Patrick Dixon a écrit : > Not really, but my brother commented that the CDX sounded "more raw" > without knowing which was which. I did also play the standard SB2 > followed by the modified SB2 to someone (not blind), and they commented > that you'd have to be completely deaf not to hear the improvement!
That would be enough, I guess! Are the improvements as obvious when you only change the PSU? > I used an unmodified SB2 and the CDX as references. I didn't use the > LP12 because vinyl and CD pressings vary so much, comparisions are > pointless. Agreed. > I should also say that all CDs were ripped to FLAC using > EAC on Plextor drives, and streamed as FLAC to the SB2. > > Most of the music I play is 'contemporary' although I did use some > > orchestral pieces as test material. Some of the material I used was: > Chris Rea/Texas, Foo Fighters/Still, Rickie Lee Jones/Second Chance, > Peter Gabriel/Darkness, Damien Rice/Cheers Darlin', Jackson > Browne/Casino Nation, The Charlatans/And If I Fall .... etc etc Foo Figthers is a good example of the kind of music that I find difficult to reproduce. I had the opportunity to listen to them live in a small concert hall (Bataclan in Paris, maybe 1000 "seats") and this was so different. Of course the level of the sound is so high in this type of concert that I have to use ear plugs to avoid permanent ear damages ;-) So it's very unlikely that you can find the same sound on your home stereo (and this is fortunate, I guess), but even so, despite of the plugs and all the rest, you can hear things that are not so obvious on the CD. > I understand entirely what you mean, and all I can say is that it now > produces a very unfatiguing sound. Drums and symbols sound incredibly > realistic, and there is detail and instrument separation that I haven't > heard from these CDs on my system before. > > IME, the biggest gains when you improve your system (particularly > sources), are with music you had previously skipped over or found > unrewarding. Somehow the stuff that you love you will always love, no > matter what you hear it on. But perhaps that's just me ... We share this. I was thinking to the first answer I got from you when debating over ABX and such things. You said "If you find yourself wanting to listen to more music (and more varieties of music), then I think that's a pretty good indication that your music reproduction system is doing something pretty good." I was not that convinced at first, but I've now come to the conclusion that you were absolutely right, both about the time spent listening to music and the varieties. I love live performances. I had the opportunity to listen to the amazing Andreas Scholl. He is a countertenor and maybe one of the bests. On CD I think he rivals Aflred Deller himself. Listening to him live, about 5 meters away from the stage was marvellous (the orchestra was also extraordinary). I think there is no way to reproduce his voice on a system, but he is so good that I can listen to him for hours even on my crappy PC loudspeakers at work, streamed from my server as mp3. This is not true for other things I love like Sonic Youth, Smashing Pumpkins or Foo Fighters. I get very quickly tired with the PC loudpspeakers, less quickly with my old CD player and even less with my SB2. But some improvements would be nice. However, I thing the SB2 is now the best part of my system, so I need first to change the rest before modding this tiny box. Fabrice _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
