Modded by Aberdeen Transporter and sibilance

Modded by Aberdeen Transporter and sibilance (solved)

I'm trying to figure out what is wrong in my system. I wonder if anybody is using SlimDevices Transporter in a similar setup:

Source:
Transporter (modded by Mauimods/Aberdeen) and Meridian 596 (power cable Synergistic research Master Coupler)

IC:
MIT Oracle 3.1 (RCA), MIT Oracle 3.2 (XLR)

Preamp:
PassLabs x1 (power cable MIT Magnum AC1)

IC:
MIT Oracle 3.1 (XLR)

Power Amp:
PassLabs x250 (power cable MIT Oracle ZCord III)

SC:
MIT Oracle 3.1 UltraWide BiWire

Speakers:
Martin Logan Ascent

The problem is the tstststssssibilants if I listen to the Transporter. The Meridian does not sound sibilant.

So it can be either:
o- The Transporter
o- The Aberdeen mods
o- The extended highs the Meridian lacks cannot be reproduced by the rest of my system.
o- All three above

HEEEELLP!!!!!

Did you have the stock Transporter in your system BEFORE you had it modded? If not, perhaps you can find somebody local who has one. What does Mauimods have to say about your issue?

FYI, Sean Adams has commented quite a bit (in the Audiophile section of the Slimdevices Forum) about his dislike for most of the Transporter Mods being offered. In fact, he warns that many of them are more likely to have a deleterious effect vs. actually improving anything. Reading between the lines, I think the only one he tacitly approves of is the Modwright tubed version, and even then, he just calls it having "fun".

I don't own a Transporter, but have read quite a few reviews and forum postings. In my recollection, extreme "sibilance" has not been a common complaint. Perhaps someone who own a Transporter can chime in here.

sleepysurf said:

Did you have the stock Transporter in your system BEFORE you had it modded?

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No.

sleepysurf said:

If not, perhaps you can find somebody local who has one.

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Yeah, working on it. Haven't found anybody yet.

sleepysurf said:

What does Mauimods have to say about your issue?

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o- Use balanced (helped just a little bit)
o- Upsample (help a very-very wee-wee little ;-)
o- Use Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet (not my case)
o- Ask in the forums (erm...)

I'm composing another mail with test result. The thing is I'm still not sure if it's the Transporter.

sleepysurf said:

FYI, Sean Adams has commented quite a bit (in the Audiophile section of the Slimdevices Forum) about his dislike for most of the Transporter Mods being offered. In fact, he warns that many of them are more likely to have a deleterious effect vs. actually improving anything. Reading between the lines, I think the only one he tacitly approves of is the Modwright tubed version, and even then, he just calls it having "fun".

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Dan@Modwright does not touch anything except the analogue output stage. If you ever going to use the Transporter with an external DAC, Dan's mods will be completely useless. The output stage with a dedicated power supply looks quite nice, but I haven't seen many reports on how it sounds.

Alex'@APL mods look stunning except one thing: RCA only, XLR is disabled. He did not reveal the reasons in the forum. According to his forum,. he redesigned the clocks, DAC, analogue stage and modded the power supply. I would like to keep my system fully balanced, though.

Anthony@Aberdeen/Maui has not changed the original design (except the addition of a power line filter, physical damping and ferrite rings) but he replaces all sockets, all opt amps and almost all capacitors. So I think his mods is at least a good beginning if not the end of the mods quest.

sleepysurf said:

I don't own a Transporter, but have read quite a few reviews and forum postings. In my recollection, extreme "sibilance" has not been a common complaint.

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I also haven't heard of any. Asking here because PassLabs-Logans is a combination mentioned quite frequently in this forum.

sleepysurf said:

Perhaps someone who own a Transporter can chime in here.

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Still waiting ...

alekz said:

I also haven't heard of any. Asking here because PassLabs-Logans is a combination mentioned quite frequently in this forum.

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I have a Pass Labs X-350.5 currently with my Ascents. The pre is Roger Sanders' preamp and the source is a RAM-modified Oppo 970 Universal Player. No sibilance from this combo, and it is in a fairly bright-sounding room. If your Meridian doesn't exhibit the sibilance, it sounds like there is a problem with your modified Transporter.

Should have updated the thread long time ago...

The problem was solved by upgrading the audio rack to Finite Elemente Master Reference and adding Finite Elemente Cera-feet under everything ;-)