Altmann Tera Player - Page 30  

Quote:

Originally Posted by flkin 

For its designed use, the TP is indeed very good, arguably one of the best players money can buy. I find that for long time, unfatiguing listening, it's extraordinarily good - especially with good ear buds. I consider this the main advantage.
It's not fair to compare the TP with sophisticated home systems where there are no space constraints and larger design budgets.
Buy it for headphones and you'll not regret it. If you want it to double as a home system source, you'll have to lower your expectations.
Only in my opinion 😄

Thanks for the response flkin.

I am hearing that the TP is a great portable player, but not when compared to home systems. Originally, I liked the idea of such a small portable rig with great sound quality, but if I do most of my listening at home, I would be better off spending that $1100 on a home DAC, right? For occasional portable use, I would probably just stick with my Clip+. I was hoping that the TP was good enough such that it would sound better than a home $1100 DAC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tera-Fi 

 

I just noticed the photo.  Very nice shot.  I thought the TH900 would be larger and dominate the T-P in proportion.  But looking at this photo, it pairs pretty well aesthetically.

 

Would love a shot of the T-P with the X-G when you find the right time.

Thanks Tera-Fi.   This is for you.....

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Many people use it for a DAC and preamp in a home rig. I love hooking it up to non-portable setups. I do it quite often if you count my car and speaker monitors in my room.

Quote:

Originally Posted by darinf 

Thanks for the response flkin.

 

I am hearing that the TP is a great portable player, but not when compared to home systems. Originally, I liked the idea of such a small portable rig with great sound quality, but if I do most of my listening at home, I would be better off spending that $1100 on a home DAC, right? For occasional portable use, I would probably just stick with my Clip+. I was hoping that the TP was good enough such that it would sound better than a home $1100 DAC.

Quote:

Originally Posted by evolutionx 

 

Thanks Tera-Fi.   This is for you.....

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Stunningly Gorgeous!  My dream portable setup right there.  Thanks for making the conception real with the photo.  Although, the Chrome Coopers will match better color-wise with the T-P.

If you demoed the X-CC and hear a sound signature difference, let me know.  In the FAD Appreciation thread, someone with the X-CC's mentioned they noticed a difference, but everyone said it was placebo.

I'm amazed that they are so well-balanced that they can stand on their own in that position.  I guess you need that in a horn-system.

Well, it gives me great motivation on what to focus on after the the Tera-Player process has ended.  Much appreciated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tera-Fi 

 

Stunningly Gorgeous!  My dream portable setup right there.  Thanks for making the conception real with the photo.  Although, the Chrome Coopers will match better color-wise with the T-P.

 

If you demoed the X-CC and hear a sound signature difference, let me know.  In the FAD Appreciation thread, someone with the X-CC's mentioned they noticed a difference, but everyone said it was placebo.

 

I'm amazed that they are so well-balanced that they can stand on their own in that position.  I guess you need that in a horn-system.

 

Well, it gives me great motivation on what to focus on after the the Tera-Player process has ended.  Much appreciated.

Hi Tera-Fi,  I am glad you like the photo.    Inspiration come from my ALO Pan Am.     As for the sound signature difference between X-CC and X-G, I demoed both and frankly the difference is very subtle and probably non-existence.    I got the X-G since it seems to be more "limited".       

Which miniplug you using? I dont agree with it not shining in a tabletop setup. I havent tried it with nearly the same equipment. but every application I've used my T-P for has made me love it even more. Give me an idea of how to try and recreate what you're saying so I can offer my own opinion in a more direct way. Obviously the T-P isnt gonna be perfect but as far as I can tell I haven't had the same experience at all.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flkin 


Hi, I was referring to a home room sized system (cd/pre/power/speakers/room) and testing the TP as a source. There are others saying its pretty decent on desktop systems but perhaps they were referring to headphone systems. I did try it on a Meridian F80 tabletop system and still found it a little dull - even when compared to the Meridien's iPhone dock.
Its far superior to the iPhone on headsets for sure but just doesn't shine on larger systems. I wonder why?

The dock likely has a buffer and PS that helps the Iphone's line out. I've found the Itouch and Iphone line outs to be very good if used appropriately. That's likely happening here. You're using the full amp out from the Altmann but it should still be fine from an electrical matching point of view and offer a fair compare. Try those sam wav files on the Iphone. It will play them fine and give an exact compare. It will also help to put it in airplane mode for strict music listening. You can bump the display off with the edge button as well as it robs a lot of supply.

Do you turn the volume up all the way when using that side socket? I would try a different cord as well. If it's not gold plated mini plugs then you should try something along those lines. Might not have much of an effect, but your setup is only as strong as it's weakest link. Their always seems to be some debate about cables, I have my own beliefs that they do make a difference up to a certain point and that different materials will yield different results, but for the most part you need a cable that hasnt been bent much or hasnt had any kinks to make sure you are having a good connection. 

I would try the WAV files on your iPhone for a more fair assessment. Different codecs will sound different. MP3's are definitely not what you should judge by. Might even want to give a try at encoding those mp3's into wavs and compare against the lossless wav files. you'd be surprised how different they can sound.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flkin 

Yes, I'm a little baffled why it doesn't play better in my other devices, kenman any comments would be welcomed to figure out why.
In the Meridien, I simply used the Aux1 via an unbranded mini to mini cable. Not a high end cable but not the worst either. It's what I got packaged with my Foxl v1 portable speakers. Used the side headphone socket on the Tera Player, not the center socket.
When comparing MP3s ripped at 320kb/s played from an iPhone 4S in the Meridien F80's dock, the sound is well balanced and sound fine as expected. However, then using the Tera Player with the lossless WAV files from the same CD, it sounds muted, less treble and lifeless.
I can't figure out why. Could it be that Charles' unusual choice of DAC chip and his design criteria for long time effortless listening makes it incredible with headsets but not so otherwise?

A bunch of things to do - will try and report once done! 

I agree that cords make a difference and sometimes quite a big difference especially in high resolution systems. I'm been playing with interconnects and other cables for a long time and am fully aware of their contributions. The one I used was unbranded but had gold plated pin connectors and properly burnt in over a few years. I don't think they were the cause of the differences but I'll try other interconnects as well to be doubly sure.

As for the other changes to try, I expect them to only improve the performance of the iphone making the difference with the TP even greater - but who knows what will happen if I compare exact files on both devices. It should be done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by flkin 

A bunch of things to do - will try and report once done! 

 

I agree that cords make a difference and sometimes quite a big difference especially in high resolution systems. I'm been playing with interconnects and other cables for a long time and am fully aware of their contributions. The one I used was unbranded but had gold plated pin connectors and properly burnt in over a few years. I don't think they were the cause of the differences but I'll try other interconnects as well to be doubly sure.

 

As for the other changes to try, I expect them to only improve the performance of the iphone making the difference with the TP even greater - but who knows what will happen if I compare exact files on both devices. It should be done.

My take as well since the Iphone sounds quite good with wav but always best to use the same files.

Agreed. WAV files compared to WAV files will be best. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by goodvibes 

My take as well since the Iphone sounds quite good with wav but always best to use the same files.

But still try that re-encoding thing from mp3 to WAV file, they may actually sound quite similar to you no matter which player. How old is this player? Just wondering how long you've had it and everything. It escapes me right now if you ever mentioned this information, but my appreciation for the Tera Player has grown dramatically after the "honeymoon" period

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenman345 

Agreed. WAV files compared to WAV files will be best. 

But still try that re-encoding thing from mp3 to WAV file, they may actually sound quite similar to you no matter which player. How old is this player? Just wondering how long you've had it and everything. It escapes me right now if you ever mentioned this information, but my appreciation for the Tera Player has grown dramatically after the "honeymoon" period

I've had the Tera Player just over a month. Been leaving it on, with and without music playing constantly since that time with headphones attached. I'd say I have roughly 200+ hours music time on it by now. I think I've also noticed an improvement with some tracks over this time - unfortunately too many variables to be absolutely sure but complex orchestra music seems to be better resolved and smoother. A touch harder when I first received the TP.

Iphone 4s in the thousands hour range. I stream radio through the dock a few hours a day. The Meridien, pretty new. I dont use it much and total music time around 20 hours to date with even less time through the dock.

Yes, I'll encode the 320kb/s MP3 files back into WAV and see if there is a difference too.