I had a wonderful afternoon at the home of Phil (213cobra) on Tuesday! Phil's Bricasti DAC (one of the several he owns) can switch between delta sigma and R2R at the touch of a button.
On Fleetwood Mac and Sarah McLachlan I think maybe I could hear a difference, but there is no way I would be able to A/B it. On classical music I think I could tell the difference by focusing on (what I articulated as) the harmonic richness (maybe decay?) of piano and triangle.
Across genres and recordings there is no doubt I had a preference for the R2R. Phil says that there is something slightly more analog-y sounding about the R2R. That must be what I was hearing. That is enough for me to know that I want an R2R DAC in the future.
This was the first time I had been to Phil's house by myself, and so the first time I could really focus on listening to, and enjoying, his Zu Definition system driven by a wonderful inventory of tube amps of varied designs. Phil's knowledge of tubes and of tube circuits is encyclopedic.
The pure analog signal path on the Definition system, fronted by an SPU cartridge, sounded fantastic! I was happy to sit there and listen all day!
Phil can switch between this all-analog signal path, and an alternative signal path which converts the analog signal to digital (Phil, please feel free to explain this signal path). The digital conversion signal sounded very good! Only by focusing on the twinkle-y-ness of a triangle and a slight dryness would I have a chance of A/B-ing the two signal paths accurately. Digital has gotten very good, but I still often hear a slight tell-tale dryness or electronic-ness or a slight loss of transparency compared to a pure analog system playing analog recordings.
A very big thanks to Phil and Frances for a wonderful afternoon and evening!
On Fleetwood Mac and Sarah McLachlan I think maybe I could hear a difference, but there is no way I would be able to A/B it. On classical music I think I could tell the difference by focusing on (what I articulated as) the harmonic richness (maybe decay?) of piano and triangle.
Across genres and recordings there is no doubt I had a preference for the R2R. Phil says that there is something slightly more analog-y sounding about the R2R. That must be what I was hearing. That is enough for me to know that I want an R2R DAC in the future.
This was the first time I had been to Phil's house by myself, and so the first time I could really focus on listening to, and enjoying, his Zu Definition system driven by a wonderful inventory of tube amps of varied designs. Phil's knowledge of tubes and of tube circuits is encyclopedic.
The pure analog signal path on the Definition system, fronted by an SPU cartridge, sounded fantastic! I was happy to sit there and listen all day!
Phil can switch between this all-analog signal path, and an alternative signal path which converts the analog signal to digital (Phil, please feel free to explain this signal path). The digital conversion signal sounded very good! Only by focusing on the twinkle-y-ness of a triangle and a slight dryness would I have a chance of A/B-ing the two signal paths accurately. Digital has gotten very good, but I still often hear a slight tell-tale dryness or electronic-ness or a slight loss of transparency compared to a pure analog system playing analog recordings.
A very big thanks to Phil and Frances for a wonderful afternoon and evening!
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