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Post by karatestu on Sept 16, 2019 14:17:16 GMT
I found on my Naim CD3.5 that the anologue output stage (filter) had the most influence over the sound of the player. Luckily for me the dac used has an opamp inside so could drive the next stage without an output stage / buffer. So i bypassed the whole of the output stage and liked it more than with it in ! Sorry, Stu, that all sounds far too much like witchcraft to me, mate.  The filters on the DAC have names like "short slow" and "low delay." They might as well all be called "suck it and see #1", "suck it and see #2" etc.  N.B. Rostropovich's Bach Unaccompanied Cello Suites does NOT sound awful through the DAC, which is good. At least I can play stuff without it making my teeth itch. Ha ha  Not sure what my point was to be honest if i even had one  Why didn't they give them cooler names like rock or jazz ? I suppose you will find the one you like best eventually. Or maybe you will like different ones depending on what genre of music you are playing ? |
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Post by Slinger on Sept 16, 2019 14:19:49 GMT
With no remote, it'll end up being a one-size-fits-all filter I reckon.
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Post by MartinT on Sept 16, 2019 14:48:25 GMT
I use Slow-M (Minumum Phase Slow roll-off) on my LKS if it's any help, but you were right with suck-it-and-see as it will vary with system.
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Post by Slinger on Sept 17, 2019 12:23:52 GMT
I've just picked up a WireWorld Starlight 7 cable to try against my current Belden 1694a/Canare coax lead, from Pi to DAC and a Beresford TC-3618 Toslink Optical Cable to go between CD player and DAC. The reason for the Beresford is that it's just occurred to me that I need to test whether the new DAC means I should switch my CD player output, currently feeding the amp directly and using the CD player,'s internals to the DAC. CD player and Amp are matched Primare components which is why I'm connecting them directly using analogue connections, there is a "synergy" there. The internals of the CD player are, although dated, reasonably impressive. There's a Burr-Brown DIR1703 for jitter correction, and a brace of 24 bit Burr-Brown PCM 1738 D/A converters that can handle up to 24/192kHz. Apparently they are configured in an " internally balanced topology to perform a THD cancellation process," which sounds awfully impressive to me. Without getting too technical about things, the setup currently sounds bloomin' good to me. What I've realised, though, is that I never actually tested to see if there was any improvement when I installed the SMSL M8 DAC, and the new Weiliang DAC (Dual AK4497EQ) is already showing signs of a marked improvement on the M8 (single ES9018K2M). Oh goody. More buggering about.  |
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Post by MartinT on Sept 17, 2019 12:54:08 GMT
You may find it beneficial to run all of your digital sources through your new DAC, not just because DACs have come a long way in a few years but also because it'll 'normalise' the sound of your different inputs.
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Post by Slinger on Oct 3, 2019 12:58:31 GMT
Final post on this subject before I (finally) tear down, and rebuild my second system to put it on a decent base plus some RDC 5 cones and combi-bases, rather than just a couple of marble "worktop savers" and some ply balanced on top of bookcase, and also I'll be adding my newly reterminated speaker cable. Depending on how "brave" I'm feeling I might be tempted to try my Monitor Audio Silver 2 speakers in the system too. If they outshine the ES11s I know what I'll be saving for next. I really do like the Silver 2s in my main system. I'm more than happy with what the DAC and the new cables have done, and I'm guessing they've all had enough time to "burn in" now. The combination has made a not insignificant improvement to the sound so far, and I'm hoping for a little bit more with the new base and speaker cable. It's definitely been a worthwhile series of upgrades. |
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Post by MartinT on Oct 3, 2019 14:38:26 GMT
Do let us have a photo of the final setup when you're done. A picture tells a thousand words!
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Not sure what my point was to be honest if i even had one 
