[dstrimbu]

Musings on the Original (`73) Tubular Bells, Pt. I via Qobuz, after a cable change

I have been running Urd via Unison USB to Yggy, and my Aries streamer via AES3 to Yggy. I've done this with the MiB and OG A2 DACs, both Unison-capable, most recently the OG which is now in-circuit downstairs.

Long-term analysis:

• Urd as CD player has always sounded the best of the digital sources vs. the streamer. The time domain / "PRAT"-ness of this thing is stunning.
• Urd as CD player has a very LP-like presentation, but with more visceral super-low-end below 30Hz.
• Aries has always sounded really, really good but could occasionally be slightly 'sharp-edged', even when streaming the same track at different times. Some of this could be in my head, some of this could be based on environment. Hell, all of this is in my head.
• The new Aries is a quite a lot better than his older brother in terms of sounding "analog".
• Conclusions:
  • If you are listening casually, it really doesn't matter. Streaming is best because you never need to change media, and you can access it from anywhere,
  • If you are listening analytically - i.e. sitting in front of the main speakers:
    • Qobuz streams are really good, with some better than others...
    • CD are even better, and more consistent in presentation overall, esp. w/r/t timing and fluidity, and
    • LPs sound flat out the best on my gear, YMMV.

So, tonight's exploration: can we make Qobuz streaming sound more like Urd's CD output? i.e., can Urd's DDC make the streamer sound different better?

I had the cables, so I said "why not, it's still early and it's Sunday!"

New config: Aries -> via USB -> URD DDC Port 1 -> via AES -> Yggy OG A2.

I don't think that I've ever heard Redbook audio sound this good - via local SSD, spinning CD or streaming. The weirdest part? The streamer now sounds very, very close to URD's CD presentation. The bass is incredibly deep and open. The highs are slightly rolled off, and that suits my speakers perfectly. It sounds endearingly analog, very different that it did when the Aries was feeding Yggy via AES.

Call me crazy. I have had a few drinks.

Later this week, we'll reconnect Urd to Yggy via Unison, to see if it sounds different, again.

Has anybody else experienced a positive difference in SQ when running a device through Urd as DDC? Yeah, I know, it shouldn't make any difference.

 

[dstrimbu]

No matter how well aligned the stylus - all pivot arms are wearing out grooves unevenly except at two discrete points. Sad, but true.

Yeah but wearing is one thing; re-cutting another. <g>

 

[Derrick Swart]

Nope. Keeping the last leg a short one because I want to arrive in the morning to pick up the keys for the new place and all that. Without the stop in Kerrville, I’d arrive a bit too late in the day.

Or wake-up early!

 

[ScubaMan2017]

How's your new house out in the boondocks coming along, @ScubaMan2017?

We might have occupancy this Fall. 21st century strawbale home.

... http://blackcat.blog/2024/05/11/updates-from-the-proto-farm/

 

[golfbravobravo]

.... when my grandmum (92 at the time) was stopped on the Maine Turnpike for speeding, her retort to the trooper was: "Young man !, I always cruise my age!"

Woman stopped by a Trooper and she says "I suppose you are going to sell me tickets for the State Troopers Ball".

"Madam, State Troopers don't have balls."

Closes ticket book and waalks away.......

 

[US Blues]

Musings on the Original (`73) Tubular Bells, Pt. I via Qobuz, after a cable change

I have been running Urd via Unison USB to Yggy, and my Aries streamer via AES3 to Yggy. I've done this with the MiB and OG A2 DACs, both Unison-capable, most recently the OG which is now in-circuit downstairs.

Long-term analysis:

• Urd as CD player has always sounded the best of the digital sources vs. the streamer. The time domain / "PRAT"-ness of this thing is stunning.
• Urd as CD player has a very LP-like presentation, but with more visceral super-low-end below 30Hz.
• Aries has always sounded really, really good but could occasionally be slightly 'sharp-edged', even when streaming the same track at different times. Some of this could be in my head, some of this could be based on environment. Hell, all of this is in my head.
• The new Aries is a quite a lot better than his older brother in terms of sounding "analog".
• Conclusions:
  • If you are listening casually, it really doesn't matter. Streaming is best because you never need to change media, and you can access it from anywhere,
  • If you are listening analytically - i.e. sitting in front of the main speakers:
    • Qobuz streams are really good, with some better than others...
    • CD are even better, and more consistent in presentation overall, esp. w/r/t timing and fluidity, and
    • LPs sound flat out the best on my gear, YMMV.

So, tonight's exploration: can we make Qobuz streaming sound more like Urd's CD output? i.e., can Urd's DDC make the streamer sound different better?

I had the cables, so I said "why not, it's still early and it's Sunday!"

New config: Aries -> via USB -> URD DDC Port 1 -> via AES -> Yggy OG A2.

I don't think that I've ever heard Redbook audio sound this good - via local SSD, spinning CD or streaming. The weirdest part? The streamer now sounds very, very close to URD's CD presentation. The bass is incredibly deep and open. The highs are slightly rolled off, and that suits my speakers perfectly. It sounds endearingly analog, very different that it did when the Aries was feeding Yggy via AES.

Call me crazy. I have had a few drinks.

Later this week, we'll reconnect Urd to Yggy via Unison, to see if it sounds different, again.

Has anybody else experienced a positive difference in SQ when running a device through Urd as DDC? Yeah, I know, it shouldn't make any difference.

Um, if you are going Aries > Urd via USB, why not Urd > YGGY also via USB?

 

[Derrick Swart]

Contrary to the customary audio upgrade-itis that infests most forums, I wil say "if it ain't broke don't fix it." If you are enjoying the music, then nothing else matters.

For me the way the gear is organised is also part of the musical enjoyment. I am pretty satisfied right now but the cable spaghetti at the back irritates me. Also a major design mistake in the furniture I build annoys ... somehow I believe it sounds better when things are arranged as you wish - probably at ease we hear better

 

[Derrick Swart]

One last motorcycle picture from me. This is me with my Tom Selleck mustache (I was in the Navy at this time and it was cool) with my 4-year-old daughter April, on the only brand-new bike I ever bought. 1980 KZ1000 with a then-styling Windjammer fairing. Riding in N. California, picture taken one-handed with a Kodak instamatic by my friend Roy who rode up alongside us.

cuties!

 

[RCBinTN]

My last bike, great place for stick shift to boot.

Banana seat!

 

[Ableza]

For me the way the gear is organised is also part of the musical enjoyment. I am pretty satisfied right now but the cable spaghetti at the back irritates me. Also a major design mistake in the furniture I build annoys ... somehow I believe it sounds better when things are arranged as you wish - probably at ease we hear better

Audio enjoyment can be a wholistic experience involving all the senses. For some people, visual aesthetics and order are as important as acoustic performance. For others (me) not so much.

 

[bagwell359]

Thanks Debbie Downer.

Easy solution. Souther (antique) or Clearaudio (based on Souther) linear track arm... Those air bearing ones... dunno, not as "pure"

I had a Souther for years no anti skating, no air pushing.. Could play vinyl 25-30 times and sell as M- no problem. VPI HW-17F helped too.

 

[Les Strat]

Musings on the Original (`73) Tubular Bells, Pt. I via Qobuz, after a cable change

I have been running Urd via Unison USB to Yggy, and my Aries streamer via AES3 to Yggy. I've done this with the MiB and OG A2 DACs, both Unison-capable, most recently the OG which is now in-circuit downstairs.

Long-term analysis:

• Urd as CD player has always sounded the best of the digital sources vs. the streamer. The time domain / "PRAT"-ness of this thing is stunning.
• Urd as CD player has a very LP-like presentation, but with more visceral super-low-end below 30Hz.
• Aries has always sounded really, really good but could occasionally be slightly 'sharp-edged', even when streaming the same track at different times. Some of this could be in my head, some of this could be based on environment. Hell, all of this is in my head.
• The new Aries is a quite a lot better than his older brother in terms of sounding "analog".
• Conclusions:
  • If you are listening casually, it really doesn't matter. Streaming is best because you never need to change media, and you can access it from anywhere,
  • If you are listening analytically - i.e. sitting in front of the main speakers:
    • Qobuz streams are really good, with some better than others...
    • CD are even better, and more consistent in presentation overall, esp. w/r/t timing and fluidity, and
    • LPs sound flat out the best on my gear, YMMV.

So, tonight's exploration: can we make Qobuz streaming sound more like Urd's CD output? i.e., can Urd's DDC make the streamer sound different better?

I had the cables, so I said "why not, it's still early and it's Sunday!"

New config: Aries -> via USB -> URD DDC Port 1 -> via AES -> Yggy OG A2.

I don't think that I've ever heard Redbook audio sound this good - via local SSD, spinning CD or streaming. The weirdest part? The streamer now sounds very, very close to URD's CD presentation. The bass is incredibly deep and open. The highs are slightly rolled off, and that suits my speakers perfectly. It sounds endearingly analog, very different that it did when the Aries was feeding Yggy via AES.

Call me crazy. I have had a few drinks.

Later this week, we'll reconnect Urd to Yggy via Unison, to see if it sounds different, again.

Has anybody else experienced a positive difference in SQ when running a device through Urd as DDC? Yeah, I know, it shouldn't make any difference.

Interesting findings @dstrimbu
Thanks for sharing.
I am not using an URD, nor Unison USB, so cannot comment on those.

However, this has been my experience:

For digital playback, CDs sound the 'best' to me.
Ripped CDs on a networked hard drive run CDs very, very close
Qobuz is in third place, but sound quality is still excellent.

Vinyl......well that's a difficult one!

Last night I played a brand new vinyl copy of a Neil Young album ( 'On the Beach') and was unimpressed; to my ears the CD sounds 'better'.

However, some vinyl albums, for example the half-speed masters done by Miles Showell at Abbey Road Studios, sound fantastic.
A couple of examples are 'Avalon' by Roxy Music and 'Tin Drum' by Japan.
Are they 'better' than CDs? Well that's a tough one. Let's just say I would not want to give up my vinyl playback system having re-entered this expensive rabbit hole a couple of years ago as I absolutely love the sound.

Finally, a word on streaming hardware.
Several years ago I did try an Aries G2 streamer with my original A2 Yggy.
I was really disappointed with its sound via USB output into Unison USB in my Yggy.
AES/EBU output from the Aries sounded better, to my ears, but still not good enough to justify the cost of the Aries G2, so I sent it back.

I reverted to my ancient Logitech Transporter as a streamer, using its BNC output.
It runs CDs mighty close and cost me £350 second hand on eBay

 

[Paladin79]

For me the way the gear is organised is also part of the musical enjoyment. I am pretty satisfied right now but the cable spaghetti at the back irritates me. Also a major design mistake in the furniture I build annoys ... somehow I believe it sounds better when things are arranged as you wish - probably at ease we hear better

I do my own cable building, audio rack design, and in some cases amp building, turntable plinth building, etc. I work to maintain a style and placement of gear so I can swap out specific parts easily and in a timely manner. I have easy access for tube rolling and my racks slide out so I can get behind them if I need to get behind them to change cabling or add new components. I can change heights on shelves relatively quickly. Hardwoods in my system are cherry, walnut, birdseye maple, and honey locust.

 

[Bowmoreman]

Easy solution. Souther (antique) or Clearaudio (based on Souther) linear track arm... Those air bearing ones... dunno, not as "pure"

I had a Souther for years no anti skating, no air pushing.. Could play vinyl 25-30 times and sell as M- no problem. VPI HW-17F helped too.

My fellow traveller in high end journeys in the 1990’s had a VPI with the Souther TriQuartz and Koetu Rosewood as his front end. It was extremely nice; every bit the sonic match of my SOTA/SME… it worked very well…. He then fed downstream ARC tube preamp (SP-11 IIRC), thence to a Krell KSA and Martin Logins.

 

[Adam Balm]

Tonight's Jazz recommendation...

Gotta have this one so I just ordered it.
Thanks Ripper.