Dan Wright of ModWright is one of the good guys in the whole "Audiophool" business. I've talked to Dan, and find him both knowledgeable, and no-nonsense. I've got one of his (tube) preamps, as well as one of his earlier modded Perpetual Technologies DAC's (no tubes). Both represent clear assaults on "state of the art" sound reproduction.
For that matter, so is the Transporter. Sean has accomplished remarkable things. Certainly, spending more for a source component for very small incremental improvements in sound quality doesn't seem very rational. I'm very happy with the sound of mine. But one thing I've discovered about audio electronics, is that everything matters... including parts placement, vibration control, electromagnetic shielding, and probably many other factors which may or may not be within the control of the designer. I've learned this in a hands-on manner, by tinkering, building audio stuff from circuit diagrams, and rebuilding vintage gear (but I'm no engineer). I do know that choice of type of resistors, capacitors, circuit layout, have all had substantial (discernable) impact on sound quality, although not always in ways that show up on a distortion meter or an oscilloscope screen. I discovered, for instance, that when I improved the physical damping of capacitors in an amplifier circuit, I got cleaner sound. This was a repeatable, reliable test (remove the silicone glue and the sound deteriorated, replace it and it improved). So I'm willing to believe the Transporter can be improved. And perhaps Dan is the guy to do that. Dan Wright has a good ear. If you read up on his blog on AudioCircle, you can get some insights into the process he went through in developing his mods for the Transporter. I'm convinced that he has in fact discovered a way to improve the sound, focusing on the DAC output interface and the analog output stage. Improved how? What is the standard for measurement? Without reducing accuracy, can the impression (illusion) of live music be enhanced? Making music sound more "alive" sounds hocus-pocus, and the true believers will prate on about harmonic richness (more second harmonic distortion?) etc. In my experience however, some electronic gear really does improve the feeling of listening to a live performance. I went to more than 30 concerts last year, so I think I have a reasonable understanding of what live music sounds like. I want (and am willing to pay more) to have audio equipment that better delivers the immersion in music that I get at a live performance. So, is the improvement worth twice the price of the Transporter? Last week, before Dan left to go to CES, I put a deposit down to get my Transporter modded. Butchery! Defilement! Destroying what fine engineers have spent years refining? We'll see. I'll post after I've had some time with it and let you folks know what I think. -- HalleysComet ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HalleysComet's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=14590 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=41756 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
