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RE: Risk - hard v soft

Posted by Jim F. (A) on December 18, 2009 at 09:02:23

In Reply to: RE: Risk - hard v soft posted by fmak on December 18, 2009 at 06:05:08:

> Isn't this a risky way to spend $850 w/o trying first?

Yes, it is.

But all audio purchases (at least in my experience) come
down to that sort of risk.

"Trying" requires relaxed, extended listening sessions,
over a period of days or weeks, in a familiar system
with familiar source material. Anything else, and you're
just fooling yourself (and also putting yourself under
pressure to buy now that you've "wasted" so much of
the dealer's time, in my experience).

In any case, almost impossible to arrange in the case of hardware
(unless you happen to be in the business, or a magazine
reviewer -- and the tendency to corruption inherent for
the latter has been well documented).

Nope, you **guess**. Based on very, very circumstancial
evidence. Sometimes you get burned. (Sometimes you get
burned not because of sound quality as such, but for
other reasons -- reliability, or compatibility with
other equipment.)

The Weiss software is not available in a trial version,
as such. **They** will convert a short (a minute and
a half max, not larger than 28 MB) for you "within
48 hours", to "test" the SRC.
http://www.audistro.ch/index.php?article_id=30

> From what I have heard, I'd want to try Weiss stuff before buying.

Now that sounds like a subtle slam against the brand
itself. What can you have possibly heard about Weiss that would
make you say that? Surely they're up there with Prism
and Lavry in terms of reputation, at least in studio
circles. That's no **guarantee** of anything, of course,
but it's one of those pieces of circumstantial evidence
I mentioned.

Other bits of circumstantial evidence:

1. Weiss Saracon and iZotope 64-bit SRC are widely regarded
as the two contenders for the title of "best" SRC software.

2. The numerical accuracy of these two are the same, at
least 64 bits internally. Tony Lauck would approve.

3. The Weiss's filter characteristics are "slow rolloff" --
an approach that has gotten a reputation over the years
as sounding good. Going back to Wadia Digimaster, Pioneer
Legato Link, Burr-Brown DF-1704 in slow mode, Secret
Rabbit Code for Foobar 0.8.3 in slow mode, right up to
the Adobe Audition SRC that **you** like.

My own ears (I've had a Pioneer PD-65 with Legato, I've
had a Bel Canto DAC with a DF-1704 in slow mode, and
I've used Foobar 0.8.3 SRC and most recently Audition's
SRC) have corroborated the good things I've heard
about this approach. (Other people, as always,
have other opinions, and pooh-pooh the approach on
technical or sonic grounds, or both. You pays your
money and. . . Yes, I know that the current buzz
is all about Minimum Phase and "apodizing" filters.
Plus ca change. . .)

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