^ I recall Mike stating what you summarized. I assumed he meant there is no reference by which he can assess accuracy of (his) reproduction of electronic music. That's a fair point. Of course this argument would apply to any dac!
No need to get all huffy and ad hominem, @sheldaze is abbreviating a train of thought that I was just considering in relation to the original question. I don't listen to much totally electronic music, but to lots of mixed effects music, such as Bill Frisell's extensive electronic manipulations as he plays his guitars (just enjoying a new Frisell acquisition I had not know about, his incidental music for Buster Keaton silent movies). I like what I hear through my Schiit multibit DACs for that kind of music (and I know what it sounds live from attending many Frisell gigs and watching him improvise with his extensive set of electronic gadgets, one getting mad at one that was not doing his bidding and throwing it backstage), but the main point is as follows: the digital reconstruction filter in the Yggy has to be optimized for something. Soundwaves are constrained by the properties of physical media, so what microphones or pickups capture and goes into the record master is also constrained. Electronically-generated waveforms are not so constrained. That is, the statistics of acoustic and electronic waveforms are different, and different choices of reconstruction filter will affect them differently. Mike Moffat has stated that he focused on acoustic music in this design. The design may still work well for electronic music -- after all, all of this is also constrained by the properties of amps, transducers, and ears -- but that was not its main purpose.
If I were a mainly electronic music listener, I might explore purely NOS ladder DACs without digital reconstruction filter.
I mean where does the line blur? At what point does "analog" become "Electronically-generated waveforms"
Adding power amplification to sound, like a guitar amp?
Using an effects pedal on that amp?
Using an analog synthesizer?
Purely using a DAW to generate the wave forms?
Well I guess its my fault that I didn't specifically say what type of electronic music I was referring to, There is lots of electronic music that is recorded to analog tape or digital recorder (Tangerine Dream, Enigma, Peter Gabriel), and there is a lot music captured digitally that are very well produced, and the playback systems make difference. I listen to all above. A lot of Michael Jackson's, Phil Colins, and Modonna's, songs are electronic in nature how is it they not "Real Music"?
At any rate I liked how the Gungnir sounded, just wanted to know the opinions of others.
I mean where does the line blur? At what point does "analog" become "Electronically-generated waveforms"
Adding power amplification to sound, like a guitar amp?
Using an effects pedal on that amp?
Using an analog synthesizer?
Purely using a DAW to generate the wave forms?
No need to be so huffy, I understand and brought out that point from the start. I love my Yggy, but I'll soon also have a Holo Spring 3 so I'll learn about NOS R2R first hand. I know just enough signal processing to be dangerous to my bank balance In summary, D to A reconstruction needs a filter/smoother/regularizer (name it according to your technical culture) and any such embodies beliefs about the signal distribution, system transfer function, and human perception. The art of DAC designers like Mike Moffat is to adjust those parameters to achieve a very satisfying whole, but like in any art, there is no absolute, just a few high peaks (like the Yggy) in the midst of many mediocre hills.
It will interesting to read about Earnmyturns compare and contrast the Yggy and the Holo Spring DACs. Being both R2R DACs, I will very interested in his comparison!
It will interesting to read about Earnmyturns compare and contrast the Yggy and the Holo Spring DACs. Being both R2R DACs, I will very interested in his comparison!
From what I've read, he'll no doubt discover what others have - that the differences are small...some prefer Yggy, some the Holo Spring DAC...some can't make up their mind and keep both.
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In summary, D to A reconstruction needs a filter/smoother/regularizer (name it according to your technical culture) and any such embodies beliefs about the signal distribution, system transfer function, and human perception. The art of DAC designers like Mike Moffat is to adjust those parameters to achieve a very satisfying whole, but like in any art, there is no absolute, just a few high peaks (like the Yggy) in the midst of many mediocre hills.
