IIUC that model uses an ES9018PRO? If so, its a couple of generations old as compared to the latest ES9039PRO. Main thing is if you like it, then you like it. That's all there is to it. Enjoy!
I played Demetri and His Big Band Silverware, "Another-Place-Setting".
One would think that a recording of a band with so many brass instruments would blast one's ears off. This one doesn't (at home listening levels). Brass instruments actually have a nice timbre. They are loud but not piercing. Only when they use the mute do brass instruments blast one's ears off.
I have a lot of recordings of the same instruments that could not capture that quality.
Ed
One would think that a recording of a band with so many brass instruments would blast one's ears off. This one doesn't (at home listening levels). Brass instruments actually have a nice timbre. They are loud but not piercing. Only when they use the mute do brass instruments blast one's ears off.
I have a lot of recordings of the same instruments that could not capture that quality.
Ed
I realize there are many possibilities why CDs often sound strident, hollow, flat, bloated, irritating, honky, congealed, projected, wooly, piercing, distorted and dull. The first step in recovery is realizing you have problems. The next step is isolating the reasons for the problems. The final step is finding a solution to the problems. Hey, I didn‘t even have to bring up the Loudness Wars and CDs’ oft flatlined dynamic range. If one can’t hear these problems more power to you.
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Has anyone ever re-soldered the solder joints of (only) the digital section of converters? If a change in sound can be heard, then - here too - some questions arise, such as:
Can the "digital signal" be modulated by, for example, material and conductor diameter?
If material and cross-sections modulate the signal, do a lot of material and cross-sections modulate the signal more?
If channel-separated structure...?
And so on;-)
Can the "digital signal" be modulated by, for example, material and conductor diameter?
If material and cross-sections modulate the signal, do a lot of material and cross-sections modulate the signal more?
If channel-separated structure...?
And so on;-)
This discussion thread has now strayed extremely far from the original intention and is now dealing with the question of the data on a CD audio disk.
Basically, you have to admit to yourself that there is nothing wrong with the original CD-Audio format.
There are two things that could be technically improved and expanded:
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I have been using a nice tool in parallel for a few years now, namely a tc electronic clarity m stereo audio meter. Whenever something in the sound seems strange to me, this analyzer confirms that the data has been irrevocably destroyed during mastering (?).
We all know what this is about. It's not the DAC or the reading of the data stream.
But there is one circumstance that plays into the hands of the DAC constructors: every possible calculation method (from processing to final conversion into the time domain) reacts slightly differently to the garbage values.
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DAC in daily use:
Basically, you have to admit to yourself that there is nothing wrong with the original CD-Audio format.
There are two things that could be technically improved and expanded:
- A higher resolution in X and Y direction, i.e. a sampling rate of up to 200kHz and a quantization with 20 bits instead of 16 bits and 44.1kHz.
- However, to be honest, the CD problem, which is not a processing or reconstruction problem, has long since been solved.
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I have been using a nice tool in parallel for a few years now, namely a tc electronic clarity m stereo audio meter. Whenever something in the sound seems strange to me, this analyzer confirms that the data has been irrevocably destroyed during mastering (?).
We all know what this is about. It's not the DAC or the reading of the data stream.
But there is one circumstance that plays into the hands of the DAC constructors: every possible calculation method (from processing to final conversion into the time domain) reacts slightly differently to the garbage values.
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DAC in daily use:
- MF-V90-DAC
- CA-DacMagic Plus
I’d propose the purity and type of the conductor is important, so is the dielectric material, but the cross-section is related to current (power) handling capability of the conductor. Also, the “digital signal” in conductors is really the same thing as the “analog signal” inasmuch as the “audio signal“ is what causes the speaker diaphragms to move in and out.
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For every audiophile argument there’s a 180 degrees opposite argument. “Yes, it is.” “No, it isn’t.“ The difference is I can prove it is but you can’t prove it isn’t.
Many swear by large boxes with complex DACs inside. But I also advise against this. Just one look at the circuit boards and the ground connections shows that current, for example, has not been taken into account. A rework would be time-consuming, would take many many days, would be pointless, but would only lead to the realization that it is hopeless to get even a clean sound. I advised the simplest external ones. EC card size. Then the work remains manageable, perhaps two days, with an unknown device. And the sound is fantastic;-)
I love the old converters, most 1 bit and corresponding samplers and stuff like that. Somehow I have the impression - it may be due to the noise - that they breathe more openly and the colors are finer, far more resolved. They don't sound so artificial, like dollhouse colors and doll contours: the authenticity of the time of the recording, the era somehow shines through, as with old analog tapes, films...-)
It may be my imagination;-)
I love the old converters, most 1 bit and corresponding samplers and stuff like that. Somehow I have the impression - it may be due to the noise - that they breathe more openly and the colors are finer, far more resolved. They don't sound so artificial, like dollhouse colors and doll contours: the authenticity of the time of the recording, the era somehow shines through, as with old analog tapes, films...-)
It may be my imagination;-)
True; one person's "excellent" can be another person's "lousy". It's in the ear of the beholder.
Would that newer ES9018PRO make a noticeable improvement in perceived sound quality over what I have?
IIUC ES9018PRO is the version of Sabre32 dac in your Oppo unit.
That said, there are better dacs out there now. Topping and or SMSL are pretty reputable companies that make a variety of dacs for most consumer market budgets. Beyond that there are dacs that are better yet but more expensive. Part of the reason is that the best dacs in the world often don't use dac chips, they use their own discrete dac designs (at least one such discrete dac is still under development here in the forum). Plus things like SOA clocks and well designed discrete power supplies all add up. Doing it super well still tends to be beyond the budgets of most folks, at least for something like a dac.
That said, there are better dacs out there now. Topping and or SMSL are pretty reputable companies that make a variety of dacs for most consumer market budgets. Beyond that there are dacs that are better yet but more expensive. Part of the reason is that the best dacs in the world often don't use dac chips, they use their own discrete dac designs (at least one such discrete dac is still under development here in the forum). Plus things like SOA clocks and well designed discrete power supplies all add up. Doing it super well still tends to be beyond the budgets of most folks, at least for something like a dac.