I've found the cd player for analog lovers

Onhwy61,

We don't disagree. We're talking about different phenomena.

I agree that "purist" recordings sound most lifelike within a certain volume range (though it's hardly a knife-edge adjustment). As classical listeners (and a little jazz), all of our good recordings behave this way.

They do not, however, suddenly become distorted or harsh when played back at other volumes.

Room acoustics can of course cause harshness/distortion of certain frequencies. But IME, when one PRECISE setting on the gain control tames the problem then a component is to blame. Room mode problems often ramp up with volume. They don't appear out of nowhere when the knob is twisted .1db too high.

We've experienced this with several (well known and non-cheap) amps and preamps. Our present equipment does not behave so. Since our room has stayed the same...

At any rate, we both agree that there's room for further improvement, even as he's enjoying his newly musical digital source.

P.S. I have a stock Denon 3910 and I've demoed an Underwood-modded one. I haven't heard the APL version but I doubt it's involved in this particular problem. Amp and/or preamp are more likely candidates.

"I haven't heard the APL version but I doubt it's involved in this particular problem. Amp and/or preamp are more likely candidates."

Dougdeacon,

I agree with you that the APL unit is not involved with this problem. I have the APL Denon 3910 with the new AKM chips and I do not experience digital glare/edginess/harshness/distortion even at very loud volumes. Mmakshak's problem must be elsewhere in his audio system: amp, pre-amp, AC quality, room acoustics, etc. I do agree with Mmakshack that the APL unit is superb. I prefer it to some units that cost as much as $14,000.

Best Regards,
John

I agree with you that the APL unit is not involved with this problem. I have the APL Denon 3910 with the new AKM chips and I do not experience digital glare/edginess/harshness/distortion even at very loud volumes.

Best Regards,
John
Puremusic (Threads | Answers)

In order to avoid any misunderstanding, it should be made clear that Mmakshak's APL Denon 3910 is not the same as Puremusic's APL Denon 3910. Mmakshak's does not have AKM DACs, nor does it have the APL designed tube output stage, Upsampler, H-Attenuator, or Linear power supply. It does have an APL designed MOSFET output stage, APL Master clock and power supply improvements.

So, while it's likely that neither player is responsible for Mmakshak's volume issue, they are apples to oranges players.

Actually, we prefer our stock 3910 to both our previous Arcam FMJ CD23 ($2400), the Underwood modded 3910 and two $8-10K dedicated CDP's owned by friends. This makes our audio budget very happy. :-)

This particular 3910's over-achieving is greatly due to our very special line stage. Without that, we would still be searching for a digital source without glare. But a stock 3910 + this line stage provide very satisfying and enjoyable sound.

This setup performs so well it was worth putting a $1K (list) power cord and $2K (list) Nordost Valkyra interconnects on it. Not that we paid that much, but it is amusing that the wire connecting the 3910 to the world lists for double the price of the player itself. ;-)

Doug, grammatically you cannot refer to yourself as "we", unless Doug and Deacon are 2 separate individuals. ;)

I did have the opportunity to listen to a few 3910, albeit through different systems at the last RMAF, and I would agree it is pretty analog sounding. I can't recall exactly which modded version is was, but I believe it was the ModWright.

There are other ways to smooth analog sound from digital, mine was the CEC TL2 with the Benchmark DAC1 and JPS digital power cords for both. The JPS digital along with the PS Audio P300(using sine only) made the music sound smooth without the digital edge/glare.