23-Nov-2016, 21:35
(This post was last modified: 23-Nov-2016, 22:03 by Hifi_swlon.)
I much prefer my setup with Dirac live DRC.
SAM does very little here. Yes it makes the facts go deeper, but i always feel it comes with a narrowing of soundstage, and in my average shared use lounge this extra bass doesn't really sound right anyway. I also sense a slight 'softening' of the sound with SAM.
With Dirac it just sounds 'right', and makes for a really nice fuller bodied sound, takes away the brightness, and equalises the LR volume imbalance and timing all in one hit. Plus it's flexible and configurable.
The only downside to me is the complexity (one extra piece of software to get in the chain) and taking the measurements is a bit of a faff and doesn't go down well in the household! Oh, and the other downside is I can't use it at the moment because of Roon. As soon as that changes - even if not Dirac - I'll re-enable it straight away.
The bit perfect thing used to worry me, but to be honest pretty much all modern DACs are doing something to those bits, and the Devialet certainly is too. i understand why we want it, and we certainly don't want stuff going on that we don't know about, but I'm less worried about processing with modern digital audio techniques.
Of course I'm also coming from the perspective of someone with an OK hifi in a shared living room soace where speaker placement is a secondary priority for the room and sound treatments are out of the question. For those using a dedicated room things are probably very different. I'd love to be able to do it without Dirac, but that's just not the reality. So better to just focus on getting the most enjoyable sound.
SAM does very little here. Yes it makes the facts go deeper, but i always feel it comes with a narrowing of soundstage, and in my average shared use lounge this extra bass doesn't really sound right anyway. I also sense a slight 'softening' of the sound with SAM.
With Dirac it just sounds 'right', and makes for a really nice fuller bodied sound, takes away the brightness, and equalises the LR volume imbalance and timing all in one hit. Plus it's flexible and configurable.
The only downside to me is the complexity (one extra piece of software to get in the chain) and taking the measurements is a bit of a faff and doesn't go down well in the household! Oh, and the other downside is I can't use it at the moment because of Roon. As soon as that changes - even if not Dirac - I'll re-enable it straight away.
The bit perfect thing used to worry me, but to be honest pretty much all modern DACs are doing something to those bits, and the Devialet certainly is too. i understand why we want it, and we certainly don't want stuff going on that we don't know about, but I'm less worried about processing with modern digital audio techniques.
Of course I'm also coming from the perspective of someone with an OK hifi in a shared living room soace where speaker placement is a secondary priority for the room and sound treatments are out of the question. For those using a dedicated room things are probably very different. I'd love to be able to do it without Dirac, but that's just not the reality. So better to just focus on getting the most enjoyable sound.
>>> 1st Place Award: Devialet, last decades most disappointing technology purchase. <<<
