2. digital
  3. 1325510087

Loss of inner detail

Greetings,
I've owned a Sony SCD-XA5400ES for 2 years now and really do love it. In my system it has out performed these CDPs:
Electrocompanient EMC-1UP
Linn Ikemi
Meridian 508.24
Accuphase DP-57
Resolution Audio Opus 21
Ayre CX-7e
Bel Canto CD-1

I got the OK from my wife to buy a "final" Transport - DAC (ie: spend a larger dollar amount, ha) that will give me the flexibility of having digital input for the possibility of adding a server at one point.

As I live in Minneapolis I thought I'd try the Bel Canto CD-2 and DAC 3 combo (used). Well, I got a good deal on a used DAC 3 and ran my Sony into the DAC using RCA spdif from the Sony into the DAC3. (I'm waiting to buy a used CD2, but they don't come up often)
ALL inner detail of songs has disappeared (I'm exaggerating a bit, but the difference is quite stark!). Music sounds FAR superior just using the Sony. Why is this?

I'm using a Black Cat Veloce digital cable.

Rest of my system:

Gamut CD-2r preamp
TAD-60 amp
Spendor S9 speakers
Analysis Plus interconnects and speaker cables

Please offer your thoughts as this is my first foray into a separate Transport & DAC

Thanks!
tgyeti
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,475 posts
 
Steve, the fact is that poorly impedance matched cable will work better with slow slew rate transport while poorly shielded cable will work better with high slew rate transport. It is synergy unless you can find perfect cable ($$$$). For that reason Transport-cable-DAC and environment should be always treated as a system.
jb0194
476 posts
 
Thank you, Steve.
audioengr
3,282 posts
 
"the fact is that poorly impedance matched cable will work better with slow slew rate transport while poorly shielded cable will work better with high slew rate transport."

A good 1.5m cable will work better with both low and high slew-rate interfaces. Shielding is important for either case. I dont agree. When things are out of spec or sub-optimal, all bets are off. This is not synergy. Always use a 75 ohm low-loss cable, period. A good choice is the Ridge Street Audio Poiema.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,475 posts
 
"I don't agree"

There is no error in my previous statement. If you can afford cable that has perfect impedance matching and perfect shielding then nothing matters - I agree, but unfortunately cables that we can afford have some deficiencies and some work better in certain scenarios than others (documented many time here). One of two digital cables might work better in one system and worse in another. 1.5m length only reduces problem by delaying first reflection by about 15ns just to miss threshold point in the middle of typical 25ns swing, but there are next reflections hitting following edges. Also shielding is extremely complicated matter.
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