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source disappointment

I have built a system that I would guess is fairly revealing(in my limited experience), and have begun experimentation with the CD Source.

Signal Cable Analog 2
Cary SLP 88 pre
Zcable Live V3
Cary 2A3 se monoblocks
Elco Sti-2b Silver Bi-wire (used as single for soliloquys)
Soliloquy 2A3 monitors

Sennheiser HD590

I recently purchased a used Audio Note CD 2 to replace the use of my Panasonic XP50 DVD/DVD-A, player which I assumed was not much of a source, though it does have a remastering upsample feature.

In several extended listening sessions using various albums I have been unable to detect any sonic improvement offered by the Audio Note which I purchased because of their reputation for analog sound. I actually A/B'd a getz/gilberto cd I had two copies of, syncing both players up and using my Headphones, and I believe I prefered the Panasonic. During intermmitent audience applause on the disc, the Panasonic rendered a warmer and much wider soundstage.

Is this crazy?
wheeler
cytocycle
1,034 posts
 
First off you need to keep the AudioNote plugged in for at least a week or two so the DAC's can warm up. My Wadia dac required 3 weeks before it sounded musical. So if you just plugged it in an listened.... that might be it.

Even if that doesn't do it, you should then look at tubes as the NOS might be duds (I switched my Audible Illusions to NOS, and assumed it would be better, and suddely I was missing tons of information compared to my friends with the stock tubes...)

PS: If you haven't done a power condidtioner you need to do that... PS Audio Powerplant or something.

Goodluck
wheeler OP
16 posts
 
Wow, I have trouble believing it would take that long for the heat to conduct its way around the unit. Certainly an hour or two, but weeks?

Is this the case with SS also? Are you sure that we aren't splitting hairs?
scpetscott
47 posts
 
sheesh, this should have come up earlier. Maybe you should try listening through your speakers instead of the phones. Most headphone amps are not that great, also you lose all of the information that soundstaging and imaging can tell you about a cable or source, or whatever. If the panasonic really creates a more palpable sense of instruments and harmonics through your speakers then it just may be better. However, I have a technics DVD-A10 that sounds ok but does not hold a candle to my AN 1.1x dac.
ehart
215 posts
 
Hi Wheeler,

I am certainly of the "trust your ears" persuasion.

I would be curious to hear your experience with other "reference" CDs. The Getz/Gilberto was one of my 3 reference CDs until recently, you know the ones you take with you to listen to gear.

I did a signficant amp upgrade a while back, and while other CDs sounded noticeably better, this one did not. Then a few months ago, I auditioned speakers better than I've auditioned before, in the over $5000 range. While other recordings (Such as Alison Kraus' Forget About It) showed distinct differences between the speakers, the Getz/Gilberto did not.

So I've concluded that as great as the music is, this is no longer a good reference CD for me in terms of recording quality.

- Eric
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
I have to come back to the "no filter" thing. This is a radical technological departure from the commonly accepted practices in converter design. That doesn't necessarily mean that it will sound bad, but it will certainly sound very different. You are comparing it to a conventionally designed, modern, player. There are sound technological reasons why the vast majority of DACs use oversampling and either analog or digital brick wall filters. For one thing, the ultrasonic spuriae that is produced without a filter can cause the amp to become unstable. Even if this doesn't happen, tweeters do not like being hit with ultrasonic energy, their power handleing is quite limited. Beats, or difference frequencies can also fall back into the audible range. Finally, the transport that you are using may be causing large amounts of jitter due to the transport output/DAC input interface. This is a source of jitter that is avoided in an all-in-one-player.
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