I listened to Charles Mingus “Tijuana Moods” last night for the first time since I installed the XV-1s cartridge and the Krell KRC-HR line stage. I heard this LP for the first time last night. As good as I always knew it sounded, it was taken to another level last night. The bass and those castanets are something! I was pretty much in awe listening to this recording last night. Highly recommended if you don’t already own it. I can’t vouch for how the digital versions might sound-I only have the LP. No matter what the provenance of my LP is, it sounds spectacular.
And while I’m on my analog high horse, I want to say something about the sound of DSDx1 versus LPs. I listened to a lot of DSD last night because I wanted to and because it sounds damn good. However, when I switched to LPs, it was apparent to me that analog still has more sparkle and life infused in it than even really good digital. I’m sorry I don’t have better descriptive terms, but that is what I thought to myself last night when I switched between the two. Analog just has more life to it than DSD (at least X1). And don’t get me wrong, ever since I have been able to play back DSD files, I really like digital. And this is coming from a guy who used to hate digital as much as any analog lover.
My LP playback has never sounded better now that I have the XV-1s and the Krell KRC-HR. The “HR” stands for High Resolution and it lives up to its name. The XV-1s is hands down the finest cartridge I have ever had in my system.
And while I’m on my analog high horse, I want to say something about the sound of DSDx1 versus LPs. I listened to a lot of DSD last night because I wanted to and because it sounds damn good. However, when I switched to LPs, it was apparent to me that analog still has more sparkle and life infused in it than even really good digital. I’m sorry I don’t have better descriptive terms, but that is what I thought to myself last night when I switched between the two. Analog just has more life to it than DSD (at least X1). And don’t get me wrong, ever since I have been able to play back DSD files, I really like digital. And this is coming from a guy who used to hate digital as much as any analog lover.
My LP playback has never sounded better now that I have the XV-1s and the Krell KRC-HR. The “HR” stands for High Resolution and it lives up to its name. The XV-1s is hands down the finest cartridge I have ever had in my system.