ZERO LINK: A new technology from SFORZATO and SOULNOTE in Japan (with sample WAVs)
- Thread starter KyoichiOda
- Start date
A Japanse audiophile compared ESOTERIC Grandioso G1 with SOULNOTE X-3.
"The soundstage is clearly wider with the SOULNOTE.
The vocal rises upwards appropriately and the X-3 gives a better sense of the front and rear of the instrument. ESOTERIC Grandioso G1 is flat in comparison.
I'm not sure what the technical reasons are for the superiority of the crystal X-3 over the rubidium G1 in terms of clock accuracy, but that's how it sounded."
https://ameblo.jp/tiromie/entry-127...YdB5v5JVF5J1O2_jUY24C6WzEq10OUgqlyt9QXXhSQBp8
"The soundstage is clearly wider with the SOULNOTE.
The vocal rises upwards appropriately and the X-3 gives a better sense of the front and rear of the instrument. ESOTERIC Grandioso G1 is flat in comparison.
I'm not sure what the technical reasons are for the superiority of the crystal X-3 over the rubidium G1 in terms of clock accuracy, but that's how it sounded."
https://ameblo.jp/tiromie/entry-127...YdB5v5JVF5J1O2_jUY24C6WzEq10OUgqlyt9QXXhSQBp8
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I had the opportunity to check the soulnote sacd transport 3 weeks ago.
I was contemplating a 1-box sacd player. Either tis or the playback design MPS-8 which had also been made with D&M transport.
I was most concerned how the D&M transports would behave.
Is it going to be like esoteric transports where their front panel buttons are slow to react to finger touches => leading to less than ideal reading of the encoded data?
My concerns were alleviated. The D&M transport on the soulnote player react very well to finger touches.
Using my track-cueing technique, it could cue up the desired track and commence playing without leaving memory imprint.
The sound is so much more opened, so much more detailed and more dynamic, and more relaxed and musical compared to the same track cued up by using the remote control.
Incidentally, I hear unusually pronounced levels of ear fatigue (real physical sensation) when the same tracks of music were played when they were cue-up using the remote control. When using my hand technique to cue up the same tracks to play, this sensation of ear fatigue completely disappeared.
OTOH, on the TX2/DA2v2 combo, even with its retarded optical transport, doesn't exhibit this physical sense of ear fatigue when music is cue-up with its remote control.
I was contemplating a 1-box sacd player. Either tis or the playback design MPS-8 which had also been made with D&M transport.
I was most concerned how the D&M transports would behave.
Is it going to be like esoteric transports where their front panel buttons are slow to react to finger touches => leading to less than ideal reading of the encoded data?
My concerns were alleviated. The D&M transport on the soulnote player react very well to finger touches.
Using my track-cueing technique, it could cue up the desired track and commence playing without leaving memory imprint.
The sound is so much more opened, so much more detailed and more dynamic, and more relaxed and musical compared to the same track cued up by using the remote control.
Incidentally, I hear unusually pronounced levels of ear fatigue (real physical sensation) when the same tracks of music were played when they were cue-up using the remote control. When using my hand technique to cue up the same tracks to play, this sensation of ear fatigue completely disappeared.
OTOH, on the TX2/DA2v2 combo, even with its retarded optical transport, doesn't exhibit this physical sense of ear fatigue when music is cue-up with its remote control.
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Soulnote chief desiner Mr. Kato explains his idea of clock generator. (English translation at the bottom)
Karl-Heinz Fink commented on SOULNOTE:
Excellent...thanks for posting! Will there be an English page for the pages that explain ZERO LINK? The follow-on pages for ZERO LINK
at the link on the English page seem to still point to the Japanese language pages...
at the link on the English page seem to still point to the Japanese language pages...
Welcome to WBF Oda San. It's great to have your voice heard here! The Sforzato/Soul Note collaboration looks very interesting.
I heard some Sforzato products playing along with a Fidata server, Blumenhofer speakers, Takatsuki SE integrated amplifier, and True Power Lab cables at the Florida Audio Expo this past weekend. In spite of the big established brands attending the show, the Alex Sound Tec room was one of my favorites. US parties interested in Sforzato can inquire with the US importer at:
alexsoundtech.com
I heard some Sforzato products playing along with a Fidata server, Blumenhofer speakers, Takatsuki SE integrated amplifier, and True Power Lab cables at the Florida Audio Expo this past weekend. In spite of the big established brands attending the show, the Alex Sound Tec room was one of my favorites. US parties interested in Sforzato can inquire with the US importer at:
Alex Sound Technology – Distributor of Hi‐End Audio Equipment
Alex Sound Technology is a distributor of Hi‐End Audio Equipment in the American market
alexsoundtech.com
Hmmm. So it's synchronous. As I understand it many early digital systems were synchronous too (and most on chip designs). But the quality of the master clock was of ultimate importance to not lose data. Which was expensive and clock circuits were a lot less precise. So this could cause dropouts etc, and bad sound. Also the length and quality of the cables affected this equation greatly.
While clocks are stupendously better than the early ones (and I'm sure these clocks are excellent), there is still the issue of cable length?
There is always an issue with cable lenghts. IMO, it should be possible to design the ZEROLINK transport and the DAC in one case.
This would reduce cable lenght and would improve timing. But for marketing reasons it is much better to have two cases.
Matt
There is a new SFORZATO streamer which seems to have both ZEROLINK transport and DAC in one case:
High Fidelity
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This new model called DSP-09EX is the overseas version of DSP-Carina.There is a new SFORZATO streamer which seems to have both ZEROLINK transport and DAC in one case:
High Fidelity
www-highfidelity-pl.translate.goog
It comes with a dedicated clock called PMC-09EX with same case size.
DSP-07EX was already a one case transport and DAC including ZeroLink introduced some years ago.
DSP-07EX is the overseas version of DSP-Corvus.
Major difference (apart from power supply) is that the DSP-07EX supports fiber direct connection with SFP port.
Improvement in sound between RJ45 and SFP connection is just crazy and I would recommend every Sforzato owner to try.
By searching, you'll find that Sforzato developed 2 different Fiber Media Converters (going from RJ45 input to SFP/Fiber output) ; MC-RJ45P is the "big" one including a large power supply and different possibilities to play/adapt with electrical mass.
By the way, we always see Sforzato in silver, but they look so great in black
Sforzato is an intriguing brand that IMO deserves greater exposure and delivers a more musical presentation than many competing and better-known brands. Ana Might Sound, a top distributor based in Paris, recently added the line to their stable and will, I am sure, increase the brand's visibility in Europe.
Related to the issue of cables, I am always intrigued by audio firms' belief that more is better when it comes to the number of boxes, seemingly for purely marketing reasons. I am a fan of both the sound and form factor of Taiko's Olympus, which features their built-in DAC card. Yes, it's physically large, but it eliminates all sorts of cabling, additional casework, etc. I am also a fan of the Wadax Studio player and our own Rockna Wavedream RS for their one-box simplicity and very high performance (albeit Wadax recently announced add-on boxes).
MSBs Sentinel will have three boxes, two that can be located off the rack, and IMO, a classy package for an endgame solution. For the manufacturers I work with, Hear This will continue to drive the 'less is more" approach. There is more than enough excess at the high-end today, and from what my clients are telling me, simpler solutions are the right direction for the industry to take.
Are they the main distributor for Sforzato in Europe?
Is there a Sforzato distributor in Germany?
Thanks
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