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Musical Fidelity A3 24 What R My Ears Telling Me?

I think that I have finally lost my mind from tweaking! I was very excited about this product when I bought it. I thought that it made a tremendous differnce with the players I was using (an Adcom & Pioneer). The Soundstage was enhanced, the music jumped from the speakers. This was indeed the Holy Grail of Upsampling DACS. The problem started when I bought a new player...the new Sony DVP-NS999ES. Now I can have SACD and pristine Redbook SACD like quality CD's through the MF DAC! The first problem is that when the Sony is turned on with the DAC on. a pop comes through the speakers which causes the DAC to downsample to nearly Real Audio quality! This is remidied by turning the DAC off, then on. The "downsampling" happens every so often when the draw is opend and closed. I thought it might be the interconnet, so I swapped out a Audio Quest for a Tara Lab and it continued to happen. OK, so I could probably live with this since the vendors from both retailers I bought these items from have never heard of this happening. I went to the MF website but there is no email address for support or questions. OK, I can live with this. Now here is the tricky part. I decided to play some CD's through the player bypassing the DAC and for Gods sake...they sound better without upsampling! The bass extension is better, the music has more "oomph" and clarity (how can that be??) and the sound is warmer. Can the DAC's be better in the Sony than the MF? Did I trick myself into believing that the MF worked to begin with? Have I completly tweaked myself out of my mind and ears? I have done countless A-B comparisons during the past 2-3 weeks and I must be honest, the CD's sound much better without the MF DAC. Any comments and opinions would be apprecitated.

-Joseph Benzola-
jbenzola

Showing 3 responses by zaikesman

zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
I have no personal experience with either of your units, but I for one am certainly willing to believe what you're hearing is the truth. The only fly in the ointment is that the other problems you detail would seem to make it questionable whether or not the DAC is functioning entirely properly, either by itself or in combination with the new player. However, since nowhere do you say that you think the MF, when assumed to be working correctly, sounds any different than you remember it sounding before you got the Sony, I'd say it might be time to downsize it. (You might find it interesting to click on my >Threads< below, and read the one entitled, "Upsampling put to the test: Are you ready?")
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Neal, a quick look at the 'feature list' of any mass-market product vs. a typical high end product will be just as 'appalling' - and just as beside the point. ("...Only plays audio"? This is a stereo DAC - what else is it supposed to do?) As for price, a Sony who makes millions of units will always be less for what's included; that's just our audiophile lot in life. I don't know about the sound of the MF, but I think Socrates is quite likely on to something here; not being a DVD owner myself, I had forgotten about their poor reputations as transports. I do know that a poor transport/converter combination or interface can kill the sound, and I think this is a possibility that JB might have to rule out, though it may not solve his problem in the end even if proved true. However, I am still perfectly open to the prospect of his simply finding the Sony to be the superior-sounding machine. Again, I come back to asking whether or not he recalls the DAC sounding any better or worse back when it was stomping his previous players used as transports.

(BTW, the phone # for Kevro in Canada, the US distributor for MF, is 905-428-2800, and I think I recall the relevant person as being named Brian, if I'm correct and he's still there...)
zaikesman
3,017 posts
 
Based on my experiences with connecting both players (mass-market and mid-fi) and a dedicated transport (mid-level high end) to my DAC, it can make a big difference, though I can't speak for your particular player. It's just something you'll probably have to try for yourself to see what you'll get.
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