Is Class D actually killing the "soul" of high-end audio?

Shadowfax said:
Why not just buy the gear that you like the sound of and forget about adding more to the path plus more cables to twiddle with settings constantly?
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I do not disagree, no EQ in any of my systems and all my listening rooms are well appointed with acoustic treatments. Was only a suggestion if your room sucks and you cannot treat it. Easier to EQ then plow through gear looking for the right fit for your room that sound like chit.... Sorry.
 
RepublicOfTexas69 said:
I do not disagree, no EQ in any of my systems and all my listening rooms are well appointed with acoustic treatments. Was only a suggestion if your room sucks and you cannot treat it. Easier to EQ then plow through gear looking for the right fit for your room that sound like chit.... Sorry.
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No worries. I can't treat my room and I use no EQ or Tone Controls. I listen to the music as it was recorded and enjoy it. Some recordings are bright, some are bass heavy, some are just right. What I like about what I have is it plays back whatever and however the recording was made.
 
Shadowfax said:
No worries. I can't treat my room and I use no EQ or Tone Controls. I listen to the music as it was recorded and enjoy it. Some recordings are bright, some are bass heavy, some are just right. What I like about what I have is it plays back whatever and however the recording was made.
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IMO that is the best way to know what's on the recording.
 
Well What can I say. My room is flawed and I prefer a warmer tone with a texturally rich midrange. I like some bass bloom as well. Live music has this. And how can you really know what engineers wanted. They use different gear and studio monitors which are really not good for home listening as they are very flat.

I do own a Schiit Lokius 6 band tone control that is totally transparent when the settings are flat or you by pass it. It has XLR and RCA in and outs. I use it to tone down some sibilance with one of my 2 dacs on certain recordings and it works great for that. Otherwise it is bypassed and you could not tell that it was in line. Just turning a frequency down by 1.5 dB makes a difference with sibilance. I do not use it for vinyl or with my Levinson DAC.

Everybody has their likes and dislikes. I could care less about how an engineer wanted the music to sound like because so much music was recorded poorly. I want it to sound good to me in my home environment. That is no reason to be snarky about this.

If you go back to the 1970's, most the major receivers like Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood and Technics were warmer and had bass bloom. No one complained. We loved the sound and having just been gifted a working Pioneer SX-780, I was reminded of how much I missed that type of sound.
 
Mechnutt said:
Well What can I say. My room is flawed and I prefer a warmer tone with a texturally rich midrange. I like some bass bloom as well. Live music has this. And how can you really know what engineers wanted. They use different gear and studio monitors which are really not good for home listening as they are very flat.

I do own a Schiit Lokius 6 band tone control that is totally transparent when the settings are flat or you by pass it. It has XLR and RCA in and outs. I use it to tone down some sibilance with one of my 2 dacs on certain recordings and it works great for that. Otherwise it is bypassed and you could not tell that it was in line. Just turning a frequency down by 1.5 dB makes a difference with sibilance. I do not use it for vinyl or with my Levinson DAC.

Everybody has their likes and dislikes. I could care less about how an engineer wanted the music to sound like because so much music was recorded poorly. I want it to sound good to me in my home environment. That is no reason to be snarky about this.

If you go back to the 1970's, most the major receivers like Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, Kenwood and Technics were warmer and had bass bloom. No one complained. We loved the sound and having just been gifted a working Pioneer SX-780, I was reminded of how much I missed that type of sound.
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In my mind, preference requires no justification. Period.
 
Shadowfax said:
Why not just buy the gear that you like the sound of and forget about adding more to the path plus more cables to twiddle with settings constantly?
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Minimalist setups work for some, complex systems for others. Equalizers and cables DO affect the sound. If someone wants to add pieces and/or cables in the pursuit of better sound, good on them. We all have the freedom of choice.
 
Mechnutt said:
And how can you really know what engineers wanted. They use different gear and studio monitors which are really not good for home listening as they are very flat.
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With as much cash as many high end systems cost, the solution to this concern is to obtain a nice set of microphones, a decent recorder and then find a venue and performance you can record and stand to play again over and over. In that way you were there and know how the recording should sound. The cost of the recording gear is often quite a bit less than what people spend on their system.

Once you know how the recording should sound you'll know how your system stacks up when playing it. That will allow you to have a better handle on how other recordings actually sound.

In my studio we use speakers meant for high resolution home use. They work great in the home! I really don't think the gear is all that different as you suggest. For example, of course you don't use mic preamps, but if you did a zero feedback tube preamp might be appealing? That's what we use, and its built with the same kind of parts often seen in high end tube equipment: V-Caps, special wire, Vishay resistors and the like. What might be different about it is that its got far more output than a home preamp has, because to drive the tape machine you need to drive a low impedance balanced line (which is done with a line transformer).
 
Shadowfax said:
No worries. I can't treat my room and I use no EQ or Tone Controls. I listen to the music as it was recorded and enjoy it. Some recordings are bright, some are bass heavy, some are just right. What I like about what I have is it plays back whatever and however the recording was made.
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Agree... I do not use, nor have I ever used an EQ or tone controls. I prefer everything flat and as it was recorded.
 
Randy Myers said:
Agree... I do not use, nor have I ever used an EQ or tone controls. I prefer everything flat and as it was recorded.
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Also no DSP or EQ or tone controls here, but I had to do some simple "room treatment" to get rid of the reverberation when I first moved into this new-build flat. All that was needed was more soft furnishings, carpeting on about 30% of the 945 sq ft floor and curtains hung at windows, though these are never normally closed.
 
I do have one final thought regarding this thread. On other forums, this discussion have been off the rails. Insults, disrespect, etc. by the second page. Informative, respectful posts / discussions without the attached egos. Only two exceptions to date. Nothing is perfect. I think I have found my audio forum and hope I can contribute in kind. Thread topic. It's all subjective. Well done folks. Kudos for all. Best regards.

PS: I hope the horse didn't suffer.
 
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ggdudeabides said:
I do have one final thought regarding this thread. On other forums, this discussion have been off the rails. Insults, disrespect, etc. by the second page. Informative, respectful posts / discussions without the attached egos. Only two exceptions to date. Nothing is perfect. I think I have found my audio forum and hope I can contribute in kind. Thread topic. It's all subjective. Well done folks. Kudos for all. Best regards.

PS: I hope the horse didn't suffer.
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Welcome to what we all hope is a respectful discussions forum. This is what most of us have strived for over many years now!
 
ggdudeabides said:
I do have one final thought regarding this thread. On other forums, this discussion have been off the rails. Insults, disrespect, etc. by the second page. Informative, respectful posts / discussions without the attached egos. Only two exceptions to date. Nothing is perfect. I think I have found my audio forum and hope I can contribute in kind. Thread topic. It's all subjective. Well done folks. Kudos for all. Best regards.

PS: I hope the horse didn't suffer.
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I think it committed suicide Gord. :eek:
 
ggdudeabides said:
I do have one final thought regarding this thread. On other forums, this discussion have been off the rails. Insults, disrespect, etc. by the second page. Informative, respectful posts / discussions without the attached egos. Only two exceptions to date. Nothing is perfect. I think I have found my audio forum and hope I can contribute in kind. Thread topic. It's all subjective. Well done folks. Kudos for all. Best regards.

PS: I hope the horse didn't suffer.
Click to expand...

LOLOL please don't go back and read the prior Class D threads.
 
crwilli said:
Randy, Aren’t you, or weren’t you, sampling everything digital to DSD256 on your digital side? I can’t remember if that was you or another member. Craig
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I use HQPlayer and everything to DSD512. I do not use any tones controls, however. Of course, one thing does not equate to the other. One improves, in my view, the quality of the digital playback; the other actually changes the tonal balance. I do believe my absolute finest sound quality is still with my vinyl setup however.
 
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