADC is most important, followed by the scaler. APU is optional.
2) Get Multitone software from @pkane. It's free.
3) Get a 120 dB SINAD level DAC if you don't already have one.

But a novices step by step guide would be great as I already thinking of buying this equipment but afraid I would connect it incorrectly initially and "blow" something. I used to work for a company where we used to get some US equipment shipped over (I am based in Ireland) and at least twice I remember someone plugging the wrong thing in a getting that horrible smell of a blow circuit board.