JulienM
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2010
- Posts
- 114
- Likes
- 12
Dear fellow head-fiers,
I've been wanting to share and update my impressions about my Audio-gd systems for quite sometime now... I have 3 systems in my house, all using Audio-gd gear, but let's start with the main one, only for audio, all Audio-gd, and by far the most interesting.
System:
Apple MBP 15" (latest model) -> DI (with PS) -> NFB-8 DAC (with TCXO) -> C-3 (Final Version) preamp -> C-10 amp -> Thor speakers (fat cabinet, 100 liters).
This is the cleanest, most transparent and revealing system I've had. And I've tried almost everything I could afford to build or buy in the past 14 years. Tubes, SS, Class-D, OTL, pro audio, NOS DACs, chip amps, etc, etc...
But after putting together my main system and connecting all components using ACSS with Audio-gd cables, I felt the system lacking emotion. It was revealing, but the highs seemed forced, and the low end restricted. Soundstage congested. Even after full break in.
So I began experiment with cables (nothing exotic or too expensive). I first tried a braided unshielded cable using "audiophile" hook up wire, a la Kimber. Not much improvement there. The sound was a bit grainy and fatiguing... I went back to The Audio-gd cables till I found a better solution. That was a year ago...
Recently I've started experimenting again. this time by simply going from ACSS to XLR between the pre and amp. I used balanced pro cables from Monoprice. I was floored by the musicality of the system! There was something there worth pursuing. It was night and day!
So the question was: were the cables or the circuit change making the big difference?
My next step was making a pair of XLR cables using the well regarded Canare 110 ohm AES/EBU DA206 I had home from my pro audio experiments. These can be used either digital or analog connections. Their main advantage is a very low capacitance compared to star quad geometry. Well, again, there was a big improvement. This time in clarity, top end resolution, and micro dynamic. The Monoprice were just too slow...
So, the XLR connection was sounding good! In communication with Kingwa, he suggested that the extra circuitry was pleasantly coloring the sound. But I wasn't totally convinced that this was the only answer...
Next step, build CAST cables for the ACSS connection using Canare DA206. These are not so easy to work using the mini XLR connectors, I opted to use the Canare DA202 instead (I might still try the DA206 in the future...). A smaller gauge 110 ohm AES/EBU cable, also with excellent electrical properties. Well, they sounded really good as CAST cables!
Better than XLR? Well both have their attributes! At this point, I feel that between DAC and Pre, ACSS is definitely the way to go. The difference in transparency is clear. But between pre and amp, the extra lushness the XLR connection provides is a nice way to make your the system more musical. But using similar cables (DA206 and DA202), the difference is not so dramatic. The quality of the cables seems to influence the sonic presentation more than the type of connection chosen...
I still have more experimentation to conduct. My next step is to build cables using Belden 1800f, also a well regarded 110 ohm AES/EBU with even better specs than Canare's. That should happen in the next few days... I also have a set of Canare L-4E6S XLR I want to through in the mix. That's a very popular pro star quad analog cable, recommended by Markertek.
I hope to have a cable comparison in a few weeks... But for now, the Canare's are sounding wonderful...
I've been wanting to share and update my impressions about my Audio-gd systems for quite sometime now... I have 3 systems in my house, all using Audio-gd gear, but let's start with the main one, only for audio, all Audio-gd, and by far the most interesting.
System:
Apple MBP 15" (latest model) -> DI (with PS) -> NFB-8 DAC (with TCXO) -> C-3 (Final Version) preamp -> C-10 amp -> Thor speakers (fat cabinet, 100 liters).
This is the cleanest, most transparent and revealing system I've had. And I've tried almost everything I could afford to build or buy in the past 14 years. Tubes, SS, Class-D, OTL, pro audio, NOS DACs, chip amps, etc, etc...
But after putting together my main system and connecting all components using ACSS with Audio-gd cables, I felt the system lacking emotion. It was revealing, but the highs seemed forced, and the low end restricted. Soundstage congested. Even after full break in.
So I began experiment with cables (nothing exotic or too expensive). I first tried a braided unshielded cable using "audiophile" hook up wire, a la Kimber. Not much improvement there. The sound was a bit grainy and fatiguing... I went back to The Audio-gd cables till I found a better solution. That was a year ago...
Recently I've started experimenting again. this time by simply going from ACSS to XLR between the pre and amp. I used balanced pro cables from Monoprice. I was floored by the musicality of the system! There was something there worth pursuing. It was night and day!
So the question was: were the cables or the circuit change making the big difference?
My next step was making a pair of XLR cables using the well regarded Canare 110 ohm AES/EBU DA206 I had home from my pro audio experiments. These can be used either digital or analog connections. Their main advantage is a very low capacitance compared to star quad geometry. Well, again, there was a big improvement. This time in clarity, top end resolution, and micro dynamic. The Monoprice were just too slow...
So, the XLR connection was sounding good! In communication with Kingwa, he suggested that the extra circuitry was pleasantly coloring the sound. But I wasn't totally convinced that this was the only answer...
Next step, build CAST cables for the ACSS connection using Canare DA206. These are not so easy to work using the mini XLR connectors, I opted to use the Canare DA202 instead (I might still try the DA206 in the future...). A smaller gauge 110 ohm AES/EBU cable, also with excellent electrical properties. Well, they sounded really good as CAST cables!
Better than XLR? Well both have their attributes! At this point, I feel that between DAC and Pre, ACSS is definitely the way to go. The difference in transparency is clear. But between pre and amp, the extra lushness the XLR connection provides is a nice way to make your the system more musical. But using similar cables (DA206 and DA202), the difference is not so dramatic. The quality of the cables seems to influence the sonic presentation more than the type of connection chosen...
I still have more experimentation to conduct. My next step is to build cables using Belden 1800f, also a well regarded 110 ohm AES/EBU with even better specs than Canare's. That should happen in the next few days... I also have a set of Canare L-4E6S XLR I want to through in the mix. That's a very popular pro star quad analog cable, recommended by Markertek.
I hope to have a cable comparison in a few weeks... But for now, the Canare's are sounding wonderful...