ARRIVED: new Rega DAC - Page 9

 

 

The reason the Audiophilleo interests me is that like the Halide Bridge, it can directly connect without needing to deal with an SPDIF cable.  Since it also supports 192khz and is asynchronous usb, it sounds like a winner.

 

Please keep us posted, I for one am interested if a powercord makes much difference on the Rega DAC.

 

Today, I did some experimenting with the filters; the differences are subtle, I don't think I would be able to differntiate between the two most different filter in a blind test, and I'm probably biased because I read something about filters first, so for what it is worth: I prefer filter 5; it seems to take away the slighty too "pushy" character I get on filter one.

But again, I've to admit that on paper it seems to reduce "digital nasties" more then the other filter and that must have influenced me.

On my speakerbased system the differences are marginal, perhaps on a headphonebased system the character of the filters is more pronounced?

Edited by dura - 3/19/11 at 4:37am

Hey guys, just to get this out of my system regarding the filters.

 

It seems to me when I heard them at the shop over USB, they don't seem to make much of a difference (probably too subtle to discern). My question is, when considering the filters, would they be more effective over, say, coaxial SPDIF instead? Or could it be the USB implementation itself is already too problematic (eg. jittery, noisy, etc.) to even appreciate any noticeable change?

 

If it's the latter (partly the former also), what would be a good low-cost, asynchronous USB to SPDIF transport to consider for this DAC? Would the Musical Fidelity V-Link do the job well?

 

I was listening to this setup:  Audacity -> generic USB cable -> Rega DAC -> Chord Crimson Plus -> Rega EAR -> HD600

 

Tracks used were 1411 AIFFs.

 

Thanks in advance!

Just wondering if any of you have played back 176khz files successfully yet.  I've read numerous reports of failure to lock at that rate, though it wasn't clear if it was the USB to SPDIF converters that had the problem, the Rega, or the combination that failed. 

I tried filter 5 for a while. Initially it sounded more relaxed on rougher tracks felt 'murky' across a rage of material.

I keep reverting back to filter 1 as the best 'all-rounder'

You can drive yourself straight into Audiophilia Nervosa with those filters, and since I had some spare time, I decided to go for that and take a comparitive listening test, at first using some record of a bamboo flute in a cave.

Not really representative of what I listen normally, but it does have a sound stage with width and depth and the flute has characteristics that are sensitive to small chances in the set.

 

These are my impressions on my speakerbased system using 44/16, redbook files:

1) my least favorite, detailed but pushy and too much bass.

2) pleasantly creamy, seems to loose some detail compared to the brighter settings, but it seems this filtersetting is most capable of letting voices stand out of the mix

3) somehow a slightly dead, stylized sound, not my favorite

4) dark and pleasantly smooth and mellow (probably because of a little treble roll off) good width and depth

5) detailed, spacious and the most realistic, but a little bit bright.

 

The differences are very subtle (especially when using music with more variation then I used, which is almost any music), but on my system filter #1 seems the least suitable, except when I need some headbanging.

My favorites are 2 and 4 now, 5 being slightly too bright, 1 slightly too pussy and bassy.

 

The limitations of my impressions are obvious: f.i., "pushy and too much bass" can be an advantage too, listening to rock on a bass light system.

So it all depends on musical taste and system, and since the difference are subtle, I would advice against making this too much of an issue.

No doubts other hear different things, I also couldn't find any relation between what I heard and the white papers describing what the filters are supposed to do here , ánd I'm 52 so take all this with a grain of salt.

 

Edit: sometimes updated with additional listening experiences.

Edited by dura - 3/23/11 at 3:34am

I seem to gravitate more and more to filter 2, both for redbook and higher-res music.
But I still find the differences subtile and music dependent, no doubt hardware characteristics play a big role too, so YMMV.

I would absolutely like to hear your impressions and preferences.
Edited by dura - 3/25/11 at 6:54am

I tried the filters and liked Filters 2 and 5 the best, but prefer 5.  Filters 1 seemed a bit too bright for my system, especially for the Beyerdynamic DT990.  Vocals on Filter 3 doesn't sound as natural as the other filters.  I can't really tell the difference between Filters 4 and 5. 

 

I got a C5-to-IEC power adapter and tried the Iron Lung Jellyfish power cord.  It made the sound brighter and the sibilance was unbearable (on the Beyerdynamic DT990).  Weird...

khollister, where you able to compare the stock power cord with your Pangea AC14SE? 

 

 

khollister, have you ever tried 176.4 khz files from your evo to the Rega?  If you have any files of that type, could you try it out to see if it works?   Thanks!

Anybody heard both the Rega DAC and the PS Audio Digital Link III ?

Fascinating to read about which filter people prefer and why; we all hear different, looking first for deep bass, pure treble, transients, detail, hating other aspects like sharp treble, boombass, etc. etc. I'm convinced even two people loving the same music and listening to the same hardware will hear the same; one of them  f.i. bobs his head on the rhythm, the other is enjoying the lovely tonal qualities of the singer, another loves the beauty of the melody fore all...

Did some more experimenting and I'm back now to filter 5; it gives more dynamics, better stereo sound stage and details then filter 2 and to my ears the purest treble of all filters; in return filter 2 gives a rounded off sound that can be pleasant with the voice more in the foreground, but with some grain.

Compared to my former Audio-GD REF5 the Rega is on most accounts better, and certainly more enjoyable (the only thing that really really counts, I buy this things for my pleasure) but the Audio-GD was much clearer then the Rega, which seems to have a veil, more background noise.

I'm suspecting using the supplied lead, Khollister clearly stated it makes a big difference in his system and I remember my Apollo suddenly sounding a lot cleaner after I installed the vd Hul Mainsserver, a 'filtering' power cord, that certainly made a difference. Perhaps I'll buy one again, I'll experiment some more after I receive my C5-IEC adapter; I wish Rega would have gone IEC in the first place, slightly chancing the board or cage so that it would fit, can't be that much real estate.