[Mariusz]

I have been hunting  for used EA Offramp or Pace Car for quite some time. I even try to buy the CES demo unit few years back from you Steve without any luck. Finally I caught a break and purchased the Offramp Turbo from one of the HOVLAND employees. It supposed to have all bells and whistles but it is the original version. It sounds great and it improves an already awesome sounding NOS DAC which I use. Which brings it to a question:
Since the DAC uses NOS chip (non-oversampling, non-upsampling), is it the best choice for the purpose? And are there any other upgrades worth exploring?
I have contacted the manufacturer of the DAC and it might be a possibility to convert his battery powered DAC to share its battery power supply with Offramp Turbo as long as it operates on -+12V.
Any comments, recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Best
Mariusz

[KingStyles]

I use an offramp3 with a nos dac. I think it works great with it. It also allows me the easy usb output while allowing me the option of using 24/96 files which is a plus. Even though the dac truncates the 24 to 16, it still holds on to the 96 which I find is an improvement. Not to mention the jitter control it does.

[Mariusz]

I use an offramp3 with a nos dac. I think it works great with it.

I think so too. Not really sure why but lower jitter must be partially responsible for it.
It just sounds more open and less congested. RWA will try to mod my DAC so Offramp can be powered by its battery and hopefully improve its performance just a bit.

THX

Mariusz

[audioengr]

I have been hunting  for used EA Offramp or Pace Car for quite some time. I even try to buy the CES demo unit few years back from you Steve without any luck. Finally I caught a break and purchased the Offramp Turbo from one of the HOVLAND employees. It supposed to have all bells and whistles but it is the original version. It sounds great and it improves an already awesome sounding NOS DAC which I use. Which brings it to a question:
Since the DAC uses NOS chip (non-oversampling, non-upsampling), is it the best choice for the purpose? And are there any other upgrades worth exploring?

If the device shows-up as Empirical 1.1 and not Transit, then it already has the new firmware.

The only other thing is the internal coax upgrade.  This helps.  $125 shipping included

Battery power for the Off-Ramp Turbo2 makes a big difference.  +12VDC center positive - 2.1mm connector.

The Off-Ramp 3 is of course even better, and the Off-Ramp 3 with an Ultraclock even better than that.

Steve

[Mariusz]

If the device shows-up as Empirical 1.1 and not Transit, then it already has the new firmware.

I am not sure. The CD (drivers) which came with the package couldn't be opened with my MacBook.
Searching the web showed that it was comparable with M-Audio drivers. It says M-Audio Transit USB, so it might be the older version. It does work though.

e only other thing is the internal coax upgrade.  This helps. 

This unit came with EA coax cable attached - about foot long -+.

Battery power for the Off-Ramp Turbo2 makes a big difference.  +12VDC center positive - 2.1mm connector.

Thanks for the info Steve. I was thinking that would help.

The Off-Ramp 3 is of course even better, and the Off-Ramp 3 with an Ultraclock even better than that.

Out of curiosity - can my unit be upgraded to latest version or Off-Ramp 3 is build differently from the ground up?

Thanks for the info and help by answering my questions.

Mariusz

[audioengr]

If the device shows-up as Empirical 1.1 and not Transit, then it already has the new firmware.

I am not sure. The CD (drivers) which came with the package couldn't be opened with my MacBook.
Searching the web showed that it was comparable with M-Audio drivers. It says M-Audio Transit USB, so it might be the older version. It does work though.

This is the older firmware.  The new CEntrance firmware sounds a lot better.  $100 for the upgrade.

e only other thing is the internal coax upgrade.  This helps. 

This unit came with EA coax cable attached - about foot long -+.

The cable I'm talking about is internal, for the clock.

The Off-Ramp 3 is of course even better, and the Off-Ramp 3 with an Ultraclock even better than that.

Out of curiosity - can my unit be upgraded to latest version or Off-Ramp 3 is build differently from the ground up?

Cannot be upgraded, sorry.  Everything is different.

[KingStyles]

I just bought a bnt battery supply. I didnt want to have the optional 12v jack installed. I think that the battery supply in the rwa hpa has enough to worry about with the headphone out. I wouldnt want there to be any fluctuations of power from the rwa to the offramp considering its the devise that reclocks and removes jitter. It just didnt seem like it would be a good idea to share power with a headphone amp. I dont know if that would make a difference or not.

[Mariusz]

This is the older firmware.  The new CEntrance firmware sounds a lot better.  $100 for the upgrade.

Better sounding or just more stable?

The cable I'm talking about is internal, for the clock.

I am not sure if this unit got this option or not - how can I tell?
If it doesn't, I'll sure like to upgrade.
I guess the unit would have to be shipped for that upgrade.
As to firmware - is it a download or CD?

Thanks
Mariusz

I just bought a bnt battery supply. I didnt want to have the optional 12v jack installed. I think that the battery supply in the rwa hpa has enough to worry about with the headphone out. I wouldnt want there to be any fluctuations of power from the rwa to the offramp considering its the devise that reclocks and removes jitter. It just didnt seem like it would be a good idea to share power with a headphone amp. I dont know if that would make a difference or not.

I'll have to talk to Vinnie about this.
Not sure how he does it or what problems it can introduce if any so maybe it is best to get the answer from the source.

Mariusz

[Mariusz]

Battery power for the Off-Ramp Turbo2 makes a big difference.  +12VDC center positive - 2.1mm connector.

How much current (in mA) the Off-Ramp  Turbo consumes at 12Vdc, and is this a constant current draw or does it change over time? That would help estimate the run time from the battery and fuse size for DC output.


*****

I just bought a bnt battery supply. I didnt want to have the optional 12v jack installed. I think that the battery supply in the rwa hpa has enough to worry about with the headphone out. I wouldnt want there to be any fluctuations of power from the rwa to the offramp considering its the devise that reclocks and removes jitter. It just didnt seem like it would be a good idea to share power with a headphone amp. I dont know if that would make a difference or not.

A:
"The headphone stage and dac in the HPA are fed from dedicated linear regulators on each board, so sharing the battery is fine and everything is on one circuit and sharing the same battery GND. "

Best
Mariusz

[audioengr]

This is the older firmware.  The new CEntrance firmware sounds a lot better.  $100 for the upgrade.

Better sounding or just more stable?

Better sounding

The cable I'm talking about is internal, for the clock.

I am not sure if this unit got this option or not - how can I tell?
If it doesn't, I'll sure like to upgrade.
I guess the unit would have to be shipped for that upgrade.

You must open it up and look to see if there is a coax cable and connector coming out the bottom of the Superclock4.

As to firmware - is it a download or CD?

Neither, it's hardware, a chip.

Steve N.

[Mariusz]

Thanks Steve for all info given here and via PM.
I'll have my Offramp Turbo off the grid this Friday.
Will see how it all works out over the weekend and sent it to you Monday for firmware upgrade.
As to cable upgrade - I'll post a picture with the cover off later tonight.

Best
Mariusz