What the heck is Resolution Audio

I can't resist. I just have to chime in on this one too! Carl, I think you are correct (yikes!). Upsampling is probably not ALL marketing hype; I'm sure that when implemented by a SKILLED DESIGNER, it provides sonic benefits beyond what can be achieved with typical oversampling technology. However, there are perhaps too many companies offering "upsampling" DACS these days, AND using this "keyword" to sell units. I'm not sure if EVERYTHING that upsamples is better than a well designed oversampling player. For instance, I'm sure that your CD50 will CLEARLY outperform most new, inexpensive upsamplers. So certainly SOME companies are using "upsampling" as a marketing gimick, while clearly others (dCS comes to mind) are not.It all seems to be in how the technology is implemented. But to paraphrase Jeff Kalt again, different is not always better or more acurate, and I guess it remains to be seen if upsampling is a more ACURATE technology, or just different. No one I know who has heard the dCS gear thinks upsampling is "hype", so maybe we need to be a little more open minded about all this. As I've said in another thread, not all things can be fully explained or measured; our brains are obviously much more advanced than todays test equiptment. For example, I bet many SOTA loudspeakers measure just about the same, yet SOUND totally different. So even if some digital designers see no real difference between upsampling and oversampling, that does not mean the two technologies SOUND the same. But I still fail to see how something that converts digital data to a HIGHER sample rate (ie, upsampling) can be the SAME as oversampling, which to the best of my (limited) knowledge NEVER converts the digital data stream in this way. But once again, I digress. Back to the topic. I do need to get my hands on a Resolution Audio player soon I feel!I have a friend in Atlanta that was/is TOTALLY FLOORED BY THE CD50, AND CAN NEVER IMAGINE A TIME WHEN HE WILL BE WITHOUT IT. And he was a DIE HARD Wadia man; he now feels that the Wadia is arcahic by comparison. Its so good in fact, that he seems to have NO interest in upgrading to the RA CD55! So that is "what the heck is Resolution Audio"...they seem to make the very best digital playback systems availabe today. Chow!

My experiences totally bear out what deborah1 has stated: the BEST digital playback I've heard is the 47 labs combo. It's the simplest, it has no filters, oversampling, or anything. It's a 'simple' 16/44 redbook player, yet it sounds like . . . music. It's very musical. The cd55, on the other hand, does employ 'up' sampling, and also sounds very good. Technically, it's very different (that collage education coming into play here) from the 47labs digital stuff. All one has to do is open a road & track magazine, and look at one of their tests comparing cars; there are many different ways to get from point a to point b (and rather quickly).

I just got a 2nd email from Todd Sutherland at Madrigal Audio with an attachment of their position paper on the subject of up-sampling and over-sampling. It's 3 pages long so I won't post it here, but Madrigal says it will be on their web site within a week or so. It's written basically in laymans (and womens) terms, so it's understandable, but still there is enough RED MEAT in it that I think it would be of interest to technical types also. Here's one quote from the paper: "All current Mark Levinson digital to analog converters 'upconvert' the digital signal to either 352.8 or 384 kHz, depending on the nature of the incoming signal. Why would you want us to lower our standards to only 96kHz or 192 kHz?" That question is rhetorical of course and they go on to discuss it. Jordan, I've had to eat some crow on this issue myself, but I'm happy to do it for the sake of the truth though-- crow is best eaten with a touch of salt. Carl, have you ever tasted crow? It's actually not bad. Deborah1-- I think you'd get as much out of the Madrigal position paper as I did. They're at www.madrigalaudio.com (or maybe it's just madrigal.com?? As to sound differences among different DACs/CD players, it's explained by differences is IMPLEMENTATION of digital technology re: Madrigal Audio and Theta Digital. Cheers. Craig

Sorry to steal this bandwidth for a cheap(but cheerfully thrown) jab at our favorite hothead, but I gots ta! Carl I shoulda known you were a taper (we can smell our own) anyone as angry and (you know you are, so dont get offended)anal as you are has to have spent some time in the pit fighting the "spinners" away from his Schoeps/B&K/AKG/Neumann/Sennheiser rig. Keep fighting!!!

Jordan, why is it that if knowledge is all you seek, that you are so interested in whether or not I might be wrong about something? Am I that important to you? If I did have further communication with Jeff Kalt, or anyone else, would it matter what they said? I submit that it would not. Your goal is to convince everyone that I am "dumb", and that seems childish to me. I will always be open minded about audio, and the needs of others who want to get petty and personal have no place here. Per my previous agreement with the Audiogon staff, I certainly will not get personal on this, or any other subject.