Guys, Here's an update. To recap I am comparing the SB3 and my Monarchy unit being used as transports. I use an external DAC.
Loudness levels --------------- I did buy the SPL meter from Radio Shack whilst I was in the States. The SPLs via the SB3 and Monarchy transports were identical (using a multi-tone signal, octave spacing from Stereophile Test CD 3). Not surprising. So we can rule that out. Mains supply ------------ On the power supply side I have improved the mains filtering. Subjectively I think it's helped the sound all round, but the gap between the SB3 and Monarchy remains. Seems the jury's out on the power supply issue (see JLM's last post and thread "SB3 and external DAC - views") and I don't have the time to go there without knowing it's going to solve it. Digital cable ------------- I haven't tried a different digital cable yet. I've been reading several other forum threads on this site and it seems the "jitter" debate is very alive (see thread "SB3 and external DAC - views"). I'm not confident enough that a new cable is going to help the SB3 with jitter more than the Monarchy. I know my current cable is a decent one, so although improvements might be possible I don't feel it will cancel the gap in performance between the SB3 and Monarchy, which is my concern. To repeat, the differences are subtle: I think the Monarchy allows the little details to just sit there and be appreciated. The SB3 reproduces those little details when I listen - it's just that I sometime don't notice them until I've first heard the same passage on the Monarchy. The point is that instruments are better separated in the soundstage, meaning the brain can recognise the individual sounds with less effort. The Monarchy seems to have a deeper, wider and less forward soundstage. The Monarchy sounds "darker", but this isn't just tone - it has a cleaner, quieter and more dynamic feel, the canvass of little notes is quieter allowing the transient louder notes to stand out more vividly. The Monarchy's bass is more dynamic and has more low-end slam too. (Ultimate frequency extension was measured as very slightly better using the LF test tones.) The Monarchy sounds better on transients - the leading edges of notes sound crisper and more real. In the end the differences are subtle. Each aspect of difference stretches the capabilities of my ears - and more likely, the rest of the hifi system - to characterise precisely in isolation. It would be easy to go into subjective ravings which certain kinds of hifi journalists seem to love, but I'm trying to be as careful as possible. I am very sure that in a less resolving system the differences would be lost, maybe entirely. On the other hand, in a more resolving system (and I admit the newest component in my system is 10 years old - see previous post) they would no doubt be a big problem. I don't know the reason still, but perhaps it can be put down to jitter. I believe Monarchy have some reputation around low jitter. Thanks, Darren -- darrenyeats ------------------------------------------------------------------------ darrenyeats's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=10799 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=33276 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
