Please Read !

[Tranquility Bass]

Please use this forum to discuss anything regarding the Analog-Precision Ultimate-Preamplifier.

[Boerd]

While I am intrigued by the Ultimate Preamplifier, at least for me, some of the use-cases for it are unclear.
For example - what is the easiest way to create a crossover using the UP? I know DEQX has a simple process that is using a mic and does its magic automatically.
How easy is it to create a correct, good sounding crossover? I am looking to replace my NHT XDA amp with the Ultimate Preamp + multi-channel amp.

[Boerd]

While I am intrigued by the Ultimate Preamplifier, at least for me, some of the use-cases for it are unclear.
For example - what is the easiest way to create a crossover using the UP? I know DEQX has a simple process that is using a mic and does its magic automatically.
How easy is it to create a correct, good sounding crossover? I am looking to replace my NHT XDA amp with the Ultimate Preamp + multi-channel amp.

Well - nothing like reading the manual 
The manual directs you to download sample 2,3 or 4 way crossover templates from the download section. In other words, it is next to trivial to implement a xover with Audio Weaver + Ultimate Preamp.

[Tranquility Bass]

While I am intrigued by the Ultimate Preamplifier, at least for me, some of the use-cases for it are unclear.
For example - what is the easiest way to create a crossover using the UP? I know DEQX has a simple process that is using a mic and does its magic automatically.
How easy is it to create a correct, good sounding crossover? I am looking to replace my NHT XDA amp with the Ultimate Preamp + multi-channel amp.

Well - nothing like reading the manual 
The manual directs you to download sample 2,3 or 4 way crossover templates from the download section. In other words, it is next to trivial to implement a xover with Audio Weaver + Ultimate Preamp.

Most people will use the available templates from our downloads page https://analog-precision.com/downloads/  and modify them for their own use case.

DEQX is truly a lightweight DSP platform compared to the UP whiuch uses a 4th generation SHARC DSP chip. By comparison DEQX uses a first generation SHARC DSP from Analog Devices and needs two of them just to process at 96kHz ! Their hardware design hasn't changed in decades and is hamstrung by legacy code. See here for a direct comparison with the UP https://analog-precision.com/home/pcg/

regards
David

[Xawo]

How would you compare new DEQX to UPA? I have been researching and waiting, but new announcemnet looks good.
(Edit: removed inappropriate link. For more info please read Stereonet completely censors out Analog-Precision from its forum/search ! )

[MichaelH]

Considering that DEQX have never published a set of laboratory grade measurements in their life, its very hard to tell what you will be getting. They have been making the old ones for over 10 years and I have never seen anything to verify their claimed specifications for those ones so who knows.

On the other hand there is a full set of verified measurements on the UP here. https://analog-precision.com/forum/performance-and-measurements/

DEQX have been selling the same old box for 10 years based on 1995 technology. Bear in mind its only an announcement they have a new model coming.

Ask DEQX to put a complete set of measurements up, REAL ONES, NOT EXPECTED ONES. Get them to send one to Audio Science Review for independent testing and see how they come up.

If you look deeper into the UP you will see that even DEQX new model won't do what the UP+ will do.

[Tranquility Bass]

How would you compare new DEQX to UPA? I have been researching and waiting, but new announcemnet looks good.
(Edit: removed inappropriate link. For more info please read Stereonet completely censors out Analog-Precision from its forum/search ! )

What actually were you waiting for ??

[Tranquility Bass]

Considering that DEQX have never published a set of laboratory grade measurements in their life, its very hard to tell what you will be getting. They have been making the old ones for over 10 years and I have never seen anything to verify their claimed specifications for those ones so who knows.

On the other hand there is a full set of verified measurements on the UP here. https://analog-precision.com/forum/performance-and-measurements/

DEQX have been selling the same old box for 10 years based on 1995 technology. Bear in mind its only an announcement they have a new model coming.

Ask DEQX to put a complete set of measurements up, REAL ONES, NOT EXPECTED ONES. Get them to send one to Audio Science Review for independent testing and see how they come up.

If you look deeper into the UP you will see that even DEQX new model won't do what the UP+ will do.

So basically DEQX have been flogging the same bit of old rope for years without bothering to upgrade it until they really couldn't get away with it any more ! To bad if you were one of those that recently bought into the last of their old outdated stock not knowing that they have been working on something in the background that they claim is "so much better" than what they had been selling to gullible customers ! Not a good look

cheers

[Xawo]

Waiting for more established sales and reviews. Its a lot of money to spend on product that cant audition first.
Here in HK DEQX have dealer and support. Can I have link to Audio Sciene Review website review of UP? I didn't find one.
I not understand about comments about gullible customers. DEQX specialist said if I buy product now I can return and upgrade when new product available.
I just ask these questions before I spend big money on preamp for help.

[Tranquility Bass]

Waiting for more established sales and reviews. Its a lot of money to spend on product that cant audition first.
Here in HK DEQX have dealer and support. Can I have link to Audio Sciene Review website review of UP? I didn't find one.
I not understand about comments about gullible customers. DEQX specialist said if I buy product now I can return and upgrade when new product available.
I just ask these questions before I spend big money on preamp for help.

So they still have product now to sell to you because from what I have read they no longer have any existing product to sell ?? Which is it and from what I have seen from their announcements it  just appears to be a few 3D models with no details ?

Did you find a review of the DEQX on ASR ? We provide a suite of detail measurements of our preamp although our test equipment is not quite as good as ASR but still very good none the less and also shows up major differences between our product and DEQX existing product. We've already sold quite a few preamps all around the world and people have been very happy with the results of our work. If someone wants to submit our product to ASR for testing we would welcome the feedback. Also our product is aimed more at the OEM or serious hobbyist who can devote time into developing their own crossover designs so it was never going to end up in a dealers shop by itself competing with other Preamps etc. This would be no different to minidsp or OktoDAC. Also we have the UPP which allows you to leverage the computing power from an external PC so our Preamp is probably one of the first truly high-end multi-channel Preamps to offer scalable DSP capability without being hamstrung by its own internal hardware, and as a result we don't have to keep selling the same old bit of rope to prospective customers as DSP technology advances onwards My comments about gullibility concerns people not understand that DEQX existing hardware is based on first generation SHARC DSP from 1996 ! Seriously why no upgrade to the later parts for so long when the DSP seems to be mounted on a plugin board ?

Regards

[Xawo]

I told that I can buy from used marketplace and trade in on new model when releases. I just cant decide from a long distance which way to buy.
I have big horn system and saw on another site problem with noise with UP. did you fix this in more new firmware?
you seem angry with deqx, maybe not best to post angry about competitor though. my father always told me this.

[MichaelH]

I told that I can buy from used marketplace and trade in on new model when releases. I just cant decide from a long distance which way to buy.
I have big horn system and saw on another site problem with noise with UP. did you fix this in more new firmware?
you seem angry with deqx, maybe not best to post angry about competitor though. my father always told me this.

I think you need to get your facts right. The problem of noise was never with the UP. It was with the Holton Audio amplifier that it was plugged into. No one else has ever had this trouble. I know which website you are referring to and if you read the complete list of facts as laid out by mickiboi007 you will see that it was the amplifier and not the UP which you have chosen to ignore. You seem to have come here with an agenda, I'm assuming you are working for DEQX with your comments. You have an inability to read, research and find out the facts before you open your trap so its probably better that you buy a DEQX anyway as the UP would be far beyond the capability of someone with your limited intelligence. Get DEQX to send their product to ASR, I'm sure seeing as you are working for them you can get one for free. We will then see how that measures up against the UP.

[Tranquility Bass]

I told that I can buy from used marketplace and trade in on new model when releases. I just cant decide from a long distance which way to buy.
I have big horn system and saw on another site problem with noise with UP. did you fix this in more new firmware?
you seem angry with deqx, maybe not best to post angry about competitor though. my father always told me this.

Hi the noise issue was a problem with one customer and on the first generation of Preamps only and was a consequence of using the design from the esstech application notes. To others who bought those first Preamps there were no issues or they worked around it using good quality amplifiers with proper balanced input stages. Having said that we completely redesigned the DAC and IV stage in the 2nd generation Preamps so the common mode noise was cancelled out and non existent. Our gripe with DEQX was the way they mysteriously offered a "21 st anniversary" sale of their products at a significant discount right at the same time we were offering a pre-order for the UP2 and UPP on diyaudio so I called into question the timing of this when they'd never offered a discount before and "21 st" was an odd number to celebrate an anniversary. Sure there was no law against them doing this but at the same time I didn't see why I should stay silent if I thought a  competitor making an inferior product was trying to steal prospective customers away from us at a critical time. As a small start-up trying to get off the ground in a country which shuns manufacturing and support of aussie made products sometimes we need to bark a bit louder than other more established companies in order to stay afloat. Because of this we learned the hard way from this experience not to do any more forward announcements of prospective products !!

Having said that we have currently sold out of all of our stock so can't supply you with anything at the moment until our supply chains are re-established

Regards
David

[Xawo]

Not sure why so angry with me. I thought this support forum was to ask queries but Michaelh seems very aggressive. Not sure I should buy if this is the response by workers to genuine qestions. In China business is friendly and when a customer ask qestions we are not told to get your fact right.
I came here from link in a chinese diy audio forum and UP was recomemnded but will report back not very helpful and very angry.

I wish you the best.

[Tranquility Bass]

Not sure why so angry with me. I thought this support forum was to ask queries but Michaelh seems very aggressive. Not sure I should buy if this is the response by workers to genuine qestions. In China business is friendly and when a customer ask qestions we are not told to get your fact right.
I came here from link in a chinese diy audio forum and UP was recomemnded but will report back not very helpful and very angry.

I wish you the best.

Hi Xawo

Michael is not an employee of our company. He is a customer and very satisfied owner of one of the original Preamps so like a lot of owners of audio equipment is quite passionate about his gear. Having said that I don't like to censor everything people write because then it becomes a propaganda forum like some audio forums where there are ulterior motives to promote some brands over others as I have already alluded too.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Regards
David