[Pappadave]

This talk of data cables is interesting but for me I really don't recognise the description of brightness. For me the Blu2 adds more detail and resolution. I find this particularly noticeable in the bass but I accepts Rob's explanation that often extra information in the upper registers can also give the impression of more highly resolved bass. I would not say that Dave by itself or with Blu2 is 'brighter' one way or the other.

Maybe my USB cable and twin BNC cables, despite being cheap, are quite well RF screened.

To be honest I find a much bigger difference due to speaker cables rather than data cables and my current selection has arrived at short (1m) cables and very thick (12mm2). But again, the advantage I hear with these cables is in resolution/detail together with attack at the start of the notes and decay at the end rather than any brightness (or lack of it).

Maybe different ears and different things that we concentrate on when we are listening?

I couldn't find specific reference to the BNC cables you are using (they seem to be the best place to start). Could you help me out, please?

 

[Triode User]

I couldn't find specific reference to the BNC cables you are using (they seem to be the best place to start). Could you help me out, please?

I am in the UK and bought these ones off the UK eBay site. They are Canare 75ohm BNC cables. I have 1m and 1.5m versions but have not had time to sit down and compare them. The listing is for a 0.5m cable but I have found that if you message the seller and buy a pair he will usually sell a 1m pair at the same rate as a 0.5m cable.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CANARE-BN...hash=item4b1ca5e20d:m:mOHbN6e4fevAhN1VLIBqfww

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Two other observations from my own findings.

As Malc has said, the merit of a cable is not necessarily 'exactly' according to price but as a rough barometer it usually is a good starting guide. Manufacturers choices will not always reflect your own preferences. I recently tried a very expensive flagship product from an established cable manufacturer which was raved about (for its new sota shielding). Not least by them! I tried the product because I have high regard for their products over the years. It 'was' better shielded and quieter but unfortunately it was at the cost of a byproduct - compression. Now most people in the cable sector wil accept that all shielding introduces small amounts of compression but it's a design balance. This particular product had imo 'way' overstepped that line. It was apparent to me within 5 seconds of the first CD. Like anyone who has spent years pouring over mixes whilst tweaking a compressor ratio there is a dynamic giveaway to the sound. This was quite shocking. Some people might prefer it I guess or perhaps not recognise it until after purchase. Dynamics are important to me. In my experience the digital cable best able to reproduce the true 'dynamic chaos' of live music through my Dave was a £10 Belkin cable from Maplins! .....but RFI was not good at all. So it is always a compromise.

Secondly, as I mentioned before, 'component isolation' and 'control of room acoustics' will uncover instability of imaging that may result from a lack of quality shielding in your cables. However, images at the centre of the stage are not a useful basis of quality because the stronger double overlay of image will always appear stable. It's the images to the left and right of the speakers and in the extremes that best test a systems imaging stability in my view. Some people of course will already know this but I thought I would mention it fwiw.

 

[emrelights1973]

Any review of blu/dave combo?

 

[ecwl]

I was wondering if anyone is experiencing brain burn-in that Rob Watts talked about with Blu2. Rob Watts has said Hugo & DAVE don't need burn-in but because the listening experience is so different, some people take a while to fully grasp the impact and over time, people hear more and more out of the DACs. I have to admit, I never experienced this with Mojo or DAVE. When I first got the Blu2, I thought of it as doing everything DAVE does better. I think technically from the beginning, I hear how vocals are smoother and more natural, instruments are more realistic, transients and attacks like drum strikes or plucking of the strings are sharper, minute musical details are clearer. But in the past few days, I feel like there is a sudden leap in Blu2's performance. It feels like I'm hearing more than before and there is an huge enhancement in the coherence of the music that just moves me and projects a tremendous sense of realism. Maybe my brain is now fully appreciating the music as a whole, instead of hearing the various individual improvements from DAVE to Blu2? Not sure.

 

[jlbrach]

lets face it,so much of our musical experience is related to mood and time etc...there are times i put on music and it literally engulfs me and i find myself enjoying it so much...other times i put music on and in a couple of minutes I realize that for whatever reason I am not really into it..my concentration isnt there or I am distracted....it is difficult to make judgments on anything short term IMHO...I can only make judgments over extended periods

 

[dmance]

Ecwl,
Whatever drug you are on ...I want some of it!!! BluDave listening should be therapy for everyone who loves music. I've got music fever and the only prescription is more BluDave!
Dan

 

[Sonic77]

I was wondering if anyone is experiencing brain burn-in that Rob Watts talked about with Blu2. Rob Watts has said Hugo & DAVE don't need burn-in but because the listening experience is so different, some people take a while to fully grasp the impact and over time, people hear more and more out of the DACs. I have to admit, I never experienced this with Mojo or DAVE. When I first got the Blu2, I thought of it as doing everything DAVE does better. I think technically from the beginning, I hear how vocals are smoother and more natural, instruments are more realistic, transients and attacks like drum strikes or plucking of the strings are sharper, minute musical details are clearer. But in the past few days, I feel like there is a sudden leap in Blu2's performance. It feels like I'm hearing more than before and there is an huge enhancement in the coherence of the music that just moves me and projects a tremendous sense of realism. Maybe my brain is now fully appreciating the music as a whole, instead of hearing the various individual improvements from DAVE to Blu2? Not sure.

Just your imagination.

 

[Triode User]

I was wondering if anyone is experiencing brain burn-in that Rob Watts talked about with Blu2. Rob Watts has said Hugo & DAVE don't need burn-in but because the listening experience is so different, some people take a while to fully grasp the impact and over time, people hear more and more out of the DACs. I have to admit, I never experienced this with Mojo or DAVE. When I first got the Blu2, I thought of it as doing everything DAVE does better. I think technically from the beginning, I hear how vocals are smoother and more natural, instruments are more realistic, transients and attacks like drum strikes or plucking of the strings are sharper, minute musical details are clearer. But in the past few days, I feel like there is a sudden leap in Blu2's performance. It feels like I'm hearing more than before and there is an huge enhancement in the coherence of the music that just moves me and projects a tremendous sense of realism. Maybe my brain is now fully appreciating the music as a whole, instead of hearing the various individual improvements from DAVE to Blu2? Not sure.

It will your brain, not hardware components.

 

[analogmusic]

usually feeling about Hi-fi get better once the pain of the credit card bill are decreasing,

It's a joke.

There is brain adjustment to a lot more detail coming through.

 

[Malcyg]

OK there are obviously many more audibly important effects than just RF noise and noise floor modulation; so fundamental improvements in resolution, will give an improvement in transparency, and these have the effect of making things sound brighter. The problem with noise floor modulation, is that it is often almost impossible to tell the difference between a tiny improvement in transparency, or a tiny degradation due to increased RF noise and so more noise floor modulation. Hence it's easy to end up going round in circles, and not actually making true progress. It's why in my case it helps to have a detailed understanding of why something is making a difference to the sound helpful - it clearly helps in design decisions, and it helps in determining whether a change is a fundamental improvement or whether it's merely balancing the system out (one distortion balancing another). Doing this kind of thing is not easy, and it's why I constantly re-evaluate and re-do listening tests, as it's very easy to misunderstand and misinterpret evaluations. It's why I am so keen on null listening tests, when one can hear no change at all, as there is no chance of misinterpreting a sound quality evaluation, and it also proves that the variable you are testing has no longer any effect. But even null tests need re-doing later, as circumstances change, and performance level gets better.

I too find adding an M scaler to generally make the sound significantly warmer and more natural; but in this case there are many other effects going on, it's not just about RF noise. And it does depend upon source material.

This has been a very helpful post for me, thanks very much. It has challenged my thought process and sent me back to a decision that I had made back when I got the Dave which I can now see was wrong and reversing that has got me to where I wanted to be and probably saved me money in the process.

I have evolved my system over the years by using common sense and my own ears to tell me what's right and what isn't, but sometimes you need a nudge or a bit of guidance or new information from folk who know more, which is why this forum is so helpful.

 

[GryphonGuy]

This has been a very helpful post for me, thanks very much. It has challenged my thought process and sent me back to a decision that I had made back when I got the Dave which I can now see was wrong and reversing that has got me to where I wanted to be and probably saved me money in the process.

I have evolved my system over the years by using common sense and my own ears to tell me what's right and what isn't, but sometimes you need a nudge or a bit of guidance or new information from folk who know more, which is why this forum is so helpful.

This is such a selfish hobby but an ever-so-pleasing one when one is comfortable with the decisions made and the results achieved.

Too much of the time it is keeping up with the Jones', meaning that if somebody has something new and subjectively better then there is a desire to have it too. Thank goodness my purchases are firstly through need and then picking the best value solution FOR ME. Again selfish but satisfying.

I do not suffer from upgrade-itis or gotta-have-the-latest syndrome.

YMMV
GG

 

[Kamil21]

Any review of blu/dave combo?

http://highfidelity.pl/@main-766&lang=en

Now in English!

 

[emrelights1973]

http://highfidelity.pl/@main-766&lang=en

Now in English!

thanks... i tried to read with google the polish version before did not make any sense.... this is far better...

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

In regard to how our minds 'compute and present' the music for us:

Here's a simple example that anyone can do. Play an album with predominant use of acoustic guitars. Something like the Eagles greatest hits. Acoustic guitar strings record very precise and are also quite percussive so timing is very easy to assess and errors are clearly apparent. Find a track where the first notes of the track are out or time from left to right speaker (because your speaker alignment is just out). It is quite common because it is a rare occurrence that your speaker setup is 'perfectly' setup. When you come across such an anomaly, if you hit 'start' again you will find your brain has corrected it. It is lying to you. It has put the two halves together and made them one. If you think you imagined it, play a little of the end of the preceding track (a few bars will do) then when it runs into the desired track the real (inaccurate timing) will show itself again. Hit start again (without the previous end of track) and your brain has corrected it again.

I think our brain screens out and recomputes all sorts of anomalies.

Edit: this is only possible with a speaker Aray rather than a single speaker.