[subzer0]

Quote:

It should do fine powering the T1s and do a good job.
 
But, with these new flagships, its really about building a system around them...source/dac/amp/cables, etc... for the to really shine.
 

working on building a complete system, trust me!
 
many thanks for your wisdom.

 

[Saintly]

Does anyone notice any distortion during intense passages in higher registers on particular tracks?  "Still Dirrty" and "Ain't No Other Man" from the Christina Aguilera's album Back to Basics comes to mind.  I also have this issue in a select few spots in Norah Jones' Come Away with Me and Feels Like Home and Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love."
 
At first I thought it was something to do with my set-up (Apple Lossless > HRT MS II > SOHA II / Fiio E9 > T1) but it happens with different amps and headphones.  It also happens through my desktop speakers plugged straight through my laptop.
 
I looked around and came across this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/252412/distortion-on-cds
My situation is exactly as the OP described.
 
Has anyone had the same problem?  

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

Does anyone notice any distortion during intense passages in higher registers on particular tracks?  "Still Dirrty" and "Ain't No Other Man" from the Christina Aguilera's album Back to Basics comes to mind.  I also have this issue in a select few spots in Norah Jones' Come Away with Me and Feels Like Home and Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love."
 
At first I thought it was something to do with my set-up (Apple Lossless > HRT MS II > SOHA II / Fiio E9 > T1) but it happens with different amps and headphones.  It also happens through my desktop speakers plugged straight through my laptop.
 
I looked around and came across this thread: http://www.head-fi.org/t/252412/distortion-on-cds
My situation is exactly as the OP described.
 
Has anyone had the same problem?  

IMO, "Come Away with Me" is a horribly mastered album.... over modulated in many places. 
 
The higher the resolution of your system the more flaws you will discover in recorded media.

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

IMO, "Come Away with Me" is a horribly mastered album.... over modulated in many places. 
 
The higher the resolution of your system the more flaws you will discover in recorded media.

 
So you do notice the same digital clipping in some places?  Have you heard those songs I mentioned Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics?
 
I bought the Norah Jones album after seeing how much people on here rave about her.  After hearing the distortion in several spots, I'm a bit surprised.
 
 

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

 
So you do notice the same digital clipping in some places?  Have you heard those songs I mentioned Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics?
 
I bought the Norah Jones album after seeing how much people on here rave about her.  After hearing the distortion in several spots, I'm a bit surprised.
 
 

I haven't spent any time with Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics, but I too was surprised to find all the clipping on Norah Jones' album and the song "Come Away with Me" sounds like she has a cold or a stuffed nose.

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

I haven't spent any time with Christina Aguilera's Back to Basics, but I too was surprised to find all the clipping on Norah Jones' album and the song "Come Away with Me" sounds like she has a cold or a stuffed nose.

Good to know that the problem lies with the CDs rather than my set-up.  It had me pretty worried trying to isolate the source of the clipping.  At first I thought it was my amp clipping from the 2.25 V output of the MS II, and Kevin from HRT thought so as well. 
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/581735/distortion-clipping-with-fiio-e9-and-hrt-music-streamer-ii#post_7914778
 
However, the clipping was still there after I tried another amp and also through my PC's on board audio straight to desktop speakers, so I suspected the problem lies elsewhere.
 
Do you know of any other albums that are known to have distal clipping and is there a way to reduce it at all?
 
Thanks for your help in confirming the source of the problem!  

 

[leng jai]

If you have a decent source and don't use EQ then 95% of the time any distortion/clipping is coming from the recording itself. Its depressingly prevalent these days.

 

[Wapiti]

Quote:

 
 
I bought the Norah Jones album after seeing how much people on here rave about her.  After hearing the distortion in several spots, I'm a bit surprised.
 
 

Ghastly performances captured in dreadful sound.  A dreadful album.

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

Ghastly performances captured in dreadful sound.  A dreadful album.

Unfortunately, I had to pay to find this out.
 
The album is the exact opposite of what so many rave about on here.
 

 

[caracara08]

Quote:

Unfortunately, I had to pay to find this out.
 
The album is the exact opposite of what so many rave about on here.
 

i may be shunned but i really like norah jones but i do agree, i have her CDs and rip them flac and seem to get distortion.  i thought maybe it was ripped wrong so i actually re did them.

 

[Saintly]

Quote:

i may be shunned but i really like norah jones but i do agree, i have her CDs and rip them flac and seem to get distortion.  i thought maybe it was ripped wrong so i actually re did them.

Haha, you definitely won't be shunned.  So many Head-Fiers raves about her.  If anything, I'm the one who's at risk of being cast out.
 
It's such a shame that good music has to be tainted by bad recording.  Christina Aguilera has some pretty nice songs but it's impossible to enjoy some of them... 

 

[Wapiti]

Quote:

i may be shunned but i really like norah jones but i do agree, i have her CDs and rip them flac and seem to get distortion.

Not at.  We all have our preferences. 
 
I need to find my copy <shudder> and take a look.  It may be that it is recorded with many peaks at 0 dBfs.  If so, some DACs will have trouble recreating intersample peaks that go above 0 dBfs without distortion.  
 
I don't recall distortion as much as a flat, lifeless uninvolving sound - precisely mirroring the music.

 
Edit:  A quick look reveals heavy limiting The peaks are squashed so that the overall volume can be raised.  There is plenty of overall dynamic compression, but the flattened peaks are more troubling.  The peak levels are -0.1dBfs.  Some converters/chips will have trouble with this (not that many - it is the underlying recording that is the issue).
 

 

[upstateguy]

Quote:

i may be shunned but i really like norah jones but i do agree, i have her CDs and rip them flac and seem to get distortion.  i thought maybe it was ripped wrong so i actually re did them.

I re-ripped them a few times before I realized that the problem was in the CD.
 
You and I might quibble about cables, but I agree with you about Norah Jones... I really like Norah Jones too.
 
Some of the same songs are in the movie sound track of "Love Actually" and they sound great there.

 

[Frank I]

Quote:

i may be shunned but i really like norah jones but i do agree, i have her CDs and rip them flac and seem to get distortion.  i thought maybe it was ripped wrong so i actually re did them.

I have the SACD of Come Away with me and hear no distortion nor do I on other CD's of hers. Could it be you may be hearing jitter from USB connections as I am a little confused as i get none of that in the recordings I have.

 

[caracara08]

Quote:

I re-ripped them a few times before I realized that the problem was in the CD.
 
You and I might quibble about cables, but I agree with you about Norah Jones... I really like Norah Jones too.
 
Some of the same songs are in the movie sound track of "Love Actually" and they sound great there.

 
lol then all is good! 
 
Quote:

I have the SACD of Come Away with me and hear no distortion nor do I on other CD's of hers. Could it be you may be hearing jitter from USB connections as I am a little confused as i get none of that in the recordings I have.

hmm this is interesting.  could be my cheap source and i kind of always thought it was because its not the csp2 or the t1/hd650.  either that or maybe some settings in foobar are wrong.  i am using optical.