I planned to visit this thread to respond to a post made earlier in the week from a well-known and respected member of this forum. However, I notice the subject post has been deleted, I guess he thought better of it and deleted. (which I understand) Just to say I very much enjoyed the subject post, the referenced sketch is one of my favorites, so it brought back happy memories and made me chuckle. Just a shame I've been condemned to (Rowan Atkinson) hell & eternal damnation for using the "C" word.
Anyway, I have some casual observations regarding my highly clinical 1000Pro which perhaps one or two readers will find interesting. (the rest will think I'm bonkers)
My "normal" listening mode is via my PC / locally stored music / Roon / HQPlayer / SOtM and Mutec "front end", however, this is not the only one way I use the system. Two other common ways I might listen are playing YouTube music via an iPad and Airplay or using the 1000Pro / Blades as the front speakers in a surround sound set up. The casual observation here is that as a general rule, the irritation I get from thin or poorly produced music is far less common listening via 128kbs tracks from YouTube or music in films and similar via the surround set-up.
So, this means playing music via Blu Ray player to the surround amp and then analogue to the Devialet, or 128kbs tracks from an iPad via Airplay, sounds better than 16/44 material via the "normal" route? No, it does not. To understand this, I have tried playing the same tracks via the Blu-ray player, HDMI to the surround amp, analogue to the Devialet versus via the "normal" route PC/SOtM/Mutec to Devialet. The difference is HUGE. Clarity, dynamics, detail, bass accuracy everything is substantially better via "normal". Via Blu-ray player / surround amp it is a far duller, softer, presentation to the sound. Yet, the tendency for this duller, softer sound to actually annoy me is far lower. It is a similar thing with iPad / 128kbs YouTube / Airplay, although with very good recordings this can still sound sensational, but it does somehow take just enough of an edge off to prevent those less than perfect recordings becoming actually irritating.
A simplistic conclusion to this is that with some material the Pro is too revealing. However, it is possible to make something highly revealing a little less revealing, to blunt the reproduction a touch, to get something less clinical, and more forgiving. To get something with an inherently forgiving, soft, or warm sound to sound sensational with a top quality recording is arguably impossible. The more I think about it, I would love the Devialet to have some kind of "warmth" plugin to assist with those less than perfect recordings. Meanwhile, I am happy to take my highly revealing Devialet just as it is, I would not swap it to go the "forgiving" route, not a chance.
I mentioned above that this is a simplistic conclusion. Back in post #21, I mentioned how a track I enjoyed in the car for it's music but thought it was a poor recording actually sounded great on the "big rig". There are no easy answers to all this, but as a compromise, I would take the most detailed and revealing (clinical) system I could get, but perhaps add some tricks to optionally "soften" it into warm & forgiving mode occasionally, as the music requires.
I am not sure if I have explained this very well, but another way of putting this is that there is no perfect system for audio reproduction. The problem being the vast variability of the actual recorded music the said system is utilised to play. The nearest I can think of to a perfect system would be highly revealing, clinical even, with options to "warm" or "blunt" the sound if required. This is not entirely fantastical either, I have my Roon PEQ settings, which combined with the 1000Pro get pretty close to this ideal.
Anyway, I have some casual observations regarding my highly clinical 1000Pro which perhaps one or two readers will find interesting. (the rest will think I'm bonkers)
My "normal" listening mode is via my PC / locally stored music / Roon / HQPlayer / SOtM and Mutec "front end", however, this is not the only one way I use the system. Two other common ways I might listen are playing YouTube music via an iPad and Airplay or using the 1000Pro / Blades as the front speakers in a surround sound set up. The casual observation here is that as a general rule, the irritation I get from thin or poorly produced music is far less common listening via 128kbs tracks from YouTube or music in films and similar via the surround set-up.
So, this means playing music via Blu Ray player to the surround amp and then analogue to the Devialet, or 128kbs tracks from an iPad via Airplay, sounds better than 16/44 material via the "normal" route? No, it does not. To understand this, I have tried playing the same tracks via the Blu-ray player, HDMI to the surround amp, analogue to the Devialet versus via the "normal" route PC/SOtM/Mutec to Devialet. The difference is HUGE. Clarity, dynamics, detail, bass accuracy everything is substantially better via "normal". Via Blu-ray player / surround amp it is a far duller, softer, presentation to the sound. Yet, the tendency for this duller, softer sound to actually annoy me is far lower. It is a similar thing with iPad / 128kbs YouTube / Airplay, although with very good recordings this can still sound sensational, but it does somehow take just enough of an edge off to prevent those less than perfect recordings becoming actually irritating.
A simplistic conclusion to this is that with some material the Pro is too revealing. However, it is possible to make something highly revealing a little less revealing, to blunt the reproduction a touch, to get something less clinical, and more forgiving. To get something with an inherently forgiving, soft, or warm sound to sound sensational with a top quality recording is arguably impossible. The more I think about it, I would love the Devialet to have some kind of "warmth" plugin to assist with those less than perfect recordings. Meanwhile, I am happy to take my highly revealing Devialet just as it is, I would not swap it to go the "forgiving" route, not a chance.
I mentioned above that this is a simplistic conclusion. Back in post #21, I mentioned how a track I enjoyed in the car for it's music but thought it was a poor recording actually sounded great on the "big rig". There are no easy answers to all this, but as a compromise, I would take the most detailed and revealing (clinical) system I could get, but perhaps add some tricks to optionally "soften" it into warm & forgiving mode occasionally, as the music requires.
I am not sure if I have explained this very well, but another way of putting this is that there is no perfect system for audio reproduction. The problem being the vast variability of the actual recorded music the said system is utilised to play. The nearest I can think of to a perfect system would be highly revealing, clinical even, with options to "warm" or "blunt" the sound if required. This is not entirely fantastical either, I have my Roon PEQ settings, which combined with the 1000Pro get pretty close to this ideal.
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
