[SP Wild]

Quote:

I find my Ref 5 too analytical for my taste, even with a tube amp. I think Ref 8 would suit me. I listen to my DM 90% of the time since its more musical even though Ref5 has tighter bass and more details.

Do you mean to say the ref 5 is more detailed or is it a matter of tonal balance in that the ref 5 is leaner/brighter than the Dacmagic?

 

[.Sup]

It is a great match with my KRK monitors though.

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Do you mean to say the ref 5 is more detailed or is it a matter of tonal balance in that the ref 5 is leaner/brighter than the Dacmagic?

Its not brighter its just where DM sounds a bit muddy the ref is much clearer and I heard things with Ref5 I didn't hear with DM before. Ref5 and Auditor sound very harsh and boring, it sounds much better with LDIV but still DM+Auditor is my most favoured combo for HD800.

 

[SP Wild]

Quote:

Its not brighter its just where DM sounds a bit muddy the ref is much clearer and I heard things with Ref5 I didn't hear with DM before. Ref5 and Auditor sound very harsh and boring, it sounds much better with LDIV but still DM+Auditor is my most favoured combo for HD800.

Thanks - I understand exactly what you mean, I have the HD800 with me now and also own the LCD2s and sometimes, they're just too resolving for comfort - very noticeable when one just wants to wind down to some low level listening pleasure, its a result of their pin sharp transients.

 

[.Sup]

Quote:

Thanks - I understand exactly what you mean, I have the HD800 with me now and also own the LCD2s and sometimes, they're just too resolving for comfort - very noticeable when one just wants to wind down to some low level listening pleasure, its a result of their pin sharp transients.

Heh yes, I actually still go back to my HD600 often and leave HD800 to dust on Sieveking Omega stand

 

[realmassy]

Quote:

I find my Ref 5 too analytical for my taste, even with a tube amp. I think Ref 8 would suit me. I listen to my DM 90% of the time since its more musical even though Ref5 has tighter bass and more details.

That was exactly the same reason I sold mine, as you know.
I too am tempted by the musical flavour line, but I decided to wait for reviews of the new Sabre based dacs.

 

[Dynobot]

Quote:

That was exactly the same reason I sold mine, as you know.
I too am tempted by the musical flavour line, but I decided to wait for reviews of the new Sabre based dacs.

Thats incredible that you two view the Ref 5 like that, kinda like someone saying Mullard tubes are not tubey.  But I can't dispute what you hear, if you hear it and say it sounds like "X" then it does to you....

 

[haloxt]

High technical ability and neutrality are both double-edged swords. For example, too much dynamic speed, even if it is accurate reproduction or real life sound, can feel too aggressive and not euphonious. Low fidelity gear, by virtue of being slow, can make music soothing like soundscape music.

 

[Dynobot]

Quote:

High technical ability and neutrality are both double-edged swords. For example, too much dynamic speed, even if it is accurate reproduction or real life sound, can feel too aggressive and not euphonious. Low fidelity gear, by virtue of being slow, can make music soothing like soundscape music.

Bummer, does that mean that I have low fidelity gear because I find the sound lush?...

 

[haloxt]

With good recordings I think it may sound lush, but don't think it is as forgiving as lower end gear for bad recordings.

 

[borrego]

Hi Dynobot,
 
The RE7 over RE5 improvements you stated (bass and soundstage) resemble the DSP-1 upgrade improvements Kingwa mentioned on its Chinese webpage. Would you tell us when you got your RE5? It could be using V3 of the DSP-1 firmware.
 
The RE7 you received should be at least using V4 of the DSP-1 firmwire.
 
Another thing you might want to try is to swap the DSP-1 module of the 2 DAC and compare again? It would be very cool!

 

[Dynobot]

Quote:

Hi Dynobot,
 
The RE7 over RE5 improvements you stated (bass and soundstage) resemble the DSP-1 upgrade improvements Kingwa mentioned on its Chinese webpage. Would you tell us when you got your RE5? It could be using V3 of the DSP-1 firmware.
 
The RE7 you received should be at least using V4 of the DSP-1 firmwire.
 
Another thing you might want to try is to swap the DSP-1 module of the 2 DAC and compare again? It would be very cool!

I got the Ref 5 maybe 1 1/2 months ago and the Ref 7 a couple of days ago.  I doubt if I will be swapping any modules.
 

 

[tonsosnot]

Haha, sounds like someone is trying to rationalize Ref 7 sound quality at the cost of the Ref 5? Wishful thinking! 

 
Quote:

Hi Dynobot,
 
The RE7 over RE5 improvements you stated (bass and soundstage) resemble the DSP-1 upgrade improvements Kingwa mentioned on its Chinese webpage. Would you tell us when you got your RE5? It could be using V3 of the DSP-1 firmware.
 
The RE7 you received should be at least using V4 of the DSP-1 firmwire.
 
Another thing you might want to try is to swap the DSP-1 module of the 2 DAC and compare again? It would be very cool!

 

[haloxt]

Borrego makes a good point, if the dsp-1 modules aren't the same we can't tell between dsp-1-related improvements and psu-related improvements without more testing. I wouldn't do such a test though because I am lazy and don't trust my ears to gauge the difference.
 
And imo, it's important to acknowledge the ref 5 is quite lower cost and also quite smaller. With the price difference of the two dac's I bet I could make a system based on the ref 5 sound better than some setups based on the ref 7. I know I could definitely make a ref 7 setup sound worse than... a lot of things

by matching it to the very wrong amp and headphones.

 

[Dynobot]

Ultimately the Dacs are going to be in two different systems anyway so besides the DPS modules being different everything else will be different as well. 
 
At any rate, we usually compare Dacs from different manufacturers which have radically different builds and even Dac chips, I think comparing the Ref5 to Ref7 is just as far as comparing either Dac to another brand.
 
The Ref5 and Ref7 have more differences than the DSP module so switching the modules to listen for a difference would not satisfy the experiment.  The goal would be to try to isolate what makes the Ref7 sound better [or different] putting them side by side you will find not only a difference in the amount of R-Cores but a difference in the amount of chips and total circuitry.  Switching the modules would likely yield a different sound but there would still be a lot of other variables to consider.  Which makes the experiment impractical.  Its best just to compare 2 Dacs as-manufactured like always and report the differences.