Just trying to help out micro here... When recently you had your EMT 930, did you try a stereo cart on it, and how did it compare to the current digital? What about the mono?
Done with digital
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Just trying to help out micro here... When recently you had your EMT 930, did you try a stereo cart on it, and how did it compare to the current digital? What about the mono?
it was an EMT948 (similar direct drive to the 930).
no stereo cartridge this time. but 10 years ago i had an EMT948 with the EMT arm and TSD15 cartridge. it was good but not great, a bit warm and lacking grip and energy. at that time i felt that i liked the EMT948 but not the arm or cartridge. which eventually resulted in Jonathan Tinn and Joel Durand putting together the EMT948/Durand Kairos combo that i ended up with. i felt it was a very fine combo for the dollars. and worked great for my mono Miyajima Infinity 0.7mil mono. i just ran out of room and needed to move it to keep my wife at bay.
as far as that previous EMT948 stereo combo? and my Wadax, i'd choose the Wadax on most pressings i think. but as i said that combo was not ideal. it was a 40 year old broadcast 'system' for radio stations. good pieces, but not a great result from what i heard.
if i put one of my Etsuro Golds on the EMT948 and Kairos no contest, it surpasses the Wadax on most good pressings.
Yes, exactly. The better the analog to digital recorder , no speakers on to pick up noise through the stylus, and let's say you take an original pressing, touched by man's hand 2-3 times, the results are sublime
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what you would hear mostly is the actual tt, arm, cartridge and phono and set-up (and particular pressing most of all, dirty or not).
in my system with active isolation i get zero audible feedback, so the speakers being muted is overrated. it's an issue, but far down the list in significance.
i have done rips with headphones verses my speakers and there is almost zero difference. certainly there are systems where that might matter a lot, but not higher on the vinyl playback foodchain.
and if the pressings have only been played a few times, it sounds like audiophile reissues were used. nothing wrong with that, but the best sounding pressings are not those, except for 45rpm pressings in some cases.
a pristine ripping method has benefits, but to get the best sound it's far more involved.
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Great data point, Mike. But my guy , who really knows what he's doing and has great equipment for this purpose, would disagree, as with all things in audio
tell us about his system particulars.....i've named names.Great data point, Mike. But my guy , who really knows what he's doing and has great equipment for this purpose, would disagree, as with all things in audio
I believe a top Nagra is the analog to digital piece... but I didn't probe too deeply , and just enjoying the music
I might add another DAC in the future , and as i dont wanna spend huge amounts of $$
3 spring to mind ZANDEN , ARC ref series and CH precision .
My meitner functions as CD transport USB connector and has the digital outputs to be used with the DACs
3 spring to mind ZANDEN , ARC ref series and CH precision .
My meitner functions as CD transport USB connector and has the digital outputs to be used with the DACs
Thanks. Can we know a few tittles of the LPs you are referring as your better pressings? It will be of real help to put a perspective in your findings.
later, once i finish getting the rocks out of my tire treds, i will list a few.
I might be able to make them available. But it would not be the whole picture as we compared the playback to the live event in real time during a long soundcheck.
While I agree that both DSD and PCM sound can sound truly spectacular, I don’t believe it’s incorrect to have a preference. But it does take live instruments recorded and played back in real time perhaps to have an informed opinion.
It’s also a bit challenging as you need to use high quality ADCs and DACs for the best comparison possible.
This.
A lot of computer audio (local files or, often worse, streaming) sounds artificial and synthetic. As I said, not all of it does, but it is really hard to get it right. And since there are probably a lot of people with suboptimal computer audio, not many will have heard the capability of digital to convey authentic, believable timbre. Of course, in comparison vinyl unquestionably rules under those circumstances.
With competent playback of physical disc you don't have those problems with synthetic, plasticky sound that plague much of computer-audio.
the most important issue is which format/resolution is the native one. next is recording quality and performance is many levels more significant than format character with the Wadax combo.....at equivalent levels. 16/44<->dsd, 24/48, 24/88, 24/96<->2xdsd, 24/176, 24/192, 24/352<->4xdsd. i don't have any 8xdsd files.
so many more high rez pcm recordings = many more great pcm recordings than dsd. many dsd files are pcm sourced or somehow pcm involved in the mix/mastering too.
mostly the tip top level of both pcm and dac native recordings use the same adc's (Merging Technology) and the native results are very close.
not seen it, don't expect it.
typically it does not go that direction. simply because no way the pro audio world is paying for Wadax level build. what you see is pro gear morphing into consumer stuff. EMM Labs, dCS, Merging Tech, etc. etc.
the company Wadax is involved in the hearing aid/medical field i think. lots of revenue in that direction with the much bigger market possibilities.
every kid interested can do pro audio in their bedroom.
i could see the error correcting chips Wadax has created being licensed for the pro audio world.....at some point. i have no inside info on that, just a random thought.
If that s where the wadax magic lies , it ll be good for the audio /high end industry in general
Agree that there are many more PCM recordings.
I find it interesting that on the Wadax you find DSD sounds similar to 16/44. I may have to make a trip to Washington state sooner rather than later.
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