I agree with Rotarius that reproduction of massed strings is a weak area for the 3A's, at least with a digital source. That was my experience. In fairness, it's a weak area for lots, if not most gear. (Especially if your reference is Carnegie Hall, or Symphony Hall in Boston.) The Harbeth M30's proved to be, for me, significantly easier and more pleasant to listen to for massed strings. That having been said, I don't necessarily disagree with Bigtree that the 3A's are better than a lot of speakers in that area. I suspect that most manufacturers don't voice their speakers with hard core classical listeners in mind...and, because the recording of massed strings seems to be a tough and imperfect art, an issue of concern is balancing between forgiving speakers and detailed speakers. The 3A's were what I would call very revealing speakers. For me, in fact (in the long run), TOO revealing. (One dealer, when I told him I'd gotten the Harbeths, said "But they aren't high end!?" I don't agree with him, but that sure got me thinking, maybe I don't really WANT "high end." At least not what a lot of people refer to as "high end."
"Old" vs. "new" digital equipment
Some recent posts about how far digital has come have got me thinking. I have a Theta DS Pro Gen III dac fed by a CEC TL5100Z as a transport. (The rest of the system is ARC LS2B Mk II into ARC VT-100 Mk II into Vandy 3a Sigs and 2WQ sub.)
I wonder what improvements I might hear if I were to go to a newer dac or newer cdp. In my current system, I hear grain when I listen to massed strings, some congestion on orchestral peaks, but otherwise most generally like what I hear.
Would newer digital stuff mitigate or eliminate these issues?
If I were to upgrade, where might I head next?
More generally, can anyone characterize the differences between my "old" Theta and newer digital equipment?
TIA.
David
I wonder what improvements I might hear if I were to go to a newer dac or newer cdp. In my current system, I hear grain when I listen to massed strings, some congestion on orchestral peaks, but otherwise most generally like what I hear.
Would newer digital stuff mitigate or eliminate these issues?
If I were to upgrade, where might I head next?
More generally, can anyone characterize the differences between my "old" Theta and newer digital equipment?
TIA.
David
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- 25 posts total
- 25 posts total