Have you tried a good optical cable instead of the coax cables you've been using with the Heed transport? I'm currently using a Sony CD player as a transport, but it does not have a SPDIF output so I'm using a Lifatec glass Toslink. The sound is very good and not harsh at all. Just another possible option to help narrow down the cause of the fatiguing sound you're experiencing.
Confused About Relative Sonic Impact of DAC VS. Transport
I've borrowed a Heed DT Transport to use in place of my Jollida JD100 CDP and am confused by what I'm hearing.
My DAC is R2R ladder/non-oversampling Aqua La Voce. With Jolida in system, the sound is on the warm side of neutral without verging into tube-like, euphonics. With the Heed transport, all I seem to notice are the liabilities of every CD I play.
If the Heed is more efficient at reading data from the CD than the Jolida, does this mean I am hearing the effect of the DAC more clearly, or am I hearing the effect of more information from the disc?
At first, I enjoyed the increased resolution, but with further listening, the sound, overall, strikes me as "thin" (as though lacking lower mids) and the highs verge on fatiguing.
Switching out footers has some effect, as does tweaking my Schitt Loki EQ, but I'm still not very happy.
Excuse my French, but WTF is going on, here ?
BTW, John Darko, when reviewing the Aqua, recommended it as a particularly good choice for harsh-sounding CDs.
My DAC is R2R ladder/non-oversampling Aqua La Voce. With Jolida in system, the sound is on the warm side of neutral without verging into tube-like, euphonics. With the Heed transport, all I seem to notice are the liabilities of every CD I play.
If the Heed is more efficient at reading data from the CD than the Jolida, does this mean I am hearing the effect of the DAC more clearly, or am I hearing the effect of more information from the disc?
At first, I enjoyed the increased resolution, but with further listening, the sound, overall, strikes me as "thin" (as though lacking lower mids) and the highs verge on fatiguing.
Switching out footers has some effect, as does tweaking my Schitt Loki EQ, but I'm still not very happy.
Excuse my French, but WTF is going on, here ?
BTW, John Darko, when reviewing the Aqua, recommended it as a particularly good choice for harsh-sounding CDs.