These changes are all additive. The combination of “under the shelf” plus “under the footers” may have been too much of a good thing. Just one of those alone may be better than none at all. If you are now at a place where the system is sounding good relax for a while and enjoy. Really take some time appreciate how it currently sounds before making any additional changes so that you have a new baseline to evaluate those changes. Enjoy the holiday!
Diablo 300 DAC Module - upgrade DAC or Streamer?
I have an Innuos Zenith Mk3 plus PhoenixUSB Reclocker feeding my Gryphon Diablo 300 DAC module.
While the PhoenixUSB undeniably cleans up sound and adds more of a holographic “floating” effect, I do notice that on more abrasive recordings, the upper midrange becomes too harsh, and for these recordings, the sound is more enjoyable without the PhoenixUSB Reclocker in the mix. An example of such a recording would be U2’s Walk On. It’s not that the sound is bright or tonally off, but that the upper mid just do with a touch of finesse and less clobber.
I prioritize ensuring my system sounds good even for more abrasive recordings, but I also value transparency and a highly resolving system. I do believe it’s possible to have both.
My “problem” is either:
1) Entirely the recording’s fault, in which case my fix is to compensate for poor recordings with new components(s). Or,
2) When adding the reclocker my system became more revealing and exposed a weakness of my Diablo 300 DAC module, whereby more abrasive recordings sound a bit harsh in the upper midrange. In which case the solution is to upgrade to a standalone DAC.
Any thoughts on which direction to go? So many options. A super high end combined streamer/DAC (like a Bartok or Weiss) is intriguing to me as I’d need less high end cords and cables. But not sure if that approach would be preferable to adding a standalone DAC for my Innuos streamer.
I exclusively stream music with Tidal.
I know there are so many options but any thoughts on which option to look first?
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@drrsutliff thanks and good advice - I think I’ll relax and re-establish a baseline now that things are sounding fantastic again. @curiousjim per the thread my problem is solved. I was actually up all night listening to music just because I couldn’t stop, and had to suffer through working all day with no sleep! To me a great problem to have… Finally back to listening to music and not having to listen critically, and no more slight depression creeping in while listening due to not loving my system… I think we’ve all been there? Regardless it’s back to just enjoying the music now! I was half scared I had imagined the improvement after removing the vibration control and just checked in again. Wow, blown away! Absolutely no desire to upgrade now. It’s a good reminder how important it is to not to immediately blame a component when you add it to your system and the sound gets worse in some ways. In this case adding the USB reclocker revealed the flaw in my system caused by the vibration control under my amp. With less experience I might have blamed the Reclocker and concluded that reclockers make the sound unnatural. Which would not have been correct at all.
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- 12 posts total