Joey_V
Well-known member
I became a member of this crazy forum towards the latter part of 2005. Since then, I've started from Mosaics and gone through the Vantage and then later the Summits. I started with an HK receiver and slowly moved through low end Rotels, then to the Rotel RB1090 beast of an amp, but ultimately culminated into the Plinius SA102 that many here revere and love. In addition, I started with no preamp but my soundcard, then to the Rotel RC1070 preamp, then through the entire line of Rogue preamps (Metis, Perseus, 99), before finally settling with the Cary 98 and now the Cary SLP-05 preamp.
Then there's been the question of source.... I've always let this aspect of my system run dry and I've always procrastinated with regards to it. I always moved up the rest of my system but never the source.
It took months of coaxing and pushing from members of this forum before I finally got rid of the soundcard as my source and moved up to the stock DACs of the Squeezebox3. After much prodding, I eventually moved up to the PS Audio DACIII.
Why am I telling you guys this and why am I posting this?
Because for so long I've been after added vocal weight, a better image, a sharper focus to the music, and a better sense of realism. I always got a bit of this every time I upgrade either the preamp or the amp... and I kept pushing onward with those 2.
Little did I know that the culprit had been that my system was unbalanced! My source had always been lagging and the downstream components could not resolve what was not there in the first place!
I recall many threads where I either:
1. Questioned the ability of electrostats to image as well as conventional dynamic cone speakers.
2. Questioned whether I needed more tubes in the system, even in the form of a tube buffer between the source and the preamp!
3. Question whether or not a non-focused image is the "truer" way of imaging from a loudspeaker and perhaps this was more natural than the portrayal of imaging via dynamic speakers!
Boy I was getting deluded....
Little did I know that all I had to do was upgrade the source to the same level as the downstream components... and that this move would push the entire system up a whole notch. And that I have finally reached near sonic nirvana.
Can it be improved still? Of course. But now, it stands to be the best I have ever heard my system sound.
I went through 2 hours of listening tonight, to the point where I became woozy. I listened through the entire JUNO OST cd (19 tracks) twice! And also added some usual favorites to tonight's playlist!
So, in closing... you guys were right. All of you who advocated that I begin to examine my source were all right! I was wrong... thank goodness for this forum and for the lessons I learn each time.
Thanks fellas...
Joey
Then there's been the question of source.... I've always let this aspect of my system run dry and I've always procrastinated with regards to it. I always moved up the rest of my system but never the source.
It took months of coaxing and pushing from members of this forum before I finally got rid of the soundcard as my source and moved up to the stock DACs of the Squeezebox3. After much prodding, I eventually moved up to the PS Audio DACIII.
Why am I telling you guys this and why am I posting this?
Because for so long I've been after added vocal weight, a better image, a sharper focus to the music, and a better sense of realism. I always got a bit of this every time I upgrade either the preamp or the amp... and I kept pushing onward with those 2.
Little did I know that the culprit had been that my system was unbalanced! My source had always been lagging and the downstream components could not resolve what was not there in the first place!
I recall many threads where I either:
1. Questioned the ability of electrostats to image as well as conventional dynamic cone speakers.
2. Questioned whether I needed more tubes in the system, even in the form of a tube buffer between the source and the preamp!
3. Question whether or not a non-focused image is the "truer" way of imaging from a loudspeaker and perhaps this was more natural than the portrayal of imaging via dynamic speakers!
Boy I was getting deluded....
Little did I know that all I had to do was upgrade the source to the same level as the downstream components... and that this move would push the entire system up a whole notch. And that I have finally reached near sonic nirvana.
Can it be improved still? Of course. But now, it stands to be the best I have ever heard my system sound.
I went through 2 hours of listening tonight, to the point where I became woozy. I listened through the entire JUNO OST cd (19 tracks) twice! And also added some usual favorites to tonight's playlist!
So, in closing... you guys were right. All of you who advocated that I begin to examine my source were all right! I was wrong... thank goodness for this forum and for the lessons I learn each time.
Thanks fellas...
Joey