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CD players/DAC spitting SSS reproduction

Having many CD’s of female singers I hate that type of digital sound that gives that edgy sound with a lot of spitting s on highs. Is this still intrinsic in recordings and therefore a top notch CD/DAC will anyway reproduce it or it just depends from the converter quality ?
I read once that studios mikes is contributing a lot to this phenomena. When this is still true I don’t see a reason why a good DAC should not reproduce them (basically it should not filter the sound, right ?)
Thanks for your experience
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Showing 2 responses by mthieme

mthieme
74 posts
 
I know exactly what you mean and it does sound horrible! I think that what you are hearing is the recording, and no a transport or dac should not change or filter the signal. Bad in bad out.
mthieme
74 posts
 
I'm sorry, I mispoke, I did not mean it could not be a combination of the gear and media. I have just noticed that certain songs on certain albums, whether vinyl or cd, display that nasty sibilance while other tracks on the same selection do not. Certainly bad digital reproduction can sound very harsh especially in the upper extremes, and a better rig will do a better job. The same can be said for a bad vinyl setup as it will strain as well. Any flaws in the media will be exagerated by the weakness in the system. But on the other hand in my experience, some recordings are bad and cannot be "fixed" by any gear. Often it seems the more open revealing and transparent the system becomes the more "unlistenable" some material becomes. I think we are all correct.
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