kalali and rx8man, Congestion during complex musical passages can be caused by a lot of different things, and I can't know with any certainty what is causing it until I make a change that mitigates the problem. For all I know, the problem may be a function of the recordings and not my system. Complex orchestral passages are as challenging to record as they are to reproduce.
In my case, I'm using the excellent Coincident CSL line stage, so I'm dubious about the preamp being the culprit. Also, my amplifiers are Atma-Sphere M-60's which drive my 92.5 dB efficient speakers without breaking a sweat, so I'm not inclined to implicate the amps. It may well be my speakers that are the problem. But I've put a lot of effort and money into rebuilding the crossovers and treating the room, so a decision to change speakers with no guarantee that they are the offenders could prove to be an expensive and painful experiment. What is left as most likely (in my opinion) is the Sony. It is 2014 vintage technology, which is ancient given the rapid rate of change in digital playback technology.
I recently read an interesting article (or advertisement) that discussed R2R vs Delta-Sigma with respect to congestion during complex passages in some detail. Unfortunately, I can't find it.
My current system is very good, and I'm not going to spend 10's of thousands chasing down a minor issue. But if I get a promising lead on one of these very good DACs, I might just roll the dice.
In my case, I'm using the excellent Coincident CSL line stage, so I'm dubious about the preamp being the culprit. Also, my amplifiers are Atma-Sphere M-60's which drive my 92.5 dB efficient speakers without breaking a sweat, so I'm not inclined to implicate the amps. It may well be my speakers that are the problem. But I've put a lot of effort and money into rebuilding the crossovers and treating the room, so a decision to change speakers with no guarantee that they are the offenders could prove to be an expensive and painful experiment. What is left as most likely (in my opinion) is the Sony. It is 2014 vintage technology, which is ancient given the rapid rate of change in digital playback technology.
I recently read an interesting article (or advertisement) that discussed R2R vs Delta-Sigma with respect to congestion during complex passages in some detail. Unfortunately, I can't find it.
My current system is very good, and I'm not going to spend 10's of thousands chasing down a minor issue. But if I get a promising lead on one of these very good DACs, I might just roll the dice.