Digital Drive Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

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Pass Labs D1 vs Weiss Minerva vs EMM Labs Dcc2 vs PS Audio Digital Link III

Posted by sixty9@gmail.com (A) on May 9, 2009 at 14:23:45

Hi,

Just thought I’d share my experiences over the past month for those who are interested.

My system: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixty9/3450193900/

Sample of music listened to:
-Chesky’s “The Ultimate Listening Disc” CD 1.
-“Kind of Blue” album by Mile Davis, 50th ann. Reissue
-“Autum Leaves” album by Jacintha
-“Ports of Call” by the Minnesota Orchestra conducted Eiji Oue
-“Ok Computer” album Radiohead 2009 reissue

Pass Labs D1 (http://www.passlabs.com/pdf/old%20product%20manuals/d1_om.pdf):
-release in 1997
-4 x pcm63k 20 bit multibit DAC
-24-position analogue volume control
-Mosfet single-ended class A output stage.
-2 power transformers separately used for Digital and Analogue.

I got this DAC for $2000 USD. It’s a 12 years old, but after reading about some people’s opinions on the current state of digital (eg. http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.mpl?forum=digital&n=115000&highlight=90s&r=) I thought I’d give it a try. I wanted an analogue volume control as from my experience you do lose detail and musicality from a digital volume if you turn it down too low (which you need to do for normal listening levels as usually line out levels are high). I did take into account that I couldn’t play my growing hi-def library with a 20 bit DAC, but figured the music I really listened to was only available on 16/44 format anyways.


First Impressions: Pass Labs D1 vs my old Meridian 568
The Pass Labs D1 is in another league. More detail, better dynamics and tone, and I was struck by how smooth and analogue it sounded. The bonus is that with its analogue volume control, I could turn down the volume low without feeling I was losing detail.


Shootout: Pass Labs D1 vs EMM Labs DCC2 vs PS Audio Digital Link III
Of course I was very excited to compare/showoff my new DAC and invited 2 friends who brought their own DACs.
I’ve been fortunate to borrow the EMM Labs before and I’ve been blown away about everything about it. Compared to my Meridian, the EMM sounds like an actual instrument versus just a lowly piece of electronics.
I played music on the Pass D1 while we warmed up the other DACs. Everybody in the room agreed the Pass Labs was detailed, smooth and analogue sounding. Then I connected the EMM Labs (with the same cables). My jaw dropped. The EMM sounded much more impressive. The tones were fuller with more body and a more forward presentation. The Pass Labs in comparison sounded thinner and more laid back. The EMM’s lusher sound filled the sound stage. And what struck me was that it was smoother than the Pass Labs. One friend pointed out that the EMM had a more digital sound while the Pass sounded more like vinyl. Whatever it was I was a bit crest fallen as we continued to listen to music on the impressive EMM. Then a strange thing happened… I put on Miles Davis and the EMM didn’t sound right to me at all. We put the Pass Labs back on and Miles sounded right again. There was something about the EMM I couldn’t put my finger on.. but I started to realize as impressive as it was it didn’t sound as real as the Pass.
We ended the shootout listening to the Meridian and PS Audio (using the EMM as a preamp). That friend ended up buying my Meridian and selling off his PS Audio.


Pass Labs D1 vs Weiss Minerva
A week later the 3 of us went to a local dealer to listen to the Weiss; I brought my Pass. The test system consisted of Magico V3 speakers and Reference Ayre Amps and Preamps, CD players.
We compared the Weiss vs the Pass as DACs, using the Ayre preamp (since the wWeiss was already connected to the preamp). The Weiss struck my as having a similar lush/filled out tone and forward sound of the EMM, my friends concurred. However, while my Pass sounded analogue, smooth, organic, and musical, to my ears the Weiss sounded harsh, and sterile. It was not musically engaging at all. I could not imagine the musicians were in front of me: it sounded like the sound was coming from a stereo, digitally processed. We later heard the Weiss bypassing the preamp. While the music sounded more direct, I had the same reaction as when listening to my Meridian’s digital volume: that I needed to turn up the volume to hear any detail.


Pass Labs vs EMM Labs Redux.
Perplexed by the sound difference of the EMM and the Pass, another comparison was set up, after which we swapped DACs for a week.

Here are my thoughts, for what it’s worth.
The EMM does not have more detail than the Pass. If anything, it hides detail. What it seems to me is that the EMM (and the Weiss) seems to inflate the mid range. The tones are fuller and more spatially “there”, but at the costs of overshadowing the finer details. While tones will sound more lush and sweet on the EMM, the transients and dynamics are overshadowed by this inflated tone. The Pass, on the other hand, reveals everything. Dynamics are greater, sound stage is deeper, it’s more apparent what type of room the performers are in. Consequently, the Pass is musically engaging and sounds more real.
The inflated tone of the EMM can also backfire on itself as not all recordings react well to this process. For instance, older recording will just sound worse on the EMM, while the Pass manages to bring out the magic.
Finally, the EMM (and the Weiss) sound very digital. It does not sound like the unamplified live performances I’ve been to (orchestral and jazz).
I don’t believe the Pass Labs is perfect, but like my Apogee speakers, it appears to be one of those classics that still roll with the best of them. There are qualities I admire about the EMM. The fuller tone can be pleasant sounding and addicting (especially on orchestral pieces), and it seems to have less distortion than the already low distortion Pass, which results in a slightly smoother presentation.

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

VH Audio

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