jumia :AppleTV X: "it’s very deficient as to what is done"
I replace the clocks with lab grade low phase noise clocks. I clean up the HDMI in jitter and overall noise. I dejitter the CPU buss between the ethernet, HDMI, CPU, SSD and ram. I address the PWM voltage regulators. I use a noise canceling remote regulation power supply design. I tune the impedance of the power supply to the current spectra of the AppleTV which has components as low as a rumble down at 8hz as the CPU thinks and all the way up to harmonics from the PWM regulators around 1-5Mhz.
I also do a BUNCH of other things I wont discuss in public.
I have 108 units in customer homes as of last week shipments. A lot of my clients have k-scape and modded oppos and can A/B/C easily. They have ALL said the ATVX is the winner. HOW CAN THIS BE ? That sure scrambled my brain too. It turns out HDMI is JUST HORRENDOUS and everyone making HDMI gear just uses the chip makers suggested circuits and feeds the HDMI chip with terrible power. I feed the HDMI chip with power with less then 30uV of noise. A careful low impedance supply SWR tuned to the current spectra required. I also feed it a power supply that is WAY more regultaed then any HDMI system I know of in any device.
I do this same thing to the CPU/Ethernet chip/SSD/Ram and some other systems.
The ENTIRE platform is dejittered and stunningly free of RF noise and the voltages at the chips are PPM stable with short term drift.
I am sorry its expensive. It takes a whole day to make one. The PCB takes SMD rework and that costs money. The parts of expensive.
YES. I use good wire. But not "audiophile" wire. I use a teflon insulated pure silver fine strand wire. This wire was made for industry back in the 1980's before they changed the Teflon manufacturing process because of the Montreal protocol. I use this wire because of the teflon and its mil-spec rating and its established specs for silver purity and other materials and mfgr properties. Its also a VERY exact length, ga and dia. This is because its part of a SWR tuning for impedance match of the power supply to the ATVX board.
I have highly modded lots of other gear. But I prefer the ATVX. Also of course the AppleTV X does WAY WAY more then a disc player or a k-scape. It has every app, has every movie known, has all the current series, has sports, has music like Tidal, it can play local content off a uPnP server, it can plug inot the Apple eco system and has all your pics/vids.
The pic is stunning, but, its the sound that gets everybody. Its more like a good server/DAC then a HDMI based device.
I get tho that it seems what i am saying is impossible. It sure was mind bending to me. HDMI is simple not well understand in how jitter on it is interpreted by the human model. Plus dejittering things like the CPU dejitted frame decoding. So each frame of video has less jitter in timing of decode. I don't know what all happened. I know and can measure a few things, but, that does not fully explain the shock and awe everyone experiences.
