Bob Bressler;181533 Wrote: > This is an interesting question. Over about a 6 week period, I have > tried a few different configurations, did a lot of listening and asked > all my friends for their preferences. The configurations were: > CD (AudioNote CDT Two) -> DAC (AudioNote DAC5) -> Preamp > Transporter -> Preamp > Transporter -> DAC -> Preamp > Somewhat to my surprise, the 1st one consistently sounded the best > (here meaning richness of sound, soundstage, detail). > Is there a likely engineering explanation? Or might this just be a > preference in the way things sound?
Your findings don't surprise me. For one thing the Audionote CD player and DAC have probably been designed to work together and the digital interface optimised for this. I have also found with other combinations (e.g. the old Linn Karik/Numerik with proprietary clocking interface) that non-standard implementations of the digital interface seem to make the biggest difference to sound quality. Also, it is fair to say that the Transporter is Slimdevices' first foray into the high end audio market whereas the CD manufacturers have been at it for years and know how to make something that if not entirely accurate, is at least pleasing to the ears. This is probably the reason that separate DACs and transports have gone out of fashion in recent years, hence my original assertion that the SB+ or Boulder would sound better. -- adrianh1960 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ adrianh1960's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=5421 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=32740 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
