extracted from Doctorjohn Cheaptubeaudio: Audio Reviews and More
20 June, 2018
Sparkler S306 DAC, RELStrata III for Quad ESL-2812, TAD TD-3401
TAD TD-3401, Part III: with Full Wavac System
The Amazing Sparkler S306 DAC, Part III:
Sparkler S306 vs 47 Labs Shigaraki
Subwoofer for Quad 2812
Talk CAS: Cheapo Bluetooth Device vs. Meridian Explorer
Talk CAS: Tidal, Youtube, Radio Garden
The better half of this article comprise further reports on TAD TD-3401 and Sparkler S306 DAC. However, I also tie up some loose ends here.
TAD TD-3401, Part III: with Full Wavac System
On Sunday I re-visited Sang to spend more time with the TAD-TD-3401. This is basically a brief report that is the continuation of the last report (Part II) below (or here). On this day we tested out the full Wavac system by using the Wavac PR-X2 preamp in lieu of the Verdier Control B. The sound, as expected, was crisper than using the Control B. The piano sound was just awesome.
On this day (after much begging and cajoling) my taskmaster icefox finally agreed to come to listen again to my current systems. I was just about to leave Sang's place when icefox arrived in Yuen Long earlier than expected, and I asked him to join us at Sang's place. icefox was impressed by the performance, and harbored the same opinion that the 3401 is superior to the 2401/2402.
Regarding the Wavac, icefox still wished that it could be a tad cooler and thought the piano a little too clanging. For me, it was the opposite. More than most audiophiles, I am very particular about the leading edge, and have always thought the Wavac to be better on this front. However, since the TAD TD-3401 is a faster and more precise transducer than the Tannoy Canterbury, the resultant sound could sometimes be a little sharp. It is a small price I am willing to pay (especially since we get more details with the Wavac) but I can totally understand the other camp. So we were all consistent in our preferences.
Very soon, To Sir and then Mila joined us too. To Sir has a self-assembled big TAD System (which I have never heard) and is obviously a TAD expert. Both he and Mila were delighted with the 3401.
Now we go back a day or two...
Top Shelf: Note Sparkler S306 under 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC, behind Shigaraki Transport.
This is my third write-up of the Sparkler S306 DAC. For basic info please read Part I, where the Weiss Minerva proved utterly inept in its face. In Part II, the S306 went head to head with NOS AMC without shaming itself.
Sparkler S306 DAC
As mentioned in the links, ever since I bought it, I have used my S306 (serial Number 2) exclusively in my Yamaha NS-1000 system. Just could not bear removing it. Yesterday, however, with a little extra time on my hand, I decided to implement it in my Kondo system (pic above):
Transport: 47 Labs Shigaraki (Belden 1694)
DACs: 47 Labs Shigaraki vs Sparkler S306 (Gotham DGS-1 and 2111)
Preamp: Audio Note (original; Japan) M7
Amp: Kondo Ongaku
Loudspeakers: TAD TSM-2201
Subwoofer: JBL 12" paper cone
Just one recording for illustration shall suffice. In the EMI (Warner) Oistrakh box is a performance of Schubert's Piano Trio No. 1 (with his long-term partners Oborin and Knushsevitsky). This 1958 recording is good but not exceptional in sound. In fact, with the 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC, in this Kondo system there was some harshness in the upper midrange, particularly with the Gotham 2111.
I was dumbfounded when I swapped in the Sparkler. It is very hard to describe the tonal differences, but the bit of hardness is gone with the S306, despite its being obviously more airy in the treble and elsewhere a little leaner than the Shigaraki. What is easier to describe is the utterly sinuous quality of the Sparkler. While the 47 Labs delivered a musical performance, with the Sparkler it is at another level: there is more resolution; the leading edge is sharper; the three instruments are more separated and easier heard; Oistrakh's playing is more sinuous and the cellist more mellifluous. The whole performance sparkled (pun intended) with an utterly disarming rhythm and pace.
This is not the first time Sparkler astounded me in its grab of musical intent. I have not reported this before, but in my Yamaha system, I once played the Andris Nelsons recording of Shostakovich 10th (DG) and felt something amiss: there was a brooding and threatening atmosphere that went missing (compared to my first hearing the CD in the same system). I checked and, lo and behold, the DAC was not connected and it was the Sony Blu-ray player's analogue section I was hearing. Now, as I reported in Part I, the Sony is no slouch, but it just did not deliver the charged atmosphere the way Sparkler could.
And so, despite the use of its matching transport, the 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC was displaced by the Sparkler S306 in the Kondo system.
The 47 Labs Shigaraki continues to serve in the system below as the DAC for the Sony DVP-PR50P, and it improved upon the Arcam rDAC and Sony's own analogue output.
20 June, 2018
Sparkler S306 DAC, RELStrata III for Quad ESL-2812, TAD TD-3401
TAD TD-3401, Part III: with Full Wavac System
The Amazing Sparkler S306 DAC, Part III:
Sparkler S306 vs 47 Labs Shigaraki
Subwoofer for Quad 2812
Talk CAS: Cheapo Bluetooth Device vs. Meridian Explorer
Talk CAS: Tidal, Youtube, Radio Garden
The better half of this article comprise further reports on TAD TD-3401 and Sparkler S306 DAC. However, I also tie up some loose ends here.
TAD TD-3401, Part III: with Full Wavac System
On Sunday I re-visited Sang to spend more time with the TAD-TD-3401. This is basically a brief report that is the continuation of the last report (Part II) below (or here). On this day we tested out the full Wavac system by using the Wavac PR-X2 preamp in lieu of the Verdier Control B. The sound, as expected, was crisper than using the Control B. The piano sound was just awesome.
On this day (after much begging and cajoling) my taskmaster icefox finally agreed to come to listen again to my current systems. I was just about to leave Sang's place when icefox arrived in Yuen Long earlier than expected, and I asked him to join us at Sang's place. icefox was impressed by the performance, and harbored the same opinion that the 3401 is superior to the 2401/2402.
Regarding the Wavac, icefox still wished that it could be a tad cooler and thought the piano a little too clanging. For me, it was the opposite. More than most audiophiles, I am very particular about the leading edge, and have always thought the Wavac to be better on this front. However, since the TAD TD-3401 is a faster and more precise transducer than the Tannoy Canterbury, the resultant sound could sometimes be a little sharp. It is a small price I am willing to pay (especially since we get more details with the Wavac) but I can totally understand the other camp. So we were all consistent in our preferences.
Very soon, To Sir and then Mila joined us too. To Sir has a self-assembled big TAD System (which I have never heard) and is obviously a TAD expert. Both he and Mila were delighted with the 3401.
Now we go back a day or two...
Top Shelf: Note Sparkler S306 under 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC, behind Shigaraki Transport.
This is my third write-up of the Sparkler S306 DAC. For basic info please read Part I, where the Weiss Minerva proved utterly inept in its face. In Part II, the S306 went head to head with NOS AMC without shaming itself.
Sparkler S306 DAC
As mentioned in the links, ever since I bought it, I have used my S306 (serial Number 2) exclusively in my Yamaha NS-1000 system. Just could not bear removing it. Yesterday, however, with a little extra time on my hand, I decided to implement it in my Kondo system (pic above):
Transport: 47 Labs Shigaraki (Belden 1694)
DACs: 47 Labs Shigaraki vs Sparkler S306 (Gotham DGS-1 and 2111)
Preamp: Audio Note (original; Japan) M7
Amp: Kondo Ongaku
Loudspeakers: TAD TSM-2201
Subwoofer: JBL 12" paper cone
Just one recording for illustration shall suffice. In the EMI (Warner) Oistrakh box is a performance of Schubert's Piano Trio No. 1 (with his long-term partners Oborin and Knushsevitsky). This 1958 recording is good but not exceptional in sound. In fact, with the 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC, in this Kondo system there was some harshness in the upper midrange, particularly with the Gotham 2111.
I was dumbfounded when I swapped in the Sparkler. It is very hard to describe the tonal differences, but the bit of hardness is gone with the S306, despite its being obviously more airy in the treble and elsewhere a little leaner than the Shigaraki. What is easier to describe is the utterly sinuous quality of the Sparkler. While the 47 Labs delivered a musical performance, with the Sparkler it is at another level: there is more resolution; the leading edge is sharper; the three instruments are more separated and easier heard; Oistrakh's playing is more sinuous and the cellist more mellifluous. The whole performance sparkled (pun intended) with an utterly disarming rhythm and pace.
This is not the first time Sparkler astounded me in its grab of musical intent. I have not reported this before, but in my Yamaha system, I once played the Andris Nelsons recording of Shostakovich 10th (DG) and felt something amiss: there was a brooding and threatening atmosphere that went missing (compared to my first hearing the CD in the same system). I checked and, lo and behold, the DAC was not connected and it was the Sony Blu-ray player's analogue section I was hearing. Now, as I reported in Part I, the Sony is no slouch, but it just did not deliver the charged atmosphere the way Sparkler could.
And so, despite the use of its matching transport, the 47 Labs Shigaraki DAC was displaced by the Sparkler S306 in the Kondo system.
The 47 Labs Shigaraki continues to serve in the system below as the DAC for the Sony DVP-PR50P, and it improved upon the Arcam rDAC and Sony's own analogue output.