Check out the Lampizator Golden Gate. Superb PCM and KILLER DSD up to 256.
I hear that the Berk Ref is also excellent for PCM, as would be the Bricasti and LH DaVinci Dacs. For $$$, you could also consider the Trinity Dac.
What is the most MUSICAL DAC? DAC for Music Lovers vs. Geeks and Analytic Listeners
- Thread starter caesar
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I hear that the Berk Ref is also excellent for PCM, as would be the Bricasti and LH DaVinci Dacs. For $$$, you could also consider the Trinity Dac.
Keith - do you know if the new Mola Mola DAC will be on show in Munich?
Guillaume
I'd have to disagree with this. I think the PD does "KILL" on DSD, my experience has been the Lampi holding a slight edge. I hear it side by side with my PD almost everyday. If the creek don't rise and I can beg Lukasz into sending me a Big 7 or GG, if the Lampi is half as good on PCM as it is on DSD, then I'm sold!!
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Tubes color the sound? You mean like tape or different caps in my Pass Labs color the sound? Well paint me a rainbow then. I'm hooked!!
The Lampi 7 will be better on PCM than the Amber on DSD (of course Lampi DSD will be better than it's own PCM) - by a greal deal because the 7 handles complex music much better than the lower vesions
You'll want to give the Big 7 a listen. My experience with it last year at The Show Newport was that PCM was very impressive on the Big 7. DSD and DSD 128 was even better. And that was on last year's 4th Generation model!
Tubes are used to keep the circuit as light as possible, not to add colouration. The final SQ will depend on more than a single parameter, like tubes, chips, pwoer supply, etc. its the combination, ie interplay that influences the final outcome. Thank goodness for the B& DHT lineup, as now the end user also gets a chance to tweak the final output to their liking as well. 101ds sound very different to 2a3s and 45 triodes! You can also play with the recis with different voltage drop prifiles (whether IH or DH) and also with SS rectis with tube adapters as well. Choice is good.
Practice always trumps precept. Try auditioning one to staisfy your curiousity.
Lampis dont sound "tubey" and as the man himself said in his monoandstereo interview, he would use anything,m imcluding bat guano if it can give him the performance he seeks. I cant speak for YOUR personal preference (you are entitled to that), but please understand that your preferenec is not universal, as can be attested to by the many passionate Lampi fans out there. Also, the tread title is about the most MUSICAL sounding Dac.
I dont disagree with your use of the term "usually" but please allow for the fact that it does not apply here.
Lampis dont sound "tubey" and as the man himself said in his monoandstereo interview, he would use anything,m imcluding bat guano if it can give him the performance he seeks. I cant speak for YOUR personal preference (you are entitled to that), but please understand that your preferenec is not universal, as can be attested to by the many passionate Lampi fans out there. Also, the tread title is about the most MUSICAL sounding Dac.
I dont disagree with your use of the term "usually" but please allow for the fact that it does not apply here.
Keith with his strawman agruments against tubes again. You need to listen to some. And also go to some live concerts, you live in London, will teach you a few things about reproduction, instead of simply using the term "how the files was recorded". None of us use the dac as a tone control, we use it because it is much superior to Weiss, Esoteric, and other SS brands we have heard in terms of soundstage, details, speed, slam, timbre, decay, and all this at much cheaper rates
No, they don't - still doing the strawman argument. I would never say valves beat all other designs. We are not discussing valves vs transistors, we are referring to a particular dac. Point is we have been through the same discussion numerous times on these forums. While your points might be valid, they do become rinse and repeat.
And no, you don't listen to live music. You should though. Let me know if you want to join, you can then contribute more instead of the same anti-valve speech
It will come as no surprise, Jack, that I disagree with the premise as well. Very specifically, I disagree with the inaccurate use of the word "extract." If the "analytical" component extracts more, the "musical" component doesn't "extract" its musicality, it adds it, unless it somehow knows how to extract the musical part and leave the other parts behind. You're going to have to tell me how that works...
And by the way, I think a valve in a DAC is about as serious as a paper flower sticking out of a clown's bum. But I'm sure that shocks no one here either.
Tim
And by the way, I think a valve in a DAC is about as serious as a paper flower sticking out of a clown's bum. But I'm sure that shocks no one here either.
Tim
Hmm, it could be compared to the "Uncanny Valley" in graphics and emotive presence (not talking about robotics here but specifically digitally rendered human visuals as a comparable example - HP has a seriously amazing demo and one that is the best I have ever seen mimicking human face).
Musicality is always part of the performance; it is not what is added but in summary could be the subtle nuance of music, so is this conveyed or not from the original performance, is the real question.
Linked a few times in the past those who provide a classical definition of Musicality; it is a definition that exists within the musical world for many with both academic and performing background.
Cheers
Orb
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Is this conveyed where? In the performance or in the reproduction? If we're talking about the reproduction, retrieval of detail in the recording is the thing that will allow the subtle nuance of music to be reproduced to get to your system in the first place. So those who make "musical" vs "analytical" arguments are denying logic, good sense, and reality. The more of the recording you retrieve, the more subtle nuances of the music are available to be reproduced. Can there be distortions in some recordings that are better minimized or not retrieved at all? Sure. But that's not the "retrieval" of musicality, it's the reduction of fidelity. And unless you can turn it off, it will reduce the fidelity of your best recordings too.
This is only controversial to those who want to believe in the objective superiority of their favorite colorations.
Tim
Reduction of fidelity,distortion or coloration is NOT musicality.
I get the feeling you like to go on that coloration and distortion is what those who do not want a system that matches your view on natural/neutral/transparent reproduced sound; I accept many systems have some kind of variation to match preferences but it in many cases this can be subtle (those going the SET class A amps are the minority and even then many use these within their limited specs).
Problem is this is not as simple as you would think; if it was there would be only one product that could be recommended such as Devialet as it has the best measurements overall for digital and amp measurements (when including output impedance/frequency response/distortion/noise/etc).
Being cheeky, when are you buying your Devialet then Tim
Also just to clarify the OP title says analytic listening and music lovers, in the specific focus on factor of musicality.
That is my take, which is why I raised the subject of Uncanny Valley and how in some ways it is comparable when looking at it from the digital graphics rendering human face with emotions (these are not real emotions but we identify them as such), and whether they seem natural or not.
I appreciate it is not an ideal analogy but to me an interesting comparison on perceiving what is natural/artificial to us.
Cheers
Orb
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