onlythat
New Head-Fier
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- Apr 1, 2007
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The PUC’n Breeze... (so far)
So I got a used Breeze (with Talema) at a good price from a forum member and the fight has been on for main system superiority head to head against my PUC 2 Lite USB to AES converter. Plan was loser sits permanently on the musical sidelines in the headphone system in the office. (It’s actually a comfortable office, so don’t worry about the losing converter’s welfare). I first wanna say rb has some Ceriously golden (graphene?) ears! (Audio-speak translation: based on everything of his I’ve read, his sonic sensibilities seem to align wholeheartedly with mine
The Breeze is the first converter in my system to last more than about two tracks (of any genre) against the mighty PUC. No sir, the Breeze aint PUCin’ around! Now there are some caveats: because Breeze was bought lightly used, not sure how many miles she has on the odometer and rb says it takes some time to break in. Also, I do not have in house the esteemed/officially rb-approved Cerious Graphene power cord. And here is where you should start listening to rb; the man is exactly right on when he says the Breeze is power cord sensitive. It is! Started with the stock cord and it was a terrific machine, but with just a touch of edge (break in too?) and slightly less depth etc. Switched a few cables I had in house and presto! Arrived at the JPS Labs The Digital 2m AC cable and it was a match made in heaven. I’m betting, based on rb’s amazement, that the Cerious would scale even loftier sonic heights, but alas, I’ve spent too much on all these stoopid doo-dads and converters to try that one right now.
In any case, with the JPS Labs power cord and Mogami gold XLR digital cable in place, I was ready to roll. (I initially slightly prefered the Breeze's AES output to it's RCA and my DAC can take AES or RCA coax, but later when I switched in a ‘better’ SPDIF cable, things evened out a bit more between these outputs). Now I’m not going to do one of those every single damn track I heard 'blow by blow' reviews, as I myself find them very tedious to read (and write. Basically, in my view, a component has a certain sound relative to your 'reference' component (who knows which is really “right”?) and it doesn’t matter how many tracks or genres you run through; this sonic signature stays pretty constant and the thing either makes music for you or it doesn't. If you are attracted to someone, do you ask them to stand like this and then like this and then... no! You are just attracted to them or not Later you will discover they too are flawed and only human, but I digress...
So I picked a few albums I liked and which are really well recorded and there you have it. I used Eddie Higgins Trio ‘Ballad Higgins,’ (some amazing bass on some of these tracks of mellow jazz; stream it on Tidal!), The Wanderer Trio ‘Beethoven Trios’ (what can I say, I like trios?) and lots of really good concert pianists like the guy who won the 17th International Chopin competition and Yundi Li playing the same piece back to back (the No. 17 Chopin prelude, for example. FYI, I preferred Yundi Li’s playingJ
(Drum roll…….) In very general terms—it’s now a close horse race! Finally. The verdict? Both are really really (really) good converters! Thank you to RB for discovering this little guy! Both share a wonderful way with imaging/stage width and depth, dynamics and tone, and most importantly musical engagement. Also—a first for a Chinese-made converter for me, there have been zero dropouts or issues with the Breeze and in that sense it is ‘PUC-like’ in it’s reliability. With Tidal, HD Classics or Audirvana Plus, this thing just ‘works’!! (And let the record so reflect the newest Audirvana plus sounds awesome!!) So on points, and this is with an unknown amount of break in and without the Cerious Graphene power cord, if the PUC is at 100, the Breeze is between 92 and 96. Why? For me it comes down to BS and TP (thought you’d enjoy thatJ Namely, Bass, Space and Tonal Purity. In my system thusly wired, the PUC 2 Lite has just a smidgeon more bass, a tiny bit more air and space and a certain tonal purity; very slightly ‘purer’ than the Breeze. A good 6moons-type phrase would be something like ‘with a well-recorded piano, the breeze is slightly more string than mallet and the PUC is slightly more felted mallet on string.’ There. And you didn’t have to read 20 pages of circuit diagrams and interviews with the designer’s elementary school teacher and golf caddy to get to that statement
I kid! I kid!! (rimshot please). Both converters suffer no lack of impact and image size but maybe the PUC 2 is very slightly ‘meatier’ or ‘weightier’ sounding than the Breeze; slightly ‘bigger’ sounding? So thus far I would say if your DAC does not have an AES input, definitely just go for the Breeze and be done with it, but cable it appropriately! And if you do have AES input capability, I might go for the PUC 2 Lite.
However—I have not heard the Breeze with the Cerious power cord of rb’s affections and affectations. I will say I know rb uses a power strip with filtering for his digital gear and I am guessing that this is the reason I liked the JPS Labs The Digital AC cord so much with it (which is not good with amps in my experience!); because it contains some kind of AC filtration per the design brief. This seems to be just what the Breeze needs. But I am very curious to try the CeriousJ
Essentially, and this is sans-Graphene and again with who knows how much break in on the Breeze, I could listen to either of these converters forever (read: at least 3 months in audio terms); music sounds so real with them in the system and so present and the stand-up bass on something like the ‘Ballad Higgins’ disc is frightening with either converter (especially with the SVS SB 1000 subwoofer I bought to try!). Imaging is similarly spooky. Really, if I suddenly lost one or the other of these converters, I could happily live with either, though with the Breeze, I’d probably be unable to stop asking myself how much better it might could get if I ordered the Cerious power cord (thanks rb
Bottom-line, yes I feel the PUC 2 beats the Breeze in several areas but only just, and then only if you have AES input on your DAC. Otherwise you may need a 110ohm to 75ohm converter between them and who knows what that might do to the PUC’s small musical advantage? Also, the PUC does require USB power and the Breeze does not. That means either you run a standard USB cable with it or, in the case of a split cable, employ a linear power supply like my Teradak. So an added expense if you need a linear power supply. On the other hand, the PUC is totally power cord insensitive cause it doesn't have one
I thought about not writing this pseudo-review yet because again (for probably the 3rd timeJ, I am not certain of amount of break in time on Breeze (it definitely isn’t right out of box) and also don’t have the ‘ideal’ power cord, so please take this brief sketch as saying simply that the Breeze is a superb converter with which, if I lost the PUC 2, I could happily live and not notice any Cerious(!) loss of musical involvement.
Also, on a related and interesting note, I want to add that I bought the Lite speed 2G cable based on rb’s writings/recs and damn! This thing is one hell of a USB cable! Initially, it seemed there was a slight break in time (maybe 10 or 15 hours?) where maybe some image center-fill was lacking, but since it settled down, no such issue exists and it has just been so involving; pacey with a huge soundstage, wonderful tone and depth—just wow. It was neck and neck initially with my reference USB cable (Chord Silver Plus) and that cable is similarly engaging, pacey and musical. However I think the Lite Speed just slightly beats it on tonality (a bit more refined without being laid back) and bass (a bit deeper) as well as stage depth. The Chord may be slightly pacier and it speaks with a slightly more forward accent up top. A terrific cable, but I am starting to prefer the Lite Speed 2G. Again, much like the converters they’re attached to, I could happily live with either, but head to head (both with AQ Jitterbug attached), I keep coming back to the 2G now as the slightly more ‘natural’ and broader sounding cable. Whew! That was a close one for the PUC 2 Lite! She almost ended up in the office system. Too bad I cant really put her there even if she lost because that DAC has only RCA coax inputJ I didn’t tell the PUC that before the contest so as not to scare the poor thing… Now someone get me a Cerious! I’m Cerious! J
So I got a used Breeze (with Talema) at a good price from a forum member and the fight has been on for main system superiority head to head against my PUC 2 Lite USB to AES converter. Plan was loser sits permanently on the musical sidelines in the headphone system in the office. (It’s actually a comfortable office, so don’t worry about the losing converter’s welfare). I first wanna say rb has some Ceriously golden (graphene?) ears! (Audio-speak translation: based on everything of his I’ve read, his sonic sensibilities seem to align wholeheartedly with mine
The Breeze is the first converter in my system to last more than about two tracks (of any genre) against the mighty PUC. No sir, the Breeze aint PUCin’ around! Now there are some caveats: because Breeze was bought lightly used, not sure how many miles she has on the odometer and rb says it takes some time to break in. Also, I do not have in house the esteemed/officially rb-approved Cerious Graphene power cord. And here is where you should start listening to rb; the man is exactly right on when he says the Breeze is power cord sensitive. It is! Started with the stock cord and it was a terrific machine, but with just a touch of edge (break in too?) and slightly less depth etc. Switched a few cables I had in house and presto! Arrived at the JPS Labs The Digital 2m AC cable and it was a match made in heaven. I’m betting, based on rb’s amazement, that the Cerious would scale even loftier sonic heights, but alas, I’ve spent too much on all these stoopid doo-dads and converters to try that one right now.
In any case, with the JPS Labs power cord and Mogami gold XLR digital cable in place, I was ready to roll. (I initially slightly prefered the Breeze's AES output to it's RCA and my DAC can take AES or RCA coax, but later when I switched in a ‘better’ SPDIF cable, things evened out a bit more between these outputs). Now I’m not going to do one of those every single damn track I heard 'blow by blow' reviews, as I myself find them very tedious to read (and write
. Basically, in my view, a component has a certain sound relative to your 'reference' component (who knows which is really “right”?) and it doesn’t matter how many tracks or genres you run through; this sonic signature stays pretty constant and the thing either makes music for you or it doesn't. If you are attracted to someone, do you ask them to stand like this and then like this and then... no! You are just attracted to them or not Later you will discover they too are flawed and only human, but I digress...So I picked a few albums I liked and which are really well recorded and there you have it. I used Eddie Higgins Trio ‘Ballad Higgins,’ (some amazing bass on some of these tracks of mellow jazz; stream it on Tidal!), The Wanderer Trio ‘Beethoven Trios’ (what can I say, I like trios?) and lots of really good concert pianists like the guy who won the 17th International Chopin competition and Yundi Li playing the same piece back to back (the No. 17 Chopin prelude, for example. FYI, I preferred Yundi Li’s playingJ
(Drum roll…….) In very general terms—it’s now a close horse race! Finally. The verdict? Both are really really (really) good converters! Thank you to RB for discovering this little guy! Both share a wonderful way with imaging/stage width and depth, dynamics and tone, and most importantly musical engagement. Also—a first for a Chinese-made converter for me, there have been zero dropouts or issues with the Breeze and in that sense it is ‘PUC-like’ in it’s reliability. With Tidal, HD Classics or Audirvana Plus, this thing just ‘works’!! (And let the record so reflect the newest Audirvana plus sounds awesome!!) So on points, and this is with an unknown amount of break in and without the Cerious Graphene power cord, if the PUC is at 100, the Breeze is between 92 and 96. Why? For me it comes down to BS and TP (thought you’d enjoy thatJ Namely, Bass, Space and Tonal Purity. In my system thusly wired, the PUC 2 Lite has just a smidgeon more bass, a tiny bit more air and space and a certain tonal purity; very slightly ‘purer’ than the Breeze. A good 6moons-type phrase would be something like ‘with a well-recorded piano, the breeze is slightly more string than mallet and the PUC is slightly more felted mallet on string.’ There. And you didn’t have to read 20 pages of circuit diagrams and interviews with the designer’s elementary school teacher and golf caddy to get to that statement
I kid! I kid!! (rimshot please). Both converters suffer no lack of impact and image size but maybe the PUC 2 is very slightly ‘meatier’ or ‘weightier’ sounding than the Breeze; slightly ‘bigger’ sounding? So thus far I would say if your DAC does not have an AES input, definitely just go for the Breeze and be done with it, but cable it appropriately! And if you do have AES input capability, I might go for the PUC 2 Lite.However—I have not heard the Breeze with the Cerious power cord of rb’s affections and affectations. I will say I know rb uses a power strip with filtering for his digital gear and I am guessing that this is the reason I liked the JPS Labs The Digital AC cord so much with it (which is not good with amps in my experience!); because it contains some kind of AC filtration per the design brief. This seems to be just what the Breeze needs. But I am very curious to try the CeriousJ
Essentially, and this is sans-Graphene and again with who knows how much break in on the Breeze, I could listen to either of these converters forever (read: at least 3 months in audio terms); music sounds so real with them in the system and so present and the stand-up bass on something like the ‘Ballad Higgins’ disc is frightening with either converter (especially with the SVS SB 1000 subwoofer I bought to try!). Imaging is similarly spooky. Really, if I suddenly lost one or the other of these converters, I could happily live with either, though with the Breeze, I’d probably be unable to stop asking myself how much better it might could get if I ordered the Cerious power cord (thanks rb
Bottom-line, yes I feel the PUC 2 beats the Breeze in several areas but only just, and then only if you have AES input on your DAC. Otherwise you may need a 110ohm to 75ohm converter between them and who knows what that might do to the PUC’s small musical advantage? Also, the PUC does require USB power and the Breeze does not. That means either you run a standard USB cable with it or, in the case of a split cable, employ a linear power supply like my Teradak. So an added expense if you need a linear power supply. On the other hand, the PUC is totally power cord insensitive cause it doesn't have oneI thought about not writing this pseudo-review yet because again (for probably the 3rd timeJ, I am not certain of amount of break in time on Breeze (it definitely isn’t right out of box) and also don’t have the ‘ideal’ power cord, so please take this brief sketch as saying simply that the Breeze is a superb converter with which, if I lost the PUC 2, I could happily live and not notice any Cerious(!) loss of musical involvement.
Also, on a related and interesting note, I want to add that I bought the Lite speed 2G cable based on rb’s writings/recs and damn! This thing is one hell of a USB cable! Initially, it seemed there was a slight break in time (maybe 10 or 15 hours?) where maybe some image center-fill was lacking, but since it settled down, no such issue exists and it has just been so involving; pacey with a huge soundstage, wonderful tone and depth—just wow. It was neck and neck initially with my reference USB cable (Chord Silver Plus) and that cable is similarly engaging, pacey and musical. However I think the Lite Speed just slightly beats it on tonality (a bit more refined without being laid back) and bass (a bit deeper) as well as stage depth. The Chord may be slightly pacier and it speaks with a slightly more forward accent up top. A terrific cable, but I am starting to prefer the Lite Speed 2G. Again, much like the converters they’re attached to, I could happily live with either, but head to head (both with AQ Jitterbug attached), I keep coming back to the 2G now as the slightly more ‘natural’ and broader sounding cable. Whew! That was a close one for the PUC 2 Lite! She almost ended up in the office system. Too bad I cant really put her there even if she lost because that DAC has only RCA coax inputJ I didn’t tell the PUC that before the contest so as not to scare the poor thing… Now someone get me a Cerious! I’m Cerious! J
