2. digital
  3. 1086818638

Reconciling analog and digital playback

My catalyst for posting is the recent upgrades I made to my analog system: Micro Seiki / SME 3012 / Shelter 901. The changes were made last week, so I am still getting a handle on the nuances and subtleties, but there is a significant naturalness, ease and presence that really allows me to connect emotionally with the music. The problem is that now digital playback on the Sony DVP-S9000es is so lacking in soul, emotion and body compared to analog. I was satisfied until now, realizing that the Sony is good, not great. My digital sources are almost exclusively PCM CDs, not SACD.

I want to close the gap, so that I can enjoy my CDs again! The Sony is used for DVD video playback no more than 20% of the time. I have decided to either: 1) replace the Sony with a more contemporary universal player, or 2) add a nice DAC, either a Bidat or Lavry 924, using the Sony for transport and video duties.

Is anyone more experienced with digital playback, who can provide some guidance?
skushino
skushino OP
91 posts
 
Consensus is the last thing I expected to encounter in this forum, but the verdict seems to be that the gap between analog and digital is fundamental and part of our landscape. Your input reinforced my feeling. Thanks to the more experienced digital 'philes for sharing your experience.

Just for an experiment, I decided to obtain the Lavry and see what a SOTA D/A can do in my modest system. It should arrive next week, and I'll post results. I realize the Sony and the Lavry are in very different leagues, and not a perfect match, but the Sony should be sufficient for this experiment. My hypothesis is that overall sonics will improve tremendously, but the more important and desirable musical attributes that analog delivers, will still be missing.

I hope that I am wrong...
steam3642
124 posts
 
You could try the TRICHORD CLOCK 4 CD UPGRADE .
cmk
397 posts
 
I would recommend that you replace the Sony completely, afterall digital technology has moved quite a bit since it was launched. Its like using Pentium II now.

Try out a universal player like the Denon A11/A5900. You won't be disappointed. As to whether it will get you any nearer to analog, I suppose only with good sources - SACD/DVDA or good PCM recordings, will the gap narrow. But if your analog playback is top notch, digital is a pale comparison.
skushino OP
91 posts
 
Is it really accurate that digital processing technology is evoloving (depreciating) quickly? The economics of technology don't seem to support this.

Unlike computer hardware which benefits from Moore's Law, and can therefore process more software at a given price point due to falling prices of memory and processor power, DACs are still processing the same 44.1 kHz software that is over 20 years old (not talking about high-res formats like SACD and DVD-A). DACs are not challenged with processing bigger programs at faster speeds that need more computer memory. Aside from upsampling, are there really improvements in D/A algorithms or other techniques that benefit from Moore's Law economics?

If this is true, good DAC design should remain competitive over time. Aren't the "best" DACs (Meitner, DCS, Weiss, etc) still competitive years after release? What technology is evoloving so quickly in D/A conversion?
cmk
397 posts
 
I really think it has moved. While it is true of most high end redbook playback systems that these are still competitive - I still like my CEC TL2/Meridien 566DAC(20 bit balanced DACs) for redbook, a newer and cheaper Universal Player like the Denon A11/5900 offers considerably more features and similar performance(on redbook) to the CEC/Meridien combo while costing a fraction of it when new.

Even if you take the DCS combos(1st gen), those need to be upgraded to the latest spec or they are obsolete.

The Sony DVP9000 was their flagship model in 2000, now its not even listed in the catalog. Its does not have :
a) upsampling
b) HDCD/DVDA playback
c) progessive scan
and the SACD chipset comes from their first gen versions which take the DSD signal and down converts it to PCM bef the DAC gets it. I don't know if you notice this, but Sony digital machines have a certain signature sound, which as you correctly put it is "so lacking in soul, emotion and body compared to analog".
More to discover