2. digital
  3. 1049516590

Do Transports Matter???

I borrowed an outboard D/A from a friend to try in my system. My intent was to hook the analog outs on my CDP to one input on my preamp and the analog outs of the DAC to another input so I could a/b my player with and without the DAC. However something is wrong with the digital out on my player because I couldn't lock a siginal with the DAC. So I grabbed my pioneer DVD Player and hooked it up as a transport. Everything sounds awesome, made a big difference in my system(won't go into details). The outboard also puts the DVD players onboard DAC to shame(well duh). But this of course also made me wonder if using a different transport(my cdp if it worked)would make any difference?? In reality the DVD player is reading the CD and sending 0s and 1s to the DAC where its reclocked anyway. I know that sometimes little things make a difference, even though on paper they shouldn't. Being this is my first expirence with an outboard DAC, I am just curious if what you use as a transport makes any difference
brianvoelz
tok20000's avatar
tok20000
608 posts
 
Redbeard, I have heard it many times over how much an AC cord makes on a transport or CDP or DAC. Read my reviews of AC cords here at Audiogon. 3 years ago I was skeptical like yourself. But now, I would swear on a stack ob Bibles now that I have heard MAJOR differences in the sonics of a system by just changing out AC cords on the transport.

KF
redbeard
14 posts
 
Mejames,

I've heard that painting you room a different color also improves the sound. Have you tried that?

For anyone who is interested in the engineering principles behind DACS (as opposed to VooDoo engineering) here is a link to a great website:

http://members.chello.nl/~m.heijligers/DAChtml/dactop.htm

And one on a jitter free PLL:
http://members.chello.nl/~m.heijligers/DAChtml/PLL/PLL1.htm
elgordo
530 posts
 
There was another person with a red beard a few years back...Vincent Van Gogh. He wasn't an audiophile though - didn't have the ear for it.
mejames
986 posts
 
Redbeard, maybe this site isn't for you. People here have learned to believe what they are hearing and even if its not possible to measure a change doesn't mean a sonic improvement hasn't occurred.
pbb
1,140 posts
 
Redbeard, your an audiophile after my own heart. Long ago, on this site, I infuriated a few folks by suggesting that since what the speaker is moving is the air in the room, it should be fragrant to sound better. I even suggested that French perfume was the only thing for products from that country, such as JM Lab Utopias and the like, but that, having Bryston and Canadian speakers from a large manufacturer because of my limited means, that a pine scented air-freshener was best in my case. Insofar as the paint on the walls, obviously the colour of the paint does have psychoacoustic consequences. The texture is very important also, the best being an eggshell finish. You may have a tough row to hoe with this crowd though if you only bring science, technical know-how or plain common sense to the table. Good luck.
More to discover