It is good to see you are back on the right direction. Sometimes, not necessary to spare the time and money although you obviously have plenty of them to step backward for fun. If the time spare get no improvement but merely a change, the value added to your experience is marginal to say the least. One more equipment on your resume shows the quantity but not the quality. I belive this group of people in the AE forum belongs to a very different breed.
Voy is always the driver. Marvel bro keeps the wheel rolling. Your beloved Zanden combo just got another accolate from Hi Fi plus, two years in a row as best source components. Treasure them.
Voy is a rude man, eveyrone sees it. But my words are honest. There are many wearing an Armani suit in wall street talk big and speak non-sneses. Do I respect them? The fresh meat from the colleges may fancy the pride of ownership and prestige. The wiser guys look for deepr character. What about the seniors? What if the management judge the performance of the staff by wearing Zegna/Armani/Givenchy suit? Do you wanna work for such bosses?
Some people are good at managing down but not managing upwards. The juniors can only see the skin, so that's easy, buy a few Armani suit would do the job. When the ballpark changes, the armani suit cannot do the job anymore. Call 911 for help?
I dont mind being accused of speaking aggressively. As long as I speak what I think with logic, I speak up. That is the spirit of freedom of speech. I enjoy it very much and hope of you too.
Prior to the superclock upgrade when I was using the Zanden combo, I had it connected up with the SMR Extreme Edition (EE) digital which is the best digital link that I have ever used. I tried using the I2S interface cable which came with the 5000Sig DAC. In numerous comparisons, I found the I2S cable can deliver very accurate and linear performance with a perfect mix of timber and tonality but still compared to the EE digital, it lacks the 'cavity' and 'gravity' of the musical objects and the overall musical soundstage. In short, EE leads me to a better music enjoyment with a more dynamically involving virtual space.
A couple of weeks ago, 5000Sig returned with the superclock equipped, PT asked me to use the I2S cable as it is the only means to leverage the power of the superclock. The immediately feeling is the much more palpable sense of musical shadings and timbre which in the past, I have never experienced using the same cable! The image and soundstage scale and weight are all standing up to a reference level that I could easily be deceived of listening to my reference EE digital under a blind test.
The indulgement of listening to my favourite music for the past 10 days on the i2S connection has surpassed my 'usual' curiosity of comparing the new configuration (ie superclocked I2S interface) and the 'then' champion EE digital until last night. I hooked up the EE RCA digial to the Zanden because my Heritage DAC is having some trouble sync locking with the transport using the EE RCA. After some struggle, I concluded that the EE RCA may have some connection problem after all the tango and twist. Anyway, that was how the comparison between superclocked i2S and SMR EE digital started.
This is by no means a comprehensive review between the two but candidly the two interfaces can both produce the same level of performance as a fucntion of speed, dynamics rise and fall, rhythmic timing. I attribute that i2S does this by a more accurate clocking signal leading to less phase distortion in the time axis while EE has the least signal interference in the transmission path. They both achieve it but with different design philosophy. Both give the same ultra hi-end level of tonal textures indistinguishable at least base on my own listening skills. The record set by the EE digital in the areas of dynamic range, agility in bursting out the energy, subtleties on the slightest contrasts on bow movements, vocals, are all matched up by the i2S interface. The only shortfall, though interim, of the i2S interface is the slightly light in weight on the midbass to low bass thus giving EE an upper hand in delivering a stronger impact, attack and perhaps more importantly a more 'palpable' sense of the virtual space.
I really look forward to the enhanced widebandwidth i2S interface cable which has been shipped out by Yamada san yesterday and that is when I could really 'capitalise' the strength of the superclock. More to come...
Marvel, a very good writeup! I like the point using different route getting to the same destination. In this example, renovation of the hardware seem to have some edge over the cables.
When will my unit deliver? Do you know? It seems take forever.
Comments
Voy is always the driver. Marvel bro keeps the wheel rolling. Your beloved Zanden combo just got another accolate from Hi Fi plus, two years in a row as best source components. Treasure them.
Kingston
Some people are good at managing down but not managing upwards. The juniors can only see the skin, so that's easy, buy a few Armani suit would do the job. When the ballpark changes, the armani suit cannot do the job anymore. Call 911 for help?
I dont mind being accused of speaking aggressively. As long as I speak what I think with logic, I speak up. That is the spirit of freedom of speech. I enjoy it very much and hope of you too.
VR
A couple of weeks ago, 5000Sig returned with the superclock equipped, PT asked me to use the I2S cable as it is the only means to leverage the power of the superclock. The immediately feeling is the much more palpable sense of musical shadings and timbre which in the past, I have never experienced using the same cable! The image and soundstage scale and weight are all standing up to a reference level that I could easily be deceived of listening to my reference EE digital under a blind test.
The indulgement of listening to my favourite music for the past 10 days on the i2S connection has surpassed my 'usual' curiosity of comparing the new configuration (ie superclocked I2S interface) and the 'then' champion EE digital until last night. I hooked up the EE RCA digial to the Zanden because my Heritage DAC is having some trouble sync locking with the transport using the EE RCA. After some struggle, I concluded that the EE RCA may have some connection problem after all the tango and twist. Anyway, that was how the comparison between superclocked i2S and SMR EE digital started.
This is by no means a comprehensive review between the two but candidly the two interfaces can both produce the same level of performance as a fucntion of speed, dynamics rise and fall, rhythmic timing. I attribute that i2S does this by a more accurate clocking signal leading to less phase distortion in the time axis while EE has the least signal interference in the transmission path. They both achieve it but with different design philosophy. Both give the same ultra hi-end level of tonal textures indistinguishable at least base on my own listening skills. The record set by the EE digital in the areas of dynamic range, agility in bursting out the energy, subtleties on the slightest contrasts on bow movements, vocals, are all matched up by the i2S interface. The only shortfall, though interim, of the i2S interface is the slightly light in weight on the midbass to low bass thus giving EE an upper hand in delivering a stronger impact, attack and perhaps more importantly a more 'palpable' sense of the virtual space.
I really look forward to the enhanced widebandwidth i2S interface cable which has been shipped out by Yamada san yesterday and that is when I could really 'capitalise' the strength of the superclock. More to come...
Marvel
When will my unit deliver? Do you know? It seems take forever.
Ju
You are right, gears always have a stronger steer and stake over cables.
I am sure your patience will be well paid off by the endless musical enjoyment you will get from the Zanden combo.
Marvel