Post by MartinT on May 7, 2019 11:52:40 GMT
When you go all-out for resolution in your system (I'm talking primarily digital here, but some of this could apply to hi-res analogue sources, too) be aware that it may not be straight sailing. The nicely balanced sound that you were experiencing may be replaced with one or more issues depending on where the weak points are, even if you weren't aware of them before. A high resolution streamer/player/DAC can tip your system from a good overall balance into one that highlights issues previously not apparent, and may require further attention if the newly found resolution is not to leave you unhappy with the performance and uncertain where it went wrong.
The key areas I noted when moving up from a nicely balanced budget but good quality DAC to an out-and-out detail-meister were:
I'll try and outline my experiences and prepare you for countermeasures to the above, which may or may not identify all the areas of change required depending on where your system's strengths and weaknesses lie.
Let's take a step back. At the start of 2019, I was running Volumio with Spotify HQ on a Pi with a DigiOne, providing S/PDIF digital audio into a modified Caiman SEG DAC. The sound was wonderfully liquid, musical and communicative on almost all music. There was nothing wrong with it but it wasn't the last word in detail despite being a step above my SACD player in playback quality.
Then I bought a high-end DAC with the latest ESS9038 chipset in dual-mono configuration, sourced from MyVolumio on a Pi with Qobuz Studio, feeding I2S digital audio into the DAC. Everything changed despite the rest of the system remaining the same. The initial sound was unbelievably detailed and incredibly dynamic with a degree of attack I had never heard before. It was also bright, somewhat relentless and fatiguing to listen to over extended sessions. Time for some investigation and countermeasures!
It was clear that the newly found resolution was highlighting issues in the rest of my system, which had never been apparent when running at a lesser performance level.
Power. If you haven't given this any attention yet, you really shouldn't be attempting to go hi-res as this will reveal every shortcoming in your power strategy. Try and organise every component to plug directly into a wall socket, or a very good quality (not supermarket) power distribution strip or, best of all, a regenerator or mains filter designed for the job. Power cable quality is important too, don't use ordinary kettle leads. For the ultimate in attention, gold plated plug pins and specialist fuses will help, but get the basics right first. Distorted mains will affect different components in different ways, but be sure that they will be affected somehow. This is a prime cause of harshness in reproduction and hi-res will highlight it mercilessly.
Noise. You need to suppress noise in the power feeding the system (see above) but you should also suppress noise being generated elsewhere in the household. Plug-in suppressors and snap-chokes are the best tools here. Use them on or close to small switched-mode power supplies like wall-wart phone chargers, as well as every other source of noise such as TVs, set-top boxes, computers, printers etc. The idea is to use them liberally and reduce the overall noise caused by electrical devices either sent back in the mains or radiated out as EMI (Electro-Magnetic interference) or RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). If any of your hi-fi equipment uses switched-mode power supplies, such as the router you use for streaming, consider replacing it with a linear power supply. Even better, plug that power supply into the same regenerator or filter used for the hi-fi system. If any of your system components use electrofluorescent displays (mostly green dot matrix), which radiate EMI, set them to turn off while playing.
Support. It is critical that your digital source components (streamer and DAC) be supported as well as if they were a turntable. Many components are microphonic and crystals used in internal clocks are susceptible to vibrations. Go for decoupling (absorbent) rather than coupling (spike) footers. I swear by RDC and Black Ravioli footers but there are many others on the market. If possible, use several levels of decoupling at the component, support shelf and system rack level. Suppress case vibrations and sympathetic resonances by placing granite placemats or coasters on components (applying sticky-back felt to their undersides). Use a good shelf on which to further isolate the component from the rack (I use Electric Beach S1NX shelves, but IKEA Aptitlig bamboo chopping boards are also very effective). For ultimate isolation, try dressing cable paths and using cable risers but this really is the last item to pay attention to after everything else has been done.
Cables. The first thing to look for when changing DAC is whether it supports balanced XLR outputs and whether your preamp does, too. Try using a balanced interconnect although be prepared to try both XLR and single-ended in order to ascertain which is preferable in your setup. The results will be unpredictable. Cables should be seen as one of the last tweaks but they can certainly help to adjust a small tilt in balance. What might have worked well previously (for instance, a cable that added some needed treble lift or bass heft) may now not work so well. Be prepared to experiment and switch to alternative cables if that is what is needed to redress the balance. In my case, a switch from single-ended cables used with my previous DAC to XLR cables with the new DAC wrought a surprising change in balance to my system - just what I needed. In your system, the opposite could be just as true.
In summary, a switch to hi-res reproduction should give you nothing but benefits. The reality is that your system may need some attention in order to preserve the qualities you have previously enjoyed while giving you added resolution and detail. The final arbiter is whether you end up enjoying it as much over prolonged listening sessions. The above suggestions should help to regain that long term enjoyment and ultimately give you more music.
The key areas I noted when moving up from a nicely balanced budget but good quality DAC to an out-and-out detail-meister were:
- The level of detail presented could fool the brain into sensing that the balance had tilted towards the midrange and/or treble
- The level of dynamic attack could fool the brain into thinking that the sound had become bright, harsh or edgy
- Tightening and extending of the bass performance could lead to an apparent lightening of the balance due to the reduction or elimination of fat bass or bloat
- Further enhancement of source resolution towards, say, Qobuz Studio from Spotify HQ, only exacerbated all of the above. I hear occasional accusations of Qobuz sounding bright and I attribute these findings to the above in combination
I'll try and outline my experiences and prepare you for countermeasures to the above, which may or may not identify all the areas of change required depending on where your system's strengths and weaknesses lie.
Let's take a step back. At the start of 2019, I was running Volumio with Spotify HQ on a Pi with a DigiOne, providing S/PDIF digital audio into a modified Caiman SEG DAC. The sound was wonderfully liquid, musical and communicative on almost all music. There was nothing wrong with it but it wasn't the last word in detail despite being a step above my SACD player in playback quality.
Then I bought a high-end DAC with the latest ESS9038 chipset in dual-mono configuration, sourced from MyVolumio on a Pi with Qobuz Studio, feeding I2S digital audio into the DAC. Everything changed despite the rest of the system remaining the same. The initial sound was unbelievably detailed and incredibly dynamic with a degree of attack I had never heard before. It was also bright, somewhat relentless and fatiguing to listen to over extended sessions. Time for some investigation and countermeasures!
It was clear that the newly found resolution was highlighting issues in the rest of my system, which had never been apparent when running at a lesser performance level.
Power. If you haven't given this any attention yet, you really shouldn't be attempting to go hi-res as this will reveal every shortcoming in your power strategy. Try and organise every component to plug directly into a wall socket, or a very good quality (not supermarket) power distribution strip or, best of all, a regenerator or mains filter designed for the job. Power cable quality is important too, don't use ordinary kettle leads. For the ultimate in attention, gold plated plug pins and specialist fuses will help, but get the basics right first. Distorted mains will affect different components in different ways, but be sure that they will be affected somehow. This is a prime cause of harshness in reproduction and hi-res will highlight it mercilessly.
Noise. You need to suppress noise in the power feeding the system (see above) but you should also suppress noise being generated elsewhere in the household. Plug-in suppressors and snap-chokes are the best tools here. Use them on or close to small switched-mode power supplies like wall-wart phone chargers, as well as every other source of noise such as TVs, set-top boxes, computers, printers etc. The idea is to use them liberally and reduce the overall noise caused by electrical devices either sent back in the mains or radiated out as EMI (Electro-Magnetic interference) or RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). If any of your hi-fi equipment uses switched-mode power supplies, such as the router you use for streaming, consider replacing it with a linear power supply. Even better, plug that power supply into the same regenerator or filter used for the hi-fi system. If any of your system components use electrofluorescent displays (mostly green dot matrix), which radiate EMI, set them to turn off while playing.
Support. It is critical that your digital source components (streamer and DAC) be supported as well as if they were a turntable. Many components are microphonic and crystals used in internal clocks are susceptible to vibrations. Go for decoupling (absorbent) rather than coupling (spike) footers. I swear by RDC and Black Ravioli footers but there are many others on the market. If possible, use several levels of decoupling at the component, support shelf and system rack level. Suppress case vibrations and sympathetic resonances by placing granite placemats or coasters on components (applying sticky-back felt to their undersides). Use a good shelf on which to further isolate the component from the rack (I use Electric Beach S1NX shelves, but IKEA Aptitlig bamboo chopping boards are also very effective). For ultimate isolation, try dressing cable paths and using cable risers but this really is the last item to pay attention to after everything else has been done.
Cables. The first thing to look for when changing DAC is whether it supports balanced XLR outputs and whether your preamp does, too. Try using a balanced interconnect although be prepared to try both XLR and single-ended in order to ascertain which is preferable in your setup. The results will be unpredictable. Cables should be seen as one of the last tweaks but they can certainly help to adjust a small tilt in balance. What might have worked well previously (for instance, a cable that added some needed treble lift or bass heft) may now not work so well. Be prepared to experiment and switch to alternative cables if that is what is needed to redress the balance. In my case, a switch from single-ended cables used with my previous DAC to XLR cables with the new DAC wrought a surprising change in balance to my system - just what I needed. In your system, the opposite could be just as true.
In summary, a switch to hi-res reproduction should give you nothing but benefits. The reality is that your system may need some attention in order to preserve the qualities you have previously enjoyed while giving you added resolution and detail. The final arbiter is whether you end up enjoying it as much over prolonged listening sessions. The above suggestions should help to regain that long term enjoyment and ultimately give you more music.