2. digital
  3. 1371741874

How to remove harshness from my digital gear

Some help would be appreciated here.

I want to replace my dac and transport(moon dac3+ classe cdt-1 trans)In my system whit my ears i find this combo harsh and bright. It is the reason why i want to replace it. I was thinking about raysonic or cary tube cd player but i cannot ear one of them before taking my descision.

Any one have experimented moon gear vs cary or raysonic.
Between cary or raysonic wich one would be the less bright and the more liquid.

MY system: Dynaudio contour s5.4
Moon w3 amp
Marantz sc11-s1 preamp
All my cable have a neutral sound signature

Thank you
128x128thenis
rrog
1,958 posts
 
"Most of the problem is related to the CD. Stock off the shelf CDs almost always sound harsh, tinny, thin, generic, boomy, grainy, two dimensional, distorted, uninvolving, boring and metallic."

Really, you have all of those problems? I don't have any of the problems you mentioned.
rrog
1,958 posts
 
Geoffkait, Maybe you need to improve your system.
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
Has anyone actually done a scientific survey of such things as "magnetic buildup" on a CD, "static buildup" on a CD, etc.? These things should be easily measured and quantifiable. And, if they exist, it should be easy to measure the efficacy of products claiming to reduce these anomalies.

Honestly, I find it hard to believe that a non-ferrous entity like a CD could support *any* "magnetic buildup". I can see how a the polycarbonates used for CDs could support a static charge. But it would certainly be instructive to know just how much is this charge and how effective are the products claiming to reduce this charge...

-RW-
rlwainwright
1,904 posts
 
"Most of the problem is related to the CD. Stock off the shelf CDs almost always sound harsh, tinny, thin, generic, boomy, grainy, two dimensional, distorted, uninvolving, boring and metallic."

>> Really, you have all of those problems? I don't have any of the problems you mentioned. <<

Indeed. Most of my CDs sound pretty darn good. But I'm sure my system doesn't have the resolving power needed to suffer from these doubleplus ungood maladies...

-RW- Less is more. War is peace...
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
RL - there are all kinds of things that make it harder for a CD transport to read a CD, including:

1) out of round CD
2) warped CD
3) mal-formed pits
4) static charge - creates forces on the head
5) electron energy level in the polymer - can be affected by exposing to certain light frequencies
6) coating on the CD - just like multicoated lenses - changes refraction and makes it easier for the laser to penetrate the polymer
7) edge treatments - reduces the reflected energy inside the polymer

Try any of these on a truly resolving system and you will hear an improvement.

This is one reason why I don't bother with CD's anymore. Just play tracks on my SS drive.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
More to discover