Altmann Tera Player - Page 47  

I don't agree nor do I hear it that way. Even on Adels 24/96 21 album you can clearly hear the difference. Her vocals are sibilant and harsh on the 16/44 CD album. It is also very digital sounding. On the 24/96 album her vocals have the headroom needed. There isn't enough room in the 16/44 track to carry the dynamics and in this you can hear the harshness and sibilance due to the compression.

For those that believe hires is far better than red book, have you considered that perhaps you haven't listened to well setup red book systems (with all due respect to all here)? Setup is key to a good system (apart from the room of course which is the single most important component IMO).

It's not so simple as to change a component and hear something better or worse. There is system synergy to consider as well, balancing cables, components, shifting speakers etc to maximize the overall quality. These days, its not often that I can swap a component and improve the system in all ways. I have to look for potential and then work to bring it out. It's mostly about compromise.

I understand that high res is theoretically better but practically I have yet to hear systems that can compare with my 'low res' setup in totality. Dynamics isn't all - as you all know! Good sounds shouts at you look at me, great sounds well you're in the music! It's live.

Listen to a Boulder 1021 cd player or an Audio Research CD7 with NOS 6H30 tubes in a proper set up and you'll get your mind blown away.. with normal red book CDs.
Edited by flkin - 12/5/12 at 8:38am

I have and it's meh at best next to a really good turntable setup as well though finding a really good table setup is even more difficult. Would I take said CD player over a squeezebox touch doing HiDef? In a NY minute LOL but when you're comparing to a $30k CD player perhaps you need a 20K turntable setup or streamer. Perhaps you haven't heard a comparable HiRes or analog setup. I am extremely familiar with $20-30k CD players, Nagra professional recorders, both analog and digital and computer audio/mixing with things like Weiss interfaces etc. I don't like computers as source and feel there's better solutions in (dedicated) streaming but they're great tools.

 

 I don't think the Altmann should be part of a HiRes discussion other than it doesn't do it even though it's part of the listed formats. It doesn't matter as long as it sounds good and I don't really know how comparing the length of our HiEnd units applies to portables which are inherently limited, HiDef or not. I'm a big advocate of HiDef but am not that concerned about it in portables due to storage space and the smaller possible margin of improvement on compromised kit. I like to carry more than a few albums on the go. I also like to see what I'm playing. I don't think the Altmann should be getting a bad rap for not being able to play HiDef native  but he should be better about his marketing of same. It was touted as a good thing until I pointed this player didn't do so about 10 pages in. The Altmann may simply be a better mouse trap with the proper compromises. That said, no screen makes it a no go for me and we still don't know it's output impedance.

 

Lee, how did you like that 192 vinyl dub?

Edited by goodvibes - 12/5/12 at 8:32am

Thank you all your kind impressions and all been saind about the Tera Player. And i would like to thank Adrian( Ampussen ) for meeting me so i can try his TP with my W4R wich was brilliant.

I want to say that i have owned DX100, and was not happy with it per total, but the Tera Player is eaxctley what i was after,and the SQ is the best for me.

P.S. i just been ''scammed'' by this kind and nice Mr.Charles wich has answered all my questions.

My TP is in the making and can't wait to get it.

Just realized if all us Tera owners are being scammed, what would someone that believes this and also has heard the Tera Player believes it is worth? I got mine from a fellow member so maybe I got a deal as opposed to everyone else being scammed :-D 

 

What does everyone who's an owner feel they would pay for the Tera Player if they had to buy another one right now. Also include how long you've owned your Tera Player and the amount you use it. Would be interesting to see.

I think that Skamp makes some very valid points and I welcome his contribution to this thread.

I think that every post after Skamp's first one has been getting better and better. At first I was a bit off put because we see a lot of Poo flingers around here but If those people are not trolling us owners but are in fact making conversation and we are all having a meaningful and informative discussion, then I can thik of no better place for that to occur. 

 

I for one now need to check out those hi-res versions of "21" as I have noticed some of the same remarks about the CD I own. I dont think it's an inability of the 16/44.1kHz Red Book format to hold the same dynamics as hi-res files, but rather some oddity that happened when mastering and putting the songs on a CD. If you take a look at the Radiohead album, "King of Limbs", the CD version is quite obviously louder than the digital downloads they provided if you pre-ordered the album from them directly. My Vinyl rips dont seem to have the same issue as the CD rips for that album so I'm all good, but its definitely possible something like that is the case.

 

It sounded really good. I didn't like the Classical album though.

It could be something as simple as timing. 2 samples at 20k can get you nulls as easily as peaks. There's math along with slightly more than 2 samples per to correct for this but it involves averaging of sorts. CDs are closer to 12 bit res in use than 16 so you could say the Altmann is better than CD quality with better files. If it had a screen, I'd at least look at it. Perhaps it's overpriced but all specialty products are so perhaps not so much. Cost of admission.

Music is always in the ear of the beholder.

I wasn't speaking specifically about the sound from the Tera Player. I am talking about opening up audio editing software and looking at the waveforms. You can literally see the difference between the two.

Well, since the 16/44 has less dynamic range, in theory, you would increase the level for better distortion and noise character since the dynamic headroom is not needed. Gain is not really a qualitative difference. You can actually see the finer ladder structure of HiDef with enough zoom on mastering programs but that is also not indicative of better. I think HiDef is better because my ears tell me so when used in good kit, not because of any of the #s or pictures some need. It's not my eyes that I'm trying to convince.