I am a big fan of the Audio Research I-50 it is a great amp with lots of midrange bloom and musicality. That great tonal balance is coming from the I-50… you will not loose it unless you go to some very lean interconnect. I use Transparent with my Audio Research stuff. I find it communicates the details without tipping the tonal balance a bit. If you want to explore an alternative, I would give DHLabs a try… make sure to go as high high up in their lineup as you can.
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I have not experienced huge difference between coax cables. So I’m not completely sure you’re on the right track. Cable manufacturers that are known to produce warm sounding cables are: Audience, Audioquest, Acoustic Zen, Cardas, Kubala Sosna In my opinion with Kubsla Sosna cables in the system you should not experience any brightness. If you do, digital cable is probably the last place you should look at as a culprit. I would look into room acoustics and or different warmer sounding speakers. Just my $0.02 |
A stock Forte 4 and AR i50 is not resolving enough to easily reveal differences in digital coaxes. But, you could try an Ansuz cable, which could sound a bit more detailed (after pulling teeth) and maybe offer a slightly different tonal balance in a more resolving rig+room. A GR research upgrade for your Forte could make it more resolving, if you’re a diy kinda guy.. |
DH Labs has been my go to the past 3 or 4 times I've ordered cables. Excellent quality for the $$$ They usually have a sale on one or two product categories each month. I bought a pair of Air Matrix Cryo at 20 or 25% off. I also have the D-750 coax digital and the Mirage USB when they were on sale too. All excellent quality I am going to order their Prelude speaker cables for my Forte IV soon. |
Is there a reason why you can’t use USB with the dac? Because if you can, there’s a really nice Audience AU24SE+ USB cable on USAM right now. |
I’ve tried quite a bit of equipment in this room. i do have some acoustic panels placed and played with speaker placement. So far I have tried 3 different coaxes and can easily hear differences. The speakers do not sound bright. I previously had sonus Olympica1 and Dali epicon1. Klipsch surprised me, I was expecting bright from what a lot of other people say about them but they are not. Thanks again for the suggestions. |
Give this cable a try, very likely you would not bother with any other brand. The cable is crazy good and offers precise delivery of your digital bits. No harshness / glare….slightly warm presentation. https://tchernovcable.com/products/special/digital-interconnect/special-coaxial-ic-digital-rca-spdif_/ |
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Just got a new CD transport, the TEAC VRDS-701T, to plug into my Wadax dac, to access my 4000 disc CD collection. the price of this transport, $2700 list price, is very modest in the context of my Wadax dac (over $200k in it’s current config). https://teac.jp/int/product/vrds-701t/top Went 9 years now with just streaming. Last 2 days only CD. i’m using the Shunyata Alpha v2 S/PDIF coax cable. https://shunyata.com/products/digital-cables/alpha-series-digital-cables/alpha-v2-s-pdif/ Too digital sounding until I added my spendy Esoteric G1X clock, then it transformed into something very fine. so don’t blame the cable for the result, you cannot judge the cable and transport until they are optimized. if a cable tames a naked transport then it’s also covering up information and it’s opaque. so 2 points. (1) The Alpha v2 cable is very, very good. it’s allowing the clock and transport to be special. is it warm and relaxed by itself? yes, it is when the music is warm and relaxed. it’s never strident.....with the clock in the system. this cable is not, however, a tone control if that is what you are asking for. and (2) a great clock is way more significant than the transport or the S/PDIF cable. this transport/S/PDIF/clock combo is worthy of a cost no object dac. and you likely don’t need a clock as spendy as my Esoteric to get a big boost. |
@mikelavigne Interesting observations and thanks for sharing. I was a little surprised you were using SPDIF instead of AES/EBU or i2S as they seem to be the preferred digital connections but then took a look and saw the TEAC only has SPDIF and optical outs. On the surface these seem like strange omissions for a transport at this price level, especially as the slightly cheaper Jays CDT2 Mk3 has both of those other connections. Thoughts? |
@soix i wanted (1) the new version of the VRDS transport, and wanted (2) a front loader for my rack. and (3) my Wadax Reference Dac does not have the i2S interface (it does have a proprietary Wadax interface, plus an option for an even higher level Wadax interface for uber spendy Wadax transports). i’m sure that the Jay’s CDT2 Mk3 would have a similar level of performance. my ’guess’ is that the effect of the clock dwarfs any other performance issue. and that the i2S interface advantage over the S/PDIF interface mostly has to do with better clock performance, but at a way lower level than what i ended up with. and ’guess’ my performance is right up there with any transport and any interface.....at any price. i was astonished at the effect of the Esoteric G1X clock (which i had on hand from when i acquired it for my Esoteric T1 turntable). so did not have to add it. my experience here indicates to me that once you get past the basic transport level.....it’s all about the clock. but i'm just one guy with one data point. |
“my experience here indicates to me that once you get past the basic transport level…it’s all about the clock.” Agreed! That’s been my experience as well. @mikelavigne Given your system, interesting decision on Teac transport. Are you testing the waters with Teac transport before you upgrade to Esoteric top tier CD transports like K-01XD or Grandioso K1X SE. |
@lalitk this is a bit involved...sorry for the long winded story but it’s not simple. since i got the Wadax Ref Dac and Server early in 2022 and i heard it in my room, in the back of my mind i was musing about a way to be able to listen to my 4000 silver discs again through this amazing Wadax Ref Dac. i have a connection to those discs. i had ripped about 75% of them, but knowing where something is on the shelf is a different more personal experience than remembering the exact name of a particular file and calling it up. and i missed that. but over the last couple of years my focus and funds were focused on upgrading the Wadax, and my other sources (turntables and tape decks), and the obvious transport matches for my Wadax were just too spendy to seriously think about. then this spring Wadax introduced the Wadax Studio Player and system. a lower level of Wadax, with lots of trickle down tech from the big boys. and in a year or so, there will be a dedicated transport released which could be a fit for me. so it seemed more something i might be able to do. https://landing.wadax.eu/studio-player/ then i saw this TEAC transport, it had the VRDS, and was a front loader. i was concerned that it did not do SACD’s, but the more i thought about that, most of my SACD’s are hybrids, and most SACD’s are sourced from PCM, so that issue is not very significant in reality. so this was something in terms of dollars i could do now. and so i did it. yes; the big boy Esoteric transports did catch my attention, but they are in the same price range as the Wadax Studio series, and the interface would not have worked for SACD with my Wadax. it came down to going low and living with the coaxial S/PDIF, or waiting. i had no idea about my clock and whether it would really work since i could not connect my Wadax dac to it. but that turned out to be the huge surprise. when i first heard the TEAC in my system on Tuesday, i was let down a lot. it was very digital and so i was prepared to not like it. then i connected the clock and i was blown away. and these last couple days i’ve been visiting old friends on my shelves and i have to be careful not to get too carried away until i have a chance to play this hand out. it’s really good, but just how good is that? stay tuned. it’s possible this TEAC transport + Esoteric G1X clock +full blown Wadax Ref Dac with Akasa DC cables is as good as it gets. i don’t really expect that to be the case, but before i move up to a better transport, i will find out. |
I find it a very strange addition to a request to be informed of a Cable that has a detectable Richness of Tone. Where there is a reference to a CDT costing short of $3K and then suggest there is a need for a upgrade part costing shy of $12K. The OP prior to such a post has been clear a Cable Brand is of interest that does not go anywhere near the price of the products that are being added to the discussion later down the line. Where is the Richness of Tone theme within the $215K Digital system being referenced. |
@pindac the point of my first post was to comment that my inexpensive transport (a little over $2000 new) and inexpensive cable (under $1000 used) were boosted a lot by adding the clock, and my final comment was that likely a clock less expensive than mine would still make a big difference. that it's hard to properly judge a transport or cable without a clock added. there are cheap quality clocks out there and if one wants a very listenable digital performance, you are going to need a good clock somewhere in your signal path. so my actual advice was relevant to the price range of the OP. i brought up my dac as full disclosure and mentioned that even expensive dacs can find happiness with the right cheap complimentary pieces. they are ’good enough’. |
@mikelavigne A thread on Clocks might prove to be a very good reference point for learning about how Clocks can influence the end sound in System using a CDT or CDP? as a Source. I would be keen to learn of such equipment that is seen to within my own budget for making improvements. Are any DIY Build Clocks known about, especially ones proven as a go to Kit design ? The only device in my system to date that is not substantially modified or built from scratch is the CDT Source. |
@pindac i’m not the right guy for such a thread; i only happen to have this clock since i acquired it to optimize my Esoteric T1 turntable. so not knowing about what effect it would have with the transport, i tried it and it blew my mind at the effect. i had no idea. there are others who have looked at low cost clocks and know about that. likely there are already threads addressing this somewhere. i just don’t know these DIY or cheap clocks myself. |
+1 for Snake River Audio cables. |
@mikelavigne sorry for delayed reply. I appreciate the detailed reply and it does make sense to exploit the full potential of Teac player before you pursue an elite player from Esoteric or Wadax. It’s good to know that a $3K player is not compromising the chain and offers good enough thrills. I don’t expect anyone here to try $20K clock to get the most out of a $3K player but your point is well understood on the importance of master clock in a well heeled system. I honestly believe you would appreciate the elevated sound from Grandioso K1X SE since you already own the G1X clock. There is so much more on tap with K1X SE other than incredible VRDS Mechanism offered in 701T. BTW, I love the new racks; they handsomely complement your incredible room and equipments. Cheers! |
