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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
instlouis's avatar
instlouis
91 posts
 
Stuartk - 
I haven't seen any references to Bel Canto here so I'll put in my 2 cents worth since I just upgraded from a 1.5 w/ LNS1 to 3.75 w/ VBS Bel Canto DAC and everything including the bass is clean and tight through all the instruments.  Although you can use the Bel Canto DAC to replace the Pre-Amp also, I still use it as DAC only. 

And for the techno and sales boys, the jitter is 70 femtosecs (fs ) ( aka .07 picosecs (ps ) ) !    FYI - My 1.5 Bel Canto was 2 psec on the jitter scale. 

The interconnects DO make an overall sound dif also, but I think you should lend an ear to a Bel Canto 1.5 or higher and put the excess monies saved in other upgrades you might want. 

Happy listening ... 
stuartk OP
2,825 posts
 
I ordered La Voce yesterday. This is my first DAC, so I’m no doubt a good deal less sophisticated than many who’ve posted on this thread in my capacity to assess this type of component, but it seems to do a good job occupying a middle ground. It’s not what I would consider overly analytic but provides a much detail as I want to hear. At the same time, it’s what I would call "musical" (a term reviled by some, but each to his/her own) without straying into what I would regard as tube-like euphonics. PRaT is very important to me and La Dolce serves up a generous helping. The other two DACs I auditioned were, by contrast, to my ears, in my system, quite extreme. The COS was unnaturally detailed while the Metrum’s cholesterol count was off the scale. In the end, hearing presentations at these extreme ends of the scale proved useful in evaluating the Aqua. BTW, I found Alex at Alma Music and Audio in San Diego (the sole CA Aqua dealer) to be terrific. I hope this doesn’t violate any thread rules. Thanks to all who offered suggestions and warm wishes for a happy holiday season!
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
That Arte Forma SET amplifier seems like a very high tier no nonsense effort. No doubt that it is exceptionally honest, open, transparent and natural in its sonic character. I suspect it is quite capable of revealing the fine nuances of the various upstream DACs and sources.

The nice thing about it is that it is DC-coupled, so no caps in the signal path.  Also, the version they sell now contains a circuit-board.  The one I have was a point-to-point wired prototype that I further modded.  It's too bad they don't offer the wired one, but they could not seem to get consistency in the build.  I don't use any of their tubes BTW.


Steve N.

Empirical Audio


audioengr
3,282 posts
 
However, if a device passes the J-test with perfect results then one can only conclude that all distortion spuriae including any jitter of any sort are all below the noise floor.

This assumes that the DAC has excellent HF response and transient response.  If it doesn't, the spuriae will be masked, filtered.

Take the same source to another DAC that has better HF and transient response and you might see more spuriae.  I think it depends on the DAC, which it should not.  DAC analog circuits should not be part of the measurement IMO.

Steve N.

Empirical Audio

audioengr
3,282 posts
 
It’s hard to believe that a DAC designer wouldn’t use effective caps in their design.

It is, but I would not have had a lucrative modding business for 10 years if it was not the case.

I trust my ears also.  I have to because measurements just don't cut it IME.  A good audio designer must rely on both measurements and their ears.  I cringe when I read about someone starting out in this industry and thinks they can navigate on measurements alone.  I recently read this on DIY forum...

Steve N.

Empirical Audio


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