Hopelessly mid fi?


I recently hooked up an 80 gb ipod to my system through an Apple dock and did an A/B with my CD player. I am able to match the db level between the two via the volume control on the CDP, and switch between sources instantaneously for a meaningful comparison. Much to my chagrin, the difference was minimal at best. So I brought in a Squeezebox and hooked a digital IC into the CDP's DAC with similar results using both compressed (AAC 192) and Apple Lossless formats. From what I have read on this site, I assumed that it shouldn't be possible that compressed or streaming digital should rival the sound of, by all accounts, a reputable CDP (name intentionally withheld). But it does.

Is it possible to assemble a digital front-end, for say, less than $2K, that would produce a meaningful improvement over both the ipod and Squeezebox? An external DAC perhaps? Or is my system simply not capable of resolving the differences? I'd prefer not to overhaul the rest of my system if possible which includes an Odyssey Candella preamp and Extreme mono amps, Von Schwiekert VR-4jr speakers and Virtual Dynamic Nite II cables.

Thanks for your thoughts.
sydneysophia
Rodman
Nice article... a bit dated but good thoughts there.

Syd
My exp has been such that once a prime digital source has been selected. One capable of conveying all the info it gets from the presented media, changes to the down stream items & accessories yields still more benefits.

The media too, as was noted can effectively lift system performance, albeit not nearly so much... but still some.

given your desire to not pursue wholesale chages, and the items you now own aren't bad ones, nice in fact, I'd consider moves surrounding the source, and the way it delivers it's info to the preamp, first.

Every system I've had which used a preamp, the preamp can be (and IMO), is as important as the source. In other words I put as much $$$ or more into the preamp as I do the source... routinely.

owning a lesser Odyseey amp, it does respond well to isolation, and power cable changes. So there's that.

The bottom line for me as of late has been this... "If you like what you are getting, keep doing what you are doing. If not, change what you can, when you can. Everything makes a diff in a good audio system."

AS was noted too, other musical content/genre than rock & pop will reveal more overall sonic qualities.

Using the best recorded media seems to me the best way to establish and monitor changes in performance as ones sytem develops... whether I like the genre or not to begin with. Actually this path also unlocked for me new doors to audio and has since allowed me personal growth in music appreciation. My horizons have been broadened, let's say.

In fact, due to the quality of the recordings in some of these other musical areas, I now prefer them to my staples of blues & alternative music. Sheesh, I'm even digging big band jazz lately! hampton, Miller, Pepper, Goodwin, Jacquette, Nocturne, and others. Dare I say it? yeah, classical too just recently.

Again, "If ya like what you're getting...."
Some facts(regarding Digital audio and music reproduction) are not going to change any time soon: (http://home.swbell.net/ronsuthe/technology.html)
Thanks to all who took the time to respond. Blindjim-thanks again for the thoughts. I am currently experimenting with leaving the tube preamp out of the chain and running the CDP straight into the amps. And I a bottleneck. Noticeably better soundstage and transients running direct. While I do need a pre, perhaps there are some in your experience that might fit the bill. Given my musical preference, I am thinking solid state. I like the details. Needs two pre-outs, remote, standby mode ideally, used will do. Thoughts?
DETAILS? SS? Twin sets of outputs? (why this last item?)

The BAT SS preamp latest ver could do that for you… a friend here whom I value his imput has said to me the Rowland Capri. Perhaps a nice Krell?

Personally, if them amps ain’t changing anytime soon, and they aren’t balanced truly, I’d stay with a tube pre. Some Thor 1000 MK II are being sold now at most attractive $$$. They are a super buy, despite the lack of current support. Paul, took a powder on us.

They’ve superb build and only use 4 tubes. Self biasing too. Plug and play, virtually. They do sound best with Thor amps, but I do so dig mine! It’s a keeper for sure as it would be well beyond my means to improve upon it’s performance alone…. And every amp I’ve attached it to has been taken to antoeranother level. SS or HS..

I’m certain other preamps can and will do the trick for ya, but I can not really say as I’ve not tried them all with Odyssey amps.

Long as you stay in the active preamp camp, and get a well made, well designed, and good performing unit, I’d say you can’t go wrong if at all. Especially with the input impedance of the Extremes. They are 100K each, right? That’s hard to mismatch a preamp to… 100K. Thereafter, it’s a simple matter of tastes. I simply like the input of tubes some where and a preamp seems the usual suspect for me.

oh... and I do listen to rock too... just not exclusively.

Good luck
Thanks Blindjim. Need two pre-outs for subs/bi-amping. I like what removing the tube preamp did in my system (cleaner highs, stronger/taught lows), so I prefer to experiment with SS. Too much detail missing with what were sold as more "dynamic" tubes. I am not married to any one component, but would prefer to integrate things one piece at a time to fully realize the changes any one piece can make. Your time is appreciated.