Apropos of the recent comments about Oppo, and relevant to the general
topic of service quality, I would like to report that Oppo's service has not
declined in the least. After six years of constant service, one of my Oppo
players stopped recognizing disks.
On Monday I sent it out UPS. On Tuesday they informed me that it had
arrived, and on Wednesday it was shipped out. It arrived a minute ago via
Fedex.
topic of service quality, I would like to report that Oppo's service has not
declined in the least. After six years of constant service, one of my Oppo
players stopped recognizing disks.
On Monday I sent it out UPS. On Tuesday they informed me that it had
arrived, and on Wednesday it was shipped out. It arrived a minute ago via
Fedex.
Hi Pavel,
In general I see where you are coming from, however having done a lot of classical recording and title mastering, I also have reservations about using much classical as a reference. Between differing hall induced effects (full seats, not so full, mic placement, etc. and other issues like relatively high noise floor they can be highly variable. I understand the "no rock" comment, as much of it is so compressed and distorted it covers up any signal chain anomalies, and I would extend the comment to 'pop' classical, rock, jazz and country, which inevitably have their levels and dynamics tailored to old people, deaf people, drunk people, and people in pick up trucks respectively...Of course I am kidding about the audience, but not the production values for popular releases in most genres in general.
Frank Zappa is an excellent exception to this, for those of you who have not explored anything other than his pop rock releases. He has so many great jazz/jazz rock/classical releases like the ones I mentioned previously, many of which are very well recorded, and even some of his releases which are generally considered rock are very well produced without excessive compression or artifacts.
The bottom line for me is this: When building or purchasing audio equipment, ensure it's static specifications do not pose a limitation to fidelity. At that point, using familiar titles as excitation sources, listen to the equipment critically. Behavior not shown in static tests can often be revealed such as unstable DC offsets, asymmetrical clipping, audible behavior in clipping, instability with real-world speaker loads and others. Indeed some equipment which tests well just sounds bad, like the Carver M1.5T. I had the opportunity to get one at a discount when they were new and took it home to audition, comparing it against a Luxman L100 and the really inexpensive NAD 3020. Without any exaggeration the M1.5T sounded like it was straining and harsh compared to either of the other two...very disappointing.
Just my $0.02 worth,
Howie
But, is it working now???
sorry, couldn't resist
Cheers
Alan
this was supposed to be right below Nelson's post, but Howard got one in at the same time.
sorry, couldn't resist
Cheers
Alan
this was supposed to be right below Nelson's post, but Howard got one in at the same time.
Hi Howie,
I developed some circuit changes that drastically change the Carver M 1.5t from something that sounds nasty into something that sounds quite good. Surprisingly so. So the basic amp is okay from a design perspective. It just needs some TLC here and there. Do you still have it?
-Chris
I developed some circuit changes that drastically change the Carver M 1.5t from something that sounds nasty into something that sounds quite good. Surprisingly so. So the basic amp is okay from a design perspective. It just needs some TLC here and there. Do you still have it?
-Chris
Hi Chris,
Nope, this was 30 years ago...to what do you attribute the stock sonic flaws?
Howie
Nope, this was 30 years ago...to what do you attribute the stock sonic flaws?
Howie
Classical musicians undergo rigorous ear training to learn how to listen and what to listen for. Attention is given more or less to construction and execution. Not fidelity.
Hi Howie,
The voltage amplifying stage and some of the components used. Once all the changes have been made, the last step is to approximately double the bias current. The amplifier also has to be compensated again after the changes have been made. Even the power supply requires modification. There are a lot of changes, but they really transform this model. The TFM-45 is basically the same amp. These changes only work on that particular model.
These changes are not off the internet. I developed them recently.
-Chris
The voltage amplifying stage and some of the components used. Once all the changes have been made, the last step is to approximately double the bias current. The amplifier also has to be compensated again after the changes have been made. Even the power supply requires modification. There are a lot of changes, but they really transform this model. The TFM-45 is basically the same amp. These changes only work on that particular model.
These changes are not off the internet. I developed them recently.
-Chris
Well, to be fair, I believe Chris was talking from a data package perspective, aka the technical side. No reason to use a 1 bit system pulse density encoding versus multibit pcm, which is more than good enough, and better applied resolution over bandwidth. Plenty of controversy here, but it's an uphill battle to suggest it's superiority over pcm. Audible equivalency is quite probable.
But it has an appeal from a manufacturer/music producer to lock people into a different technology.
But then you have to listen to that idiot's terrible music 🙄
I certainly never thought there was anything wrong with PCM, but can understand arguments for CDs being a higher resolution from the get go.
The DSD does allow a slew of mantras that have been more entertained than with PCM. You may have noticed no one bats an eye at upsampling the hell out of it. Where as with PCM people argue about NOS, sigma delta, etc. It's like DSD is free to just do whatever it wants, and people want to hear it all. Perhaps because I'm too young I missed a period like that, for PCM?
I guess, despite the mush sound, at least DSD isn't MQA 😀
Really? You give voice to the one thing in our hobby which is undebatable; musical preferences. Way to foster community...or were you being sarcastic?
+100
Howie
Good one, and I'd like to move on from the tempest in a teapot after sharing this entertaining link:
YouTube
Howie
As you say discussion of musical taste is.......pointless. I object to the stupidity of his other derogatory statement.
I am drawing lines in the sand. If I come over to hear your stereo PLZ do not play Zappa for me.
For me that is just expanding on my preference-able musical choices (to not listen to Zappa, ever, if I can help it). I find Zappa clever like someone trying to impress me with whit, speaking really fast like use language as some softa weapon to shake out the dimwhits. I went to college with a few too many Zappa like people, it wears on me... the never ending stream of clever. I hope to NEVER here another clever poem in my life!
It's much easier to say 'I don't get Zappa'. That is non contentious. What you have actually written does not end up reflecting well on you.
Please let's not have a personal taste discussion, I know people that think George Gershwin is total "noise". No matter what it is someone will love it and other's will hate it, personally I can't stand the GD.
I’ve been very pleased to discover more detail and “timbre” or whatever from some slightly hard sounding, ‘80s synthesizer music. Often I have wondered what kind of system was used as a reference when making some of the recordings!
Many of the classical recordings I have heard sounded like the people didn’t know how to set up the microphones perhaps. When they are good, it can be quite an experience however, not my cup of tea so much.
My younger years included living in the Seattle area when some of the post punk, grunge bands were exploding, and most of the early recordings just aren’t quite up to typical standards. The listener has to accept that the era is part of the sound.
Many of the classical recordings I have heard sounded like the people didn’t know how to set up the microphones perhaps. When they are good, it can be quite an experience however, not my cup of tea so much.
My younger years included living in the Seattle area when some of the post punk, grunge bands were exploding, and most of the early recordings just aren’t quite up to typical standards. The listener has to accept that the era is part of the sound.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.