31 July, 2020

Western Electric 49 124 LS5/1A


Click pics to enlarge. Wow! Western Electric and LS5/1! Green with Envy! Left, WE 49, used as Preamp.

Virtual Home Visits (13): Western Electric and LS5/1A

Your host today is Mila, a member of icefox's entourage. You first met him in 2018, when the icefox crowd came to my place for some bluetooth activity (here). I actually visited him at his home to listen to his LS5/1A. That's right, another pair of this rare gem (see write up on Jules' pair; also Home Visit (8)). Like Jules too, Mila fell under the spell of Western Electric.

Mila operates a Hair Salon in a trendy area. Guess what's special about the place?

Note the couch and single ESL57 are by the window opening to the street. Would be nice to sit there and have a drink! Note too the poster is for what many film critics all over the world have included in their best ever list, Wong Kar Wai's In the Mood for Love (wiki), an authentic remembrance for a bygone Hong Kong (I can swear to its authenticity, especially the conductor's Shanghaiese elements).

The Youtube below is what icefox heard on the ESL. It is Yumeji's Theme, used throughout the film, originally from another Japanese film. Note Maggie Cheung's dress is called the qipao,(wiki), commonly worn by women in those days (including my mother). It is sad that it is almost a relic today, especially since I think they are particularly suited to the physique of Chinese ladies.

 WE124. Garrard 301; SME 3012/Shure M3D; Gray/Mono GE








Above, YS Audio Phono and WE 91A Repeat Coil Transformers

 Rogers JR149, Quad ESL 57






30 July, 2020

Audio Note Overview Integrated CD Zero AX2 OTO PP SE DAC2 TT1 AN K J E Kit 1 4 Preamp

Review: Two Audio Note Systems (Levels Zero and Two)
Overview: Audio Note (UK)

As I got to know them better, I learned that our Indian Trinity Vivek, Prem and audiopro are all prominent members of the Indian audio community. Given the hurdles Indian audiophiles face (like the difficulty of sourcing less popular brands, and the prohibitive import duties levied at individuals) it continues to amaze me how the community "gets so much done", a showcase of determination and stamina.

Coincidentally, in the not so distant past, Vivek and audiopro had both reviewed full ANUK systems. Full system reviews are rarer and valuable. This article starts with their Reviews and is followed by my Overview of ANUK - about time.

pic from India's HiFi Today. Click to enlarge.

Level Zero System
In 2018, Vivek reviewed the ANUK Level Zero System for India's HiFi Today. This is still top entry if you google ANUK Zero. I must say, very honest review and Kudos to the webzine (which seems to have ceased operation)! Vivek had reservations about the CD Player and called over some of his friends for referencing. Some of our magazines will never say things like that!

It is the current Zero System, which differ in many ways from the original Zero components that I'd go over in the Overview (the AX2 appears to have been d/c'ed by ANUK). The originals were housed in plainer aluminum project boxes and significantly cheaper. The current Zero's obviously are pivoted to a different crowd, the "entry high-end" aspirants rather than the more experienced "bargain hunters and adventurers". The amp is similar in design but the DAC of the current Zero is a NOS design that uses the iconic TDA-1543 whereas the older one was a delta-sigma design.

On the 6111 These sub-minature double-triodes of military origin have to be directly soldered onto the circuit board but they are cheap, space-saving and sonically OK (no tube rolling!). ANUK used them widely in the original Zero and One series. They are very durable that after all these years the units are still in function and failures are rare. Others use them too, like Tim Paravicini in the Quad QC-24 Preamp. The related nuvistor 6112 is used in many high-end Musical Fidelity Products (which are decent sounding).

On the ECL82/6BM8 Tube This tall Noval Tube combines a Beam power tube section with a short Triode section. Space saving, as four of these can make an amp, with the 4 Triode sections used as splitter/driver (even simple phono) and the 4 Beams used as 2 push-pull pairs. There were many lower-end vintage amps that used this (as well as the similar ECL86/6GW8, like in the iconic Rogers Cadet series). ECL82 is also popularly used as a power regulator tube (as in my Shindo Monbrison). The Japanese also love to make an elegant SE amp out of it (as in the older Elekit TU-870R and San Ei). There are even more similar tubes, like the PCL86/14GW8 (higher filament, used in the current Elekit TU-8100).

I actually once owned the AN-K loudspeaker that Vivek wished he had heard, but I will deal with that in the Overview - it'd not be entirely as he expected.


pic shows CDT-2 Transport used with DAC 2.1x. The Turntable is Pro-ject X-tension 9.

Level Two System
Around the same time audiopro published his review in hifivision. audiopro was rather self-effacing, and gave his general impressions of the system. Make sure you read the whole thread for other people's favorable audition impressions (like DAC2 vs Chord 2Qute, and TT1). As audiopro did not give basic info on the stuff, I shall supply it.

OTO has always been in the ANUK lineup. It's original iteration was an integrated amp using EL84 PP. Its preamp and amp sections were separately marketed as M1 and P1. I have heard it in second hand shops but given my understanding of the brilliant vintage EL84 PP amps (the likes of Eico, Dynaco, Pilot, Fisher etc), the OTO (PP) was only fair. I have also once owned the M1, sweet, but its broad-stroke and lack of detail made me sell it after a short possession.

Interestingly, the current OTO PP has switched tubes! It now uses the 6005/6AQ5, which is the 6V6 with a different pin-out and in a smaller envelope. Now, this is a good sounding tube (see my Elekit Tu-8150 post; and NOS are cheap, and one can use adaptors to use 6V6)! And it also uses 1 x 5670, which is a good sounding tube, especially with  WE 2C51/396A. I'd not mind auditioning this one (just for curiosity, not that I have much expectation), particularly since I know the old ANUK Kit 4 (6V6 PP, see Overview).

As for the OTO SE, it is a different animal. It uses 4 x EL84, meaning Parallel SE (PSE) of 2 EL84 per channel. Understandably, that roughly doubles the power of SE and makes it fit (squeeze) into the "real world" (driving loudspeakers), but imho this is also a small compromise. Compared to SE, I think PSE introduces timing errors (as does PP) as no 2 tubes, no matter how "matched" can ever be the same. If this is the case, I'd rather have PP. My experience with the excellent Manley Retro PSE/PP 300B amp is a case in point. After much comparison, I preferred the PP to the PSE. PSE is neither here nor there. Of course, similar doubts can be harbored about most OTL amps, which parallel the tubes for more power. Another point, as a great admirer of the EL84 tube, I am not a fan of the Russian or JJ tube (tighter and more upfront than old-stock) and I'd definitely judge by old-stock tubes, which are more expensive. audiopro's expereince seems to agree with me. He invested a lot in good tubes. He maintains only by using the expenisve Bendix 6094 (with adaptors) and rolling Telefinken and Amperex in input tubes was he able to get the best result.

True SE EL84 Because of its low power (just a little more than SE 6V6), only boutique brands would make SE EL84. Almarro (defunct) made a nice one, the cheap A205(A). I once heard the very expensive Wavelength (generally good but not exceptional, including their 300B), and it was not bad but not as good as the vintage ones and overpriced. Many people do not know, but there are actually some very nice vintage SE EL84 vintage amps which can be had on the cheap (like my overachieving Conar, Heathkit AA-191 and the even earlier EA-1). The vintage transformers are way better, one may safely conclude.

DAC 2 Unless I am mistaken, the one audiopro used is the standard DAC 2.1x, there being also a Signature version (review of Art Dudley). I know ANUK DAC well because I once owned an early DAC 2 (here), which is now with my friend Seng (having passed through one more pair of hands). The earlier version (may not have been NOS) used the 20-bit PCM63 (a great chip), employed the same transformer I/V conversion and used the same 6DJ8 tubes. The current 2.1x uses the 18-bit AD 1865 chip and adds tube rectification (a 6X5).

The pic shows audiopro's older Pro-ject Xtension 9 turntable. He later replaced it with the Audio Note TT1 (as the comment in that thread said) and had tried both the IQ1 and IQ3 (basically modified Goldring's).

For the loudspeaker, audiopro briefly tried the AN-E but felt it was too big for his room.

He also briefly had the Meishu. He said "...it is impossible to get a good 6SN7 tube. The Ken Rads are always noisy and the Sylvania just lack magic. The new sovteks are crappy. At that time AN introduced their own 300B tube which costs USD 2000. I got one pair on demo and it was super coloured. Also the Meishu lacked dyamics - in fact I felt the OTO is a better amp overall..."

*****
Overview: Audio Note UK
This Overview is skewed towards the lower levels, as I think the higher levels are absurdly over-priced. I am most familiar with the discontinued UK Kits and the original Zero series. ANUK is not exactly my taste but, given its popularity, I sure have owned a few and heard a lot!

Who are ANUK? Headman Peter Qvortrup is not even a designer, but he knows what he wants, including the name Audio Note, which he basically wrangled ignominiously from Kondo san. He was a successful salesman turned entrepreneur. On Electronics, his chief designer is Andy Groves, whose designs are rather predictable, rarely inspiring. The other designer (loudspeakers mostly), also tasked with other duties, was Andy Whittle, who hailed from, and is now back with, Rogers.

How Innovative are Their Designs? Overall, ANUK's designs are completely derivative. The one exception is the use of transformers for I/V Conversion in their DACs. This will be dealt with more in Product Categories below. Otherwise, from circuits to parts they are highly derivative.

OEM Audio Note/Andy Grove also designed and manufactured for other companies, like the Rogers E20A amp (to be re-released; I had one), and also Quad II-40. You can say that they have a generic Andy Grove sound. ANUK is also supplier of parts for some small companies, as we shall see later (the case of Audion).

Then and Now Night and Day. Then, ANUK was an interesting company that I kind of rooted for, with its generally well received bargain Kits arm. Up to the time of the highly affordable Zero series, they had simpler offerings. Fast forward to now, it is absurdly over-priced big business, with an opportunistic sales strategy.

Their True Color Make no mistake, ANUK products are mostly highly colored. BUT, to be fair, under a lot of circumstances, given the general pallor of modern products, it can be beneficial, or remedial to have some color. I'd say most ANUK products are used outside of all-ANUK complete systems, because of this MSG. ANUK is all about the FIRST WATT, the Jump Factor, and Presence, not wrong priorities for SE Amps, but in my opinion many Japanese designers (not to mention Kondo) do it a lot better than he does. And, mostly, this kind of sound can be accomplished for a lot less money. That said, a full system of ANUK usually sounds not bad, even in show conditions. But if you listen long, you will find out more.

From DIY Mentality to Marketing Ploy ANUK was probably the first in the world of audio to consistently seize on and deploy this Level and Upgrade business (and there is also the Signature option within a Level). The "genius" is to market the DIY mentality ("better components equals better sound", which I have reservations about) to the general, non-DIY customer. This business model is highly successful and now much emulated, witness the likes ofAN Kit operation, Sophia Electric (I had the misfortune of listening to my friend Karma's 300B amp, stiff and lifeless) etc. Take basically the same circuit, add rectifier, perhaps regulator, add more and more transformers; "upgrade" the caps, change the cables from copper to silver. Does that make the product better? That's exactly what a DIYer would think, but having heard so many terrible DIY products that use the most expensive parts, I can assure you that is not the case.

Quality Parts? ANUK has always touted its own use of quality parts, but how good are they? Whatever Kondo does, ANUK has to prove that they can do it. Kondo had LONG made their own transformers and components and relatively recently ANUK also started to "make" their own components and partnered with others for their "special" tubes. Transformers A tube amplification company stands or falls on the quality of its irons. ANUK in particular, beside the Power and Output Transformers, also use Transformer I/V Conversion and Interstage Transformers (imho the hardest to do right). They must know what they are doing, right? But I have my doubts; at the very least, I don't think they are complete masters of their art. As I shall detail below, I have listened to a lot of their amplifications, and not one will I call great. This is mostly about Preamps and SE amps, where ANUK amps cannot compete with their Japanese Counterparts. Aside from listening impressions, there are some little known (to Westerners) aspects. As I have mentioned, ANUK supplied parts to some smaller operations. Audion is a UK company that has a cult following. Early on, they made SE amps (with ANUK transformers) in small but attractive chassis that were terrible at heat dissipation. Add to this use of components that were almost under-spec'ed relative to output, and breakdowns were inevitable and common. Here, a well known Taiwanese Technician who is versed in winding transformers was SHOCKED at the lousy quality of the transformers (in winding, grounding and isolation). Make sure you look at the many pics. Atrocious, and unconscionable. Caps ANUK started with Jensen PIO and then proceeded to "make" their own. Both Jensen and ANUK caps, at least earlier on, had reliability problems, in particular, leakage. They are also highly colored. A little here and there may sound good, but using those across the board is not a good idea. And now ANUK is "making" resistors...Good luck. Tubes This is a fad. Sophia does it, ANUK does it. All those tubes (including Psvane, 6SN7, "CV181") are at most the same generic Chinese tubes in different envelopes and base, but selling at inflated prices. And they are highly colored. Take the "globed" 300B/4300, I have heard the earlier Sophia 300B and "2A3" and they are absolutely garbage (overly warm and woolly). The sound veers so much off 300B it's not even funny. To be fair, American  reviewers (and others) are largely to blame too. They know so little about tubes that they are easy to fool and they praise all these rip-off's. Yes, current tubes have improved but tube rollers need to hear the old-stock tubes (in proper condition) to know what a tube should sound like. Circuit Board You know how little these cost. Just look at the Chinese offerings on Ebay. What I can hardly accept is even high level products use circuit boards, not hard-wire. What quality is that? Industrial Design None. Big Black project box, all of them. The current aluminum front plate is uglier than the black acrylic of yore. You pay all that money and get a box like that? All you have to do is compare Kondo and ANUK and you will see how crude ANUK is. Wavac, Zanden, Yamamoto, all look much better. Even the bargain Elekits and Sun Valley products look way better! Think about Linear Tube Audio, very unique and great industrial design!

To sum up, today, I actually think, for the money, at any level, ANUK is low in build quality and high in profit. And now to the products.

KITS (UK) I am not talking about the current Canadian Audio Note Kits (ANK), which has taken a similar approach but there are big differences. Even though I have doubts about the ANUK trannies, the ANK's Hammonds are likely even worse. I shall be guarded also because in Hong Kong I have seen all kinds of components and combinations that make one worry about just how officially sanctioned ANK is. ANUK had many kits and I only treat here the ones I am familiar with:
  • Kit 1 This is the most famous one, and the best. It was also the first ANUK I owned, as well as my first SET amp. At that point I hadn't picked up the solder so mine was assembled for me. Brand new, it took quite a while to run in. After the Kit 1, I owned many 300B amps, including the Audion Golden Night, Japanese Advance, Sun Audio, Cary's kit, AES-1 etc. The Kit 1 uses 5U4, 2x300B, 6SN7 and 2x5687, is a good amp, with surprising driving power (and was better than ANUK's finished products) but, in comparison with some of the others, has a trace of brightness that I could not rid of, which was why I sold it. Later, I got the Welborne and ultimately the Verdier and Wavac, and that was really another level. But this is an iconic product, and much emulated. Kit 3 This is the PSE monoblock version of Kit 1 (pic can be seen here) but I have not heard it. Kit 2 is a similar amp on the same chassis but SE 6550 (see here; pic here); It is rare and I've not heard it.
  • Kit 4 I bought one in HK and delayed the building for many years. Finally, I did it but I misplaced the back plate so cosmetically it was not complete. It came with horrible Russian and Chinese tubes; at least 2 6V6s failed so I had to replace them with old-stock. The sound was smeared and not good. On the net there were good user reviews (here and here), so perhaps I had not run it in (my Kit 1 did take quite a while). Somehow I highly doubt it will hold up to my cheap vintage Grommes and Bell.
  • Preamp Kit Mine was the original one which I bought used. The net is now dominated by the current ANK so old entries are hard to come by. It looks like this one. Suffice to say sound was a bit veiled, not very extended on both ends. It did not stay with me too long. This is most likely due to weakness of the line stage (see below).
  • Phonoamp Kit Mine was the original one which I bought second hand (details here). Although the phono section looks similar to that in the Preamp Kit, it sounds better, which leads one to think the line section of the preamp kit was not very good (not surprising).
Zero (Original) These were reviewed in Positive Feedback. For the difference between them and the current Zero series, see above. As I have many tube preamps and amps I was not interested in the preamp and amp. They were very reasonably priced (especially in HK), sold pretty well and many second-hand units were available, so I bought used. DAC Zero and CDT Zero These worked well and sounded good. For the price they were bargains. DAC One 1x This is highly confusing. Although it says ONE, it is in a Zero series enclosure, and in this TNT review was regarded as part of the Zero series. It uses the same AD1865 chip ANUK uses now. There is also a Signature version. This was my first NOS DAC and I was able to A/B with the Zero. There is little question the 1x is more fluid. In particular, better bass articulation. A fine little DAC  for the money.

Digitals DAC is where ANUK scores higher with their NOS and proprietary I/V conversion. However, I have always thought their Transports ridiculously overpriced. DAC 2 My original one I have written a lot about (here). As for higher levels I have heard them many times. My good friend WSS used the CDT-4/DAC5 but many times the combo did not perform well (as in here, but it was better after some servicing), so I have my reservations. WSS' friend ML has a constantly evolving system worth tens of thousands. He always has 2 full digital systems (top dCS, Metronome etc). And so I have heard the top of the line CDT-6/Fifth Element. Was it impressive? I can't really say. I was good but I didn't hear the kind of NOS that I like, a more lithe kind.

Amps AN amps are totally derived from experience with Kondo. That they keep using the iconic Ongaku name is really regrettable Cultural Appropriation (more serious offense than the "Kimono" incidence if you ask me). In fact, considering their split from AN Japan, their continued use of Japanese names is just sleazy and vengeful. When I still had the Kit 1, one day there was a 300B amp shootout where some one brought the Conqueror. What a misnomer! The Kit 1 walked all over it. We opened it up and the stacked output trannies were just half the size of the Kit 1. I later heard the much more expensive monoblock Quest, which was more commensurate, but not superior, in performance. Meishu I heard this at the second-hand shop. Not too impressed and I thought my Kit 1 was as good. And that HUGE box was really ugly. Jinro My friend WSS has the Jinro (amp version, here) but we all preferred the Quad amps.

Preamps Again, here ANUK was really derived from Kondo, including use of tubes like 6072 and 5687. M1 I had an early version that used the 12AU7. Sweet but lacking in resolution. Perhaps a little better than the Preamp Kit, but nothing to write home about. Sold it quickly. M8 Again, WSS (and our friend Joe) uses the M8 and we have heard it many times. Not bad, but pricey.

Analog The ANUK turntables are all derived from classics. TT1 The TT1 is basically a Systemdek. It is a good turntable, imho competitive with the Linn LP12, no credit to ANUK. My old version came with a silver wired modified Rega arm (probably Arm 2). The TT2 looks like also an updated Systemdek also. As for the TT3, it is basically a reworked Voyd Triple-Motor with different cosmetics. ANUK's new arms are made in Austria, most probably by Pro-ject. I seriously doubt they are better than the older Rega's. As for Cartridges, the IQ's are basically modified Goldring's. Titanium cantilever? Doesn't sound right to me.

Loudspeakers Except for the budget ones designed by Andy Whittle, all the loudspeakers are basically based on Snell's. And I have heard Snells. They always sound at ease, if a little weak in the bass. AN-K I owned this one. It was very fine and coherent in the treble and midband, but the bass was a loose with tube amps. I sold them to a photographer friend together with the Micromega Tempo (solid state but sweet) amp. I went to his home and set it up. I was astonished at how much better they sounded together. Like many UK (or not) loudspeakers, the Celestion SL6, Spendor SP1/2, Harbeth Compact 7 and HL5, B and W Matrix 805 and many more, it responds to solid state better than tubes. This is ironic for a tube based company! The fallacy in the corner loading is that while it will improve the bass it won't make the woofer respond better when it comes to tube amps. AN-J/E I have heard these many times and because of increased size they have a fulller bass, but they are still cut from the same cloth. All these loudspeakers will work better with a good solid state amp and they are not that efficient and certainly not ideal for SE amps like 300B or 2A3. No matter how you slice it, NOT efficient enough. AX/AZ These are from ANUK's own (Andy Whittle) designs. They look rather DIY. I am not sure which models I heard in people's homes or second-hand stores (heard both bookshelves and floorstanders) but I remember they were cheap and the sound was fairly balanced. ANUK now is so upscale they largely don't bother with these.

Cables Don't get me started. As you all know, I use mostly professional cables and frown upon most audiophile cables. But, I do know some of these ANUK cables. I know some of the older loudspeaker cables, which likely has remained unchanged. The old AN-B was musical but had a hopelessly under-damped bass (I believe this is deliberate to compensate for the loudspeakers' faults). The AN-L was better. In terms of Interconnects, I have 2 vintage AN silver cables from a long time ago, before the schism. The QSSC and the AN-V. These are soft and probably correspond more to the current Kondo cables than the stiffer ANUK silver ones. Both of these are smooth but have a midrange suckout so very common to silver cables. I personally prefer the Kimber KCAG  So, I shall not be enthusiastic about their cables. At WSS' place, the Belden 1694A trounced everything, including a current ANUK Digital Coaxial Cable. My advice, forget it.

I have actually heard a lot more isolated ANUKs in various systems. The point is, I think ANUK's System Approach, touted by themselves as a holistic one, actually comprises many patches not dissimilar to computer operation. They know where the holes are, and they patch them, but a good OS it is NOT.

29 July, 2020

DIY Kondo M7

Click pics to enlarge. PS Audio Lambda and Ultralink II. Clone Kondo M7.

Virtual Home Visit (12): DIY Galore

Modified August 7, 2020: The host actually designed ALL his PCBs; none from outside suppliers.

Our yumcha friend Thomasfw is a DIYer of some repute. Like many DIYers, I think he derives more pleasure from making things than listening to them.

If you look at the pics, you shall see work of a high standard. And they are not cheap because they use boutique parts like M-cap and Leader volume control from hificollective. ALL of the boards are designed by our host himself (he is in the industry!)

Clone Kondo M7s
Actually you may have read about its prototype before. It is buried deep in this article (roll down to the David vs Goliath section). I quote:

Surprise! David vs Goliath? As it happened, our yumcha friend davewong had been building a Kondo-clone preamp based on the very simply laid out boards by thomasfw. Since it is said to be a Kondo-clone, I expressed an interest to hear it (a very rare occurrence). Suffice to say, davewong geared up and had the prototype ready that day (click on right pic to enlarge), so we took it along to Jules. The DIY preamp employed 6X4 rectification and MOSFET regulation. For the line section, the two triodes of the 12AX7 were coupled and output was cathode follower. No exotic components were used - Dale resistors and Wima red caps for the line section; Philips caps for the power section. Sound The Kondo clone actually sounded quite decent. It seemed to be modern sounding, with a surprisingly fast leading edge (methinks faster than the Koda). Immediately, there were more air and a deeper soundstage, and the front corners were better illuminated. With the jazz CD, virtues were more split: the percussion had better rhythmic expression and exactitude with the Kondo clone; the saxophone and guitar sounded much fuller with the Koda - a surprise as usually one would expect the reverse. A Little Tube Rolling As there were Europhiles present, Valvo long plate's were swapped in for the RCA (D getter, grey plates). Immediately, the saxophone and guitar sounded much fleshier and much closer to the Koda, but at a cost - the percussion lost almost all of the snap (a price I personally would not pay). The Votes Though still a flawed prototype, some of us preferred the DIY tube preamp, but pluto, a DIY man, admired the Koda. As you see, it was not quite a David vs Goliath scenario. Suffice to say, both the DIY kit and the solid state Koda met with our approval, and (except for pluto and maybe jules) this is a rather hard-core tube crowd! After this, we reconnected the Koda and listened to analogue playback.

Detour: Kondo Clone vs Kondo/Audio Note Japan M7 After I got home, I actually briefly compared it to my own Audio Note Japan M7 (the one in the pic). Both are quite neutral sounding so it is hard to say whether they sound alike, but the challenger was obviously a little on the lean side and rhythmically a little too insistent, without the M7's subtle and articulate nature. Still, a respectable showing!

Kondo M7, Phono section derived from ANUK. ChineseInput and Output Transformers, 
4 for about USD 400. Phono Board Self-drawn.
Dual Mono Power Supply derived from Kondo M1000 
Small Listening Environment
Another Clone M7 next to SE EL84 with Tango Output Transformers
Inside the M7 Line
Inside the SE EL84

28 July, 2020

Old Dogs Have to Learn New Tricks

New York Diary (20-22): Old Dog; In the Small Hours


The Pandemic makes me feel like a looped piece of music, played over and over again. It's the same everyday as days turn into months, hopefully not into years.

I get to bed early, usually around nine, but recently I get into my bed a little earlier and listen to a bit of headphone, falling asleep in the process. I wake up usually in the middle of the night; sometimes I can fall back to sleep, sometimes not.

Comfort Music Today I got up at 4 am, turned on my audio and made coffee. I listened at very low volume. I have done this before, and I did it again: I listened to two CDs of Bach Violin Concertos. The Most Universal of Composers, Played by Two of the Greatest Violinists of all time, Arthur Grumiaux and Henryk Szeryng in old fashioned performances. It is comfort music in the best sense. It is incredible how much microdynamics there is in this newest system iteration: Micromega Stage 2 CDP, Yamamoto CA-04 Preamp, Akitika Amp, Almarro M1A loudspeakers. In the near future you shall be reading about  the Micromega and the Yamamoto.




Learning New Tricks Old dogs these days have to learn new tricks! Blog Authors Beware! As soon as I started writing on my chromebook, I got irritated. Since yesterday afternoon, the Blog Editor/Interface got a superficial face lift for no good reason. The draft page border disappeared and is now at one with the white background - how silly can that be? On the draft page, youtube will not display either. Still, I tried to get used to it but was flummoxed when I could not align the picture with the title. I reverted back to the legacy interface and everything was better. Trouble looms ahead as the legacy interface will be dropped after mid August. I expect more trouble with pictures. The legacy interface was not the greatest to start with, but the new one is worse, downright broken. Does that sound familiar? Sure, does that not remind you of the Windows experience? My view is, the earlier the more user friendly. The Brave New World Young People now think they own the world. Free expression is just dandy and I support it, but the problem is, I think old dogs don't matter a whit and are losing out. Consider, old dogs have to learn an increasing number of new words and terms: Cancel Culture (perchance this blog belongs to that, as it cancels most audio "high end" manufacturers), Woke Brigade (I saw a button on TV, "Stay Woke"), etc. In my younger days, there were gays and lesbians, including some of my friends, but now I am afraid even LGBTQ will not be accommodating enough and shall have to be amended again one day. Primary School children now shock their parents with their understanding of "family", "marriage", "husband and wife". That is all fine, even fair but...I Draw the Line at English Although I was aware of the trend, it still shocked me no end the first time I came across in a respectable publication (New Yorker) the line "they is", which of course recurred and needled me many times. Listen, English is not even my first language, but maybe paradoxically that is why I have a stubborn respect for the language. I loved learning it; my teachers, nuns and Irish Jesuits and laymen, worked hard teaching it. I learned it the British (now that term shall be cancelled too) way, which is how our Indian friends write too (and I don't edit the spelling differences). No kidding, I used to read the arcane Fowler's English Usage from cover to cover, and enjoyed it. No, I have spent too much time (even now) learning this language to even think about "unlearning". With all due respect, it will always be "he is, she is, they are" to me. Period. Whether you are John or Joanna, whatever your sexual orientation, you are not going to be a "they" in my book, ever. You have the right to do whatever you want, but don't mess with my English!

Purist World and Purist Audio There is much similarity between the way our world is going and the direction audio has headed. In the good old days, we had the balance knob, tone and loudness controls, filters, sometimes even more. No one would frown upon you when you used the balance knob to center the sound, the loudness to boost the bass at low level and the tone controls to re-equalize the LPs that didn't sound right. Call them Comfort Controls. Everyone used those knobs to balance the sound, and there was no "the only way". Now? Audio, like everything else, has cancelled everything except the volume knob and selector (even that is just hanging by a thread), and become a religion based on a straight wire with gain (kind of Woke).

And now for a Chinese Meme that has been appropriated by everyone.

The snow falls and the wind blows
The song Yi Jian Mei first became one of most popular song on the Viral 50 playlist in Finland, Norway, Sweden and New Zeala
nd, and it spread everywhere, taken up even by hip hop artists. It seems the lyric “XUE HUA PIAO PIAO BEI FENG XIAO XIAO” is a new catchword. It was an old song sung by an almost forgotten singer, For how it got to be like that read about the Chinese Eggman in SCMP. The youtube below is an amalgamation.

25 July, 2020

iFi Zen Blue Bluetooth H10U Metrum Adagio

huawei p40 pro+ kv back

This marks the first time a phone cam is highlighted in this blog; drooling! ๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐Ÿ”ฏ

Letter from Hong Kong (20-4): Streaming from a New Cellphone, Eric L Thinks Aloud! Where is he going?

Amended 7/26/20: mrgoodsound's Comment and Tidal Impressions added. Small change to mention of R2R DAC.

Editor: Since his last article, on his own will, Eric L has called a time-out, left paradise and re-entered purgatory (hell was beckoning)! He has upgraded his generic Taobao device H-09 to the same company's H10U. Also, he has gotten a new Cellphone, the top Huawei, known for its formidable camera (remember Eric is a photographer).

This article is divided into 2 Parts. Eric first wrote Part I. As the article was almost ready for publication, I was surprised, but delighted, to find Part II in the draft!

Part I. Struggle with my newly acquired Huawei P40 Pro+, dinosaur Air Mac, iFi Zen Blue and cheapo H10U

This would be an interim report. As a newbie in Streaming Music, I'm still looking for the best solution. I am toying with the idea of a DAC that can play high-res files, including DSD and 24-bit files (up to 200 MB per song!) In the meantime, I'm still struggling to find the best solution to my current setup, to the point that I almost stopped using my Sparkler CD Player completely.

I acquired a brand new Huawei P40+ smartphone since: 1) My Samsung S6 was really coming to the end of its life after 6 years of good service; thanks! 2) I want to be able to take great pictures with its Leica lens when I don't have my Fujifilm X100F on hand; 3) I can use it as a music player! 4) it looks sophisticated!

I joined both Tidal and MOOV (HK based music platform focusing more on local high res songs) within a day of buying the phone.

P40 Pro+ with iFi Zen Blue (Initially) I connected the new phone to my Zen Blue (ZB) for music playing. Well, the sound that came out was really polished, with each instrument well delineated and having the right amount of air surrounding it. I played through the sea of songs from Tidal, anything from R and B, classical, jazz and vocals, overwhelmed and dazzled by the choices it provides. I then asked myself, is this the sound that I'm looking for?

The A/B Hell One morning, knowing it is a painful exercise, I reluctantly opened the Pandora Box of HiFi and entered the Equipment A/B hell. I use Chris Botti and Yo Yo Ma playing (live) the song from Cinema Paradiso, both of which I like so much as both players play with such hearts. As this video can be found on both Youtube and from Tidal as well, I ended up testing with total of 6 combinations:

Youtube on AirMac with H10U or ZB
Youtube on P40+ with H10U or ZB
Tidal on P40+ with H10U or ZB

4 hours went by, and I even drew a table to tally up all the different combinations. But I threw it away as I collapsed exhausted - the A/B Hell was too much of a torture for my old soul! I just needed to relax and listen to the kind of music I like and played through the system with the correct virtues.

Results were pretty much in line with my original impressions. Having had some burn-in, ZB had become more approachable, but so had the cheapo H10U ! I don't know about the brand new P40+. After the test, I also did prolonged listening with my P40 Pro+, first with ZB and then H10U. The Air Mac has a mobility issue since the battery is completely dead and it must be hooked up to power, rendering it no longer a laptop; its BT also always stutters and I need to repeatedly disconnect and connect...Yikes!

H10U vs Zen Blue Here's the dilemma, the much improved cheapo BT device H10U (one up from the H9A  in previous articles) really possesses some magic! The ZB has better delineation of the instruments, better separation and airiness around as well! ZB ticked many boxes in HiFi terms BUT it simply lacks some magic: I no longer feel compelled to focus on the music, and can do other things while having it on as if it were background music! This is not what I want! Unplug the ZB and connect the H10U, suddenly the songs become interesting again: I can feel the emotion of the cellist, which has my poor soul bobbing up and down on a string; the trumpet of Botti has also become more purposeful. I sense a bit more the ebb and flow of music. The excitement factor is back (though not in full)! Less HiFi , more raw but more energetic and that's live music that audience can react and relate to! I think the Sabre DAC chip used in ZB is not my cup of tea...

Now most of the music is played through P40 Pro+/Tidal (and occasionally through the combination of Youtube/P40 Pro+/H10U). I still miss the sound of the Youtube/Air Mac/H10U combo but have to sacrifice for convenience rather than Sound Quality (SQ)...

To be or not to be?

Which brings me to another potentially important factor which DJ had mentioned: would an external DAC help to improve the sound? Both ZB and H10U does offer the option of hooking up to an external DAC. So for the last week, I have been searching for the right cheapo DAC that has the highest Price Quality Ratio. DJ suggested Micromega MyDac or MicroDac etc but they are so rare in the market and they do not play hi-res or DSD. Therefore, I have been thinking, whether I shall go all the way for best SQ and acquire a giant killer on the cheap? I have looked around, I'm most interested in a DAC which is NOS, R2R with FPGA. Don't ask me exactly what these terms means since I am not a techno savvy guy. I just know NOS can sound really good based on my experience with Sparkler CD Player. My only experience with R2R is the Musette from Metrum Acoustics which sounds a tad polite to me, but it's just the entry level unit using one R2R DAC per channel instead of 4 per channel used in their flagship Pavanne and Adagio. There are recent rumours on financial difficulties for Metrum and the designer Cees had left and formed a new company called Sonnet and released  a new DAC called Morpheus . Both Adagio (with world class digital volume control) , Pavanne and the new Morpheus received top accolades from 6Moons and many other HiFi review forums. I have no doubt that they are very good as my friend also distributes Metrum and he offers me a great deal on a like-new demo unit Adagio with a 12 month warranty. I need to audition it as it's way out of my budget, but if I can use it as a preamp, I can sell my icOn4 and Sparkler CDP and simply use the Sony BDP as a transport! In between, I almost bought a nice 2nd hand Meitner MA-1 v1 DAC for a real good price but even though I had reached a verbal agreement with the seller, I failed to get it since he had consigned it to a HiFi consignment shop and it was sold the day before unknown to him! Bummer! Ed Meitner is the designer of the famous DAC from EMM Lab and the brand Meitner is a scaled down version which was retailing at 7000 USD when new in 2011 and is now less than 1/4 of the price. MA-1 V2 is said to have big improvement but I am content with V1 since the sound that came out is very analog sound which I can easily live with (I had a brief audition at the consignment shop, though I definitely was not in a good mood.)

However, if I go cheap and DSD is not a must, my targets will be either Sparkler DAC, MyDac , Chord Mojo or Schiit Modi 3 [Ed: do you mean the Multibit?] as they are really compact and that's what I like about them. Size matters!!

My search is still frustrating and today I opted back to listen to more music from CDs. I bought a new pair of 47 OTA kit cable to hook onto my CDP via icOn4. I immediately notice that the new one fits much tighter to the female ends of the machines; the older ones likely have distorted in shape from extended use and suffered from loose fit.

Silver Lining: Youtube/Mac/H10U is still the most engaging combo and does wonder! Next step , I will find out if a new DAC is able to improve the SQ of my Tidal/P40+/H10U combo so that I can gain my mobility while keeping the SQ with loads of PRAT?

Part II. It's not over yet....the Door is still Revolving but it may stop soon

Flirting with Metrum Yesterday, I finally found some time for an audition of the Metrum Acoustics Adagio. Distributor Ben was really nice and had it set up with his own award-winning Volent speakers. The songs were played through ROON, then a Streamer, the luxury Bespoke TVC Preamp, the Adagio, and finally the Amp, the name of which I fail to remember.

I played through some of his DSD files and some songs which I normally listen through Tidal, sat back and enjoyed the sound, which I'd describe as smooth and natural, pleasing to listen to. The instrumental timbres were good and the soundstage was huge and deep. However, I began to feel a tad too at ease and comfortable on certain songs which usually would have me tapping my feet tapping and swinging my body! Like audiopro said, TIMING is KING ! And I totally dig it as I came from the LINN/NAIM camp of more than 30 years ago!

Metrum uses PCM/NOS/R2R. Unlike the Delta/Sigma used by Meitner, it cannot play DSD files (has to be converted to PCM first). So I would not be able to exploit fully on DSD, damn.

Due to limited time , I had to leave with some doubts in my mind. Perhaps I need another audition?

Back to BT This morning, I started playing some music from OPUS3 disc through my Sparkler CDP. It was really enjoyable and the new version does improve in airiness, instrument separation and the delineation of instruments without sacrificing too much of the PRAT that my older Sparkler aced. Then, I switched back to the Tidal/H10U combo and begin to play the same tunes that I had played yesterday at the Audio Shop. To my astonishment, I wasn't losing much SQ at all! Of course, I didn't have the uber fathomless soundstage nor the ultimate silkiness of sound, but the excitement was back again! And the musicality, when compared to my Sparkler, was comparable, which is saying a lot!

Then the most eye-popping moment came. I used my P40 Pro+ to play some of my favorite Tiny Desks Youtubes. Taimane's ukulele simply just explodes at will but on a dime becomes romantic when called for; the Cajon player is wicked, his fingers strumming out clean attacks and an engaging bass line. My body was possessed and started shaking and I even involuntarily screamed out with joy! if you have not heard of Monsieur Perine, I would heartily urge you to give them a try. I played their Sabor a mi and the sense of "being there" was so strong that I actually felt I was in the concert myself! Yes, my setup is not set up to be laid back, but to be as engaging and truthful as can be to reveal the essence of music! Suddenly my urge for an upgrade of DAC has vanished !!

Thinking Aloud Redux This Morning I rang my friend Kwong (who introduced the H9L , then H10U to me) and told him about my revolving door experience in the name of truth. I told him after all the tedious and the painful search for audio truth, I found out the answer has always been there, from Day One (sounds like a movie script, doesn't it?) I told him, the H10U rocks and actually trumps all others; the lowly BT is probably the most amazing audio discovery of my audio journey. He replied with a grin on his face (I actually visualized that even if we were just on the phone, lol), "With all the money you have saved (wait, I haven't even spent anything yet, lol), why don't you get a "super tweeter ", same one as used in MBL. With the right capacitor, it could improve the sound across the spectrum! And it would only cost less than $2k HKD even with Mundorf! You can also upgrade your power conditioner to a higher grade Long Yu and a second hand one is less than $3k!" What a devil he is! Or perhaps upgrade my laptop? I can't stop giggling~ Itchy still I guess...

Conclusion/Confession? I hereby proclaim that, Youtube/H10U/P40 Pro+ combo is the most HiFi, musical and engaging BT combo that I have experienced. It can give a lot of way more expensive rigs run for their monies! Mind you, the H10U costs only $8 USD and Youtube is free - that says a lot! Do I need a DAC? I would say yes, but it is less of a priority right now. If nothing is wrong, don't change for the sake of changing! I'd rather spend more time on enjoying music. My bar is actually quite low; I don't have any complaints for the music I'm listening to; their shortcomings are minor to me and I can happily live with them, through perhaps not forever after~

Here is the Botti/YoYo Ma Youtube on Cinema Paradiso!

Sabor a Mi was popularized by Eydie Gorme and Trios Los Panchos. I have the original
LP (the left half). Gorme is Sephardic; no wonder her perfect Spanish! A personal fav.



Editor's Postcript:
Everyone writes differently, and that's the fun of it. I myself (I think audiopro and perhaps mrgoodsound too) tend to write in a more presentation, google slide, style (except in some Diary entries). Eric L though has a more fun and dramatic style which I try to preserve as much as possible in my editing. Viva diversity!

This article actually is unique in that he is THINKING OUT LOUD! Some of it we have discussed in private emails. I think he has too many questions now so I invite our writers, friends and readers to weigh in! Let's make this a Roundtable of sort! My weighing in will be long.

Summary In a capsule, I think this is what Eric is going through: In terms of Bluetooth Streaming Device, Eric is sick of the limitations of his ancient Air Mac, BUT unfortunately it is still the better sounding. For convenience, he will rely on his new P40 Pro+ Cellphone. As for Streaming Platform, aside from his favorite Youtube, he has now subscribed to Tidal and Moov, which can provide more true hi-res music, hence his recent interest in DACs.

Bluetooth vs Hi-Res Streaming I think it is important not to lose sight of why we listen to BT in the first place: to explore, to discover and to enjoy new music on the cheap. Hi-Res Streaming will offer that too, but in a different way, as hi-res files are in the minority. Psychologically, unfortunately, Hi-Res Streaming inevitably skews the audiophile subscriber towards more unworthy but sonically good material. For a classical listener like me, NML (huge classical library, low-res; for me it's free) and Spotify together supply most of what I need to keep reasonably up to date with new releases, and these have a LOT more material than many other services, including possibly Tidal, not to mention Qobuz. As I have mentioned in my previous BT articles, when I am in exploration mode, I don't wear my reviewer's hat. Our own mrgoodsound, certainly an exacting individual, feels the same and now subscribes to Tidal (he's well versed in streaming, and is not using BT ). Caution also for Hi-Res Streaming: there are too many factors that affect sound, the computer settings (like buffer size), software (jRiver, Audirvana, Amarra etc), DAC etc and it is not unoften to hear bad sound. It is not going to be smooth sailing all the way. I know, not everyone has the right make-up to embrace BT, and many readers probably skip these articles or at least wonder why we are devoting so much space to low-res BT. Suffice to say, many highly experienced audiophiles I know use it for fun. Corollary: Hi-Res Streaming can easily sound less musical than simple generic BT.

Bluetooth Receivers Think about this, our HK friends, all experienced users, and I (a latecomer), all use very cheap units. I have said just experiment a little on the cheap and just feel it. It is great that Eric is honest to himself, and conceded that the more polished and branded ZB (as of present) doesn't connect with him as well as the generic ugly duckling. It is entirely possible that the Sabre DAC chip (superior measurements always but its name is foreboding and perhaps prophetic) does not sound as organic as a "lesser" chip (this happens too many times in the history of DAC's; the TDA 1543 and NOS were previously exclusively used in the lowest end, as in the Magnavox CDPs I wrote about).

Tidal This is anyway an excellent company, rated by What HiFi as still the best provider. What's commendable is that Tidal pays the artists significantly more than Apple and Spotify (though that is still not saying much). My HK friends like icefox all use Tidal. It is also open secret that friends can share a "Family Subscription" at even lower cost, bad for business but generous to you. Which Level for You? Now, this is interesting, my friend jules, a discriminating listener for sure, maintains the basic membership sounds better than the premium one (this seems corroborated by mrgoodsound, who in an email said, "...I tried it and I guess I must concur, the ‘high’ setting seems to sound less loud/rude and a bit warmer than the ‘hi-fi’ setting, which is glassy in comparison..." MQA Another factor that Eric did not mention is Tidal offers Masters or MQA, series (free now for HiFi Members, one rung above Premium) and that adds another dimension to the complexity, as MQA has greatly divided digital fanatics and much vitriol had been spilled. Am I curious? Yes, I'd love to hear it for myself. Am I going to go all-out? No.

Streaming Device As I intimated in one of my BT articles, every device sounds different. This is not surprising, as the BT signal goes through the device's player (automatically maxed, but controllable by the device's output volume control). For me, my Acer Chromebook 14 sounds significantly better (and louder) than my Windows HP 14. Two laptops work very well for me (the Chromebook also would be next to useless in China) as when I run out of battery on one I switch to the other (that's how much time I spend on this blog, almost 1.5 battery charges a day, including 2-3 hours of news in the morning), but I always use my Chromebook for streaming, even when it is charging. My iPad sounds the worst, and I don't even want to try my ancient iPhone 5S. If you can, stream from a computer, not cellphone. For Eric I highly recommend him to replace the battery, either through Apple or DIY (here), not expensive, but then the BT drop out issue likely will remain, though it is possible it can be improved (here). Of course, with a DAC that has USB, Eric can also stream through the USB. I am pretty sure streaming hi-res will also sound better through the Air Mac than through the smartphone.

DAC's One has to think very hard here. For old-timer me, it is much easier. With a huge vinyl and CD collection, I don't even think about Hi-Res files, despite trumpets blowing all around me. As far as I can see, there is no way any file sounds better than analog (including R2R), and I have heard all the bests. This is not a measurement thing, but a mechanical (direct touch) thing. SACD/DSD Although I like SACD (but I regard it as just a different form, not necessarily superior to PCM), and have a small collection and a hi-end player (Sony XA-5400ES), it is only an occasional foray and insignificant part of my diet, and so I would not consider DSD files. Also, a lot of the so-called DSD files are not native, but converted and PCM in origin. True DSD files have a heavily classical tilt (record labels like BIS, Challenge, Pentatone, Tudor, Channel), and jazz, rock and pop lovers can just forget about it. SACDs sound good, but their CD layers also sound close (I have probably listened to more SACDs than most people, as the library has tons of them in classical titles, though I usually just listen to the CD layer). But I understand the curiosity (even I succumb to hyperboles sometimes, unfortunately). Features Very few DAC's have everything (even less if you include MQA, though some software, like Audirvana, can unfold MQA) and I think even in those that do, some features are likely afterthoughts. I am a long-time student of DAC's but I am almost immovable in my stand. Vintage vs Present Every generation has a few outstanding products amid the vast sea of also-runs. Personally I'd rather listen to a vintage classic any time before I summon up the energy to listen to current jacks of all trades. Too many times in audition, a Studer 730 (16-bit, 1541A) sounded more musical than hi-res and expensive DACs. This is not to say I cannot be swayed. e.g. I loved the sound of the Berkeley Alpha (as heard here; solely PCM, no DSD, though some from Series II on supports MQA through a firmware upgrade) and would not mind testing it one day. That day will come, because DACs depreciate faster than anything else, with the exception of AV amps. No hurry. But That is one DAC that I want. Now, if I really want to experience all these hi-res files and MQA, I'd do it on the cheap and choose (mind you I have not heard it) the $200 iFi iNano DSD (original silver or newer BL) though it only has ONE input, USB (for BT digital out of the H10U, Eric can use his ZB). No, I haven't heard it, and don't have access to files, but it has received many good reviews (like HiFi+ and HiFi News). Of course, double the sum and one can have more connectivity (as in its big brother Micro iDSD and the Chord Mojo Eric has thought about). Ergonomics This is important. Say connectivity, much as I may consider Sparkler seriously, their connectivity sucks. Like mrgoodsound says, there is no reason why they only have 1 input to their DACs. I'd demand a custom one with USB and Coaxial (my own choice). The ergonomic consideration is also why I'd never go the current mode route. Multiple digital inputs is very useful, even necessary for someone like me. I miss my digital switchboard, the incredible Genesis Digital Lens!

The Metrum Audition Although I have never visited the place, I have heard it sounds good. But what Eric finds lacking may be part of the system's sound. A few years ago, my friend jules obviously thought it sounds good, as he acquired a pair of Volent 3.5. However, in my audition I found the Volent polite and bland compared to the cheapo vintage Dahlquist DQ20. His Volent quickly disappeared. In general, I don't like low efficiency loudspeakers (aside from some classic 2-ways), which more often than not do not deliver on PRaT. I noticed in the setup the ultra-expensive Bespoke TVC was inserted between the Streamer and the Metrum, maybe acting as a buffer? Very high end and complicated, but perhaps simple is best? On R2R DACs I remember our mrgoodosund said he doesn't like the ones with discrete ladders. Myself, I have only heard jules' 4-piece Totaldac; it was good but I didn't hear the qualities Sparkler and low-end Magnavox so consistently deliver. Also, for some reason, hi-end hi-res streaming is almost always emotionally vapid. This is part of the attraction of Bluetooth, which is sort of radio wave transmission. I have had the experience of hearing the same album sound better through the radio than my CD player! Yup!

Supertweeter Basically, all of these ribbon/panel tweeters are Chinese made. I found out from Eric the one his friend is urging on him is the (now Chinese company) Swan RT2E-A (here), which is well regarded and sold by reputable companies like Madisound. At 93 db, it may just work with Eric's Dynaudio Crafft (86 db) with just a cap and avoid the trouble of an L-pad. In the past, I have used Aurum Cantus and Fostex with my Tannoy's to good effect. Indeed, what Eric's friend is saying is that adding one can actually clean up the bass, which is my experience. However, it is cumbersome. Moderation!

Of course, I'd also love it if Eric gets a high-end DAC, as we'll all hear about it!

mrgoodosund weighs in:

I will comment on a few things.

-On hi-res: I think is a complete waste of time and effort. To elaborate on why would require a lengthy diatribe, but it ties into my philosophy regarding digital audio as a whole. Well, I would especially not bother with it if one is using Bluetooth.


-On bluetooth/streaming: I don't use it, I have no need for it in my current setup. I use an old laptop or Mac Pro as a dedicated file player. I assume ZB in this article is referring to the ifi? I have been really unimpressed with all of the iFi gear I have heard. It does not surprise me that a cheap taobao unit sounds better. I do use Tidal because it can communicates with a USB DAC in exclusive mode, something Spotify does not support. Otherwise, I prefer Spotify UI and that playback can be remotely controlled from another device. I recommend Eric sources an old computer for cheap and dedicate it to his streaming purpose, or maybe there is a RasPi solution. I am old school and not really versed in this area.

-On DAC: I will clarify I am not a big fan of discrete ladder R2R DACs (I think John wrote I don't like R2R DACs, quite the opposite!) of which Metrum falls under. I don't think very highly of Metrum DACs, although I have only heard one mid-level unit. I use a TDA1541 based DAC with a rather exotic implementation. I can recommend for Eric the Modi Multibit, or to buy a TDA1543 DAC board off ebay and add an active buffer like JELabs http://jelabs.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-good-bad-and-ugly-tda1543-nos-dacs.html

-Supertweeter: when I think of supertweeter I think of operation solely above 20kHz. it is not clear to me where the RT2E linked is supposed to integrate. I very much like and recommend the TakeT units from Japan, the most inexpensive of which are $60/pr and will breath life into sleepy inefficient two-way speakers. http://www.taket.jp/batpure/batpure.html


Eric's Dinner with Family: Octopus, Tuna and Shrimp in Citrus Sauce
 US Angus Wagyu Chuck from Snake River Farm
Of course!

22 July, 2020

ATC SCM19 P1 Schiit Gungnir Marantz PM14S1SE


Click pic to enlarge. System is so simple it is self-explanatory.

Caveman
by Audiopro

Editor: If you look at this simple system, it may escape and surprise you that the author had gone through a lot before, including something as different as a fully tubed Audio Note Level 2 System! Sometimes we get more ambitious, sometimes we scale down, sometimes we change trajectory, but whatever we do our ears (and our hearts), not those of others, must guide us. This makes his points even more worthy of heeding. This is also Virtual Home Visits (11).

My quest for a setup began almost 25 years ago. At that time I owned a Sony FH series mini compo and I listened to music that I loved. My foot tapped, my head bobbed. My body swayed. I yelled in joy on some tracks. I clapped my hands on others. My body wanted to dance! I was going by primal instinct, I was a caveman! Then I turned into an audiophile locked lifeless in a chair and began to listen to music that sounded good only on my setup. So what happened?

I moved from the simple Sony system to a set of floorstanders driven by an integrated amplifier and CD player. Suddenly music no longer sounded fun.

I tried cable swaps, power filtering, speaker changes etc. Swapped speakers, swapped amplifiers, CD players, etc. I began buying audiophile CD’s because I firmly believed the garbage in garbage out fallacy. Sounds familiar? Read on!

I call this a fallacy because very often we are told that a high end system will expose a poor recording. It will expose the warts on it but it shouldn’t take away the primal quality of music. The body is sensitive to music. Walk into a store with some music playing and automatically you feel like swaying. Sitting at a pub you suddenly yell out when they play your favorite song. People faint at live concerts. I’d probably faint in fear at a Slipknot [Ed: Heavy Metal Band] concert but that’s different. Why does all this disappear when we sit in front of a multi thousand dollar setup? What happened to that primal emotion that we felt earlier?

Our expectations are set by review articles that said we should look for adjectives like silky highs, airy highs, warm balance, huge soundstage, strong harmonics, etc when judging an audio setup. Jaws should drop. Your wife should drop the cooking and come into the room and say darling what a lovely sound. Unfortunately IMHO those parameters do not matter when it comes to enjoying music.

Musicians are not trained to play a trumpet in a silky manner or to make their guitars sound warm. Imagine telling Ozzy or Freddie to sing with a silky voice. They probably would have popped you on the head for saying that. They train to time right, articulate using different parts of their head, mouth or throat, manage changes in amplitude with their breath (micro dynamics) and to get you to connect with them. Their voice changes depending on their health and age as well. Listen to an older Aretha Franklin and she can move you to tears with her big voice. A good musician connects to your primal instinct that recognizes music and moves you, be it physically or emotionally.

So what matters?

I grew up playing the piano and while I did, music was a function of three things:

1. Timing
– this is what we term as PRAT. Get the timing wrong and no matter what you do the music will not engage you. Timing is everything. This is why sometimes an old mono radio (non digital) sounds good because it gets the timing right. Try clapping in tune with a song in your head. Now clap out of tune and see what happens. Music lives in the space between notes.

2. Micro dynamics – The way one hits a key or plucks a string determines the micro dynamics. We always talk about dynamics but it is micro dynamics that are more important. This is where the soul of music lies. How Louis Armstrong blows puffs of air into his trumpet is what gives him his character. Most powerful amplifiers deliver dynamics but miss out on the delicacy of the notes i.e. micro dynamics. They just shoot through them.

If I hit a key softly and then a little harder randomly, it would go ping, Ping, PING, piNG, and so on. The same is applied for singing. Listen to the song Imagine by John Lennon. When he says Imagine its not said in one amplitude IMAGINE. There is a micro dynamic to it. Listen to Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Sara Bareilles. You should be able to pick out the micro dynamics when she plays different piano keys. This is why Keith don’t go [Ed: Nils Lofgren] sounds noisy on some systems. They just slam out his guitaring at one amplitude and fail to differentiate between the various notes.

3. Tonality – If the piano needed tuning, no matter what I played it'd sound weird. It would either sound too high or too low. A piano must be centered correctly tonally. The same is true of a system. If the system is centered too high it will sound superb on say audiophile female vocals where they swoon and tzz and whizz with the notes. Play something by Neil Diamond and it will fail to engage you. Play rock and you will run away. Play Ozzy Osbourne and…OK you get it!

These are the three parameters that any system I aspire to must have. If it fails in any of these parameters the system will not engage me at all. These are the primary characteristics. Even background music will sound good if it maintains these.

Then there are some other parameters I would add to complete the setup, especially two channel ones:

4. Image size – I have heard many people aspire for a huge image size, huge soundstage - everything must sound bigger than life. When I listen to a setup, I look at the size of the vocal image. Ideally it should emerge from a space the size of an orange or a small Cantaloupe. This prevents multiple singers and instruments from blurring into each other and creating a smeared soundstage. Smearing tends to affect micro dynamics because you cannot pickup individual instruments. It turns towards a mushy sound. We then end up turning the volume up to try and hear through the mush and it sounds noisy. This is also a function of speaker positioning but position a speaker well and use two different amps and you will pick up the differences in image size.

5. Bass – One can never have enough bass. Bass isn’t about going thump thump. Bass conveys the two things – fun and space. The mid bass adds to the PRAT factor. We enjoy mid bass; we enjoy a kick from the drum. Low bass (which is a function of your room to a great extent) shows you space. It adds a feel to the sound. The size of the recording venue, the space around the music. Bass sets the canvas on which music is painted.

I personally look for bass that is drier rather than wetter. A dry bass tends to attack and then has a short decay like a Mike Tyson punch. A wet bass tends to be soft on the attack and tends to go poooooof on the decay. Some call this a loose bass. While a wetter bass may sound nice on audiophile recordings I feel it affects music negatively overall.

6. Harmonics – Most people place this first in their list. They want a harmonically rich system. Tubes! I want tubes! When done right harmonics will move your soul. When done wrong it will get you to move out of the room. Every instrument, voice, etc has its own harmonic structure known as timbre. When you hit a 400hz key on the piano it isn’t playing just 400hz. It will deliver maximum amplitude at 400hz along with a bunch of other frequencies above and below this note at lower amplitudes.

The mistake is done when we expect the system to add a ton of harmonics, thus seriously altering timbre. The recording has to capture the harmonics while the music system must play it back. If the recording has failed to capture it you will not hear it. All systems add colour to some degree. If the system is balanced right (i.e. not too high or too low) it will sound good on a vast number of songs compared to one that is harmonically over rich modifying the timbre greatly.

7. Tube Coloration I have experienced this with tubes. The Telefunken 12AX7 tube is a neutral tube. It adds just a dash of harmonics (like Goldilocks porridge). On the other hand a Mullard tube is harmonically rich but tends to turn into mush. Alison Krauss may sound sublime on the Mullard tube but something with a little get up and go will sound boring and dull.

8. Listen for the singer. To understand this, have a look at this Beth Roars video on youtube (here, or play the video embedded on the bottom of this article). She is a voice coach and she evaluates how different famous singers sing. See if your system can reveal this. A singer is like an instrument. They all have their own set of timbre, pitch, dynamics, articulation of vowels etc. They cheat at times to hide their limitations by suddenly ending a sentence. You should be able to experience their character in your system. It is difficult to achieve this but it is possible.

How I chose my setup:

A system must sound balanced. We often try to balance a bright speaker with a warm amp etc. This is not called a balanced setup. When you do this you may end up with a reasonably listenable sound, but it almost never sounds right. This is because both products are pulling in opposite directions instead of complementing them. The point I am trying to make is try not to buy a product that is too skewed sound wise because then you are compensating for that skew with other products. The less the skew the easier it is to build a system. In theory you should be able to flavor the system with a single component, be it a wire, source, etc.

My current setup is based on my room size. I have a small 11 x 12 feet room with some basic treatment. I picked the ATC SCM19 speakers because they do not over power my room, are neutral and deliver lovey PRAT courtesy of their sealed box design. I cannot stress this enough – do not pick a speaker that is too large for your room! Or the journey will end the minute you hit play.

The ATC speaker doesn’t try and act smart. It needs current, so I recommend using an amp that delivers high current by using more than two transistors per channel. Most amps above 120W at 8 ohms will use parallel transistors and should work fine in terms of drive.

The ATC speaker delivers what it is fed. So by picking a neutral sealed box speaker that delivers adequate bass for my room I am not left compensating for the speaker's skew in sound signature, nor am I trying to compensate for the room.

My amplification chain consists of the ATC P1 power amplifier, which again to a large extent is neutral with a tad of MOSFET warmth in the bass and upper highs. It has enough drive for this speaker. It times well and is dynamic.

My DAC is from Schiit audio – the MB Gungnir. This dac is pretty neutral and dynamic. It is a dense DAC which means it delivers each note with a certain amount of weight. This prevents the highs or voices sounding thin. It is neither harmonically over rich nor is it lean. It doesn’t get confused by complex music and has a wholesome bass.

I use a Sony Blu Ray as a transport and stream Tidal using Chromecast. I may add an Allo transport for Tidal at a later date.

So with most of my chain being balanced neutrally I am left with the pre stage to take the system whichever way I want. This is where I have flavored it. I use a Marantz PM14S1 SE integrated amplifier as the pre. This amp is a HIDDEN gem and has flown under the radar. It’s pre stage is to die for.

It offers superb PRAT and micro dynamics are stunning; it's fluid; image size is near perfect; just the right amount of harmonic structure and a dry bass. It was as if Ken Ishiwata asked me what I wanted in an amp and voiced it that way! This doesn’t sound like the Marantz of old which was warm and tubey with poor timing. This is a perfect blend of the parameters that I look for. If I had to nitpick I’d say it has a tinge of hardness in the upper mids. This amp needs burn in. Don’t judge it on day 1 or it will sound hard. If you can get hold off a piece I strongly recommend you do so. It is able to drive the ATC speaker by itself in my small room but not as confidently as ATC’s own power amp.

Lastly cables – I use simple plain-Jane 16 guage copper speaker cables from Sommer or Supra. Interconnects are simple copper ones soldered by myself. Power cables are stock. Again the idea is to avoid products that are heavily flavoured. Do the flavouring at one level and let it flow through the rest of the setup.

I’ll sign off by sharing the following tips:

1. Try and understand the house sound of a manufacturer and if you like it and the manufacturer builds the entire chain, try and stick with it as much as possible. Example: Rega CD player with a Rega amplifier. Naim with Naim. ATC speakers with ATC amps. Sim audio amps and dacs. This removes a lot of guess work.

2. Match the speaker to your room and to the amplifier correctly. This will break a system if done wrong and no amount of tinkering can solve this.

3. Position your speakers well. Take time to find the spot in which the bass sounds right. Then focus on the image size. Image size at a macro level is primarily a function of the room though equipment, especially amplifiers, affect it greatly on a micro level as well. Complete speaker positioning is beyond the scope of this article but it is absolutely critical in achieving good sound.

4. Keep the parameters discussed in the beginning in mind. Timing, micro dynamics, well balanced sound, image size, etc.

5. Try different gauges of speaker cables. Sometimes lesser gauge wires offers better balance. Get hold of affordable 12, 14 and 16 gauge wires and try them out. High end cables DO work when you are trying to compensate for system skewness!

6. Try and listen to music at approximately 80db with 95 db peaks. This in my experience allows the singers voice to scale perfectly without hardening or bloating or loosing control. This is a personal choice though.

9. Never ever ever ever listen to an audio salesman telling you garbage in garbage out and that the setup he is demoing sounds bad because your CD’s are poor. If the system delivers on timing, dynamics and is well balanced, majority of poor recordings will get your foot tapping. Listen to a talented homeless man sing or play a cheap guitar on the street and see what happens to your foot.

10. See if your foot taps and head bobs when you listen to a system. If the system is setup well it will connect with your primal instinct and you will enjoy the setup. It will grow on you. Bass, treble soundstage, this parameter or that will no longer matter because the setup connects with your soul.

11. Pay attention to your equipment support. The material the equipment is placed on will shift the tonal balance slightly. This happens at a micro level. Place your amp on the floor, then on a stool, then on a rack and you will notice it sounds RIGHT on one of them. Avoid placing equipment one on top of the other. I consider equipment support as part of my system setup. I do not use expensive racks, but I do have different base materials like wood and granite, which I use as a final balancer for my setup.

12. Lastly, as our friend Prem says (his system the JBL4343 has been featured here too) “Don’t think of sound as warm, big, soundstage, silky treble, tight bass, etc. Think of it as tone, timbre, dynamics and presence.” The former are audiophile parameters, the later primal ones.

Welcome to the Jungle!