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In the Forum: Melquiades Amplifier
In the Thread: Valve Preamplifier for Macondo/DSET
Post Subject: Sometime a cigar is not a just a cigar..Posted by Romy the Cat on: 4/29/2019
Anthony , having a room slightly bigger than your and the rest the same I feel that 3V I get from my frond end is just barely enough. I have some CD recordings that are have very low compression and recorded with wide dynamic range (Pop Music’s Gogol Suite for instance) that I run at full volume and wish I had a few DBs more. Granted that I have a tendency to hear much louder if I want it. Try the Gogol Suite’s Ferdinand coda and tell me if it is possible to hear it at low volume. Get only Mark Gorenstein’s version. I think if you get your 3V you should be fine. Ironically you tuner outs somewhere the same, you should have a point of reference. BTW, in you tuner is very easy to adjust the output gain by changing one resistor.

I am not familiar with the whole XXHighEnd ecosystem and I am not so savvy in digital topologies to be able to associate or another DAC design decision with predictable results. I might repeat what others say but I never had my own experimentation with digital other than listening ready to go commercial units. The minimization of sound processing in Phasure DACs certainly very appealing part but many people do it or claim to do it with very different outcomes. I am a bit concerned that you guys stay purist refusing DSP in DAC but at the same time tolerate digital volume controls (typically horribly implemented) on you playback software.

There is another concern of mine that I would like to voice, primary that I pick up from you explanation of streaming. I call streaming a process of playing files stored on a computer or what you call “simply computer playback". The process of streaming from Youtube or from any other public providers I would not call streaming in contest of high-end audio objectives. I stream concerts from zillion sources, I love your Australian Broadcast Corporation Classic FM BTW, but I would never consider to make any audio session base upon that streaming. In fact I very rarely use main system to play THAT time pf the streaming, this is what pilot playback is for. Here is where I would like to propose a suggestion and I am not convinced that I am right. It is possible that in some cases playing those bad streaming sources some digital processing can “improve” a perceived sound but the same digital processing will not be beneficial with better digital sources.  So, what I would sagest you to do is download some kind of very good digital files of know quality (there are plenty of them around) and use THAT for sound check, not some kind of Youtube streaming.

Sure, there is another concern. :-) I am not sure how to explain it. Try do not feel that I am trying to make an effort to compromise you judgment. I am trying to identify the differences between your and my methodological approaches. From what I hear from you it seems to me that have more tendency to practice “delta listening”, where one component is evaluated against another. This is certainly a legitimate way to go and it is widely practicing by audio people. I do it sometimes but also I frequently practice different assessment paradigm. What I do I discard the given performance of a component A and component B in comparative terms and I evaluate the sound of component A and component B against an abstract model of sound that I have in my head. I just listed the music, a specific interpretation, I know what I need to get out of this or that interpretation, and I impersonate myself as I am a conductor who want to stress this or that aspects of a given reading. Then I can see how the component A and component B help or prevent me to do it. The irony is that using this evaluation techniques many surrogate criteria of common audio evaluation juts stay outside of prentices and not in play anymore. For uninformed person it sounds like capitalized subjectivism but the really is that this is the only objective method of audio expletives know to me. If you hear a sequence of notes properly done and you know with very high level precision the amplitude of let say patriotism in that phrase then the component A witch does it properly will automatically have all pure audio tricks done. The complexity come when component B delivers higher amplitude of that patriotism then you expect. Does it make the component B “better”? Not necessary and it take some time to understand it within yourself.  You need to work with yourself, your undersetting of the work, learning about the performer and circumstances of the play, the recording techniques, listen many other interpretations, listen your own objectives and interests…. then the answer of “interpretation properness” will come to you. A component that “helps” you and that create less ambiguity of your own confusions should be recognized as better. A component that will push you for more polar or radical interpretations should be recognized as better but it has to be viewed in context of other this as well. A component that pushes you listening preferences away from bad music or weak interpretations should be recognized as better.

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