Gerard, Leon, what a "report" !
Let me first thank you both for your honesty, and the excessive time it must have taken you to detail this all out. Especially the emphasis on the "bad stuff" is good; Nothing less than I would like when it's about the software, and of course a necessity to improve (upon).
So to start with this "bad stuff" ... yes, I am the first to "state" that no such thing like a DAC which is "good in" certain types of music should exist, but that day -to my own surprise- it happened that it was not the case. And indeed, only a matter of the volume control being in there (though not active at all) is enough to "destroy". That this can (audibly) happen to one type of music (that we found) is a most peculiar thing, but just the case (as I know and knew already). Anyway, although done off line already, apologizes that it happened like that, which of course wasn't inentional and I didn't know it myself.
More interesting for you both maybe, is the again "learning" what one can listen for, without even knowing the music itself. In this case -and as you briefly implied yourself in your report- I could hear in general that something was wrong, just by not knowing what I was listening to. Thus, in this case this was about the impossibility to hear whether there were violins or synths in the background; two things happen here : 1. it should be distinguishable in the first place (ok, with this DAC it would) and 2. there shouldn't even be attention to it. The latter like I said in my quoted response (similar) "I can't even listen anymore to violins or synths because now it's about the voice". So, no matter how impossible it may sound to everybody, this is just a measure, once you are over some hurdles.
That "strange" design ... Wel, for others, here it is :
It could have been "square" (as large) just the same, that middle compartment being somewhere in there. But actually this is about 5 different compartments, them being there to avoid radiating influences. The DAC itself is in the middle.
At this moment there is a connection at the left back (top) side which just is a mistake (it now takes unnecessary "sticking out" space at the back, as there are connections at the right outside side of the upper left leg. I must honesty say that I thought these wouldn't harm, but since Gerard mentioned that it could be an ugly "out sticking" thing in a nice stereo tower, it should go to the inner side somewhere. Not sure that can be done though.
Btw, quite unbelieveable, but I have this cabinet for over 6 weeks now, and it still changes.
!
Oh, of course this in an unpainted proto.
After these women, it was time for the other selections and this time the DAC never failed. Regardless whether we listened to the blues of John Lee Hooker, the by piano supported jazz of Diana Krall or the electronic of Yello it all came to us in rich details and very very well balanced. With wonderful placing of the instruments in the space and an extreme purity from the lowest low to the highest high.
It is not important at all, but I recall my own joy with the Diana Krall track, everybody being astouned about the power of her voice and seeing her literally singing with her head above the wing (piano), me not in the last place because I don't like her much. So why my joy ? Well, while everybody was happy with the result (I think this followed the bummer on the other two ladies) I *said* it was all nothing much, and nobody could understand. And, with a "wait, I'll let you hear some Ray Brown" and the following question "now, what was wrong with Krall there ?" the answer was unanimous : the wing. This time, however, it was about the poor quality (and for me a real disturbance) how indeed badly recorded the wing was, if compared with a better one. The essence though was (for all of us I think), that this is so clearly audible, and a virtue with that.
But as said, not important at all, and I just had a good time with it, so much saying in advance I don't like Krall, the next evening immediately playing full records of her; I said it before, I said it when you were there, and I keep on saying it : once things really work out, there isn't much music not to like. May it be Krall, Beatles and even house (what about the details Infected Mushroom spreads out. Oops).
Now we don’t know whether is was the Schumann Synchronizer or just the way we normally would respond, but we tried to adjust our way of listening to all the tracks to the way Peter is obviously judging his own system.
Hmm ... This didn't quite come forward during the "session", but I feel this must be related to your remark afterwards "we should have been prepared better". Am I right ? Right or not, you both said that, so how would you prepare a next time ? Just curious ...
From what we heard throughout the day we are convinced this DAC is potentially one of the best and will upgrade the way we enjoy listening to music to a new level.
Thank you guys. I can't be sure whether you mean "we at our homes with a new DAC" or "the future of music";
I won't force you to say the latter, but it sure is what *I* am after, knowing it is just possible to outrageously outperform anything what exists at the moment. But it is so fragile ... I mean, no matter a cymbal at last sounds like a cymbal, there's also this strange dimension of "it has to work" which almost seems a contradiction. So, let's admit it : without any cymbal, and even with grainy stuff, music can still work, and may still draw tears. Also, I think we'll all agree that the latter may be even more important than the more technical thing like a cymbal sounding like a cymbal (no matter how very hard that is by itself). Both have to work, and the "working" thing is hard to control. Also hard to notice. That's why I always say that it takes 5 days to judge a change; it gives the opportunity to run into anomalies, may it be a cymbal not working with hiphop somehow, or an Emma Shapplin suddenly eating herself. So ok ... it's taking me long enough to make it 100% (to my own ideas), and while I know what that is, I still have to learn to change exactly *nothing* when an audition is coming up, no matter I think it will be unrelated. So that won't ever happen again.
One more thing to add, just because I feel it's importance :
Telstar too experienced the same "doesn't work" phenomenon. Of course this was 16 months ago, and with a version of the DAC which was totally "nothing" compared to what it is now. So, then too, this was about the "interest" of the technical thing (not heard in other DACs I know of) against the "does it daw tears" which is just in another leage, and btw also unrelated to foot tapping;
I guess it will be THE challenge for me, having Telstar over again in due time, with the advice of being prepared at saving some tears for this visit. In other words, at this moment I will leave it to him whether that now works out in full, knowing that not everybody has as many tears spare for a thing like this. So, Lisa Gerard and Emma Shapplin just were out of key because some technical failure, which is really in a different leage again from something which sounds normal to me, but would let another man cry ... or not because it just doesn't happen.
Telstar, you're welcome. And needed I guess.
Peter
