stringgz301
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2009
- Posts
- 218
- Likes
- 22
I just understood the importance of a high quality source.
Being fairly new to the high quality audio world I started by getting a decent headphone (SR80) and then got a decent combo dac/amp (D10) and migrated all my tunes to flac. Sounded pretty darn good.
Then I decided to build a separate amp and had a great time putting together my CTH. After listening a bunch I upgraded my phones to 325is's and then started tube and cap rolling in the CTH. Looking for a little more detail, a little punchier bass, slightly smoother highs, bigger soundstage ... Never quite right. I definitely had those moments of audio nirvana where something sounded so good that you forgot about all the gear and just heard music. But probably had just as many where it wasn't quite there.
I built up my Buffalo II DAC over the weekend and have been listening quite a bit since then. All of a sudden my little CTH sounds huge. Every instrument and voice is well defined and holds a clear position on the soundstage. The weak bass is gone - now strong, punchy, and holds its own. The highs are rich and not brittle. There is an incredible sense of transparency and reality, that you're on stage with the musicians and not listening to a recording. Musical.
I'm not saying the upgradeitis is cured. What I am saying is don't underestimate the importance of your source. You can spend a lot of time and money trying to fix the problems created by a mediocre source. Or you can start with a really good source and use that as the foundation for your listening experience. Based on my experience I'd suggest the latter.
Being fairly new to the high quality audio world I started by getting a decent headphone (SR80) and then got a decent combo dac/amp (D10) and migrated all my tunes to flac. Sounded pretty darn good.
Then I decided to build a separate amp and had a great time putting together my CTH. After listening a bunch I upgraded my phones to 325is's and then started tube and cap rolling in the CTH. Looking for a little more detail, a little punchier bass, slightly smoother highs, bigger soundstage ... Never quite right. I definitely had those moments of audio nirvana where something sounded so good that you forgot about all the gear and just heard music. But probably had just as many where it wasn't quite there.
I built up my Buffalo II DAC over the weekend and have been listening quite a bit since then. All of a sudden my little CTH sounds huge. Every instrument and voice is well defined and holds a clear position on the soundstage. The weak bass is gone - now strong, punchy, and holds its own. The highs are rich and not brittle. There is an incredible sense of transparency and reality, that you're on stage with the musicians and not listening to a recording. Musical.
I'm not saying the upgradeitis is cured. What I am saying is don't underestimate the importance of your source. You can spend a lot of time and money trying to fix the problems created by a mediocre source. Or you can start with a really good source and use that as the foundation for your listening experience. Based on my experience I'd suggest the latter.