Philadelphia Area Audio Group Meeting at Overture A/V in Delaware

puroagave

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Now, I've never particularly been a Spectral fan, finding their older gear somewhat representative of what was once described as the "CA sound." Very analytical and cold, at times verging on icy.

do you believe theres a "ca sound"? :rolleyes: then again my expat NY friends constantly remind me you cant find a decent bagel in cali, or "you call that cheesecake?!" i guess we cant do anything right:p
 

MylesBAstor

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If I take what lasercd said in his post, as it was written, that is NOT what you are saying.

-Having heard many RR 176.4 recordings AND the corresponding HDCD, there was no comparison. Period.
-Keith may "feel" HDCD is "better" but it is not. DSD is superior technically, and subjectively. HDCD is STILL 44.1/16.

What do you mean SACD is not DSD? Huh? An SACD, played back on a decent SACD player is DSD ALL the way unit the analog outputs.
SACDs done correctly are the best digital there is. We are not talking about upsampled PCM and all that other nonsense.

I agree that the sample rate, bit depth, and format of a recording is TOTALLY secondary to the care taken in the mastering.

Have you heard Analogue Productions, Audio Fidelity, MoFi, and most of Gus Skinas's SACDs? I'm thinking not.

Have you heard the aforementioned recordings on Keith's SOTA system? Your conclusions might be different.

And go back as far as Mark Levinson's comments about SACD-->PCM many years ago too.

And you think wrong.
 

Andre Marc

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Have you heard the aforementioned recordings on Keith's SOTA system? You're conclusions might be different.

Probably not. An HDCD identical to the master? Ok, lets call it a day..no need for high rez PCM downloads..

C'mon man.

I would also like to know have you had a reference quality SACD player in your system? I don't see one listed.
I would guess not. Tell me if I am wrong.
 

Andre Marc

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Have you heard the aforementioned recordings on Keith's SOTA system? Your conclusions might be different.

And go back as far as Mark Levinson's comments about SACD-->PCM many years ago too.

And you think wrong.

Here is what ML said, taken directly from his website:

DSD sounds much better than PCM, but more importantly, it is like analogue in the sense that it is very relaxing and joyful to listen to. DSD is the operating system of the new Super Audio CD (SACD). With good SACD recordings, people find they want to listen to music again with excitement and satisfaction. Because of DSD, it is now possible to revitalize the music world. Combining SACD with RRM equipment brings out the full benefits of SACD.

I have no idea what you are referring to.
 

MylesBAstor

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Probably not. An HDCD identical to the master? Ok, lets call it a day..no need for high rez PCM downloads..

C'mon man.

I would also like to know have you had a reference quality SACD player in your system? I don't see one listed.
I would guess not. Tell me if I am wrong.

You're funny Andre. I don't ever remember inviting you to my place yet you seem to know everything about what's in my system. Just because one isn't listed doesn't mean one hasn't been in my system. Just means I don't own one or have one on loan at the moment.

Also tell me how not having a high quality SACD player precludes me from hearing one in another system?
 

Andre Marc

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You're funny Andre. I don't ever remember inviting you to my place yet you seem to know everything about what's in my system. Just because one isn't listed doesn't mean one hasn't been in my system.

Got me there Myles. But your puzzling statements about SACD seem to indicate little experience.
 

ack

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One other thing that Terry said was that Spectral is run as a non-profit and therefore they are able to keep the price of their equipment lower. First off I never thought of Spectral gear as inexpensive. Is this really true? Is Spectral run as a non-profit organization?

They are not a non-profit; Fryer has another successful business and can keep prices at 3X the cost of parts because of that... I believe in his TAS interview a few years ago he referred to that other business as having made other "successful investments" or something like that.
 

mep

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I believe Spectral's other business has something to do with RF test equipment.
 

ack

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If I take what lasercd said in his post, as it was written, that is NOT what you are saying.

-Having heard many RR 176.4 recordings AND the corresponding HDCD, there was no comparison. Period.
-Keith may "feel" HDCD is "better" but it is not. DSD is superior technically, and subjectively. HDCD is STILL 44.1/16.

FWIW, let me clarify a couple of things, because words are distorted from mouth to mouth: 1) RR hi-rez material is also HDCD encoded; 2) Related to what Myles said - that Keith Johnson has optimized his machine for redbook/HDCD playback and that he [Keith] feels right now that's the best sound - see also this comment from Bernice @Spectral in this post: "What I will say, the SDR4000SL has playback quality very similar to Hi res files. We know this from real world experience." The point being that Terry didn't rally say, Terry is just relaying others' info... Finally, regarding HDCD, see also this http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?10545-HDCD-reading-the-patent post.
 

Andre Marc

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FWIW, let me clarify a couple of things, because words are distorted from mouth to mouth: 1) RR hi-rez material is also HDCD encoded; 2) Related to what Myles said - that Keith Johnson has optimized his machine for redbook/HDCD playback and that he [Keith] feels right now that's the best sound - see also this comment from Bernice @Spectral in this post: "What I will say, the SDR4000SL has playback quality very similar to Hi res files. We know this from real world experience." The point being that Terry didn't rally say, Terry is just relaying others' info... Finally, regarding HDCD, see also this http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?10545-HDCD-reading-the-patent post.

Hey ack:

Thanks for attempting to clarify.

The bottom line is that playback was via CD. HDCD or not. I owned an HDCD player for 5 years (NAIM). It was excellent, and I have a huge number of HDCDs. Maybe that is how KOJ is independently wealthy. :D Via licensing fees.:D I believe it is a good technology.

I have heard that Spectral player, and it is indeed very, very good. I would agree that good Redbook IS "similar" to hi res. But they are not indistinguishable.
 

ack

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Let me put on my straight-shooter hat... my point is that Terry is not a charlatan, so let's put this to rest.
 

MylesBAstor

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do you believe theres a "ca sound"? :rolleyes: then again my expat NY friends constantly remind me you cant find a decent bagel in cali, or "you call that cheesecake?!" i guess we cant do anything right:p

I did many years ago. Not so much anymore. We've all invaded your homeland :)
 

Asamel

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Jan 22, 2012
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My neighbor in the listening room commented that the system needed tubes somewhere in the component chain. I also would have preferred an analog piece being played at some point. I have to tell you that at one point in the session when there was a bass playing solo I distinctly heard the sound begin behind and lateral to the right speaker and travel slowly towards and past me. For me that was a moment.

Bruce in PA
 

Roysen

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A video on YouTube from the show:


Is it Doug MacLeod's latest from Reference Recordings played here?
 

mep

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How non-challenging was that song played back on the video? One guy talking/singing and one guitar occasionally being strummed. Hardly a stresser on any system.
 

PeterA

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Dec 6, 2011
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This is an interesting report from Myles. I have not been to Overture, but I have heard the Q7s at Goodwins with the latest MIT cables and Spectral electronics. I think they were the new DMA 400 amps. Funny, they also have a Basis turntable, but rather than listening just to digital, I was allowed to play my own LPs. I was there to audition cables.

My overall impression was that the system was extremely resolving but I was not emotionally connected to my music. For the prices involved, I was expecting to be really moved. I wasn't. Perhaps the amps, cables and speakers all needed more break in time as they were all fairly new. Perhaps it was set up. The music just sounded flat and a bit ephemeral. It was floating in the space of the room but instruments and voices did not sound grounded in space or convincing. There was no presence. In fact, the presentation was quite similar to a demo I heard in another excellent room of the Wilson XLF speakers. Huge, diffuse image that was not grounded, lacking foundation and presence. Fast, detailed and dynamic, but not believable or emotionally moving. I just wasn't drawn in to the music.

I was surprised because I own SS electronics and Magico speakers and the two best demos I've ever heard were at Goodwins High End with the Magico Q3 and V2 speakers with SS electronics and turntables. In these, the systems were quickly and easily forgotten and I was just immersed in the music.

I've come to learn that great sound is the result of very careful component matching and system set up (room/speaker/listener relationship). And unfortunately, super expensive gear does not guarantee great sound and with a system such as the one at Overture, such high expectations are rarely met.
 

GaryProtein

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What kind of "musical" crap is that in the youtube?

Why do people use stuff like that to show off a system?

It's nothing I would ever listen to and I can't even call it music.
 

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