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Digital "Crispies" and the ART di/o

I was listening to Glenn Gould playing Bach Goldberg Variations (1981 recording - Sony Digital) the other night, through an Arcam Alpha 7 and ART di/o DAC and on track 17 I noticed this static, "crispy" noise along with the piano notes. Maybe it's the dac, I thought, so I hooked up the preamp to the analog out of the Arcam, and the crispies weren't there. Neither was the soundstage, and alot of timbral detail. My question: are the crispies digital dust in this recording that the ARCAM DAC did not reveal (I've only heard them on 2 tracks), or could they be lack of power in the ART di/o (I'm using the wall wart power supply that came with it), or maybe my new speakers (thiel 1.6) breaking in.

Thoughts?

Thanks!
robertd
albertporter's avatar
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albertporter
4,949 posts
 
I have not gotten to hear my ART yet. It returned from extensive mods a few days ago, and a good friend is playing it to break it in. For those who have not already heard the boring story, I am still under construction.

Is your ART stock or modified? How do you rate the performance overall, and what have you compared it to?

Sorry to ask questions when you are looking for answers, but I have not read many posts here about ART performance.
hueske
124 posts
 
Al, still under construction? Damn, you need to give me a BIG heads up when you're done, cuz Joe and I'll be making a road trip your way. I'll bring the beer, you provide the tunes. Cheers!

Brian
plato
1,543 posts
 
Which input sampling rate is your DI/O set to? If it is not 44.1 then that could be the problem and if it is the external mode then you may be losing the digital lock. The DI/O doesn't have a very wide window of tolerance in the ext. (green LED) mode. Then again, there is always the possibility that something is wrong with that particular CD. Has this happened on other CDs also?
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