I have a SB Touch (org. PSU) > Coax > Supernait (Hicapped) > NACA5 >
Harbeth SuperHL5
Just to explain: with 'subjectively' I meant that I know when the
modded touch is playing in the comparisons. With objectively I meant
that I do not know what I am hearing. This is probably not the right
choice of wording. :)
I listened for first 1-3 minutes to either Philip Glass, Primacy of a
number from Naqoikatsi and Agnes obel, Just so.
In the comparisons, I run the Touch (both modded and default) connected
to ethernet and with flac decoded on the server to PCM. The mods include
all software mods on the device. Buffer is set to 4400us. All
inputs/outputs are disabled except the digital-out of course. Both
switching to ethernet and server flac decoding do not change the SQ in
my system in my perception, but I stick with it because it does not
hurt SQ either. Server side FLAC decoding once did make a clear
difference on the SB3, but that was only with one specific release of
slimserver/firmware. I stuck with it anyhow, as my own best practice.
Because of the 20 second boot-time after randomizing the "tt-e" or
"tt-d", and the subtle difference, it is quite difficult to identify if
the Touch is played modded. (I put a cloth over the touch, so I could
not see if the mod was effective, and initiated a simple randomized
AutoIT script running on my PC from my iPad through an RDP session).
However, I also compared the a SB3 (connected through wi-fi) and the
(either default/modded Touch). Comparisons are easy, when you switch
players the difference is immediately apparent. ('subjectively', I now
know when I hearing the modded Touch). Especially that the soundstage
is 'one notch' larger and detail improvement is striking.
On my Supernait the unmodded Touch is consistently similar to the SB3.
This is probably due to the reclocking nature of the Supernait.
However, directly A/B-ing the modded Touch to my SB3, the difference is
significant in my perception. This is aligned with the wow-effect I had,
first time I heard the mod.
Doing a true blind, A/B test with 2 Touch players (one modded and the
other not) would very probably make comparisons much easier, because
you can switch directly, making the difference much easier to
distinguish.
In my professional life, I publish independent performance research
white papers of virtualization technologies, which are heavily
scrutinized by both the IT community and the major vendors. Mayby this
explains why I put so much effort in analyzing the mod. Whatever, I am
finished analyzing, and will go back to enjoying music.
--
Flextreme
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