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In the Forum: Didital Things
In the Thread: Computer Audio - like everything else - Keep it ultra thin optimized to the task
Post Subject: Re motivationsPosted by wlowes on: 11/18/2012
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 Romy the Cat wrote:
Perhabs, wlowes.

Might I ask you: when you refer to “sonic improvements”, “brought more life to the music”, deep quiet background and etc then what do you mean?  What I am trying to say is that your rational might be logical and lucid but I wonder if you motivated by architectural consideration of contemporary digital; playback or you are driven by some kind your own specific sonic considerations?

I don't have a pre-conceived notion of what I might expect as my journey has been largely solo experience, and I am relatively new to this.  I always had a yearning for a good sound system, but too much of a thrift to invest in high priced gear.  Starting with some pretty basic consumer gear I drifted into DIY by being totally surprised by building speaker cables and interconnects.  I built a simple SS kit amp and was hooked. then an LDR linestage followed and then a fairly ambitious CD upgrade with tubes. Somewhere in my CD tinkering I destroyed the main board in a vintage Arcam CDP. To salvage my work and bruised ego I kept the DA board and case from the Arcam and turned it into a DAC to keep me going until I could find a new CDP.  So my venture into computer audio was really a blunder. After tweaking the computer audio to the point that I thought it was pretty good I ventured on to a better cd. A nice old Rotel came my way. With tube output and better power filtering around the CD it was clearly better that the DAW.  This motivated me to learn more about DAW and how to make it better. It seemed inconceivable that the Rotel which was reading a CD in real time and losing bits could be more musical than the computer with its potential for bit perfect play.  Where I am now with the ALIX / Linux system now renders the Rotel with the original CD virtually unlistenable compared to the same material ripped and played back on the DAW.  The only remaining part from the original Arcam is the TDA1541a chip and the case. Rest is a labor of love with pt to pt wiring lots of transformers / chokes and blackgate caps.
Long story short, my motivation is to get the best possible music in my home without breaking the bank.  I would read about things I had never experienced. Then there are those Ahah moments .. the first time you realize that there is no sense of speakers in the room, just a 3D sound stage ... the first time you realize that music can be clear and precise but have no soul .. when you realize that you don't just hear realistic sounds of the performer but get the sense of the performer is alive and there with you... and you share the emotion of the performance.  Then you want more.

 Romy the Cat wrote:
Perhabs, wlowes. 
An interesting question. With your unquestionably good DAW playback – can you play a digital LP dub, or 15ips  ½ inch tape dub, that would sound the same as your original LP or tape?

Great question.  I wish I could answer, but I do not have the ability to play the original LP or tape.  I am actually at the point where I would be intrigued to compare the DAW to a good LP.  No doubt that LP likely always better so maybe good I don't know what I am missing.  What I do want is to get more material that has not been edited or converted.  Why we do not have suppliers simply taking great master tapes and selling them at various digital densities?  I have a couple of tracks specifically recorded without editing or compression and it is fantastic. I have some nice clips with orchestra in a cathedral and a classical guitarist in a regular room.  I need to search for more.

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