You should definitely be hearing at least some differences between these various sources. I think your Cardas interconnects/cables are probably masking a lot of the differences you’d otherwise hear with more transparent wires and are very likely a bottleneck.
Problem with dac/ cd transport / streamer sound differences
Hello everyone,
I don’t know exactly where to post, so I post here and in “misc audio” as I know not everyone is watching everywhere
Seems I have a big problem in my chain, but please let me first list my gears :
CD player Moon 260d used as a transport (but equipped with the Dac) => s/pdif Shunyata Alpha bnc => DAC Chord Hugo TT2 + mscaler => Cardas Golden ref. xlr => Mcintosh c2700 => cardas parsec xlr => Coda 16.0 => Cardas Golden ref. => Magnepan 20.7
While I realized I was not experiencing a difference between mscaler in or out the chain (yes I know some may argue mscaler is bs) , I was not either perceiving a tangible difference between the moon 260d used as a transport or the streamer Aurender N150 (on the same songs indeed).
So I started to suspect a bottleneck in the chain somewhere… as I expected the cd transport with a physical media to perform better than a streamer.
This afternoon, I did some experiments:
- plug the 260d as a cd player straight to the preamp using its internal dac
- plug the 260d as a transport to the TT2 (not using the mscaler) using the shunyata alpha bnc spdif
- plug the 260d as a transport to the internal dac of the mcintosh c2700 using a cheap spdif cable (internal dac is a da2)
i couldn’t hear any difference or nuances between the 3. If there was then I could hardly perceive maybe a little subtile more air using the TT2…but not that obvious.
I have always heard any difference in the past on any of my components (even on cables….) but here I don’t understand what is happening.
could it be the transport is the bottleneck and as such any dac will not make any difference ?
could it be that I should unplug the internal dac inside the 260d as it is influencing the sound as a transport only in some ways ?
I am really disappointed and lost. Should I sell my TT2 , mscaler and plug everything in the da2 of the preamp c2700.
or is it the transport being the weak link and finally whatever dac I am using (200 or 5000$), there is no difference
that really doesn’t make sense.
Any advice / feedback from real experienced, senior specialists ?
7 responses Add your response
I feel you should be happy you're not needing to continue spending for these supposed difference @antmou
I'm in the M Scaler is Bullshit camp. You've come around to noticing that too and are disappointed. That's normal but this shouldn't lead to a spiral. If I was you, yes I'd simplify the setup by doing the sale and plugging everything into the Preamp yes.
And focus on enjoying and discovering music than fretting over stuff that is clear as day. Your interconnects aren't the issue.
Assuming you change them and nothing happens or you notice a big difference. Is that difference a good difference or a made up difference. Our minds plays tricks on us heavily and u know this from experience. Simplifying my setup helped my mental and led to actual enjoyment of my system |
@kofibaffour agreed. Mscaler seems to have effects for some installation and some people, timing and smoothness advantages that some perceive some don’t. I will simplify and report. Definitely not c2700 or interconnects bottlenecks |
@antmou hope you don't report back but get lost in your music listening🙂🤝🏾 |
All audio systems and gears in the world sound different. Even same brand and model audio gears made in a same day sound different each other. That’s a big problem. Audio companies don’t have a control on their audio performance and quality. OP must hear something different from 2 systems. The question is "is it meaningful difference?" No. Why? Because all speakers sound veiled which masks the music. The musical info are delicate and fragile and they are masked behind layers of veils. This is what we are actually listening every day and everywhere. https://youtu.be/IHf_FSa8amE?si=u6if9PO478RD4zwF All recording equipment sounds veiled too. All microphones sound veiled. So, all recordings are veiled and distorted. We are listening veiled recordings with veiled audio systems. The musical info are delicate and fragile and they are masked behind layers of veils. Mic sound comparison in recordings. https://youtu.be/S71FaZBUElU?si=uPsbkJBIEiIfHH7T Alex/Wavetouch audio |