28-Jul-2016, 12:49
(This post was last modified: 28-Jul-2016, 17:51 by Confused.
Edit Reason: Removed ETA reference
)
For good order and completeness on this thread, I have compiled the actual sound quality observations from the AIR 3 beta for Windows thread, as follows:
I did install it on Win10, works fine. SQ seems to be better.
No golden ears here, but I installed it directly on my NUC which runs Roon, and to me it sounds at least as good as the Mac AIR3b to which I had previously been RAATing.
And, the initial listening on DSD64 materials is fantastic! Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits is into another level of clarity and definition with AIR3.0b.
I have not had a huge amount of listening time with Windows AIR 3, and only tried redbook. However, first impressions is that is sounds very similar to Windows AIR 2.1.3. I am not hearing the giant leap that Mac AIR 3 users have claimed fairly consistently. Some moderate improvements? Too soon to say for me.
I perhaps do have the advantage of having recently done AIR 2.1.3 vs mR + Mutec comparisons. So I can now do AIR 3 vs mR + Mutec. There were some tracks I thought sounded much better with the mR + Mutec rig. (Very Melco N1Z / Aurender N10 like) Doing the same tracks back to back but with AIR 3, I still favour the mR +Mutec rig. I am sure any differences, if any, are quite small. Early days though!
Sound quality seems excellent too.
I had really written off AIR, but I now think it sounds now better than the USB I had been using.
I did install it on Win10, works fine. SQ seems to be better.
No golden ears here, but I installed it directly on my NUC which runs Roon, and to me it sounds at least as good as the Mac AIR3b to which I had previously been RAATing.
And, the initial listening on DSD64 materials is fantastic! Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits is into another level of clarity and definition with AIR3.0b.
I have not had a huge amount of listening time with Windows AIR 3, and only tried redbook. However, first impressions is that is sounds very similar to Windows AIR 2.1.3. I am not hearing the giant leap that Mac AIR 3 users have claimed fairly consistently. Some moderate improvements? Too soon to say for me.
I perhaps do have the advantage of having recently done AIR 2.1.3 vs mR + Mutec comparisons. So I can now do AIR 3 vs mR + Mutec. There were some tracks I thought sounded much better with the mR + Mutec rig. (Very Melco N1Z / Aurender N10 like) Doing the same tracks back to back but with AIR 3, I still favour the mR +Mutec rig. I am sure any differences, if any, are quite small. Early days though!
Sound quality seems excellent too.
I had really written off AIR, but I now think it sounds now better than the USB I had been using.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
