Any Sotm 200 users in Delhi

[panditji]

Rikhav, my amp is a Class A/B (Luxman 505UX) and the reason I use a step down is because the champagne gold finish was only available in the Japanese model which is 100V.. Since I bought the amp more for the finish and the colour of the VU meters, I have to use the step down.. The step down transformer is custom made from Logicstat in Delhi and it does give out a constant 100V.. However the power in my area is bad and I have a mains voltage transformer on that room and also the amp is connected to a light plug and not a power plug... So in general, the power being supplied to the amp is not very good and hence a big difference in the SQ..It is the only weak point in the system but I am helpless right now....

 

[vivek_r]

Hey this thread is getting knotted!! SOTM as the topic goes. It’s seriously good and am delighted with my system. Images are forward and present - like! Soundstage and clarity - Tick!

I also like the fact that I can keep my Mac at a convenient location and stream.

“And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go to”

 

[Naturelover]

“And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go to”

Highway to Heaven maybe, to paraphrase a legendary number

 

[vivek_r]

Can only reply with another Talking Heads classic

“Watch out, you might get what you're after”

 

[eastofthesun]

Hi guys , I think I must share my SOtM experience with you. Firstly thank you Vivek for having me over. I must say it was wonderful spending time listening to music . I for sure am convinced that I will be going in for the SOtM 200 ultra the moment it comes to india. I was baffled by the crispness and the detail in comparison to the same album played on CD. Also the soundstage that unravelled before me made me view computer audio with renewed respect and in new light.
Once again thank you Vivek.

Cheers!
Anand

P.S: Vivek do try using roon and lemme knw what you think of it. SOtM and roon are a match made in heaven.

 

[dheerajin]

Hi guys , I think I must share my SOtM experience with you. Firstly thank you Vivek for having me over. I must say it was wonderful spending time listening to music . I for sure am convinced that I will be going in for the SOtM 200 ultra the moment it comes to india. I was baffled by the crispness and the detail in comparison to the same album played on CD. Also the soundstage that unravelled before me made me view computer audio with renewed respect and in new light.
Once again thank you Vivek.

Cheers!
Anand

P.S: Vivek do try using roon and lemme knw what you think of it. SOtM and roon are a match made in heaven.

Its good that you are inclining towards Ultra model, it is way better than 1000SQ(windows based). As per reviews elsewhere, SOTM performs better with hard disk directly attached to it, if you plan your music to flow through LAN cable or Wifi, then it takes other efforts to bring it to same level as direct playing by hard disk. People have been using fibre midia converter, LAN isolation and what not to improve on it, so its better to use SOTM's given players like squeezebox and play it through handheld device interface , this way you can avoid all network related glitches.

 

[vivek_r]

Hi, was my pleasure to have you over (even without the brownies!). Most reviews talk about the power supply making a big difference and so please actively consider that if you can afford it.

Roon - it is so expensive! And it’s not been a year since I bought J-River!

But then as the rapper said “why be a king, when you can be a God”

 

[dheerajin]

For those looking for best option to play music- Rave reviews everywhere

http://www.innuos.com/en

http://www.innuos.com/en/catalog/go/zenith-se-mk2-std

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews2/innuos/1.html

 

[sidvee]

I initially tried to set it up using my main router modem , but could not get to the Eunhasu (which is the software that controls the SOTM) site. I gave the device to my friend, who with a little help from his friends, set it up. Overall, he was happy with the potential, rather than the sound, believing that a better quality power supply would help. Thank you BPD, for without this, it may well be sitting in the box. Fortunately, I had a 12V linear power supply at home (yeah, DIY bugs bite hard - I made it with the Teddy Pardo super regulator), and it also helped that the SOTM accepts a wide Voltage Range.

So yesterday, I took a deep breath and decided to go for it. I must admit wasnt easy (local buying would also mean that Jignesh from Absolute Sound can help), and he's super good with this.

Eunhasu loaded finally, but it wasn’t intuitive – the manual is skimpy, and the one on the net which is more detailed doesn’t help either. I was going to use DLNA/MPD using JRiver as the player. The use of a wifi extender created its own set of problems and I got around that by referencing both the extender and router using Static connection mode. Fortunately, the DAC got recognised, which I took it as a “sign”.

.

Hi Vivek,
I just ordered a 200 to take a plunge into music servers/streaming and compare the SQ to my music PC. I have a question, can Eunhasu be accessed on a LAN which is not connected to internet?
Cheers,
Sid

 

[sidvee]

I got the sotm sms200 couple of days ago. I used a hdplex lpsu to power it and output the usb of the device to a sotm tx-usbhub which is also powered by the hdplex lpsu. I connected an external hard disk directly to the sms200 and controlled it via jriver on my music pc via the network. I listened to it for a couple of hours. I haven't been exactly blown away by it in direct comparison to my music pc running Jriver directly connected to the txusbhub. I will spend a few more days optimizing it but I am slightly disappointed at this stage, I expected more of an improvement. If I did notice significant improvement, my plan was to go whole hog with the ultra and sClk. I will put that plan on hold. Of-course if one reads reviews on computer audiophile again users claim that the sms200 ultra is in another league when compared to the sms200 but I am going to consider all of these raves with a big grain of salt.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

I got the sotm sms200 couple of days ago. I used a hdplex lpsu to power it and output the usb of the device to a sotm tx-usbhub which is also powered by the hdplex lpsu. I connected an external hard disk directly to the sms200 and controlled it via jriver on my music pc via the network. I listened to it for a couple of hours. I haven't been exactly blown away by it in direct comparison to my music pc running Jriver directly connected to the txusbhub. I will spend a few more days optimizing it but I am slightly disappointed at this stage, I expected more of an improvement. If I did notice significant improvement, my plan was to go whole hog with the ultra and sClk. I will put that plan on hold. Of-course if one reads reviews on computer audiophile again users claim that the sms200 ultra is in another league when compared to the sms200 but I am going to consider all of these raves with a big grain of salt.
Cheers,
Sid

Thanks for the initial review... Glad that I saved my money...

 

[sidvee]

Thanks for the initial review... Glad that I saved my money...

Don't get me wrong Panditji, on its own the sotm 200 sounds great, where I am disappointed is in comparison to my purpose built music PC. Anyways I will optimize it a bit more - it is a major pain as their supplied manual is almost next to useless and there is absolutely no clear description on how to use it with Jriver - on the net - so I am stumbling around.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[jls001]

A friend bought sMS200Ultra and sPS500 just three days ago and he documented how the sound changed with hours. He said after 6+ hours it started sounding much better but he expects it to mature only after 50-70 hours. So patience is called for

 

[sidvee]

A friend bought sMS200Ultra and sPS500 just three days ago and he documented how the sound changed with hours. He said after 6+ hours it started sounding much better but he expects it to mature only after 50-70 hours. So patience is called for

Sure I will wait for it to break in, but my HDplex PSU has been with me for a few years now, so I know for sure it is completely broken in and same goes for the sotm hub and all the associated cables, except for the cat6. So unless something magical happens within the sms200 unit itself I am sure that what I am hearing isn't going to change dramatically. Anyways fingers crossed, lets see what happens in 50-100 hours or so.
Cheers,
Sid

 

[panditji]

A friend bought sMS200Ultra and sPS500 just three days ago and he documented how the sound changed with hours. He said after 6+ hours it started sounding much better but he expects it to mature only after 50-70 hours. So patience is called for

Sir, everything is relative... I was using my laptop for almost 3.5 years with the basic music settings in Jriver with no other software installed on the PC and I thought it was good.. Then Keith made some changes to my laptop optimising it quite a bit and the difference in sound using the same machine was HUGE... Then after 2 weeks Keith again optimised the Intel Cores dividing the 4 into 2 each for JRiver and the rest of the laptop and this increased the SQ by a little bit more as the earlier changes were huge...

Now if I use the SoTM after using my basic laptop, I would surely be blown away as the sound quality difference would be huge but the difference may not be much if I use it after my heavily modded laptop... So it is also important for the person to state what they were comparing to as otherwise it can mislead a lot of people.....

Sid, obviously has a custom built music PC using an external PSU and therefore the difference may not be much as the machines are almost the same.. It would help us a lot if you could ask your friend what source was used before the Sotm which led to a huge difference for him/her....

 

[jls001]

Sid, obviously has a custom built music PC using an external PSU and therefore the difference may not be much as the machines are almost the same.. It would help us a lot if you could ask your friend what source was used before the Sotm which led to a huge difference for him/her....

This friend's (only) source is a laptop running the current JRiver. I am not aware if he has optimised it in any way (more likely not optimized). Not too long ago he tried another sOTM with wall wart, so he does have some sort of a baseline to judge the Ultra + sPS500 combo.

 

[panditji]

And that explains it sir... A simple laptop running Jriver v/s an Sotm Ultra + sPS500 combo would have a lot of differences... $400 v/s $1600 (shipping and customs duty @42% extra)

 

[Nikhil]

I got the sotm sms200 couple of days ago. I used a hdplex lpsu to power it and output the usb of the device to a sotm tx-usbhub which is also powered by the hdplex lpsu.

Sid,

Have you tried connecting the sms200 directly without the tx-usbhub?
I think the sms200 already has a high quality usb port and clock.

Regards.

.

 

[sidvee]

Sid,

Have you tried connecting the sms200 directly without the tx-usbhub?
I think the sms200 already has a high quality usb port and clock.

Regards.

.

Not yet Nikhil, however there are a lot of users who are using uptone regen and other types of devices between the sms200 to their DAC's, so essentially I am not doing anything different. But I will try it down the road.
Also it is recommended by sotm themselves - from their website:
"And to enhance the quality on USB output, we recommend using tX-USBhubEX together with sMS-200, then you will be able to hear the upgraded and improved sound quality ."
Cheers,
Sid

 

[vivek_r]

Hey Sid, sorry just saw your post now. Am sure you have sorted your issues. Hope it has not been a waste of money for you. I would have let you borrow mine.

JLS you know whose wall wart SOTM it was

Panditji, you will know only if you try it as to whether it is better or worse or much the same. Try get a unit - Sid seems to have found it underwhelming, but his dedicated computer is presumably doing what the SOTM does. For me it sounds good and allowed me to scratch an itch for about 20,000.