illkemist
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The first of the SS amps that I have ordered arrived today, the Meier Audio Corda Cantate. Today begins the shakedown. Keep in mind that I just received the amp, so it has not been burned in yet. Also, this is only my third amp after having tried the Headroom Total BitHead and purchased the iBasso D1.
First, here's some pics:
As soon as the postman handed this box to me, I suspected this amp was very solidly built.
The user manual is inside a plastic binder. I though some German kid lost his book report.
The amp was in a form fitting foam cocoon. The power cable is very beefy.
Finding a home on the desk top. Hello Mr. Moodlab!
Let the fun begin...
Setting Up:
As I said before, this thing is really solid. The first thing I had to do was hook it up. Unfortunately, my DAC is not quite as solid as the Cantate. Upon removing the RCA cables from it, one of the metal jackets came clean off of the connector. I was pretty pissed. It took a bit of tender love to pry it off of the tight-fitting cable that I had connected. Thankfully, I didn't do any lasting damage to the Dice.
Cranking Her Up:
It's always tough to decide what to listen to first, but I settled Spacek's "Smiles and Roses" to get an initial impression and shake down the bass notes of the amp. It passed with flying colors. To be honest, since switching to the moodlab Dice, even the iBasso D1 (my previous all-rounder) was able to produce a pleasing sound way down deep.
Speaking of the D1, I decided to do a little bit of comparing between these two amps, switching digital sources back and forth during songs. First up was the Roots' "Act Too." The iBasso was a bit brighter, which can be a little confusing because sometimes we perceive loudness as an indicator of quality. However, when switching back to the Cantate, I realized how deceiving that can be. At the same relative level (didn't have time to grab the SPL meter), the Cantate has a fuller sound. For me, it seemed as though the whole range of frequencies came across in the presentation. On Coltrane's "Equinox," the Cantate filled more space than the D1. The Cantate seemed to bring me closer to the performers.
Heeding lerio's advice, I placed the included shunts on the main board to lower the gain of the amp. I actually shopped for amps with switches for this setting, but I was so impressed with reviews of this amp that I decided to get this one even though you have to go under the hood to change the gain setting. One of the things that it allowed me to do was listen to my Westone UM2s. I had never been able to use them with the iBasso due to it's high gain setting. With the Cantate, I was able to listen to these IEMs without the discomfort of the D1. However, I think the combination of the Dice and the Cantate makes for a slightly boomy presentation with the UM2s. But at least I was able to use them without losing any hearing. Truthfully, there's really no reason to use the UM2's in this setting anyway. I really purchased them to use in settings where background noise interrupts my enjoyment of music. With my HD650s, the presentation was very similar to the high gain setting. Others have claimed to hear an improvement on the low setting, but maybe I need to spend more time with the amp first. I'm not sure if this setting improves the presentation or not, but I was able to crank the volume all the way up with little discomfort. So the shunts came back off.
Crossfeed:
Another intriguing feature of the Cantate is the crossfeed switch. I did a few listening tests to find out how it changes the dynamics of some of my recordings. Here are some of my notes:
"With the crossfeed off, all the sound seems to be originating from my ears. But when switched on, the music seems to come from the corners of my eyes."
(on Sergio Mendes' "Magano")..."Crossfeed is pushing the vocals forward from my ears to my eyes. The result seems to be clearer or more accurately, less cluttered vocals. They don't have to compete with instruments"
(on Herbert's "Leave Me Now")..."With crossfeed off, the fine details of the recording are a little more noticeable."
(on Coltrane's "Giant Steps")..."When crossfeed is on, the very bottom register of the sax and bass are lost. I can hear them **** around, but the bottom drops out."
(on the Beastie Boys' "Gala Event")..."...not as punchy with crossfeed on."
To summarize, crossfeed slightly widens the instrumental soundstage and is most effective with presenting vocals in a more forward fashion. However, it also sacrifices some detail as well. I've decided to leave it off.
USB DAC:
This is one of the letdowns with the amp. It almost sounds identical to the iBasso D1. That is to say, not quite as good as the other digital connections. I'd already realized that music from my MacBook Pro sounds better using the digital out into the iBasso and even better into the Dice. Really, I'm wondering if this has more to do with my computer. Because the sound is pretty consistent between the two amps. I've already come to the conclusion that the Dice sounds better forgoing the USB input, so this is moot.
DISCLAIMER:
Again, these are my initial impressions after having just received the amp a few hours ago. Everything could change. I'll continue to post as things progress. Plus, I've still got 3 more amps on the way for the Battle Royale!
First, here's some pics:
As soon as the postman handed this box to me, I suspected this amp was very solidly built.
The user manual is inside a plastic binder. I though some German kid lost his book report.
The amp was in a form fitting foam cocoon. The power cable is very beefy.
Finding a home on the desk top. Hello Mr. Moodlab!
Let the fun begin...
Setting Up:
As I said before, this thing is really solid. The first thing I had to do was hook it up. Unfortunately, my DAC is not quite as solid as the Cantate. Upon removing the RCA cables from it, one of the metal jackets came clean off of the connector. I was pretty pissed. It took a bit of tender love to pry it off of the tight-fitting cable that I had connected. Thankfully, I didn't do any lasting damage to the Dice.
Cranking Her Up:
It's always tough to decide what to listen to first, but I settled Spacek's "Smiles and Roses" to get an initial impression and shake down the bass notes of the amp. It passed with flying colors. To be honest, since switching to the moodlab Dice, even the iBasso D1 (my previous all-rounder) was able to produce a pleasing sound way down deep.
Speaking of the D1, I decided to do a little bit of comparing between these two amps, switching digital sources back and forth during songs. First up was the Roots' "Act Too." The iBasso was a bit brighter, which can be a little confusing because sometimes we perceive loudness as an indicator of quality. However, when switching back to the Cantate, I realized how deceiving that can be. At the same relative level (didn't have time to grab the SPL meter), the Cantate has a fuller sound. For me, it seemed as though the whole range of frequencies came across in the presentation. On Coltrane's "Equinox," the Cantate filled more space than the D1. The Cantate seemed to bring me closer to the performers.
Heeding lerio's advice, I placed the included shunts on the main board to lower the gain of the amp. I actually shopped for amps with switches for this setting, but I was so impressed with reviews of this amp that I decided to get this one even though you have to go under the hood to change the gain setting. One of the things that it allowed me to do was listen to my Westone UM2s. I had never been able to use them with the iBasso due to it's high gain setting. With the Cantate, I was able to listen to these IEMs without the discomfort of the D1. However, I think the combination of the Dice and the Cantate makes for a slightly boomy presentation with the UM2s. But at least I was able to use them without losing any hearing. Truthfully, there's really no reason to use the UM2's in this setting anyway. I really purchased them to use in settings where background noise interrupts my enjoyment of music. With my HD650s, the presentation was very similar to the high gain setting. Others have claimed to hear an improvement on the low setting, but maybe I need to spend more time with the amp first. I'm not sure if this setting improves the presentation or not, but I was able to crank the volume all the way up with little discomfort. So the shunts came back off.
Crossfeed:
Another intriguing feature of the Cantate is the crossfeed switch. I did a few listening tests to find out how it changes the dynamics of some of my recordings. Here are some of my notes:
"With the crossfeed off, all the sound seems to be originating from my ears. But when switched on, the music seems to come from the corners of my eyes."
(on Sergio Mendes' "Magano")..."Crossfeed is pushing the vocals forward from my ears to my eyes. The result seems to be clearer or more accurately, less cluttered vocals. They don't have to compete with instruments"
(on Herbert's "Leave Me Now")..."With crossfeed off, the fine details of the recording are a little more noticeable."
(on Coltrane's "Giant Steps")..."When crossfeed is on, the very bottom register of the sax and bass are lost. I can hear them **** around, but the bottom drops out."
(on the Beastie Boys' "Gala Event")..."...not as punchy with crossfeed on."
To summarize, crossfeed slightly widens the instrumental soundstage and is most effective with presenting vocals in a more forward fashion. However, it also sacrifices some detail as well. I've decided to leave it off.
USB DAC:
This is one of the letdowns with the amp. It almost sounds identical to the iBasso D1. That is to say, not quite as good as the other digital connections. I'd already realized that music from my MacBook Pro sounds better using the digital out into the iBasso and even better into the Dice. Really, I'm wondering if this has more to do with my computer. Because the sound is pretty consistent between the two amps. I've already come to the conclusion that the Dice sounds better forgoing the USB input, so this is moot.
DISCLAIMER:
Again, these are my initial impressions after having just received the amp a few hours ago. Everything could change. I'll continue to post as things progress. Plus, I've still got 3 more amps on the way for the Battle Royale!
