On 02/12/10 12:33, TheLastMan wrote: > > Reading this thread with great interest. Most of the equipment > discussed is way out of my financial league, but I can pick up a > Transporter for under £1k now so I am seriously considering it as an > option in my system. > > There is a lot of discussion here about the bass and midrange levels of > the Transporter vs PWD kit. However in my (long and varied) experience > relative sound levels at the various frequency bands have *much* more > to do with the speakers, amplifier and listening room. > > To my ears the differences between DACs with high quality analogue > output stages are much more subtle. More to do with time-domain issues > which affect harmonics, imaging and the realism of an instrument's sound > (try listening to voices, piano, snare drum and cymbals). It will also > affect the pace, rhythm and timing of music (yes, I own Naim stuff!). > But a lack of tonal balance (boomy bass, strident treble, recessed > midrange) has much more to do with the speaker model, design, > positioning and stands. The amp can make a lesser difference to tonal > balance but most critical of all is the room acoustic. > > Put any hi-fi in a small room with timber stud walls, heavy drapes, > soft carpets, big sofas, pictures, book cases and any hi-fi will > struggle to produce decent high frequency levels unless you are sitting > absolutely at the sweet spot on-axis between the speakers. In such an > environment the lower mid-range will dominate as high frequencies will > be absorbed by the fabrics and bass standing waves and resonances > broken up by furniture. > > A large and 'hard' room with bare brick/block walls, wood or stone > floors and minimal furnishings will sound very "live" and dramatic but > also confused by reflections, bass resonances and standing waves. > "Boom and tizz" without a clear midrange is a real problem in that > situation. > > So my point is... > ...comparing PWD and Transporter in different acoustic environments > with different amps and speakers is rather pointless if you only > comment on tonal balance. You can only say what your own experience is > if you have the luck to own both of these devices and play them through > your own equipment. Somebody with different amp, speakers and acoustic > environment could well have completely the opposite experience as > regards tonal balance. > > So if you really want to be informative about how these players > compare, How realistic does a drum kit sound? > Or a choir in full voice? > Or a solo piano? > > I want the "live" experience from my hi-fi, something the Naim amps > give me in spades but they could do with a better "player" than the > Receiver.
Can someone please sticky this post? I've never seen such sense talked on this forum!! R. -- "Feed that ego and you starve the soul" - Colonel J.D. Wilkes http://www.theshackshakers.com/ _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/mailman/listinfo/audiophiles
