I visited Volent HK showroom again yesterday to listened to the SGMS fine-tuned by Edward and Ben to suit Totaldac dac.
The default SGMS settings was for T+A DAC8 DSD dac.
Also chatted with Edward for half an hour.
He is very knowledgeable on CAS yet so humble.
I learned a lot from him.
Dear Edward : Many thanks!
Here are some photos taken. Components used were Totaldac Six dac, Bespoke passive preamp, Westminster Unum mono power-amps, black cat cables, Sablon & Vertere usb cables, Volent VL-3.5 loudspeakers.
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The SGMS after tuning had much improved dynamics and density.
It was very analog and IMO surpassed all other CAS frontends in this very important aspect.
The HQPlayer has the distinctive advantage of being able to be tuned to suit any DACs.
My 5 working days in Hong Kong was a delight to meet the people behind the forum posts, and a rich learning experience in terms of system matching through HQ Player settings and OS optimization choices. We were some what "DSD iso cultured" but after working with the TotalDAC D1-6 for five days, with ample time for testing every day, the sound quality achieved several breakthroughs, the last one we had was after CK had left, and just before I went to the airport.
We all agreed the the sound quality we heard last night was the best Ben, Dominic and I had ever heard, period
Vincent, I take my hat off to you, and kiss you on both cheeks, Vive le Son Francais !