A mini update for the weekend. I spent some time listening to the convolution filters that Thierry sent, I have provided some feedback to Thierry, who will be sending me some updated convolutions next week. (He is busy this weekend) Plus, I am busy myself currently, so I will not get to listen to these until next Saturday.
There is a point here, I am sure some folk are reading this thread and thinking that all this nonsense is going on for EVER! The fact is I am very busy with other things at the moment, so free time with my system is severely limited, hence every tiny iteration with what I am doing seems to be taking weeks, simply because it is taking weeks.
I had a bit of a chuckle at @cereal killer" 's comment above. Don't get me wrong, I understand and appreciate the comment, as I said myself I have had enough of tinkering for now. The thing is though, I would not consider that making two changes, a firmware update and switching to AIR, as something that would stop me thinking about the system and let me simply listen to music. My brain would be thinking about the firmware change, and thinking about how things sound back with AIR. Once I had a feel for the firmware change, I would be thinking is this just with AIR, or would these changes still be apparent with AES/EBU? I would then need to go back to the Mutec / SOtM kit to check, you get the idea. I should also mention that I do not own a NAS! So stripping back my system would involve buying yet more kit. (OK, I am joking a little here, I could use my PC and AIR) Oddly enough, I do have a way 'strip back' and simply listen, and that is to chuck some vinyl on the TT. I achieved a similar result last weekend, this involved visiting a local Italian restaurant, drinking a modest (?) quantity of Valpolicella, then home for some tunes. The thing is, I do understand how my mind works, I do need to analyse, test, change and tinker and analyse again, to the point I am happy all is good. This has to be done logically, step by step, and avoid changing two things at once, if you notice something good or bad and you have changed two things, you are lost. Once this is done, then my brain can forget about the system, and I can enjoy the music, exploring what I can find in music new and old.
I shall end on a positive note, I have been working through the SOtM invoked issues in what I would consider to be a logical and considered way. This has lead to a clear conclusion in my mind that there is nothing wrong with the SOtM kit, but the changes introduced by the SOtM kit have highlighted issues I have in other areas. So far I have two solutions to the 'other' issues, arguably three, plus some other things that can be put on the 'to do' list for future consideration. This morning I was doing some listening with an iteration one of those solutions, this was using some of my favored demo tracks, so not exactly trying some new albums and simply listening. The good news here is that things were sounding good, sometimes with demo playlists I might try a minute of one track, switch to the next, listening to different things and then moving on. Today, I was letting tracks play through, I was listening and enjoying the music. It's taken a while but I'm getting there! Also, once I have finished this little adventure, I will switch to Beta 14 and try with AIR, you just never know. But one thing at a time....
I shall update further next weekend, and provide some detail on the above when I have sufficient time.
There is a point here, I am sure some folk are reading this thread and thinking that all this nonsense is going on for EVER! The fact is I am very busy with other things at the moment, so free time with my system is severely limited, hence every tiny iteration with what I am doing seems to be taking weeks, simply because it is taking weeks.
I had a bit of a chuckle at @cereal killer" 's comment above. Don't get me wrong, I understand and appreciate the comment, as I said myself I have had enough of tinkering for now. The thing is though, I would not consider that making two changes, a firmware update and switching to AIR, as something that would stop me thinking about the system and let me simply listen to music. My brain would be thinking about the firmware change, and thinking about how things sound back with AIR. Once I had a feel for the firmware change, I would be thinking is this just with AIR, or would these changes still be apparent with AES/EBU? I would then need to go back to the Mutec / SOtM kit to check, you get the idea. I should also mention that I do not own a NAS! So stripping back my system would involve buying yet more kit. (OK, I am joking a little here, I could use my PC and AIR) Oddly enough, I do have a way 'strip back' and simply listen, and that is to chuck some vinyl on the TT. I achieved a similar result last weekend, this involved visiting a local Italian restaurant, drinking a modest (?) quantity of Valpolicella, then home for some tunes. The thing is, I do understand how my mind works, I do need to analyse, test, change and tinker and analyse again, to the point I am happy all is good. This has to be done logically, step by step, and avoid changing two things at once, if you notice something good or bad and you have changed two things, you are lost. Once this is done, then my brain can forget about the system, and I can enjoy the music, exploring what I can find in music new and old.
I shall end on a positive note, I have been working through the SOtM invoked issues in what I would consider to be a logical and considered way. This has lead to a clear conclusion in my mind that there is nothing wrong with the SOtM kit, but the changes introduced by the SOtM kit have highlighted issues I have in other areas. So far I have two solutions to the 'other' issues, arguably three, plus some other things that can be put on the 'to do' list for future consideration. This morning I was doing some listening with an iteration one of those solutions, this was using some of my favored demo tracks, so not exactly trying some new albums and simply listening. The good news here is that things were sounding good, sometimes with demo playlists I might try a minute of one track, switch to the next, listening to different things and then moving on. Today, I was letting tracks play through, I was listening and enjoying the music. It's taken a while but I'm getting there! Also, once I have finished this little adventure, I will switch to Beta 14 and try with AIR, you just never know. But one thing at a time....
I shall update further next weekend, and provide some detail on the above when I have sufficient time.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
