It sounds wonderful to you and that is all that matters and yes you very well may enjoy those artifacts though depending on age may not hear the bulk of them. It gives a light and airy sound to redbook. Some love it. Embrace it but don't confuse it with accurate.
Thinking about getting a R2R DAC
Dear community,
I currently have a chord qutest DAC. I like it a lot, very full sound, accurate detailed and exciting. However, whenever I go back to vinyl (with a well-recorded nice pressing) I find the sound so much more satisfying. There is a warmth, yes, but there is a presence, a 'there-ness' that I just don't get with the digital. I'm wondering if an R2R DAC would get me closer to that? my budget would be around the same as the qutest. I was looking at the MHDT Orchid or the Border Patrol. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Qutest. I am thinking of putting it in the upstairs system to pair with the Node2i I have up there. Any thoughts? Will analog always just be a different animal than digital?
Currently in the main system I have a Sonore uRendu feeding the Qutest which is going to a LTA MZ2 going to a Pass XA 30.5
thanks!
I currently have a chord qutest DAC. I like it a lot, very full sound, accurate detailed and exciting. However, whenever I go back to vinyl (with a well-recorded nice pressing) I find the sound so much more satisfying. There is a warmth, yes, but there is a presence, a 'there-ness' that I just don't get with the digital. I'm wondering if an R2R DAC would get me closer to that? my budget would be around the same as the qutest. I was looking at the MHDT Orchid or the Border Patrol. Don't get me wrong, I really like the Qutest. I am thinking of putting it in the upstairs system to pair with the Node2i I have up there. Any thoughts? Will analog always just be a different animal than digital?
Currently in the main system I have a Sonore uRendu feeding the Qutest which is going to a LTA MZ2 going to a Pass XA 30.5
thanks!
Showing 10 responses by audio2design
What do you think aliasing is? Please don"t tell other people they are hopelessly inaccurate when you don’t know the subject matter. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/5495907 More your level see paragraph 2. https://sonobat.com/understanding-aliasing/ |
Lots of interesting views in this thread. Modern DACs have more than enough resolution in their digital filters to reconstruct the signal at higher sampling rates, well beyond the analog performance. NOS DACs are not accurate. They used to have wicked phase issues due to the analog filters now they just have wicked aliased harmonics. Pick your poison. A DAC can have a "voice" if you want that sort of thing. It can also be accurate. It won't be both. Buy what you like. Some of us like accuracy. Some of us don't. Many audiophiles claim to like accuracy but don't really. I would say the majority don't and would not know it if they had it, but claim to seek it out. |
Most audiophiles are old and here that is just fact. Older people have significantly reduced high frequency range almost as a rule. Again just fact. You are literally anthropomorphising an electrical signal not to mention interchanging sound and electrical signals which is a false pretence. When you pass the very significant ultrasonic content of a typical unfiltered or lightly filtered NOS DAC through a non linear system which all audio systems are especially at ultrasonic frequencies and with tubes, that aliases into the audible band. That is not theory that is simple fact. Also fact that noise / distortion can be pleasing to some and it has been shown, again fact that playing with noise and distortion can give a sense of space that is not in the recording. Why do want to bad to reject reality. |
ML36 is what 25 years old? In 2005 that would have been considered old tech and not nearly as good as new stuff. Suddenly is is great again? No. Both your DACs are good but you prefer one. Much different implementations. One thing that has changed in 25 years is you of course if you are the original owner. Personal preference which is impacted by prior experience, your specific system and environment and yes age. Never discount flavor of the day and the impact of suggestion either. |
Recorded music isn't real, so something that plays perfectly (a DAC) may not be to your liking. Nothing wrong with some imperfections to simulate a more lively environment. Embrace it. The music industry is embracing it. Lots of work being done on adding noise, distortion and other artifacts to music to make it more appealing. I used to prefer studio recordings. Now I am into live recordings warts and all. I will often pick a YouTube live version over the perfect studio one. It's more emotional. |