10-Dec-2018, 18:53
How do we judge sound quality of our Devialet equipment? To compare reproduced sound in our living room to a real live event is a hopeless task even for a hi-fi setups costing 6 figures and above. Hence we can only do comparisons between different hifi setups, or rely on hifi magazine reviews.
Which now brings me to the point. When I upgraded to a Devialet 440 Pro I had a very modest setup previous to that. Hence I was overjoyed by what I heard when listening to the Devialet. But that was more than a year ago, since then I have become accustomed to the sound. Now recently I had a chance to listen to a system with a R2R DAC in it, and it has been a revelation as to how analogue/organic digital can sound through a R2R DAC. All the metallic glare that you typically find on digital just disappeared, instrument sound so natural, and most of all 16/44 sounds really good.
Absolutely no listening fatigue usually associated with digital. But here is the problem this particular R2R DAC had even more resolving abilities than my 440 Pro CI. The price difference between the two was maybe $3K, the R2R setup being more expensive. However those $3K brought a lot to the table. So much so that I started to question if something was wrong with my Devialet and how it just did not resolve the complex classical pieces. This was a side by side comparison in my living room with my own speakers a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica 1.
With the R2R setup I could here the singer inhaling a breath of air before beginning a passage, sounded as if the artist was in the room. Instruments hung in the air not stuck to the wall behind the speakers but right in the middle of the speakers. The cymbals were floating in the air.
Maybe I have not been doing critical listening to my Devialet 440 Pro but all the above is missing. The imaging I am getting from the Devialet is good but no instruments floating in-between the speakers, everything is behind the speakers.
What am I missing??
Which now brings me to the point. When I upgraded to a Devialet 440 Pro I had a very modest setup previous to that. Hence I was overjoyed by what I heard when listening to the Devialet. But that was more than a year ago, since then I have become accustomed to the sound. Now recently I had a chance to listen to a system with a R2R DAC in it, and it has been a revelation as to how analogue/organic digital can sound through a R2R DAC. All the metallic glare that you typically find on digital just disappeared, instrument sound so natural, and most of all 16/44 sounds really good.
Absolutely no listening fatigue usually associated with digital. But here is the problem this particular R2R DAC had even more resolving abilities than my 440 Pro CI. The price difference between the two was maybe $3K, the R2R setup being more expensive. However those $3K brought a lot to the table. So much so that I started to question if something was wrong with my Devialet and how it just did not resolve the complex classical pieces. This was a side by side comparison in my living room with my own speakers a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica 1.
With the R2R setup I could here the singer inhaling a breath of air before beginning a passage, sounded as if the artist was in the room. Instruments hung in the air not stuck to the wall behind the speakers but right in the middle of the speakers. The cymbals were floating in the air.
Maybe I have not been doing critical listening to my Devialet 440 Pro but all the above is missing. The imaging I am getting from the Devialet is good but no instruments floating in-between the speakers, everything is behind the speakers.
What am I missing??
SOtM sMS-200-Ultra, SOtM sPS-500, Melco N1A, Rega RP8 (Exact 2), Core Infinity D440 Pro (2 x D220 Pro), Audioquest Diamond Ethernet, USB, Audioquest Castle Rock, Sonus Faber Olympica I.
