2. digital
  3. 1325510087

Loss of inner detail

Greetings,
I've owned a Sony SCD-XA5400ES for 2 years now and really do love it. In my system it has out performed these CDPs:
Electrocompanient EMC-1UP
Linn Ikemi
Meridian 508.24
Accuphase DP-57
Resolution Audio Opus 21
Ayre CX-7e
Bel Canto CD-1

I got the OK from my wife to buy a "final" Transport - DAC (ie: spend a larger dollar amount, ha) that will give me the flexibility of having digital input for the possibility of adding a server at one point.

As I live in Minneapolis I thought I'd try the Bel Canto CD-2 and DAC 3 combo (used). Well, I got a good deal on a used DAC 3 and ran my Sony into the DAC using RCA spdif from the Sony into the DAC3. (I'm waiting to buy a used CD2, but they don't come up often)
ALL inner detail of songs has disappeared (I'm exaggerating a bit, but the difference is quite stark!). Music sounds FAR superior just using the Sony. Why is this?

I'm using a Black Cat Veloce digital cable.

Rest of my system:

Gamut CD-2r preamp
TAD-60 amp
Spendor S9 speakers
Analysis Plus interconnects and speaker cables

Please offer your thoughts as this is my first foray into a separate Transport & DAC

Thanks!
tgyeti

Showing 5 responses by audioengr

audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Jb0194 - 1.5m is what I use with HDMI. I have some of the last PSAudio silver cables.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Kijanki - This is not synergy. Any number of things wrong with the cable or digital interfaces can add jitter. Everything adds jitter.

If you have a slow risetime transport, it will add jitter at the receiver regardless of the cable or length of cable. If you have a fast risetime transport, there will be less jitter at the receiver, but the cable must be better quality in order not to have a lot of reflections. Most reflection effects can be avoided if one uses a 1.5m cable length. Then the only factors are the transport risetime and cable bandwidth, not the cable reflections.

You cannot polish cow dung.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Its probably jitter from the transport. If the transport had low jitter, it might even be better than the Sony. Also, your digital cable could be contributing.

IMO, you can replace the cable with a Ridge Street Audio Poiema in 1.5m length and use a different transport or reclock the transport and get good results. Never use less than 1.5m for a digital cable:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue14/spdif.htm

Have you tried the Sony driving the DAC3 with S/PDIF coax?

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
Tgyeti - there is no such thing as "synergy" with digital interfaces and cables. Either they are designed well or they are not. Mixing and matching is fine, and usually beneficial because the designer of a DAC is not necessarily good at doing transport.

This concept of synergy is taken way overboard. It usually only applies to amps and speakers, and there are technical reasons for this.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
"the fact is that poorly impedance matched cable will work better with slow slew rate transport while poorly shielded cable will work better with high slew rate transport."

A good 1.5m cable will work better with both low and high slew-rate interfaces. Shielding is important for either case. I dont agree. When things are out of spec or sub-optimal, all bets are off. This is not synergy. Always use a 75 ohm low-loss cable, period. A good choice is the Ridge Street Audio Poiema.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
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