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Sound v.s. Music
I would like to share with all the brothers here about my upgrade experience in my Hi-Fi system.
I've set up my AV system for years. A Yamaha AV amplifier connected to a Denon DVD player which was also used for playing CD. During those old days my biggest investment was a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.3SE. I was ignorant enough to assume no matter what other components are in my systems, as long as I have a pair of nice speakers there will be nice sound.
Apart from my lack of knowledge in equipment matching, I also have little understanding regarding audiophile. What I want to pursue was a good quality sound effect. I was focusing on whether the surrounding effect is good or not? Or can I feel the bass hitting my chest...
I often played my favorite CD while my friends were in my home. Most of the time they comment that the music I played was too loud. I wondered how come they couldn’t enjoy the powerful sound effect? Also another question that I frequently asked myself was, how come after hours of listening I could tell the exhausting feeling in my ears?
I couldn’t find a way out until a breakthrough happened in my life. The breakthrough is my marriage. I have my new life. I got a new flat. I want to have a new system in my new home. Since this is a rare chance for me to seriously consider an upgrade, I’ve commit a relatively large budget to myself (up to now that’s the most expensive item in my home, except my wife). Lucky enough I met PT. I told him my preference and my budget and he advised me Oprheus will be the answer I’m looking for.
Except my pair of 1.3SE, all the things are new.
CD player: Orpheus Zero CD player
Amplifier: Orpheus Four Integrated Amplifier
Interconnect: Argento Serenity Interconnect Special Edition
After everything is connected, I played my favorite CD to see what’s going on…
How come the music that I was so familiar with sounds completely different, amazingly different? “Jazz at the pawn shop” was reborn and the music really played alive in front of me. There is a stage in my living room now! In those old days that I was still living with my AV amplifier, everything mixed together. Now I could have a better feeling of the location of different instruments. Then I played a Korean movie soundtrack “The Classic OST”. Though this was not the kind of fantastic recording, I can notice the big difference. In the track that a flute played the main theme, it sounds so pure. I could also tell the flute “live longer”, which is, it gently and smoothly fade out in the air.
The most interesting part is vocal.
Since I’m a tenor in a church choir (though it’s a small choir), even I don’t have a pair of golden ears but I’m sure they are quite sensitive to vocal. I’ve mentioned to PT that I want my system to deliver good vocal. He suggested with confidence that as a Swiss brand, Orpheus bears the great tradition of Swiss. Just like those wonderful Swiss made watches which accurately report time, the character of the Orpheus is honest, elegant and transparent. It honestly reproduces every CD I played, no MSG. added.
With the excitement I got from “Jazz at the pawn shop”, I couldn’t suppress myself and I put another CD into my player immediately. Albert Au started singing in front of me. Am I a bit biased? Albert sounded more sentimental, with no distortion to the clarity of what he sang. The guitar represented a solid presence in Albert’s arm. It felt like I could shake hand with him…
Now I have a better understanding of what’s going on. My old system is sound oriented. My new Orpheus is music oriented. For people who are not used to super-bass, they couldn’t bear the ‘noise’ in my old system, that’s why I was often asked to tune down the volume. With my new system, I’m now living in a musical environment. I have to listen to every CD that I bought these years to experience the new elements. I believe this is going to be a very special experience, with my old CDs delivering new message to me.
I know that my pair of speakers which I used to be proud of has become the weakest link in my system. But my wallet tells me I have to be patient. Let’s enjoy this new setup.
One additional bonus is I’m now truly relaxing myself with music. I was looking for a heart-attack in my old system. My new system is generating a peaceful environment for me to live with music.
What a great lesson! What a great fun! A million thanks to PT!
I've set up my AV system for years. A Yamaha AV amplifier connected to a Denon DVD player which was also used for playing CD. During those old days my biggest investment was a pair of Dynaudio Contour 1.3SE. I was ignorant enough to assume no matter what other components are in my systems, as long as I have a pair of nice speakers there will be nice sound.
Apart from my lack of knowledge in equipment matching, I also have little understanding regarding audiophile. What I want to pursue was a good quality sound effect. I was focusing on whether the surrounding effect is good or not? Or can I feel the bass hitting my chest...
I often played my favorite CD while my friends were in my home. Most of the time they comment that the music I played was too loud. I wondered how come they couldn’t enjoy the powerful sound effect? Also another question that I frequently asked myself was, how come after hours of listening I could tell the exhausting feeling in my ears?
I couldn’t find a way out until a breakthrough happened in my life. The breakthrough is my marriage. I have my new life. I got a new flat. I want to have a new system in my new home. Since this is a rare chance for me to seriously consider an upgrade, I’ve commit a relatively large budget to myself (up to now that’s the most expensive item in my home, except my wife). Lucky enough I met PT. I told him my preference and my budget and he advised me Oprheus will be the answer I’m looking for.
Except my pair of 1.3SE, all the things are new.
CD player: Orpheus Zero CD player
Amplifier: Orpheus Four Integrated Amplifier
Interconnect: Argento Serenity Interconnect Special Edition
After everything is connected, I played my favorite CD to see what’s going on…
How come the music that I was so familiar with sounds completely different, amazingly different? “Jazz at the pawn shop” was reborn and the music really played alive in front of me. There is a stage in my living room now! In those old days that I was still living with my AV amplifier, everything mixed together. Now I could have a better feeling of the location of different instruments. Then I played a Korean movie soundtrack “The Classic OST”. Though this was not the kind of fantastic recording, I can notice the big difference. In the track that a flute played the main theme, it sounds so pure. I could also tell the flute “live longer”, which is, it gently and smoothly fade out in the air.
The most interesting part is vocal.
Since I’m a tenor in a church choir (though it’s a small choir), even I don’t have a pair of golden ears but I’m sure they are quite sensitive to vocal. I’ve mentioned to PT that I want my system to deliver good vocal. He suggested with confidence that as a Swiss brand, Orpheus bears the great tradition of Swiss. Just like those wonderful Swiss made watches which accurately report time, the character of the Orpheus is honest, elegant and transparent. It honestly reproduces every CD I played, no MSG. added.
With the excitement I got from “Jazz at the pawn shop”, I couldn’t suppress myself and I put another CD into my player immediately. Albert Au started singing in front of me. Am I a bit biased? Albert sounded more sentimental, with no distortion to the clarity of what he sang. The guitar represented a solid presence in Albert’s arm. It felt like I could shake hand with him…
Now I have a better understanding of what’s going on. My old system is sound oriented. My new Orpheus is music oriented. For people who are not used to super-bass, they couldn’t bear the ‘noise’ in my old system, that’s why I was often asked to tune down the volume. With my new system, I’m now living in a musical environment. I have to listen to every CD that I bought these years to experience the new elements. I believe this is going to be a very special experience, with my old CDs delivering new message to me.
I know that my pair of speakers which I used to be proud of has become the weakest link in my system. But my wallet tells me I have to be patient. Let’s enjoy this new setup.
One additional bonus is I’m now truly relaxing myself with music. I was looking for a heart-attack in my old system. My new system is generating a peaceful environment for me to live with music.
What a great lesson! What a great fun! A million thanks to PT!
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