I had an Accuphase DC-300(the prelude to the 330) and it was ok but NOT worth its retail price- I have not heard the DC-330 though I have heard the DP-85 and it was similar but more resolving then the DC-300 I think it comes down to if you like the accuphase sound then its perfect for you if not keep looking- many discerning audiophiles love there accuphase gear, but if you are questioning its performance it probably isn't for you. I don't like the idea of doing EVERYTHING in the digital domain like accuphase does(with that sort of processor) to much room for error in an area that hasn't really been perfected.
Interesting Results from Accuphase Hi-Rez DSP/DACs
I am in the process of restoring a rare pair of Apogee Full Range speakers, when I made the decision to ditch the analog xovers and go ALL DIGITAL, using Accuphase's fascinating DF-35 digital xover. In this way, I would be totally digital up to the power amps.
Briefly, the DF-35 includes 2 completely independent digital xover processors, called Filter Amplifiers (FA), with an option for 2 more. Each FA gets a copy of the signal and has various options, including the ability to set high/low xover points with up to 96db slopes, not to mention support for both SACD and DVD-A!! The DF-35 requires a digital preamp to drive it. The only major drawback is that you need a power amp for each FA to drive. Still, eliminating both the analog preamp AND xover is a huge benefit.
Anyway, Accuphase recommends you use their digital preamp (DC-330), which is outrageously expensive. Fortunately, there are some cheaper options. I went with the Z-Systems RDP-1 digital preamp and Meridian 500 transport. Keep in mind, if you want to play hi-rez (SACD or DVD-A), you will need to go with their DC-330 and DP-100 hi-rez transport. I just wanted to see the concept work.
One of the interesting features of the Z-Systems product, is that it can output 16, 20, or 24 bit word lengths that can also be dithered to lessen the effects of quantization noise. It was the use of this feature with the DF-35 that produced some astonishing results.
Many people have complained that the Accuphase SACD players / processors are lousy with red-book CDs and have problems, in general, with upper frequency roll-off.
The RDP-1 defaults to 20 bit words, because that is the most common TRUE resolution of most commercial DACs that most of us use. When I played this through the DF-35's FAs (one drove a REL Strata III sub in bypass mode, the other a JRDG Model 6 / Martin Logan CLSIIz combo), the sound was shrilly and harsh. And, there was severe roll-off on the high frequencies that was so dramatic, you could literally hear a fizzling sound - yuck!
I was absolutly crushed! But, after consulting the manual, Z-Systems does recommend using 24 bit words when the more advanced hi-rez processors come out. Well, the DF-35 is definately one of those. So, I instructed the RDP-1 to send 24 bit word resolution, and the sound improved so dramatically that I thought either RDP-1 is defective with 20 and 16 bit words or you do not want to keep a hi-rez DAC guessing! The sound was incredibly clear to the point where I was hearing new information on recordings I have owned for a long time and knew well. I found the dither definately helps with some of the "bite" in the upper frequencies. The sound is still a little lean, but I'm not sure it's the DACs fault. The overall presentation is absolutely spectacular however.
These results are really interesting. Unfortunately, I cannot afford the more expensive DC-330 at this time; so, I cannot test out SACD or other hi-rez formats. But, it would appear that Accuphase processors are not too keen on low resolution information. The RDP-1 not only offers a high-resolution digital volume signal, it also eliminates jitter effectively.
My conclusion, so far, is that if you are using an Accuphase hi-rez (SACD) processor and red-book CD media, you might want to consider adding an independent up-sampler to improve results; assuming you're one of the many audiophiles complaining about red-book cd performance on Accuphase hi-rez dacs.
Anyone else want to comment?
Briefly, the DF-35 includes 2 completely independent digital xover processors, called Filter Amplifiers (FA), with an option for 2 more. Each FA gets a copy of the signal and has various options, including the ability to set high/low xover points with up to 96db slopes, not to mention support for both SACD and DVD-A!! The DF-35 requires a digital preamp to drive it. The only major drawback is that you need a power amp for each FA to drive. Still, eliminating both the analog preamp AND xover is a huge benefit.
Anyway, Accuphase recommends you use their digital preamp (DC-330), which is outrageously expensive. Fortunately, there are some cheaper options. I went with the Z-Systems RDP-1 digital preamp and Meridian 500 transport. Keep in mind, if you want to play hi-rez (SACD or DVD-A), you will need to go with their DC-330 and DP-100 hi-rez transport. I just wanted to see the concept work.
One of the interesting features of the Z-Systems product, is that it can output 16, 20, or 24 bit word lengths that can also be dithered to lessen the effects of quantization noise. It was the use of this feature with the DF-35 that produced some astonishing results.
Many people have complained that the Accuphase SACD players / processors are lousy with red-book CDs and have problems, in general, with upper frequency roll-off.
The RDP-1 defaults to 20 bit words, because that is the most common TRUE resolution of most commercial DACs that most of us use. When I played this through the DF-35's FAs (one drove a REL Strata III sub in bypass mode, the other a JRDG Model 6 / Martin Logan CLSIIz combo), the sound was shrilly and harsh. And, there was severe roll-off on the high frequencies that was so dramatic, you could literally hear a fizzling sound - yuck!
I was absolutly crushed! But, after consulting the manual, Z-Systems does recommend using 24 bit words when the more advanced hi-rez processors come out. Well, the DF-35 is definately one of those. So, I instructed the RDP-1 to send 24 bit word resolution, and the sound improved so dramatically that I thought either RDP-1 is defective with 20 and 16 bit words or you do not want to keep a hi-rez DAC guessing! The sound was incredibly clear to the point where I was hearing new information on recordings I have owned for a long time and knew well. I found the dither definately helps with some of the "bite" in the upper frequencies. The sound is still a little lean, but I'm not sure it's the DACs fault. The overall presentation is absolutely spectacular however.
These results are really interesting. Unfortunately, I cannot afford the more expensive DC-330 at this time; so, I cannot test out SACD or other hi-rez formats. But, it would appear that Accuphase processors are not too keen on low resolution information. The RDP-1 not only offers a high-resolution digital volume signal, it also eliminates jitter effectively.
My conclusion, so far, is that if you are using an Accuphase hi-rez (SACD) processor and red-book CD media, you might want to consider adding an independent up-sampler to improve results; assuming you're one of the many audiophiles complaining about red-book cd performance on Accuphase hi-rez dacs.
Anyone else want to comment?
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