[Alu]

So I've been enjoying my new headphone setup quite a lot over the last couple of days, and I'm really happy with it. Thank you head-fi!

Sound is much more revealing and enjoyable than with my speakers, which is why I completely went to heaphones for music and I'm using the speakers exclusively for movies now. I have a Bel Canto DAC2 and a Corda Aria amplifier, which also has an integrated DAC, that's supposed to be kind of bad. Since it has this switch on the front it's pretty easy to switch from one source to another, given that you also change the output in foobar, so I thought that I could compare them both.

I don't really know what I'm doing wrong here, but except for a difference in volume (using the Aria's DAC has a lower volume output) I'm not really sure that I hear any difference.

I procede with listening to one song completely on one, then again the whole song on another, and then I even compare parts of the song. And I do use very well recorded albums, like DSOTM, Quadro Nuevo's Mocca Flor, original imported Anime Soundtracks, but everything sounds splendid on both systems. Are my ears dumb or am I the only one that actually did the Aria A/B to another DAC without jumping to conclusions? Should I listen to complete albums or is there a completely different method to use? Or shouldn't I do A/B at all?

I'll continue using my external DAC, because I paid a lot of money for it, and I'm really too lazy to sell it. I got the impression one time that it is indeed better, but only because I was looking, and then I used the Aria's DAC again only to find out that I was wrong. Right now as I'm listening to the Bel Canto again I can't believe that it did sound the same, because it's just really nice. But I guess I just have to believe my ears regarding this matter?

 

[Asr]

It's probably the way you're listening to the music. My equipment isn't as high-end as yours but I can still hear a sizeable difference between amps and headphones. You really need to pay attention to things like soundstage, dynamics, and the subtle parts of a song, like the cymbals, hi-hats, drums, guitar picking, etc. I've found differences aren't going to leap out at you unless you're paying attention.

Also it helps to contrast types of music, like a complicated classical piece (lots of violins, the woodwinds, and some pieces use harp and xylophone) versus electronica (for bass depth and definition) versus rock (for the guitar layers and acoustics).

 

[Alu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Asr It's probably the way you're listening to the music. My equipment isn't as high-end as yours but I can still hear a sizeable difference between amps and headphones. You really need to pay attention to things like soundstage, dynamics, and the subtle parts of a song, like the cymbals, hi-hats, drums, guitar picking, etc. I've found differences aren't going to leap out at you unless you're paying attention.

I'm pretty positive that I'm paying attention to the details when doing this. I listen to the various instruments one by one, but then I also listen to the whole thing. For instance I take a record like Daft Punk's Discovery to see how accurate the bass is. Maybe it's the fact that I'm using pretty decent recordings that I can't find as much of a difference as I'd like to find? I haven't tried comparing headphones and amplifiers as of yet, which I'll do once my exams will be over, but the source really loses its importance to me right now.

 

[tennisets]

It just takes time to develop your ears. The longer you use high end equipment and the more gear you hear, the better your ears will become at picking up subtle differences. Give it time. Do your comparison again in a few months, and see if you can hear any more differences. You may be surprised.

 

[mulveling]

I owned the DAC2 over a year ago and couldn't tell the difference between it and my Denon 2910's analog outputs (using the Denon or Jolida as transport). I did however, prefer the Jolida JD100a w/ NOS tubes to both of those. Then I heard a meridian 588 and it blew even the Jolida away. That's the point where I decided to stick with single box, dedicated redbook CD players.

It may also be that the Aria's amp section is one of the bottlenecks in your system. I notice a greater difference between sources when the amplification is at a very high level; ie: my Melos or SDS.

 

[Alu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tennisets It just takes time to develop your ears. The longer you use high end equipment and the more gear you hear, the better your ears will become at picking up subtle differences. Give it time. Do your comparison again in a few months, and see if you can hear any more differences. You may be surprised.

Thanks tennisets, I'll certainly keep this in mind. Nevertheless I've been using speakers for quite some time now (around 2.5 years) and my DAC for about 1 year now. I guess this is a headphone thing then?

Quote:

Originally Posted by mulveling I owned the DAC2 over a year ago and couldn't tell the difference between it and my Denon 2910's analog outputs (using the Denon or Jolida as transport). I did however, prefer the Jolida JD100a w/ NOS tubes to both of those. Then I heard a meridian 588 and it blew even the Jolida away. That's the point where I decided to stick with single box, dedicated redbook CD players. It may also be that the Aria's amp section is one of the bottlenecks in your system. I notice a greater difference between sources when the amplification is at a very high level; ie: my Melos or SDS.

Thanks mulveling! I did think about getting myself a Singlepower MPX3 to try it with the K701. Or maybe something else like a GS-1, but I always wanted to try tubes. Regarding the DAC2, I guess there are better alternatives out there then...Meridian eh? That's not healthy for my wallet, again. But first comes the amp upgrade.

 

[tennisets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alu Thanks tennisets, I'll certainly keep this in mind. Nevertheless I've been using speakers for quite some time now (around 2.5 years) and my DAC for about 1 year now.

Oh, never mind then. I didn't realize you were into audio before you entered the headphone world. My comment was not with regard to headphones, but with regard to high end audio in general.

 

[Alu]

Well, do mind that it's not like I'm saying that both DACs suck. Both are sounding equally good to my ears! And I really wonder whether it really can get any better with using the K701 and a better amp and source. I surely do hope so, because the audiojourney is way too interesting for me to stop at this point.