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Has anyone else ever reached an audio impasse?

Perhaps I should explain -

A friend of mine has a VERY high resolution system which would retail close to the $100K mark. Each component upgrade he has made over the years has been based upon comparison between components. He has built a fantastic system.

Now here is the problem -
Recently he and I compared his source CD player which is the top model currently available under 15K, against a Sony 9000 ES SACD/DVD player. We A/B compared them.

After extended listening, we found the differences to be so minor that it was difficult to detect which was better. We did the comparisons with Redbook CD vs SACD, RedBook vs. Redbook and still the 15K CD player was only marginally (.05%) better.

The 15K CD player had better more expensive interconnects and power cords than the Sony which was using a stock power cord an old Audioquest Topaz (cheap) interconnects.

In previous listening sessions over the past year we had compared the same Sony 9000 CD/DVD/SACD player against MANY other CD players ranging in price from 2000 all the way up to 7000 and on redbook CD's the Sony always got it's butt kicked! It sounded hollow - with a recessed midrange - electronic - over emphasized highs, etc.

Then - I took a 100 Toshiba DVD player to his house and tried it against his 15K CD player. It sounded the same as the Sony. In fact, the 100 Toshiba sounded as good if not better in some ways than the Sony DVD player but...still was .05% out classed by the 15K CD player.

With each source component in these auditions, the soundstage remained VERY large, images were perfect and tonal balance couldn't be better. The subtlety of the changes between the various source components would be best described as perceived rather than actual.

I am curious to know if anyone else has experienced this type of an impasse. I know the $100 DVD player should not sound like the 15K CD player (at least it never did before)
but it does now. Why??

Could there be a bottle-neck somewhere? Could the character of an pre or amplifier be so strong it restricts performance of a source component? What could cause this to happen?

Help please...
bwhite

Showing 5 responses by detlof

detlof
1,899 posts
 
I would borrow a good pair of electrostats or two of those modern horn speakers and start experimenting again. After all, width and debth of soundstage isn't all. There is dynamics from pppp to ffff and the rendering of the right timbre of instruments. Try solo instruments, piano, violin, cello and voices- sopranos are especially good at full tilt boogie - and see if you don't notice more of a difference.
Happy listening!
detlof
1,899 posts
 
The reason, I suggested trying an ELS speaker was in fact for you to see, if the "coating" still persists, because those kinds of transducers never come close to "coating" the music even ever so slightly. A "positive" result would rule out, that the cause lies in your Dynaudios. Perhaps, as was suggested above, it is indeed your listening room.
I've been in a similar quandary before, which I was also quite unable to resolve, but later learnt to put down to overwork and mental fatigue, which simply closed my ears down for a while.....
detlof
1,899 posts
 
B, I sincerely hope that I'm NOT right. The Dynaudios will play louder, higher, deeper and dynamically punchier than most of the ESL would. However those are unbeaten in the midrange, where most of our finer listening takes place, so I'd try the experiment all the same, if you can. Also, If you cannot get stators, perhaps you could try some of the BBC type monitors, like the Spendor, which have also excellent midrange rendering. Also Maggies would do, I think. Good luck and hopefully it won't spoil your holiday!
detlof
1,899 posts
 
Look, I don't mean this as a joke at all: But when did he last have his hearing checked and his ears cleared out? I've had this happen to an audiophile collegue, whose ears had truly clogged up. Well, I thought of bringing this up, though improbable, nothing is impossible and I feel sorry for your friend and the plight he is in.
P.S: if nothing else helps, I would still try the speaker thing.....
detlof
1,899 posts
 
bwhite, I must underwrite everything cfb has said and wish to thank you myself for all your followups. I've learnt a lot from the unfolding story and am personally glad than all is now well
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