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Confused About Relative Sonic Impact of DAC VS. Transport

I've borrowed a Heed DT Transport to use in place of my Jollida JD100 CDP and am confused by what I'm hearing. 
My DAC is R2R ladder/non-oversampling Aqua La Voce. With Jolida in system, the sound is on the warm side of neutral without verging into tube-like, euphonics. With the Heed transport, all I seem to notice are the liabilities of every CD I play. 

If the Heed is more efficient at reading data from the CD than the Jolida, does this mean I am hearing the effect of the DAC more clearly, or am I hearing the effect of more information from the disc?

At first, I enjoyed the increased resolution, but with further listening, the sound, overall, strikes me as "thin" (as though lacking lower mids) and the highs verge on fatiguing. 

Switching out footers has some effect, as does tweaking my Schitt Loki EQ, but I'm still not very happy.

Excuse my French, but WTF is going on, here ?

BTW, John Darko, when reviewing the Aqua, recommended it as a particularly good choice for harsh-sounding CDs. 





stuartk
stuartk OP
2,988 posts
 
millercarbon; I think perhaps you misunderstand me. I'm not pursuing an existential question, here; I'm trying to ascertain which component(s)  is/are responsible for the change in my system's sound, so I can make adjustments. 

If I don't know how each component is affecting the overall sound, the process of making adjustments is very difficult. . . akin to tossing (insert food item of your choice) against a wall to see which one will stick. 

Is the increased resolution of the Heed transport uncovering unappealing aspects of CDs that the Jolida did not reveal?

Did the Jolida disguise to some degree the inherent character of the DAC in a way that the Heed is not?

My goal is to replace the aging Jolida with a transport and maintain the sound I've been enjoying; I belive this is consistent with going with "what engages and satisfies (me) musically", to borrow your terminology! 




melm
1,082 posts
 
The best transport is no transport.  Rip your disks and let your DAC play at its best.
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,417 posts
 
Your Jolida has not been revealing the true recording. It may be introducing noise or jitter, the result may sound like colourations.
Each S/PDIF cable will present the sonics differently by their design, build quality and materials used in the cable,  even cable length. The goal is to control jitter being passed from transport to DAC.

Footers and vibration control on both components also contribute to optimal SQ.


 
Post removed 
stuartk OP
2,988 posts
 
lowrider: re: jitter, I have an Empirical Audio Synchromesh re-clocker in the system.

I've tried various footers under the Heed transport and haven't had much luck because each CD I play sounds so different. One type of footer may improve the presentation with one CD only to make a different CD sound worse. Maybe this equates to fun for some-- not so much for me. 

I do agree that the Jolida was affecting the sound, as there was much greater consistency from one CD to the next. 

I've borrowed a Cardas coax to try instead of the inexpensive Blue Jeans coax I've been using and will see how that affects the system.

Elizabeth-- to be honest, I have no idea how long it's been since the Heed was regularly used but I'd guess at least several months. . 
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