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DACs and bass response?

I'm auditioning dacs in my system. One (COS) was way to analytical, overall, but had very tight bass. Another (Aqua La Voce) is what some would describe as "musical"  and sounds  terrific in all aspects except bass. My cdp alone does better in that regard. I have monitors and no subs. Can I expect that dacs that are hyper-detailed will also offer tighter bass as a rule?
stuartk
stuartk OP
2,825 posts
 
@gdhl: With all due respect, the difference I heard in the bass presentation as a result of changing digital cables was not "infinitesimal". 
I was about to give up on La Voce and continue my search. Swapping out the cable changed my mind. I bought La Voce. My experiments with cables has been varied-- some indeed seem to be merely "different".
In other cases, cables have provoked a strong appeal or strong distaste.  

@goofyfoot: I wish you luck in getting a majority of audiophiles to agree on a definition of "musicality"! ;o) As a guitar player, I'm familiar enough with music theory but I have to say it's never figured in any way into my gear selection. However, I'd love to hear more about the connection you perceive between the two. As for reading about aesthetics, isn't reading a 
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
I believe it to be difficult for hobbyists to determine exactly what they want or need in their stereos, especially in an age where most consumers will make purchases via the internet rather than making comparisons in the dealers show room.

This is precisely why I’m doing these jitter measurements and trying to correlate them to sound quality. If a measurement can be proven to be useful, then no amount of snake-oil claims can compete with it. After all, marketing BS is what is mostly written about cables. Most cable manufacturers don’t put ANY measurements on their sites. I’m trying to improve that situation.

gdhal - If I could significantly improve my system dynamics, imaging and clarity for $275, I would jump at this. Chump-change, besides it’s 30-day money-back.

I recently got a IFI SPDIF iPurifier for my Home Theater.  Another no-brainer.  I lowers jitter for Dolby Digital and DTS for $150.  Improves movies significantly.  I can finally hear all of the quiet dialogue in the starting scene of "Gravity". The movie makes sense now.  I prefer my Synchro-Mesh for 2-channel.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

goofyfoot's avatar
goofyfoot
1,376 posts
 
stuartk, there's of course nothing definitive about the term musicality, it's subjective and ever changing but I do believe that having a certain amount of musical knowledge is an asset. I'd never advocate for, checking your brain in at the door. For me, harmonic theory and aesthetics act as a road map for what I want to hear and for what I am listening to. 
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,477 posts
 
@audioengr

Why don’t you use an APX555 from Audio Precision?

I cant really tell much from an oscilloscope plot and triggering can be tricky.


gdhal's avatar
gdhal
1,641 posts
 
@goofyfoot / @stuartk / @audioengr

I appreciate your encouragement and advice about the paths to improvement. At some point I suppose I’ll try new things (cables?, isolation platform?, not sure where) and presumably get closer to nirvana. I’m good for now though.

FWIW, my next improvement attempt (which will happen in the coming days, not weeks or months) will be to use shorting caps on the inputs to lower my already very low noise floor.
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