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AR CD3 vs Yggdrasil DAC - Audition

Posted by JohnL (A) on November 11, 2015 at 20:01:38

I was lucky enough to find a great local dealer who allowed me to audition my 11 year old Audio Research CD3 against the CD3 as a transport feeding the Yggdrasil.

I was expecting to prefer the sound of the Yggdrasil, as digital playback has supposedly come a long way since I bought the CD3. Instead I came away preferring the CD3.

We tried both the XLR Balanced AES/EBU 110-ohm 4V P-P and the BNC coax SPDIF 75-ohm 0.7V P-P digital outputs from the CD3, and definitely preferred the sound when the DAC was fed from the coax.

There is no doubt that Yggdrasil is a fantastic sounding DAC, but for me it just seemed to rob a bit of realism/detail from both instruments and voices. A lot less with the coax than it did with the AES/EBU. Be it Straight No Chaser from Monk, the 1812 Overture on Decca, or Jennifer Warnes singing Invitation to the Blues from The Well. I just didn't feel as excited by the sound of the DAC as I did by that of the CD3.

Now, obviously there are many factors that I couldn't control. The break in and warm up of the Yggdrasil being the primary ones. Also I suspect the sound of the DAC may change as a result of using a different coax.

So take this for what it is, a brief listen over an hour in a dealers sound room. I wish I could audition the Yggdrasil at home, but that doesn't seem to be an option in Australia.

John

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