My favorite interpretation is by Bruno Walter when he was 80. It's probably the most popular version. Karl Bohm does not take Walter's liberties with tempo, but he is excellent and I could listen to either. I tried Simon Rattle's version and it was also quite good. Harden doesn't do an emotional version like Walter, but he is true to the piece and pays exceptional attention to details that Walter misses in his quite Romantic version.
Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?
I have a good analogue front end. Not stratuspherically good but good enough for this comparison. VPI Prime Signature 21 turntable, Pass Labs XP-25 pono preamp, Pass Labs XP-30 preamp and Hovland Radia amp. It has a lovely, very involving sound. On the right recording, I just drop everythng and am drawn in to listen.
My streamer, on the other hand, is decent but not spectacular. It is better than my CD player, but it is not jaw-dropping like my analogue front-end. My question is this: does anyone have a high-end, tier-one streamer (dCS Bartok Apex, Lumin X2, or something like them) that can rival a good analogue system?
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How about something like this for ethernet isolation? I could order it from Amazon and send it back if it doesn't made a difference: iFi LAN iPurifier Pro – Ethernet Noise Filter with Optical Galvanic Isolation, Jitter and Error Elimination – Plug-and-Play for Enhanced Audio & Video Streaming Quality – USB-C Powered |
If you are streaming and using a LAN, the LAN becomes your main starting point. Anything you can do to lower the common mode noise like audio-b-dog's suggestion of a iFi LAN iPurifier Pro is a great idea. LAN routers and switches along with their switching power supplies become generators of noise and distortion. Once you can find the best way to clean up the noise on your LAN, your Streamer and DAC will sound significantly better, more engaging and organic. The cleaner your digital stream is of common mode, differential mode, and RFI noise the more amazing your digital front end will sound. Here is an article on how to isolate your Streamer from the network. Thousands of audiophiles including me already do it. |
My streamer is plugged directly into an ethernet port on my ATT fiber hub which has four ethernet plugs. I use one of them. Then I run 35 feet of ethernet cable under a rug. According to chatgbt, with the excellent filtering software on the Meitner, I might not need to clean it up. But the iFi LAN iPurifier Pro – Ethernet Noise Filter with Optical Galvanic Isolation, Jitter and Error Elimination – Plug-and-Play for Enhanced Audio & Video Streaming Quality – USB-C Powered sold on Amazon for $299 might do something. If it doesn't, you can return almost anything to Amazon. So, it wouldn't be a risk trying it. I'll wait until I receive my Meitner MA3i and get used to its sound to try the filter. I've seen these filters for thousands of dollars, and I'm not sure how they would be better than this less expensive one. @audphile1 ? |
I have the bssic iFi lan isolator for $85 or whatever it costs. In my system it doesn’t do much. I guess my Ethernet cable does a very nice job so I removed it. However, with a 35ft run of basic Ethernet cable it might help. Worth giving it a try but in my opinion only after the break in. You can also try the iFi isolator pro which is similar to Matrix audio but not as feature rich - the iFi uses wall wart power supply bs Natrix inbuilt linear power supply, the iFi won’t reclock the signal as well as the Matrix would. Personally, my recommendation would be to use a mesh node about 1.5m away from components and get a nice Ethernet cable from mesh to Meitner.Something like DH Labs or Wireworld Starlight 10 Twinax. |
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