Well if I were to be building a preamp and were not able to demo them first it might be useful for something like that and if it got to the point where no difference is heard than that would be the null point for my system and it would no longer matter.
Or just to be able to tell EH that two level matched pieces can in fact sound different.......that’s probably most valuable! 😀
Or just plain fun......much more so than ‘15 songs’
But just think what you might be missing out on because your system isn't good enough 🙂
Uh - huh. I was showing a jitter when I use DAC and ADC 2 different boxes with their own circuitry. Once again, now with jitter test signal shown. Oh and yes, preamp#1 is in the loop.
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Matt, Mark is doing things I would not be able to tell a difference. Way too subtle, over and above my station. This thread however, is down to earth enough for me.
It helps a lot to some soundcards with poor jitter rejection because of simultaneous sampling. It is not much important in this test, where I have shown standard Dunn test signal measurement of the DAC/ADC used.
Mark4, some, like me, greatly appreciate your inputs, your passion, your expertise on DACs and your obvious listening skills.
The questions you asked are legitimate, do not be destabilized by the mocking laughter of some kindergarten kids.
Pre amps have always had their distinct sound signatures ime, easily telling them apart; revealing their lack of transparency. Which is why, also ime, no pre amp is the best pre amp. And not by a small margin.
This part intrigues me as I would personally like to have the base system to get the best out of the best and then be able to switch in modifiers if required to deal with the 99% of recordings that are not perfect. I think I am an outlier in this though.
I have also realised that, despite being a reformed audiophile I still take a strange please in hearing all the little things that we should not. Musicians turning pages , subway rumble etc. Noise gates are a bug bear, as is fading noise out between tracks on old analog recordings, but it doesn't get in the way of enjoying the music.
It is fascinating how differently people listen to the same music. Maybe there is no common ground.
OOT:
I confess to having little taste for hunting with hounds, bullfighting and lynching. (see what I mean ;-)
Anyway, I did not think about you or Pavel, writing that. I do not think any of us three have bled Mark4.
My message, probably clumsy, was just a call for more kindness and open minded respect for others in the exchanges.
We are not very numerous to participate in this interesting subject, it's a pity to see someone leave it.
Maybe so, but we could hardly listen to power amps could we? 😉 Presumably we can extrapolate?
You are not an outler, I think. It shoud be perfect and economical. But I believe it is quite impossible. Even in studios, with a lot of tools to modify the sounds in different ways, we are obliged use different speakers to mimic different systems.
Yes. Some listen in a vertical way (wall of sounds) others in an horizontal way, focusing/following each instrument lines individually.
Some are sensible to the general atmosphere (what we call "sound stage ?) like wide angles in photography. Some don't care, and prefer sharp télé lenses...
Most of the musicians I know are not in concern with hifi at all. They listen to the plays of the musicians whatever the system, and I imagine they use their brain to reproduce what they cannot hear ?
Our different musical cultures makes all the differences.
BTW: When I listen to the recordings of what out of HIFI systems, and compare with what i was hearing in the same time the recording was done, I always wonder the incredible work our ears+brain is able to do to have made this listening session ... believable and, sometimes, even enjoyable ;-)
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You certainly cannot make a silk purse out of a pig ear. But with the processing power of the humble laptop these days and freely available software it may be possible to improve the personal subjective experience with some music. And experimenting with tweaking in the comfort of one's own home does no harm (except perhaps to personal sanity).
I'm one of the broad vista types. I like to stand back from the canvas and take the whole thing in rather than walk up to it with a microscope. Doesn't mean I can't see the stitches in the patchwork quilt of the mix though 🙂.
It depends on each speaker's system. More a question of phase curve (group delay) than response curve ?
If you try, comparing filters digital(0 Phase) VS analog, you will have the answer.
The rule, anyway, is to avoid any signal slope too close to the Slew Rate of an amp.
Not clumsy, but rather offensive. For some of us DIY is for fun, what did you or Mark find in my comment to be unkind, close minded or disrespectful? His discernment is at professional level, not the amateur level like I and some others here. The preamp listening test here was useful for us and help in our understanding, but clearly unsuitable for listening at differences in DAC he is interested in. I and Bob speak our mind honestly and politely, I do not think Mark should be offended if we did not immediately bow and adopt his view.
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