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RE: changes from stock

Posted by jusbe (A) on March 26, 2015 at 13:49:04

In Reply to: changes from stock posted by hawkmoon on March 26, 2015 at 05:57:55:

Sure.

I admired the efforts made by Oppo on the original 105D (which I found out is actually manufactured by Rotel under special license). But my reservations about the Sabre experience have always been

a) the sound is insubstantial, and

b) there are treble artefacts I dislike, and

c) I cannot escape the perception that the Sabre sound *aims* for a very good simulation of a performance, rather than a reproduction of the performance itself (sorry that's not very clear - I find this hard to describe). I think there is still too much calculation going on - almost as if the Sabre cannot decide what sound to make, even as it is making it.

Joe's work on the player is really excellent. To me, it sounds as if he has found a way to 'mask' the nervous over-calculation of the Sabre DAC, to a large extent. He talked at length about his work on addressing some of the bitstream artefacts which lead to those qualities above. The JLTi player now sounds much more listenable to my ears. The 'chopped liver' treble is almost entirely gone. Soundstaging is really very good. Tonal differences are almost ultra-fi good, and I can see why many will be impressed.But I still feel cheated by it, somehow.

To me, despite the apparent increased resolution, the sound still seems airless or hooded somehow. Listening to Kathleen Battle's disc 'Bel Canto' is still a challenge for Sabre digital, to my ears. French horns still sound synthesised in comparison to my ladder DAC player. In particular, the harmonics of the horn sound as if they are constantly and unnaturally changing while the player reproduces the sound. It's as if it is constantly guessing at what the sound should be. It's a strange effect but instantly recognisable to me.

When listening to 'Wolf At The Door', the opening track should give a sense of weight and presence. The JLTi 105D appears to do this very well. But when I played this back home, immediately afterward on my DAC83, it's apparent the the 1704 shows up the Sabre sound as ethereal by comparison.

Joe seems to suggest that the combination of his post-DAC filter and use of SAW clocks do a lot to reduce noise at critical junctures in the Oppo. I'm sure he's right. In my experience recently, reducing noise between my transport and DAC using an Audioquest Vodka cable had a similar effect on resolution. I'll probably get that and also the Lite Audio P100 power regenerator too, to enhance my 1704 experience further. But what I do know is that, as of now, I am still not convinced by the musical experience of the Oppo.

But let's be fair. The Oppo may need a better system than our club one, to shine. It was playing into a Krell S-300i and Image 414 speakers, across Well Tempered Argentum Alloy cables. Maybe it needs a better system than I can afford at home (see my profile). If I was going to choose an Oppo, I would find a way to invest in the JLTi mods (which now Lenehan Audio seems to like - though I'm sceptical as to whether that is for sonic of business reasons). But since one can still get 7014 DACs and a new round of custom built ladder DACs are becoming available, I know which I'd choose and what satisfies my ears and brain.


Big J

"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."

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Analog Engineering Associates

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