|
Post by MartinT on Mar 30, 2020 13:54:18 GMT
ELP is a special case: almost all their recordings are poor. All you can do is try not to make it worse.
|
|
|
Post by julesd68 on Mar 30, 2020 14:27:36 GMT
OK Mr Pedantic! Fleetwood Mac 'Rumours' - will that do for a generic 70's rock recording??
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Mar 30, 2020 19:39:07 GMT
If you listened to a constant diet of Rumours-like recordings, you may well adjust your system to suit its special (not neutral) kind of sound.
However, in the main, we listen to a ton of different genres. The only way to satisfy them all is to add or subtract as little as possible and let the recording do the talking.
|
|
|
Post by petea on Apr 7, 2020 9:08:32 GMT
I am currently trialling a Lab12 Reference DAC. I have a Lab12 DAC1 SE in the UK, but do not use it as my primary DAC (in fact it is on loan to a friend at the moment) as it can 'only' process files to 96 KHz and I have a fair few 192 KHz files on the server. Also, due to the need for good ventilation it is slightly difficult to include in the 'rack' at the moment. As a result I use a Teddy Pardo DAC with his USB in as the DAC for streaming and files and a Lector DAC for CD playback. The Lab12 DAC1 SE just has the edge over the TP one for the files it can process and steaming (from Tidal at least, I haven't tried it with Qobuz). I have not swapped it for the Lector yet and I also have a Lector S-192 still to compare things with. That will all have to wait for now though.
Anyway, in Germany I have no particular physical constraints and, as the main system is in my office / studio, aesthetics are not of major concern. I also have a TP DAC here and have recently added a Fidata server to take over from MinimServer on one of the Synology NAS units. I had already established the enormous uplift in SQ that this produced in the UK and, as I shall be spending more time here, I decided to follow the same route here. Again, introducing a Fidata server achieved a decent uplift in SQ and I was waiting until the sound of that plus some other changes I'd made had become the norm before trying the Lab12 Reference.
Last night I left the Lab12 soaking in to Radio Paradise and this morning, after an hour or so of listening to the 'old' system, I swapped it for the TP DAC. So far so good and there are certainly improvements / changes. Bass is maybe smoother and a touch more detailed and vocals maybe more 'real'. I'm pretty sure it's going to be a 'keeper' although it still needs to bed in further, but one thing it highlights once more is just how good the TP DACs are.
I will report back more later!
|
|
|
Post by petea on Apr 7, 2020 12:04:22 GMT
Bugger me, but this thing is getting better by the minute! I left it playing over lunch and now it is really 'singing' as it were.
|
|