Can good speakers take edge off digital?


I have a pair of Quad 12L2 speakers hooked up to an 845 SET. When I am listening to analog, the system sounds fine. But with digital, well, it has that bit of the digital edginess. Can a better pair of speakers, say the Zu Druid, take the edge off the digital?
toufu

Showing 3 responses by sns

You have your answer, your analog doesn't have this problem, the DAC is your problem. You can either tweak, mod or get a new DAC. At $1k it may be impossible to get both resolution and smoothness, I think you have to go to a higher price point to get both. If you are handy with a soldering iron, or hire a tech you could mod your DAC to smooth out the edginess. Some tweaks, those mentioned above could also be all you need.
Steakster and Bob are absolutely correct, clean power and a good power cord can make all the difference. Clean power and a nice power cord can make less than state of the art digital reach far above it's station. I would also investigate having the Monarchy modded, some nice capacitors, resistors and op amps go a long way, and much less expensive than a new DAC. Go with the power conditoner and cord first, I bet you'll be surprised.

I also use an 845 amp, using an 845 amp with those speakers should give you first rate sonics. Your preamp will also benefit from power conditioning. And then there are dedicated AC and isolation to think about, I know, it never ends!
Psacanli is absolutely correct. I wonder how many people not enjoying their digital have never tried quality power cords and power conditioning. To give up on digital before trying this route is silly.