Maybe there really is a downside to this upgrade. Bad recordings sound even worse
Hi Peter,
Hopefully you found the "Spare" crystal in the packaging... Just so you don't throw it out...
John
Maybe there really is a downside to this upgrade. Bad recordings sound even worse
Yes, I prefer the SQ.
Why not try it and see/hear for yourself?
Hi John, yes i've got it. Not thrown away. Thanks. Just been listening to MDAC after breaking it in over last 24h or so. First impresions are - I'ts a totaly different animal.
More detail, more space and cohesion to the whole presentation. Bass slightly better controlled and faster if a tad lighter. Pretty much what others commented before me. Definetely like it.
I suspect more is to come as I noticed before caps continued to break in for about a week or two.
Great upgrade John, and thanks, I'ts a hell of a lot of work you have done on it.
Peter
But the only difference according to the wiki is:
A.06: "menu option Phase Select does it's business by inverting data before it hits the DAC chip as opposed to flipping the phase ahead of DAC array"
Does the inclusion of this option really change the sound quality? Or is it the particular setting? I'm using 0 phase. Is A.05 equivalent to 180 setting? Is that the difference?
- Richard.
Sorry, can anyone explain the difference between using 0db volume and turning of the volumecontrol
I thought it should sound the same - thank you
I'm using A06 @ 0 degree. I didn't notice any difference between A06 and 0.96. Of course, I don't have two M-DAC's to compare both versions head to head.
I've got a question about oversampling. My player software, audirvana, allow oversampling to *2(4/8) of the original sample rate. For that purpose it uses iZotope decoding library.
Do you think it's better to send 44.1 or 88.2 (oversampled) to the DAC ?
What could be the advantages and drawbacks ?
Best regards,
I tried again. I think 0.90 is still better. This can also be caused by the listening conditions. I listen in a small (3.5 x 4.5) room on the principle of near-field listening. The distance is about 2 meters. The Speakers: ProAc monitors on high stands. Filter: Optimal Transient DD.
The ESS Sabre32 ES9018 already incorporates very sophisticated upsampling. Unless your upsampling algorithm is very good, sending an unchanged bitperfect signal is the way to go.
My listening situation is pretty much identical. Have you tried v0.05? I found the bass better, and set to O.Spectrum, full suppression and normal phase is how I've left the FW at the moment. Before I was using 0.90 and definitely preferred that to the latest v0.08..
Memory only. We will be comparing our units with Misterdog on Saturday next week, he has unmodified MDAC.
Cheers
Peter
Indeed, the bass was better, but IMO the position of the instruments in a classical orchestra was worse. What were your settings in 0.90?