[Currawong]

Quote:

 
but if we keep "hi-fi" as a steady definition... 
 

You can't, it's subjective.

 

[IPodPJ]

I'm going to change up the pace here a little.  It has to do with Audio-gd, but not with the Ref-7 in particular, only that I will be using it with the Ref-7.  Prickeley Peete asked me to post these pics when I finally had them, so here they are.
 
My Transporter mod is done and will be shipping back to me tomorrow.  Attached are two pics of the internals.  The entire analog output section, DAC chips, and stock trafos have been disabled to reduce noise.  An R-core trafo (taken from a Sony SCD-1) has been installed connecting up an Audio-gd power supply and 2 Audio-gd clocks.  Most of the caps have been replaced with Rubycons on both the Audio-gd boards and the Transporter board.  Doug from ASI Tek has also found that mounting the parts on wood pegs works out the best for dual purposes: no ground loop issues, and easy to remove in the event you want to change the mods later. The power wire used is 16AWG OCC Copper, and the signal wire is Cryoparts SCSCag OCC silver wire.
 
Why did we add an overkill R-core, you might ask?  Well, it turns out that the Audio-gd clocks draw a lot of current and would not run on the stock 1.6VA trafos (which granted, are pretty puny), with or without the Audio-gd power supply.  Doug said he has installed lots of different clocks and has never seen anything like this, but has experienced something similar with the Burson clocks which the Audio-gd JZ-1 are very similar to.
 
I am hoping it sounds even more excellent then it already did and synergizes very well with the Ref-7.  I should have it back by Wednesday or Thursday of next week.  I will post impressions then.
 

 

 

[macrog]

Very nice. Fascinated to hear your impressions of it as a digital source.
 
Regards
 
Macrog

 

[regal]

Quote:

Very nice. Fascinated to hear your impressions of it as a digital source.
 
Regards
 
Macrog

All digital transports sound the same,  haven't you been reading the USB thread on the home page

 

[haloxt]

Quote:

Can we all just agree to disagree and move on? Anyhow, anyone listen to Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits (green cd)? I think the trouble is just too detailed leading to an analytical sound; could be the way the cd was mastered but wanted to see if you guys tried this particular cd out.

 
Peter Green's fleetwood mac cd? I have listened to that one before, I heard lots of hash and weird detail.

 

[sokolov91]

Quote:

Quote:

 
but if we keep "hi-fi" as a steady definition... 
 

You can't, it's subjective.

Well *sigh* I guess I should *takes out Bic lighter* get rid of this *lights and holds to a dictionary* because it is apparently of no worth.
 

 

[SilverCans]

Quote:

Quote:

Can we all just agree to disagree and move on? Anyhow, anyone listen to Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits (green cd)? I think the trouble is just too detailed leading to an analytical sound; could be the way the cd was mastered but wanted to see if you guys tried this particular cd out.

 
Peter Green's fleetwood mac cd? I have listened to that one before, I heard lots of hash and weird detail.

 
Not sure who produced it, here is an image, but yeah too much hash on cymbals and hard detail, wasnt sure if it was the dac or not.
 

 

[vrln]

That transporter mod looks awesome, thanks for posting the pictures!

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

That transporter mod looks awesome, thanks for posting the pictures!

Thanks, I can't wait to hear it myself.  The Audio-gd clocks (like $23 each) and power supply are very inexpensive so they are a terrific deal.  Sure, you can get better with a Dexa Neutron Star which is considered the best, but it's also $700 -- and I don't even know if there would be a noticeable difference when using it with the Ref-7.  I'm thrilled though for how relatively inexpensive this mod was, and it should make a very nice improvement considering the Transporter used clocks that cost pennies.  But even so, the stock Transporter was still one of the best transports I have ever used (when used with a VD Master LE 2.0 power cord into the PPP regenerator) -- now it will be a world class contender.  I could take it up a notch further by adding a battery supply to it.  I do plan on having him mod the Ref-7 down the line, though.

 

[SP Wild]

Big difference between fibre optic and coax digital connections - wow.  I wonder what the 7 will sound like with a state of the art transport.  The CD7FV intrigues me. 
 
I kept comparing the 7 to my NOS dac...always wondering why I preferred the NOS's rock solid anchored images with unbelievable transient response...whereas I felt the 7 had floating images and more rounded and what I felt was a trace of digital processing in the center mids, I thought this was the dithering in action.  This was using my Cayin head-amp set to triode mode.  But eventually I realised that the 7 was better overall and turned off the NOS.
 
So then I thought to move the coaxial input from the multiplayer to the 7 as the seven was using the fibre-optic connection.  I thought the 7 with its superior DSP will be able to reject the jitter if indeed the optical had more.  Whereas I gave the NOS the coax to even the playing field as the NOS had no DSP as such.
 
BAM...the moment I switched to the coax for the R7 it took on the rock solid image foundation and solid transients of the NOS...and that trace "roundness" or digital processed sound in the central mids was gone.  And I noticed this through a tube amp!  This Cayin tube amp must be packing performance beyond its price tag.  The difference between the NOS and the 7 in the areas that I favored the NOS was due to the COAX having favorable characteristics over the TOSLINK.  Well that was interesting.
 
I was prepared to sell the Cayin believing it had poor transients judging by its floppy sub bass...it was my old sources that had a floppy sub bass.  The solid state BCL couldn't reveal the floppy sub bass as well...because its sub bass is not as accentuated as the Cayins.
 
This combination of R7 - Cayin SET - LCD2 has been the best sound I heard so far...now especially that I know about jitter...the NOS has pretty much lost any advantage it held.  I like how the SET mode has a larger stage than ultralinear with more spacial properties and, yes, more pleasing distortions to my ear.  Strings, wind instruments and voices are just incredible.  I am rapt with this combo...I think the Phoenix is going to have a very hard time knocking this combo off my perch.  It would have to have supernatural powers.  I am back with tubes for now and loving it.
 

 

[vrln]

CD7FV sounds a bit like high definition vinyl without the noise if you ask me Extremely smooth and well textured, with a rock solid ultrastable soundstage. In a way different league than the sound from the Audio-gd Digital Interface. Huge upgrade from my previous (cheap but good for the price) Little Dot CD transport. While the DSP-1 can remove jitter, it´s still very transport dependant.
 
The CD7 is also quite imposing to look at, 14kg and larger than the REF7. If you go for it, you´ll be tempted to catch the last Pokemon though (Phoenix) to complete the ACSS rig I can highly recommend the CD7-FV. It has an ACSS SPDIF output that is made for the REF7 and sounds great without horribly expensive cables. Amazing synergy as expected. It´s the ultimate transport for the DAC.
 

 

[tll]

 
Quote:

CD7FV sounds a bit like high definition vinyl without the noise if you ask me Extremely smooth and well textured, with a rock solid ultrastable soundstage. In a way different league than the sound from the Audio-gd Digital Interface. Huge upgrade from my previous (cheap but good for the price) Little Dot CD transport. While the DSP-1 can remove jitter, it´s still very transport dependant.
 
The CD7 is also quite imposing to look at, 14kg and larger than the REF7. If you go for it, you´ll be tempted to catch the last Pokemon though (Phoenix) to complete the ACSS rig I can highly recommend the CD7-FV. It has an ACSS SPDIF output that is made for the REF7 and sounds great without horribly expensive cables. Amazing synergy as expected. It´s the ultimate transport for the DAC.
 

The CD7 + REF7 combo is amazing.
What digital cable are you using?
I had the stock canare BNC 75 ohm cable, it was OK. I don't usually spend big money (more than $100) on digital cable.
However, after trying out my friend's sterveox xv ultra, I bought one myself, and later he told me that his newly purchased au24 digital cable is even better.

 

[vrln]

I´m actually still using the stock Canare BNC cable... With the ACSS output (#2 BNC on CD7-FV) the cable doesn´t matter as much as normally. Did you find large improvements with your new cable?

 

[Trapper32]

I haven't listened to that particular cd, but one of the Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac's cd is the same way, almost unlistenable. Not a pleasant experience for sure. 
 
Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

Can we all just agree to disagree and move on? Anyhow, anyone listen to Fleetwood Mac's greatest hits (green cd)? I think the trouble is just too detailed leading to an analytical sound; could be the way the cd was mastered but wanted to see if you guys tried this particular cd out.

 
Peter Green's fleetwood mac cd? I have listened to that one before, I heard lots of hash and weird detail.

 
Not sure who produced it, here is an image, but yeah too much hash on cymbals and hard detail, wasnt sure if it was the dac or not.
 

 

[regal]

Peter Greens recording all seem to follow the old rock rule:  the greater the performance/talent the worse the recording.  I love his guitar tone but haven't found a very good recording of him at his prime.