Altmann Tera Player - Page 83  

Quote:

Originally Posted by goodvibes 

I do tend to find battery power a bit laggy at times but then SS supplies have their own issues. I agree that changing the voice of something designed by same is questionable. In that case, there are always other options.

Yes, battery supply can sound laggy, but that is often due to the battery used.

With a fully charged Optima Red Top everything I find the sound extremely dynamic and no further cap needed ... just my opinion, 

Charles :)

I don't know how to read those measurement things anyways :-) Guess no matter what I'm sticking with the Tera Player. I managed to track down the original owner of the Tera Player I have and got him to send over a PDF of the invoice for the order. Guess I can now claim my warranty if I ever need to, so I'll really be sticking with the Tera Player for a good long time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiFlight 

Just a hypothetical question to those who might be considering the purchase of a Tera-Player:

Let's say that you did order one and discovered after listening to it for a period of time that it really did sound very good to your ears, maybe even better than other players that you may have owned or heard, and you felt quite pleased with your decision to own the Tera.

Shortly thereafter, someone posted measurements that were said to have been done on the Tera-Player, and that the results were rather disappointing in that they were not even as good as those posted for the inexpensive Clip.

Question....What would you do...sell your Tera-Player and purchase a Clip based on what you read or continue to enjoy what you heard???

This question is, of course, not limited to the Tera-Player, but is equally applicable to other audio devices. Just substitute whichever two you wish in place of "Tera-Player" and "Clip" in the above question!

Maybe the question isn't so hypothetical after all!

I wonder what would happen, if restaurants would start doing measurements on their dishes ?

So there is restaurant A, where I like to go, because the food always smells good, looks good, tastes good and makes me feel good.

Then there is restaurant B with excellent measurements (I'm glad they don't exist - yet), but all I get is fast food. Its okay, but does not really make me feel good, but - on paper - its supposed to be just awesome :)

This is the state of audio today. It is sad.

I can understand the question about measurements, but in a way it is very related to the Super Trump card games that we did as children. You just had to chose the highest (or lowest) number and you won.

If it were so easy to translate great sound quality, the good feeling, the beauty of the reproduction into numbers, we probably would have made a big step forward. But I think it is very complex (as also indicated in the ESS video), probably as complex as assessing the quality of an excellent meal in a very good restaurant.

If you dissect the delicious meal into its components, you may be able to say that the raw materials are not beyond their date of expiry, but you are so far away of make any significant statement on its deliciousness ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by HiFlight 

Just a hypothetical question to those who might be considering the purchase of a Tera-Player:

Let's say that you did order one and discovered after listening to it for a period of time that it really did sound very good to your ears, maybe even better than other players that you may have owned or heard, and you felt quite pleased with your decision to own the Tera.

Shortly thereafter, someone posted measurements that were said to have been done on the Tera-Player, and that the results were rather disappointing in that they were not even as good as those posted for the inexpensive Clip.

Question....What would you do...sell your Tera-Player and purchase a Clip based on what you read or continue to enjoy what you heard???

This question is, of course, not limited to the Tera-Player, but is equally applicable to other audio devices. Just substitute whichever two you wish in place of "Tera-Player" and "Clip" in the above question!

Maybe the question isn't so hypothetical after all!

Quite a few people on various forums decided to sell their Sony Walkman Z when the first measurements came out. I was equally shocked when a HiFi magazine measured the Zout of my European Z at 24Ohm. 

I then compared the amp in the Z with its line out using an amp with closed the 0 Zout and in most cases preferred the Z without the amp. 

I now laugh at the outraged Head-fiers who demonised the new Ak100 

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenpunk 

Quite a few people on various forums decided to sell their Sony Walkman Z when the first measurements came out. I was equally shocked when a HiFi magazine measured the Zout of my European Z at 24Ohm. 

I then compared the amp in the Z with its line out using an amp with closed the 0 Zout and in most cases preferred the Z without the amp. 

I now laugh at the outraged Head-fiers who demonised the new Ak100 

There might be a different explanation for that, from what you think. When I bought a LOD for my Sony A845 Walkman, I ended up disappointed about the subjective lack of improvement in SQ. I thought it sounded even slightly worse than the HPO.

A few days later I gave my A845 to dfkt for measurements, and sure enough: the HPO wasn't that great to begin with, but the line out turned out to be even worse.

I think audio is something you hear first, care about measurements when you're dead. I've never looked at measurements and tried to understand them. I read up and ask questions to people. I research music and technology theory to find the best solution for me. That's how I picked Aurisonics for my CIEM's because I like the dynamic driver to them and them being an American based company. I chose to get a Tera Player because everything I had heard about it made me understand that it was worth a try. Everything pointed to it being more than adequate for my needs and I have not been wrong at all. So apparently the Tera Player is ~7.5 Ohm's.....still doesnt tell me anything when it pairs so well with my CIEM's which basically need no power at all. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by zenpunk 

Quite a few people on various forums decided to sell their Sony Walkman Z when the first measurements came out. I was equally shocked when a HiFi magazine measured the Zout of my European Z at 24Ohm. 

I then compared the amp in the Z with its line out using an amp with closed the 0 Zout and in most cases preferred the Z without the amp. 

I now laugh at the outraged Head-fiers who demonised the new Ak100 

I greatly appreciate this analogy with the card games. In some respects I feel like my Tera Player makes me look elitist to the rest of the Head-Fi community, but to others I look like a fool. The fact of the matter is that I enjoy my music to a great degree each and every day during my commutes to school and in between classes. Before I used to place so much thought on the source and having all the right cables and everything else. Now I just dont. It's a great relief. I focus my expenses on what music I should buy. which is how I like it. 

Quote:

So tell me, How is food measured? how does it directly relate to the quality and enjoyment of the food if the food is measured better or worse? Many people love fast food, they enjoy it a lot. It apparently measures poorly. How are you making a valid point?

Quote:

Originally Posted by skamp 

Food can and is measured actually, and fast food doesn't measure well, any nutritionist will tell you that. Bad analogy.

Also, there's no way you could redeem stuff like, say, high output impedance. So how about everyone stop evading requests for objective measurements and just publish them. Potential TP customers deserve to get that sort of information.

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 

 

There might be a different explanation for that, from what you think. When I bought a LOD for my Sony A845 Walkman, I ended up disappointed about the subjective lack of improvement in SQ. I thought it sounded even slightly worse than the HPO.

 

A few days later I gave my A845 to dfkt for measurements, and sure enough: the HPO wasn't that great to begin with, but the line out turned out to be even worse.

Interesting point but the LO measurement just seems to highlight how poorly those two amps perform. I have seen measurements of the LO (loaded with high Z as you would expect when using an amp) of the Z and there were quite a bit better than the HO loaded with 16Ohms. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by james444 

 

There might be a different explanation for that, from what you think. When I bought a LOD for my Sony A845 Walkman, I ended up disappointed about the subjective lack of improvement in SQ. I thought it sounded even slightly worse than the HPO.

 

A few days later I gave my A845 to dfkt for measurements, and sure enough: the HPO wasn't that great to begin with, but the line out turned out to be even worse.

This and without knowing the circuit, hooking up the line out could be paralleling the input of 2 amps which can cause other forms of active nonlinearities.

That said, if I like the way something sounds, ummm, I probably like the way it sounds. In this case, I'd like to see more extension on top but we're talking about a DAP here and there's plenty wrong with all of them even if they don't all measure like there's something wrong.

I have heard Chucky's other bits and while they weren't for me, they're clearly better than their modest measurements may suggest. I suspect that's the same here and it's easier to hit that pitch in the minors.

Looking at the DAC, I suspect that he heard phase shift and digital brick walls more annoying in his chosen topology than a simple low phase slope and started it where he did as his best compromise of sound and waveform. He likely doesn't care for upsampling either, especially with an ASRC to help in that way. Yes, it may seem like madness to many but there's generally a method to this madness. I won't be buying one and Chucky might have a bit too much fun with his descriptions but it's because he can afford to, simply beause enough people actually like his stuff.

Sisters a dietitian. That's someone that's actually certified. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist. Anyways, the point is the health benefits of food still doesn't tell you if it's any good tasting. I have no ability to cook but I can put together a meal with foods that "measure well".

And I look at the written word for products, then I read up on Head-Fi about it, then I email the manufacturer about their product before finally making my purchase. I don't need measurements to tell me anything. EDIT: To say I am ignorant is just plain ignorance yourself. I spend hours upon hours researching the technology behind gear, the reviews of people with that gear, and then make an informed decision. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by skamp 

That's called willful ignorance. Objective measurements can help people evaluate if some gear is likely to fit their needs (e.g. output impedance low enough to work well with non flat impedance IEMs or headphones) without having to buy the product just to test it, at the risk of having to sell it at a loss.
I'm not a nutritionist, but I think my point is pretty straightforward. There is such a thing as good food (that gives your body what it needs) and bad food (that is low on essential nutriments and mostly gets transformed into fat). Didn't your mother teach you that?

Publishing some good measurements would do the players reputation no harm at all and may convince some of the skeptics to give it a go. It is very expensive and has limited functionality therefore taking a leap of faith based on the subjective opinion of others is a big deal. I don't see any problem with publishing some figures...unless the fundamentals measure badly?

I am not in the group of people with the right equipment to do such measurements. I only have laptops. Anyways, just wanted to clear it up that I do look at some measurements like the published ones for any headphone, I meant the RMAA ones everyone cares so much about, I never bother with those. But I look at what you'd find on the back of a retail box, those can be useful sometimes, but not the most important thing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mark_h 

Publishing some good measurements would do the players reputation no harm at all and may convince some of the skeptics to give it a go. It is very expensive and has limited functionality therefore taking a leap of faith based on the subjective opinion of others is a big deal. I don't see any problem with publishing some figures...unless the fundamentals measure badly?