Sources for Courses

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Fretless
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Sources for Courses

Unread post by Fretless »

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Spending 'quality time' with my downstairs system without being able to play LP's means that I have an opportunity to compare digital sources in an installation that has been almost exclusively analogue for the last year.. This is effectively my 'A' rig at the moment, despite the fact that the speakers are not posittioned optimally - they sit diagonally opposite each other with the listening-chair in the middle, so playback has more the effect of headphones. If I need a Hifi-stereo-image then I have the upstairs setup with Cubes.

The speakers are the original model Arcam One which I bouight from Huddersfield Hifi in 1984. These were a mid-price (349 pounds if I remember correctly) stand-mount loudspeaker and I think they were built by Mordaunt-Short. Cabinets are thick-walled with serious internal bracing, a two-way design with rear-port. These have always sounded gorgeous to me: rich and detailed with punch when needed. The only speakers I have heard that have a similar character are the far more expensive Spendor BC1, sonically almost identical.

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Looking a bit battered now after nearly 40 years use, but stilll sounding magnificent! The NVA preamp and PSU in this set are the same vintage and this comprised my core system up to about 2015.

So, the digital front-end(s): shown is the Denafrips Ares II DAC, this has proved itself to be an end-game unit for me after a dozen-or-more other models have passed through and been found wanting. In NOS mode, this little R2R device just creates 'Music'. Nuff said. Under the DAC is the superb Cambridge CXC CD Transport, again the last in a long succession of different drives, the CXC is a no-frills, digital-output-only device that sounds amazing and didn't cost the earth (now out in a V2 model by the way). Hooking these together is a Profigold Oxypure OCC coax cable that also blows away esoteric designs.

The other input to the DAC is from my converted, ex-hospital, fanless PC with an Intel i7 processor and loads of RAM, running Volumio OS - a dedicated operating system that does one and only one thing; processing music data files for playback. This outputs through USB and DH Labs Mirage (find a better USB cable - I challenge you!) via a budget-friendly and highly-efficient Oehlbach XXL Masterclock reclocker. I did almost nothing else for 15 years but muck about with file-based audio and this is the pinnacle of what that experience (and frustration) achieved. 'It ain't what you do - it's the way that you do it'

So, what else is there in this rig to natter about? The phono stage is inside the 'Big Knob' P50 preamp; Richard Dunn's original design which sounds awesome on any MM cartridge - including the low-output vintage Grado MCX I have now. The outboard PSU was expensive back then and cost almost as much as the A40 power amp, speaking of A40's - the current line-up has 2 mismatched A40 monoblocks with different casings but the same internals. Sounds fine. There is an NVA BMU stashed away underneath, powering the PSU, A40's and the DAC.

Hooking up DAC, preamp and power amps are 40cm lengths of DH Labs Air Matrix interconnect. DH Labs are a small US company who only make no-frills, high-quality audio leads, Their Air Matrix design coats the strands with a special foam that reduces capacitance to next-to-zero and these are a perfect match to NVA amps. Speaker leads are Supra 4.0 Classic. In the Dark Ages when NVA had shut up shop and vanished, I contacted Supra in Sweden and explained the low-capacitance needs of the amps and they said this model would work fine - and it does. (Standard disclaimer - using any speaker wire except NVA's own will void your warranty).

Actually I intended this to be a comparison between the characters of different inputs before I started rambling. Oh well, for those of you out there who are still awake ...

My passions were fired by the rediscovery of the vinyl album 18 months ago. The nostalgia, the quest for the sound that infatuated me with music in my teens. It was a shock to the inner-audiophile that all his byte-driven efforts had been for nothing. The sound of needle hitting LP, crackle, hiss, MUSIC !!!! There was no way back but the way back. Although, to be fair, it had been the acquisition of the Ares DAC with its near-as-dammit enthralling analogue feel that had initially started that ball rolling..

So there are now 3 sources to play with: LP, CD and Streamer. Let's go with the last first. The Volumio PC gives me the maximum of detail and precision. No messing - total audiophile experience with bucket loads of information and dynamics. Drawback is that this total precision robs the music of some of its 'life' but the experience is impressive. With the CXC there is a tiny 'veiling' of detail, but the music is breathing again, toes are tapping, nothing is missed. The LPs on my trusty old warhorse Logic turntable and one of Joe Grado's handmade Signature cartridges just transport me through the years and the music is alive again. maybe not the bit-perfect sonics of modern tech - but real people making real emotions.

Recent years have brought me more and more to live recordings, away from carefully-constructed studio masterpieces. Songs that tell stories, singers who know how to project emotion, players blistering their hands on instruments. Love, life, loss, joy and yearning.

These audio sources all have their own pro's and con's and it is down to me as the listener to decide what I want to hear and how. The current disability has got me spinning CD's a lot and that has reawakened my appreciation for the CXC and the little silver discs in general. They do make music and basically - that is all that matters.
These users thanked the author Fretless for the post (total 4):
slinger (Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:01 pm) • CN211276 (Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:31 pm) • antonio66 (Sat Sep 24, 2022 5:36 am) • George Hincapie (Sun Sep 25, 2022 5:58 pm)

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by slinger »

Interesting comparisons, Fret. I still find it amazing how far Cambridge has come in what seems to be a comparatively short time. I'd love to be able to try their Azur 851N network player. It's a lot more than I can justify paying though. The CXN V2 might be a possibility at some stage though, but with the current financial situation in the UK, everything is pretty much on hold for me now.
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Fretless (Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:12 pm)
Amps - NVA P50, AP30, A40, Stanislav Palo Tube Headphone Amp BB 85
Speakers - Monitor Audio Silver RX2
Cables - NVA LS1+LS3, SSC, Gotham S/PDIF, IBRA Optical
Digital - NAD C516BEE, SONY ST-SDB900 DAB TUNER, TEAC UD-H01 DAC
Analogue - Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB, Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 Phono
Cans - Grado SR80, ATH-M50X

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Fretless
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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by Fretless »

Over here there is a trade-in discount for some of the Cambridge CX V2 models at the moment.
€350 off the CXN.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by savvypaul »

I've never heard a Cambridge digital product that I could live with. I thought their DACs sounded grey and flat, the CD transport we had here for a short while was no better (easily beaten by the Audiolab transport) and their streamer was way off the pace of my PC / Sonore set up. It's a funny old game...
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Company Name: NVA Hi-Fi
https://nvahifi.co.uk/

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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by Fretless »

That Audiolab 6000CDT does look to be an excellent unit and has capabilities that exceed the CXC (which does have trouble reading some discs). Price is reasonable too.

My Cambridge DAC is an acceptable all-rounder but not a top-flight unit. The inbuilt headphone amp is a nice bonus. It does need a solid LPSU to sound its best.

The other Cambridge device I have in use is the Alva Duo phono amp. I think it is superb.

Upstairs:
Vinyl
Pro-Ject 1.2 + Grado Sig Jr + Cambridge Alva Duo
DigiVolumio PC + Kiss DP-500 + Sabaj A20d
NVA: P50sa - Cube2 - SSP - LS6+ Sabaj A10a (x2)
Downstairs:
Vinyl
Logic DM101 + Syrinx LE1 + Grado Sig MCX
DigiDenafrips Ares II + Volumio PC + Cambridge CXC
NVA: P50 - BMU+ Aiyima A07 MAX (x2) + Arcam One
HP: HifiBerry Digi+ PRO + Sabaj A10d
Office:
Allo DigiOne SIG + SMSL M300se + Douk G4 (x2)
Mission 760 + Monolith THX AAA 887
Headphones: German Maestro, Monolith & AQ

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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by slinger »

Fretless wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 1:14 pm Over here there is a trade-in discount for some of the Cambridge CX V2 models at the moment.
€350 off the CXN.
Yeah, but when you factor in the airfare, ...and would they actually take my Pi4/Digi2 Pro in part-ex? :lol:
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Fretless (Fri Sep 23, 2022 3:10 pm)
Amps - NVA P50, AP30, A40, Stanislav Palo Tube Headphone Amp BB 85
Speakers - Monitor Audio Silver RX2
Cables - NVA LS1+LS3, SSC, Gotham S/PDIF, IBRA Optical
Digital - NAD C516BEE, SONY ST-SDB900 DAB TUNER, TEAC UD-H01 DAC
Analogue - Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB, Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 Phono
Cans - Grado SR80, ATH-M50X

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CN211276
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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by CN211276 »

On the subject of this thread I came across a post on Facebook today about the Philips announcement in 1979 about the launch of CD. That was the same month I bought my first hifi system not long after I started reading the magazines. I can recall reading about this new technology in the summer of that year with the possibility that the days of vinyl were numbered. Over forty years on we still have vinyl and many prefer it to digital.

It is worth remembering that vinyl has its origins in the late nineteenth century and it took many decades before it sounded anything like it can now, recording technology aside. In comparison digital hit the ground running but in my opinion it is only in recent years that it has achieved its full potential. My belief is that the main stumbling block is the 44kHz ceiling. Though way above the range of human hearing it seems to take something away from the music, emotion is usually referred to, although it is technically far superior to analogue.

I bought my first CD player early in 1986 when discs were more available, though very expensive. The sound was different to vinyl and to me it was a case of swings and roundabouts. Some aspects of CD replay I preferred and others I did not. For extended listening I preferred analogue and never considered replacing any of my vinyl with CD versions. I stopped buying vinyl because I thought vinyl did not have a future. I have no regrets about this as all my CDs have now been ripped.

I was aware of differences between analogue and digital years before I bought a CD player because some of my favourite bands started to record digitally. Although playback was vinyl the difference in sound was apparent. The digital recordings sounded "cleaner" but something was lacking. Rainbow and the Scorpions did not sound as heavy as before, although neither band had changed direction.

Nowadays everything I play is streamed and I can easily tell the difference between what has been recorded on master tape and what has been recorded digitally. My preference is usually for analogue recordings which have been remastered. Although there is a lot of good new music around I think that, although things have improved since the early 80s, the digital recording process takes something away. I am not alone with this as when I took a guided tour of the rock n roll museum in Dublin I was informed that many bands and artists feel the same way.

Going back to play back I think that much of what the advances in digital sources can now reproduce is masked by a lack of transparency in partnering equipment. The Mscaler did nothing for me through the top of the range Rega amplifier and 3.5K WAF speakers.
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Fretless (Fri Sep 23, 2022 6:18 pm)
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by slinger »

I have just installed a "new" source, a Majority Fitzwilliam internet/DAB/DAB+/FM radio tuner, except that it can also be used as a streamer. I hooked it up, and as soon as I'd connected it to the network it recognised my NAS drives, and the "UNDOK" software remote allows me to play directly from them.

At the moment, I'm listening to "Early Rock Show Radio," and a nice blast of ELP. I've got Progzilla in my favourites now too, as well as a station that plays nothing but Pink Floyd. The real reason I wanted a decent internet radio though was to listen to some more obscure blues etc.

Anywho, it works perfectly so far. https://www.majority.co.uk/music-systems/fitzwilliam/
These users thanked the author slinger for the post (total 2):
Fretless (Fri Sep 23, 2022 6:18 pm) • antonio66 (Sat Sep 24, 2022 5:36 am)
Amps - NVA P50, AP30, A40, Stanislav Palo Tube Headphone Amp BB 85
Speakers - Monitor Audio Silver RX2
Cables - NVA LS1+LS3, SSC, Gotham S/PDIF, IBRA Optical
Digital - NAD C516BEE, SONY ST-SDB900 DAB TUNER, TEAC UD-H01 DAC
Analogue - Pro-Ject Debut Carbon Esprit SB, Graham Slee Gram Amp 2 Phono
Cans - Grado SR80, ATH-M50X

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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by karatestu »

savvypaul wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 2:00 pm I've never heard a Cambridge digital product that I could live with. I thought their DACs sounded grey and flat, the CD transport we had here for a short while was no better (easily beaten by the Audiolab transport) and their streamer was way off the pace of my PC / Sonore set up. It's a funny old game...
As this game is subjective (or should be) then results for somebody else here may be entirely different. Personally, as I am happy with a Bluetooth speaker on steroids then I am what you would call easily pleased. Give me the cheapest :dance:

I don't doubt your sincerity Paul. Times are hard and to be honest everything looks too expensive at the moment. Grey and flat doesn't sound good though
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Re: Sources for Courses

Unread post by savvypaul »

karatestu wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 8:08 pm
savvypaul wrote: Fri Sep 23, 2022 2:00 pm I've never heard a Cambridge digital product that I could live with. I thought their DACs sounded grey and flat, the CD transport we had here for a short while was no better (easily beaten by the Audiolab transport) and their streamer was way off the pace of my PC / Sonore set up. It's a funny old game...
As this game is subjective (or should be) then results for somebody else here may be entirely different. Personally, as I am happy with a Bluetooth speaker on steroids then I am what you would call easily pleased. Give me the cheapest :dance:

I don't doubt your sincerity Paul. Times are hard and to be honest everything looks too expensive at the moment. Grey and flat doesn't sound good though
I can't imagine that the future of Cambridge Audio rests upon my opinion. In many ways, I'd like to see them do well. I'm going to be trying out a pair of CA speakers that are notable for using a BMR driver for treble and midrange, enabling a very simple crossover at a frequency that is much lower than usual. David Price raves about them and reckons the little NVA S80 is exceptional with them. I snaffled a very cheap pair off eBay
These users thanked the author savvypaul for the post (total 2):
Fretless (Sat Sep 24, 2022 11:33 am) • karatestu (Sat Sep 24, 2022 11:54 am)
I am in the hi-fi trade
Status: Manufacturer
Company Name: NVA Hi-Fi
https://nvahifi.co.uk/

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