2. digital
  3. 1325510087

Loss of inner detail

Greetings,
I've owned a Sony SCD-XA5400ES for 2 years now and really do love it. In my system it has out performed these CDPs:
Electrocompanient EMC-1UP
Linn Ikemi
Meridian 508.24
Accuphase DP-57
Resolution Audio Opus 21
Ayre CX-7e
Bel Canto CD-1

I got the OK from my wife to buy a "final" Transport - DAC (ie: spend a larger dollar amount, ha) that will give me the flexibility of having digital input for the possibility of adding a server at one point.

As I live in Minneapolis I thought I'd try the Bel Canto CD-2 and DAC 3 combo (used). Well, I got a good deal on a used DAC 3 and ran my Sony into the DAC using RCA spdif from the Sony into the DAC3. (I'm waiting to buy a used CD2, but they don't come up often)
ALL inner detail of songs has disappeared (I'm exaggerating a bit, but the difference is quite stark!). Music sounds FAR superior just using the Sony. Why is this?

I'm using a Black Cat Veloce digital cable.

Rest of my system:

Gamut CD-2r preamp
TAD-60 amp
Spendor S9 speakers
Analysis Plus interconnects and speaker cables

Please offer your thoughts as this is my first foray into a separate Transport & DAC

Thanks!
tgyeti

Showing 3 responses by kijanki

kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
Steve,

High slew rate transport will work fine with poorly shielded digital cable but it will create a lot of jitter with poor characteristic impedance matching.

Slow slew rate transport will create more noise susceptibility (needs good shielding) but much less problems with reflections (characteristic impedance less critical).

Isn't that example of synergy?
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
Steve, the fact is that poorly impedance matched cable will work better with slow slew rate transport while poorly shielded cable will work better with high slew rate transport. It is synergy unless you can find perfect cable ($$$$). For that reason Transport-cable-DAC and environment should be always treated as a system.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,394 posts
 
"I don't agree"

There is no error in my previous statement. If you can afford cable that has perfect impedance matching and perfect shielding then nothing matters - I agree, but unfortunately cables that we can afford have some deficiencies and some work better in certain scenarios than others (documented many time here). One of two digital cables might work better in one system and worse in another. 1.5m length only reduces problem by delaying first reflection by about 15ns just to miss threshold point in the middle of typical 25ns swing, but there are next reflections hitting following edges. Also shielding is extremely complicated matter.
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