Great dacs like the T+A 200. Sound very natural with better detail then tubes ,
different interconnects too from the dac can influence the sound .
myself mod the Speakers Xovers which is a Huge weak spot in most speakers
including ones over $30k. Most use average at best parts quality especially if under $15 k that's why most speaker companies don’t mention it for there is nothing
to Brad about they don’t test 10 different type of capacitors ,just sound decent good enough l in my latest build I spent over$1600in parts ,average speaker$500 at most. Just take a a driver to see for yourself. TonyGee of Humble homemade hifi capacitor test is over 90% accurate with his ratings and Sonic character.
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Foz-SSX
iFi Micro iTube2 Tube Buffer
You need the function to switch them in/out without dicking with wires. You'll end up spending bux on cables before you get "better" SQ than you have now. Definitely different.
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@arafiq
Consider adding Lampizator’s soon to be released Poseidon DAC between your Innuos ➡️ Vitus and call it a day!
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Color is in the details too not only in tone and timbre. You want it all. Tube preamp is very important, in addition to power amp.
As for DACs, why would any audiophile want to listen in digital what was recorded and mastered in analog and then try to get as close to analog source as possible ? Sounds strange, doesn’t it ?
If it was recorded/mastered in digital then, well, you have no choice, though good records still sound better even if the recording/mastering was done in digital.
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To clarify my post, I understand what you mean about adding color. But what I am suggesting is components which allow the color to pass through. To be dramatic, my Delta Sigma DAC is like this blinding bright white light putting a laser beam through the music. Dropping in my NOS DAC, the colors in the music suddenly appear. Neither is wrong, just depends on taste and the kind of music being played.
The most natural way to ADD color, in my very limited experience, is a tube amp. Preamps and source components add a more color but usually some type of haze obscuring music as well. As roxy54 said, softer sounding speakers which place higher emphasis on tone, not detail, can also be perceived as more colorful.
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I think that speakers or electronics that portray timbre and texture well are perceived by the mind as "colorful."
Yes they are perceived as such because of the contrast with badly designed components which usually are harsh and analytical...
But in acoustics experience , timbre and texture are experienced optimally in BALANCED system/room with BALANCED and synergetical components...
Then we must wish FOR BALANCE not for colors...Even if a bit of unbalance may well serve and answer to some taste and even if perfect balance is not always the optimal possible answer in particular case..
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You are DEFINITELY looking at the wrong avenue.
To enhance or color sound you need professional equipment such as sequencers, limiters, compressors and other effects. You can also go Youtube and get some idea on "making music for beginners" which basically instructs you on how to mix and enhance sounds.
It's more entertaining than hi-fi especially if you've ever played any music on your own.
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I think that speakers or electronics that portray timbre and texture well are perceived by the mind as "colorful."
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Oh, almost forgot. Mundorf Supremes, used in B&W and Magico, are very colorful, almost splashy.
An expensive but effective way to add color, IMHO. Too much for me! :)
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The problem is not the lack or the excess of colors...
It is only a symptom or a manifestation of unbalanced components synergy or the presence of a too harsh and bright component or of a too warm one...
The debate between colors and neutral is a red herring from the real problem which is synergy between components and acoustic embeddings...Most of the time it is reducible to these three factors : badly designed harsh or too warm component instead of more neutral component , synergy between more colored and less colored components and the right acoustics embeddings of them all...
Then que question to ask is not how to add color to a liveless harsh and fatiguing or too clinical system but how to create a balance and a synergy between the components/room...
We cannot and should not add color to a system , instead we must create a better synergy and balance between each components using electrical, mechanical and acoustical embeddings controls to the necessary synergy between dac and amp and speakers .....
To answer rightfully to a question implied that the question must be ask in the right way...
And remember that as much as upgrading a "defective" component is not the solution to the problem of balance between component by itself, (for example buying tubes components), nor a solution for their optimal workings condition ; embeddings controls are the solution after the right created synergy is reach... And this is true with or without tube components or with or without analog or digital components... These debates between tubes and S.S. are BESIDE the problem...And people often present upgrade or purchase as a solution, which is not and cannot be by itself THE COMPLETE SOLUTION...
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Only analog source and tube equipment can get things done right. If you are lucky.
Don't expect much from the rest, save your funds.
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Replace resistors with carbon-comps and caps with paper-in-oil, as much as possible.
If using tube gear; pick NOS valves, manufactured in Britain.
Always worked for the few customers of mine, that were so inclined.
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I hate when a system adds a color. It permeates all music played through that system. My goal has been to remove all color so as to achieve tonal neutrality and transparency to what is on the recording.
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For the room, diffusion. Adds color and imaging to an over treated room.
Otherwise, my preference has always been the preamp with either something sweet and liquid sounding like a Luxman, or downright overly colorful like a Conrad Johnson. Ayre may also qualify here.
The issue with tube amps has always been, in my mind, that it's a see saw balancing act between the tube amp and the speaker impedance curves. I'd rather get a stiff solid state amp that is speaker neutral (by comparison to tubes) and use my preamp for color.
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I prefer texture for instruments and flesh tone for vocalists. IMO color implies over saturation of tone/timbre. The best way to achieve this is with source components Phono Preamp/Cartridge or Dac.
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The artist adds color. so to get more color I listen to a lot of new music looking for gems.
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I had a tube DAC but comments here helped me understand that tubes in the input chain might be removing too much information. So, now, they're out.
Adjustments come, in descending order of impact, from
(a) tube preamp input tube and
(b) DAC.
Some adjustments also come from
(c)alternating between SS and tube amps and
(d) adjusting room treatments.
I have not found cables to move the needles significantly for my setup. The other variables have a much larger impact.
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DeVore speakers are described as colorful but not colored. I would agree with that statement.
Component-wise, I do it with the DAC and pre-amp.
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