13-Jun-2015, 08:28
in my chain (D200, B&W 800 Diamond, WIREWORLD Platinum Eclipse USB Cable, SAM at 50%) here is what I got so far from 8.1 / 7.1.3
Overall 8.1 seems to be an improvement over 8.0 and the harshness seems to have gone although on USB input only
(this input generally seems to have been much improved in 8.x SQ wise and not taking about addition of DSD feature)
Via AIR (only using Ethernet) mid´s and high´s still appear to be a bit overemphasized / analytical as compared to USB input as well as 7.1.3
Bass control seems to be better / more precise with 8.1 (same as in 8.0) compared to 7.1.3
Stage resolution via AIR seems to be slightly better than via USB and that is recurrent with 7.1.3 and 8.x
At this point in time and for my ears 8.1 via USB seems to sound pretty similar to 7.1.3 via AIR
(although with slightly less stage resolution and on the other hand more articulated bass and more capabilities functionality wise)
Will further continue to explore those two options and see where this brings me - current tendency is 8.1 via USB
Overall 8.1 seems to be an improvement over 8.0 and the harshness seems to have gone although on USB input only
(this input generally seems to have been much improved in 8.x SQ wise and not taking about addition of DSD feature)
Via AIR (only using Ethernet) mid´s and high´s still appear to be a bit overemphasized / analytical as compared to USB input as well as 7.1.3
Bass control seems to be better / more precise with 8.1 (same as in 8.0) compared to 7.1.3
Stage resolution via AIR seems to be slightly better than via USB and that is recurrent with 7.1.3 and 8.x
At this point in time and for my ears 8.1 via USB seems to sound pretty similar to 7.1.3 via AIR
(although with slightly less stage resolution and on the other hand more articulated bass and more capabilities functionality wise)
Will further continue to explore those two options and see where this brings me - current tendency is 8.1 via USB