Thoughts on HF and more ramblings
We all know some individuals do not hear higher frequencies properly to some degree. Some aware of it some not. Naturally in many of these circumstances one may put extra emphasis or importance on the mid-band frequencies.
Maybe in some cases he "prettier" this mid-band artificially is, maybe the more this would compensate for the lack of our ears processing high frequency as they should. Of course there are always many factors but i am sure this is one of them in some cases.
Many of us think we have good hearing. But do we?
Blood type: If you happen to have the less common rhesus negative blood(this means so much more too) then my bet is that you are the most likely to appreciate something like NOS1 even more. Maybe not much more in most cases but it could be a factor. There may actually be reasons for it.
I wont go too much further into this topic but one of my research interests is blood/blood typing and how blood type and rhesus factor dictates many processes in our body even affecting our senses. Good general health topic too!
Some say people with rhesus negative blood, especially if type O as well, will more likely have the best HF hearing. Especially if we are in good health eating organic food and not so full of chemicals etc. If any of this is true, and i believe it is, then it may help shine extra light on why we all seem to hear things different in this hobby.
(PeterST and myself both happen to be negative type O btw)
Consider other modern day human variables such as heavy metal toxicity, bacteria over-growth or systemic effect, sinus, pineal gland health(fluoride build up disconnecting our awareness)of course age etc etc can all play a part to some extent.
Personally i can not listen to any component or cable or anything which noticeably truncates or destroys HF.
One of the reasons i use a quality Space Tech Labs variable sine wave Schumann resonator in my room as well. Way better than the more common AR77 unit. Anything to help those delicate HF`s from being negatively affected in any way.
As we get older we lose our HF hearing at different rates. It's not really that you can't hear the HF. It's that you can't hear them as well. So, when you were 30 you didn't need to turn up the 16,000hz slider, now you might. By making the highs LOUDER, you bring back the sound you used to hear. But of course we don`t want to use typical EQ in out systems for obvious reasons so now we limit ourselves thus make things a bit more complicated.
Hearing HF positively effects our hearing of any frequencies bellow. Of course including the all important mid-range.
I did some experimentation a while ago with a few people. This involved NOS1 and some very nice Tonian Labs Ribbon super tweets using well burned in Russian SSG-3 Silver Mica caps. Also had them easily set-up to change the X-over point and attenuation.
Results proved very interesting. Even opinions regarding how their impressions on mid frequencies changed.
Add something like upper tier Teo liquid and minds were almost boggling. These people were novice listeners.
Yea NOS1 surely does invite us to hear what is really going on up there. It is as clean, real, extended as they come. Something that most components never get right.
The design then is usually compromised.
And for the record i am NOT in any way suggesting any of you guys who think NOS1 may be lacking something have impaired hearing to any degree. Just putting some alternate thoughts out there for us to think about or at least keep in mind which may explain some of our diversity.
IMO NOS1 not only has pure HF but has very pure mid-band - lower frequency as well.... regardless whether some of us can hear HF`s properly or not. Once again i believe proper set-up and even tuning is key to really hear what this DAC can do in any given individuals system.
Nine times out of ten anyone who thinks NOS1 is lacking anywhere is just not hearing this DAC at it`s best at all due to inappropriate set-up. Yea yea yea?...... well yea!
Once everything is set-up using properly configured XXhighend(very important) and some complimenting high end computer(Peter`s is best obviously)and then settled properly. Enable unattend mode... well... those of you who know.... KNOW.
It seems people may also underestimate the effects of XXhighend configuration. Personally Peter configured my whole XXcomputer and i havn`t touched the settings. Not only do i not really know what i`m doing but it just sounds so right that i have zero desire at all to mess with it.
Guys please try to set this DAC up as it is intended as much as possible then give it some time to settle and keep an open mind for variable factors before passing too much of a judgement.
This is a very special DAC and needs to be respected as such!
And to you tube guys or guys that may have doubts over NOS1 mid-range or harmonic ability and think tube output stage or adding more unnecessary electronics is the only answer ... i dare you to try tuning NOS1 with upper tier Teo liquid.
Well, as Gary will attest to i`m sure, it`s not really necessary especially if everything is set up properly but boy oh boy there really is some magic with this pairing!
I will add more comments on this in another post inc a few comments Gary Emailed me regarding NOS1 and Teo(cable i loaned him).
So there`s possibly some reasons NOS1 or w/e equipment wont always sound quite the same to everyone.
Then again if what i read and understand is true. And I`m sure it is. Every person who has had the opportunity to visit Peter at his home of recent times in the Nether regions that hear his system with full Phasure set up correctly.... well.... all apparently leave in the same mind-set - Best sound ever heard on any audio system regardless. Always the word unanimously is "best".
So if Peter`s gear truly is set up correctly in a tuned system our own limitations logically would become less of a factor.
Technically this DAC is very correct IMO.
NOS1 is accuracy and neutrality personified. And this was the full intent of the design. Peter`s whole design concept and part selection(which some have knocked)is based on that.
What a way to set a solid component foundation for any high end system. What potential now beckons too.
If Peter wanted to build a SOTA colored tube DAC or tube output stage etc then he would no doubt have excelled here too. But he has no interest in doing so. I totally understand this now as a former tube lover and owner of very high end tubed gear. Also had NOS1 hooked up to what i considered to be a great add on tube output stage - Space Tech labs tube buffer103. Designed with Short signal path and all point to point wiring etc. Intent being to instill big tube sound with some gain and with least interference. Around 3K worth of many rare NOS tubes later(large and small) the combo of Teo direct to amps quickly rendered this very nice tube buffer for sale. I, like Gary, am now simply not interested in bottles touching my front end gear any more.
I have gone one further and refuse to have them anywhere in my system at all. Teo liquid is much better option IMO.
Another thing regarding HF - I am a self confessed cable enthusiast as many of you know. I can very confidently say right now that AC or power cables are the biggest offenders here(HF and beyond) so anything to do with AC should be one of the FIRST things upgraded in a system. No one will ever convince me otherwise.
I have about 15K(used market value) currently invested in select AC after years of buying selling and upgrading from street to components PSU. I could not put a total figure on it all not to mention all the time and effort. No regrets here either.
I'm no way alone. Many audio guys are exactly the same.
Our organic cookie man, Gary, is of similar mind-set.
Everything is about the source and AC is the true source.
I remember when i was younger. My first serious system had about 4K(used market value) worth of components, vintage modified Kef speakers, Marantz and NAD silverline components, but about 6K(umv) worth of power cabling. Many who heard this system were gobsmacked. I have very very fond memories of this system and still have most of it here collecting dust.
Anyway here is a quote i read a long time ago which interested me and inspired to research this area a bit further -
"no, humans can't hear the actual frequencies above the 22khz mark or closely thereabouts.
but the presence of those frequencies in a given sound does interact with the other frequencies in the audible range, performing as it were a bit of frequency modulation on them, which has the result of creating resonant bands of additional frequencies that "fill out" the sound in the audible range.
But this is just for me armchair speculation - I have no handle on the actual science. But of one thing I'm convinced - psycho-acoustics is a young science that has proven to be full of surprises, and the smart money is on the assumption that further surprises are in store as the field develops."
Quantum mechanics - "the conditions of any observation effect the outcome of the observation."
I think some of you know where I`m going with this one....
