Hello,
How did the Rega fair in the bass department?
How did the Rega fair in the bass department?
REGA DAC review
Category: Digital
I posted this in the digital forum, but I guess that was the wrong spot!
Those of you who are still on the fence with the wide-world of DACS, here's my experience with the Rega. Rich over at Signature Sound was kind enough to loan me his Rega DAC to see how it might improve my system. My system for this audition is as follows: Merlin TSM-MXr speakers on Skylan stands connected to a Manley Stingray II amp via Cardas SE9 wire. Interconnects are also Cardas. Sub is the MJ Acoustics 150 MKII. The Rega is connected to an Oppo DV981 and new Macbook Pro. Previous players I've had in the system: Rega Apollo, Audio Aero Prima, Cambridge 840c.
My initial interest was to compare the DAC to the Oppo player and this was quite interesting. Using Norah Jones Painter Song on "Come Away with Me" The DAC seemed to put vocals a bit further back, but I also heard a bit more high frequency detail. Percussion was better defined as was bass overall. It was anything but a startling revelation. I could easily make a case for the Oppo being more forgiving than the DAC, but in the end I did prefer the DAC as it simply seemed to add a more layered effect. I stayed with filter setting one for most of my listening.
Next up was the Groove Note demo CD and several tracks of classical music. Here was where the Rega pulled away from the Oppo in a big way. While I had always felt the Oppo was good for soundstage it now sounded flat and two dimensional compared to the Rega. The Rega created a deep soundstage that was far more realistic. Switching back to some earlier tracks I know heard this effect, even with the Norah Jones cuts.
Time for my lovely wife to have a listen and I simply switched between the Rega and CD player without telling her which was which. Her observation was that choice 1 (the Oppo) sounded flat and too forward. She much preferred the Rega, which she also found less bright. This observation made me wonder if her younger ears could detect more HF than I could.
As I had previously found the differences between the Audio Aero Prima and Oppo very small, I'm pleased that the Rega made a dynamic improvement to the sound, even with a inexpensive transport.
My friend is bringing over his Cambridge 840c this evening and I'm trying to get a W4S 2 to compare later this week as well. More to come.
Cheers,
Rob
I posted this in the digital forum, but I guess that was the wrong spot!
Those of you who are still on the fence with the wide-world of DACS, here's my experience with the Rega. Rich over at Signature Sound was kind enough to loan me his Rega DAC to see how it might improve my system. My system for this audition is as follows: Merlin TSM-MXr speakers on Skylan stands connected to a Manley Stingray II amp via Cardas SE9 wire. Interconnects are also Cardas. Sub is the MJ Acoustics 150 MKII. The Rega is connected to an Oppo DV981 and new Macbook Pro. Previous players I've had in the system: Rega Apollo, Audio Aero Prima, Cambridge 840c.
My initial interest was to compare the DAC to the Oppo player and this was quite interesting. Using Norah Jones Painter Song on "Come Away with Me" The DAC seemed to put vocals a bit further back, but I also heard a bit more high frequency detail. Percussion was better defined as was bass overall. It was anything but a startling revelation. I could easily make a case for the Oppo being more forgiving than the DAC, but in the end I did prefer the DAC as it simply seemed to add a more layered effect. I stayed with filter setting one for most of my listening.
Next up was the Groove Note demo CD and several tracks of classical music. Here was where the Rega pulled away from the Oppo in a big way. While I had always felt the Oppo was good for soundstage it now sounded flat and two dimensional compared to the Rega. The Rega created a deep soundstage that was far more realistic. Switching back to some earlier tracks I know heard this effect, even with the Norah Jones cuts.
Time for my lovely wife to have a listen and I simply switched between the Rega and CD player without telling her which was which. Her observation was that choice 1 (the Oppo) sounded flat and too forward. She much preferred the Rega, which she also found less bright. This observation made me wonder if her younger ears could detect more HF than I could.
As I had previously found the differences between the Audio Aero Prima and Oppo very small, I'm pleased that the Rega made a dynamic improvement to the sound, even with a inexpensive transport.
My friend is bringing over his Cambridge 840c this evening and I'm trying to get a W4S 2 to compare later this week as well. More to come.
Cheers,
Rob
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- 8 posts total
- 8 posts total