I had an EVO SSD and needed more storage and at the time EVO did not sell in 8TB.
So, I purchased QVO 8TB and sold the EVO. I must admit I did not find any difference (there may have been) I do not do small differences.
The difference I get between streaming and SSD is significant in my system, now I always go for streaming version.
Edit Sorry should have put “switch” when I said AfterDark.
@Acg Having heard Clive’s Oladra in my system and having heard the difference in sound between SSD vs streamed Qobuz (I have no doubt there is a difference according to my ears) I think it might be useful if each of us says what we mean by ‘better’.
Although I would like the benefit of longer listening sessions before coming down finally on which is my preferred one, my preferences at the moment are tentatively in the SSD camp as opposed to streaming on the basis that it has somewhat less emphasis to percussion and leading edge of notes. I just find the ssd calmer and more relaxing.
By and large that is also the reason for why I think I might prefer the PhoenixNET switch to the AfterDark S100. Again though that is just a tentative preference at the moment and I will have to wait until January to progress that trial when I have arranged to borrow @clive101 ‘s AfterDark switch in the early part of January.
I am fully aware that this is a contrary position to Clive but I reserve the right to change my mind after being able to hear an Oladra long term! (I am working on that!)
What I can say is that today I installed an ADOT Fibre to Ethernet converter immediately before my PhoenixNET with the K50 and the sound became a tad more relaxed particularly with percussion and that is generally something which i welcome with digital having experienced how otherwise after prolonged listening the slightly more vibrant sound can tend towards the relentless end of the spectrum.
Of course whilst Clive was here for the day this was all with the benefit of using the Oladra and curently I am back to using the K50 and whilst that is no slouch nor is it an Oladra.
By the way, i think I should declare an interest and say that I have ordered an Oladra from the UK dealer. Curses to that dratted @clive101 for inviting me to eat the forbidden fruit. Once heard, the Oladra cannot be forgotten.
Do you mean one of these switches? If not, where are the details?
Yes, that’s the one The Dela S100 AKA Melco S100 same board as the GS 2016
check this out
AfterDark. Project ClayX Buffalo BS-GS2016 Cascade x Giesemann OCXO Bl (adark.co)
So, for value although more expensive the cascade version is better as two boards.
With the Dela the firmware is different and of course you’re paying for Dela branding etc and their special box.
There’s only one word to describe how good the sound is from the Oladra: RIDICULOUS!
I think you are right, though memories of the K50 burn-in are now distant. I am currently listening to a low-bit rate UK Radio Station (Simon Mayo, Greatest Hits Radio 
) and it just shouldn’t sound this good. The tones are saturated, the melodies sweet, and the overall musicality surpasses much HiRes material. Weirdly, it sounds ‘detailed’.
It’s like the improvements deepen, rather than fluctuate. But goodness, the progress in less than a week is really satisfying.
I use a Melco switch and played around with quite a few ethernet cables in and out of it. In my system, nothing came close to the Vertere HB Pulse ethernet cables on both sides of the Melco. They each added as much as the switch itself when initially used with standard Cat6 cables.
Being new this whole audio network shenanigans I’ve only tried pro switches and the Melco with and without a decent LPS. Sometime soon I will be able to also try some of the Waversa gear which looks interesting.
I must admit when I tried the UK standard Meclo S100 Switch with supplied SMPS it didn’t do much, another cheaper audiophile made things worst.
After reading up on modded switches I took a punt on the AfterDark Dela 100
The development of DELA S100 Network Hubs x Giesemann OCXO Black Modernize Edition - AfterDark (Sponsored) - Audiophile Style
Very pleased I did but it needs a few weeks to burn in
Yes indeed radio seems to be one of the most obvious ways to hear the impact of the oladra. low res streams really do sound amazing on this unit
7 weeks of audio bliss. The Oladra is natural, holographic, immersive, engaging. Feels like I’m swimming inside of music. The Antipodes engineers have struck gold with this release.
I2S connection to the DAC is buttery smooth and very life-like.
One afternoon, I disconnected the Oladra and demo’d it elsewhere for 2 hours. Never left the Oladra out of my sight.
Upon restoring the Oladra to my setup via I2S, I instantly noticed a reduction in volume and the holographic imaging.
Is there an I2S driver that could be re-installed or updated?
The Oladra’s I2S related configuration remains unaltered (#9 and #10 pins are ON. All others are OFF).
Any ideas how I may restore the luster of Oladra’s true magic please?
Thanks
So you disconnected the Oladra for some time. Could it be you just have to have patience to warm things up and have the capacitators filled to the max?
The reduction is volume occurred 10 days ago. I’ve been warming it up for the past 10 days. No improvements. No where close to the beauty that it once had.
Has the gain on your amplifier been knocked by accident to a different gain ?
I assume all power is switched off when connecting or disconnecting cables.
Would it be possible the i2s cable is damaged somehow in the process of connecting or disconnecting?
And did you by chance check ‘software’ volume settings in for instance Roon? Or any other player app?
Gryphon Diablo has no other gain. Just the volume.
All cable connections have been triple checked.
All speaker cables have been triple checked.
Different I2S cable have been swapped out.
Reset all components.
Reset all network.
Uninstalled/Reinstalled Roon.
Turned power to the entire house at the electrical panel and powered each component one at a time.
Still couldn’t get the holographic nature back.
Tried Squeezebox with Roon.
Tried Roon Auto.
Roon volume is None 100%
No improvement.
My only theory is at the 2 hour demo. The connection used was USB for the Burmester CD/DAC > Burmester Amp. Upon returning home, I only use I2S. Could it be that the previous USB use left a permanent footprint in the Oladra? Even tried full data wipe and reinstall. No improvement.
The underlying Sonic Orbiter OS offers a “set max volume” option that would adjust the volume at the driver level. This isn’t accessible to us but maybe @MarkCole can chime in to mention if this is even applicable any longer.
Hi there, no its not applicable, however I can remote in for another look, I note that all tests are being performed using Roon, there has been a number of Roon updates over the last week.
Has Squeeze/Squeeze been tested?