Forgot one other thing -- Auralic is streaming from wifi right now. Need to run out and get a long ethernet cable but also thought about seeing if wired connection made a big difference. Thanks!
Help please! Something amiss with my digital chain
Hello all,
I'm new here and new to the audophile community. At 49 years old, finally have had a moment to set up some nice audio so I can sit and enjoy music - with the family and by myself! - as its meant to be heard. No more soundbars and bluetooth pod speakers. Was a vocal performance major for 1 1/2 years in college and music has a hugely positive impact on my life.
After much initial research and some listening to a few friend's systems, I spent a little money. The analog chain sounds fantastic - rich, nuanced, lively, none of that fatiguing glare - I can't believe I waited this long. Pound for pound super thrilled with the result. When I switch to my digital source, however, the music sounds much thinner, flat, lifeless - awful. Can someone more experienced than I help me diagnose the problem?
The system: MoFi Ultradeck with MoFi Ultragold MC cartridge --> Modwright PH9XT phono stage --> recently refurbished Decware ZMA tube amplifier --> Omega SuperAlnico monitors. The digital side includes an Auralic G1.1 streamer --> Linear Tube Audio Aero DAC --> Decware ZMA. I use Audioquest red river level interconnects and mid-level Decware copper speaker cables.
Some hypotheses:
1. Could it be I need a pre-amplifier after the DAC? Holding the amp volume steady, sound level coming from the DAC is noticeably less than from the phono stage. If this is the issue, any suggestions on what will have good synergy with the tube amp?
2. Power supply issue? right now I'm plugging everything into a very basic surge protector. Was gonna wait and see before pouring cash into this aspect of things.
3. Weird setting issue with the complicated streamer? I'm playing Tidal and it seems it automatically shifts to whatever resolution the track is, but maybe I'm doing something boneheaded here without realizing it.
4. Burn in issue? The DAC got a week of burn-in before I received it. I've also run music for several days when away from home to see if things improve but its not changing much.
Any and all ideas appreciated. Thank you! Alejandro
Showing 4 responses by ale1601
Appreciate the thoughts @ghdprentice ! I have heard streaming should be very close / as good as vinyl so looking forward to getting things there. |
@hbarrel yes, they were on backorder for what felt like forever but I recently received the Ray reserves! They were free as part of a Christmas special that LTA honored even though I technically ordered a week or two after the promotion had ended. Lots of value in these other comments; thank you all. Looks like I'm gonna test the impact of a pre-amp, dig into proper ethernet hard wiring and do some experimenting on the power side of things as 1, 2, and 3. Comforting to know I should be able to get the streaming to a place that does not feel like a compromise. |
@glenmschneider , my power amp has a stepped attenuator for volume control and my phono pre supports both MC and MM inputs and supposedly outputs a line level signal, so I figured I'd try it direct to the power amp (the Decware ZMA) and see how it sounded. and it sounds great! I have noticed that I have to turn the volume up around 75% of total to achieve a normal listening level, which is probably not optimal (I've seen on forums people typically run that amp around 25-50% of its volume potential). Looks like I should expect improvements across the board so long as I select the pre-amp wisely. |