@yakbob LOL +1 on the Dave design. I just can't bring myself to spending over $8K on a DAC when they say it benefits by spending a further $5K on their M Scaler! The Terminator sounds interesting thought. Thanks!
*DAC
I am down to the last piece of the puzzle. I am very happy with the sound of my system at this point, so I’m not sure if the DAC needs to be improved on. What I am looking for is to hear those background subtleties in the music a little more pronounced. The strum of a guitar, the stroke of the piano keys, the clicks, ticks & tingles that accompany the music. I do here that now, I just wondered if there is a way to elaborate on those background sounds (details) a bit more.
Is it the DAC that will make this happen? If it is, they say my Gustard R26 is as good as a $5K DAC, how far over that $5K do you think I have to go?
Thank you for your help and suggestions and the best to you all over the holiday season and beyond!
PS: I listen mostly to Jazz
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"I just wondered if there is a way to elaborate on those background sounds (details) a bit more." Yes, speaker placement (including toe-in). Perhaps just slight/minor repositioning if the ESL's are already sounding close to what you want. I assume from the room pics that you don't want to "treat" it.
DeKay |
@dekay well, by looking at the room, it is difficult to treat. We made heavy curtains to cover the windows and I did buy five 2‘ x 4‘ acoustic panels from GIK acoustics and place them around the room wherever I could find some bare wall space. as far as speaker placement, I have used the flashlight method as outlined in the Martin Logan set up manual. I could try tweaking them a little bit more I guess. I will try. Thank you! |
I didn’t see the acoustic panels, but recall you posting about the proximity to sofa (left speaker) and the large window some time ago. I haven’t worked with panel speakers for years, but once you get the soundstage to be more specific/defined it can usually be fine-tuned further. The same goes for traditional box speakers. I would start with tiny changes in toe-in for your intended goal (maybe start by toeing-out). PS: Our living room is a non-symmetrical "U" shape with no commercial acoustic treatment, but I’ve achieved excellent sound with a few setups over the years.
DeKay |
@navyachts I really like your system. The CODA pieces are particularly intriguing. How do you like them? As far as DACs go, the Terminator has already been mentioned. You could also try a DDC into your current DAC. That would cost you less than the $5k to try but probably won't be as good as the jump straight to $5k DAC. I have a Hermes DDC, I bought used for $1100, feeding my Pontus II via I2S and it lowered the noise floor, opened up the soundstage and improved imaging (both of which were already very good). Detail retrieval improved as well. I suspect the Terminator would sound even better though. |
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