Jan D.
I didn`t say anything and I have not made any conclusion , but the fact is that combination of Atmasphere OTL tube amp + Westerex cutter head results are excellent ,
any way for any details you can contact Ralph ,
only what I can say is that personally I will be very happy to have couple of classic Jazz LP`s made on Ralph`s LP mastering equipment .
I didn`t say anything and I have not made any conclusion , but the fact is that combination of Atmasphere OTL tube amp + Westerex cutter head results are excellent ,
any way for any details you can contact Ralph ,
only what I can say is that personally I will be very happy to have couple of classic Jazz LP`s made on Ralph`s LP mastering equipment .
Hey that's fine, I'm happy for you, I don't dispute that you like the results!
I was just pointing out that the tech reasoning in your post is incorrect.
Jan
I was just pointing out that the tech reasoning in your post is incorrect.
Jan
Ralph's logic is to use a high source impedance to even out power, so that the voltage divider automagically increases voltage as the impedance rises and likewise reduces voltage with lower impedance. In this case, source Z would likely be somewhere between 8R and 25R.
It could be true. I dont know. last time i worked on the design was quit awhile ago but they are still very good performaning amps and some models 400 and the mono blocks are very high power and low distortion. but VFA. [had to say that... the devil made me do it]
I will see them on Wed and can ask them if it is still in thier catalog of products. I never made money directly off the amps... got a few free ones still in boxes in the garage, though... including the mono block monsters. The400's have been in my system for years. But the CFA is better for what ever reasons. IMO.
THx-RNMarsh
Probably best to ask Ralph that, but I would not be surprised. He also feels that this makes speakers sound better as well. My experience with his amps is extremely limited, so I'm agnostic on the issue.
I would certainly like to know more as to WHY some people (besides me) find the OPPO 105 compromised sonically. I have studied the schematics, I see some minor potential problems, but nothing outrageous that is obvious.
I use to think it was the speakers to a larger degree, but no longer. I think higher sensitivity speakers lend a helping hand to amplifiers that need it hot, so they do provide some benefits.
Perhaps as you're saying, it's just in non-Asia countries where we aren't seeing MARSH. Did you sell your name and designs or? Just curious as you said you never directly made $. That or you accept amplifiers as payment?
The response to the ESS dac's sound has been mixed and its not clear why a DAC with such good measured performance produces the mixed sonic results. I have seen speculation pointing at noise components that are difficult to pin down. It also uses sample rate conversion for all content which could contribute, again, with no obvious measured flaw.
Its not difficult to connect an external DAC and listen.
Its not difficult to connect an external DAC and listen.
Driving a cutter head with feedback is a very different issue from driving a dynamic speaker open loop. There is 30+ dB of feedback around the cutterhead to flatten the resonant peak. One false move and the cutterhead can be toast, not just the coils but also the mechanics. If it were to hit a stop the feedback will drive it harder. In this model the amp is more of a secondary player. Neumann has a special circuit breaker for their cutter heads. They also use liquid Nitrogen to cool the heads since the power dissipated can be pretty high for such a small space.
With that much feedback I don't think the amps output impedance will be a factor, unless it adds phase shift not accounted for in the feedback network. I don't know how well the feedback will work at 20 KHz, that's nearly impossible to put feedback around on mechanical systems. It would be interesting to see the circuits.
A higher source impedance to a transducer will reduce harmonics but it will also emphasize resonances, which are more troublesome at high frequencies. And the traditional response of a cone driver uses the mass and acoustic resistance to offset the otherwise increasing output with frequency with a constant drive voltage.
With that much feedback I don't think the amps output impedance will be a factor, unless it adds phase shift not accounted for in the feedback network. I don't know how well the feedback will work at 20 KHz, that's nearly impossible to put feedback around on mechanical systems. It would be interesting to see the circuits.
A higher source impedance to a transducer will reduce harmonics but it will also emphasize resonances, which are more troublesome at high frequencies. And the traditional response of a cone driver uses the mass and acoustic resistance to offset the otherwise increasing output with frequency with a constant drive voltage.
Hard to I/V correctly, possibly? Odd loading of the current sink/etc.
I'm speculating as I don't know.
Well there's a group of listeners that feel the '105 is absolutely the best ever, and a group that feel it comes up short.
So it actually is ALL speculation 😎
Jan
So it actually is ALL speculation 😎
Jan
Thanks guys for the input on the ESS DAC, I thought that it was the 'best' available. I concentrated on the I-V which is OK, but could be improved. I KNOW that I hear a problem with the 105, and I am glad that I am not alone in my concern. I would like to fix it if I could.
Gosh it would make things so easy if digital could trounce a nice all analog LP. But it just can't.
I have some old demo CD's that make people turn around and look for the person talking to them when played on an excellent system, or make you jump from some of the short clips on that CD. Now with noise on a vinyl record that is never going to happen, you instantly know you are listening to vinyl no matter how involving the music may be. If you tried to have the bandwidth of a digital source on vinyl the cartridge could never follow the lower end without some serious issues. I still have vinyl but realized long ago the superiority of digital media when done right. Nothing wrong with vinyl but digital CD media or computer HD storage is where it's at today. we really need to stop being Troglodytes. I love the look and feel of vinyl and nothing will ever replace the cover art but reality says it is time to perfect digital and leave vinyl alone, it has already been made as good at it is going to get.
I've still never seen a good argument as to why an MC should be better than MM/MI other than some are stupid expensive so must be better.
(admission, I bought into that and do have an expensive MC)
For personal use, or because you work for Oppo too? Just curious, since you could be using one of your own DAC's and not have to care about Oppo analog?
I think you're right, and wrong at the same time.
One vinyl album I have, has the most realistic (marching) drums of any account I can come up with. No recording anywhere I've heard on any system can seem to out do it. And the vinyl plays quiet, so it's fairly hard to hear the vinyl noise especially when the drums are loud. But where you're right in a way is that you'll always know you're hearing a recording since you can hear vinyl noise at some point, particularly between the music when there's low volume/no volume passages.
Would having someone sing to you in a room, be unauthentic if you had vinyl noise in the background? I think that's the question. For many of us the vinyl noise isn't really running any sort of interference. But it sounds like for you and Richard it does.
I whole heartedly believe it's much costlier to get decent sound from digital, as opposed to vinyl. You have to wonder if some of the famed DAC's are so popular because they add something back that the recording process removed... Well I wouldn't say I believe that as a rule, but it's a legit concern since there's a chance for such sterility.
It's a mystery, for sure.
A few years back when everyone was all gaga over the ESS chips, I was commissioned to build one for a production unit (not the current model chip). Another forum member here designed the controller.
It didn't do well at RMAF. People found it pleasant, but not dynamic enough, a little soft. One visitor listened to some Nick Cave cuts he knew well and found it didn't have enough bite and dynamics. That was the general consensus. Personally I found it "polite and gentle."
My implementation was very much like the datasheet circuit, except for the analog output section. I also had a demo board from ESS to study, measure and listen to. I've built DACs with other, less expensive chips that were very well received and got rave reviews. I still don't know what the ESS was doing differently that people found to be lackluster. But they did.
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