empty99;172084 Wrote: > I tested my setup per P Floding request, a brief description of room and > equipments is needed here: > SB3-SS ver 6.5.2-WAV audio > Musical Fidelity A3.24 DAC > 50Kohms Alps volume pot > IC all RG59 or RG6 terminated with gold plated Neutrix plugs > Two Nakamichi PA7s 200w/ch stereo amps, each biwired to one side of a > pair of B&W 802 Nautilus > The listening room is of decent size 40Wx35Dx20H, with some > considerations for good sound deadening, low reflectivity and early > echo, I have virtually no sidewalls or rear wall to deal with (lucky > me!) Follows are the results and as P Floding said, I also trust what I > hear: > > -Direct SB3 to amps: sounded like a good connection with clear, strong > emphasis on midrange, upon further listening, it's obvious the SB3 > built-in DAC levels off at the extreme low and high frequencies, still > OK for background listening. Also, built in volume control makes low > level listening somewhat weak. > -SB3 to 50Kohm pot to amps: Sound became leaden, almost hard, after one > hour. I tried various settings, ie max on pot then control w/ SB3 and > vice versa w/ everything in-between. Not recommended. If one chooses > this route, I recommend using fixed value resistors to pad down volume > instead of a pot. > -SB3 (coax) to MF DAC to pot to amps: Very good sound, almost identical > to source Sony, just a touch warmer though but the highs still very very > good. Downside: light-dimming circuits wreak havoc with SB3-DAC > connection, causing loud scratchy sounds, bad. > -SB3 (optical) to MF DAC to pot to amps: Same as above, but I thought > maybe just a teeny bit (God forbids!) clearer sounding, and less grain. > No problems w/ any house light dimmers. (I knew this since last year) > Ugh, but with both connections, I think I can hear jitters: the highs > are still very very good, but individual timbres of instruments have > just a tiniest bit of "twist" or "bent" to them. BTW, either sourced > from Sony or SB3, the sounds are identical coming out of the DAC. > The following statements is purely speculation on my part: I think the > MF DAC is superior to the DAC inside the Sony, both in background noise > and decoding accuracy, but, the added jitters from external connections > cause it to suffer somewhat. I find it hard to accept that a PS mod can > bring the SB3 analog SQ to par. I also find it very likely that a > Transporter with matched analog outputs (see various posting about > this) will top many digital source+outboard DAC setups on the market > for its tremendous all-in-one low jitter advantage, simplified > connection and good DAC implemention.
OK, thanks for your interesting findings! I must have just missed this posting before stopping frequenting this forum for a while. My latest direction is to use a very good sound card in an HTPC as the DAC. Pre-amp will be analogue again. (bye, bye TacT, and SB3 is getting a rest for now) I believe I can get a sound card that's about as good as a Transporter for almost nothing. -- P Floding No, I didn't ABX it. And I won't even if you ask me. (Especially not if you ask me.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ P Floding's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2932 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=31662 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
