Super system sounding
bad
May 28, 2004
Wes,
Longtime listener, first time caller. At a recent hi-fi
show of sorts here in Melbourne, Australia, I had an opportunity to listen to an esoteric
system that included the dCS Verdi SACD transport, Egglestonworks Savoy speakers, and
Shunyata cables (a setup costing over $200,000 USD). Halcro amps were also there, but I am
not sure if they or the dCS componentry provided amplification. Anyway, the music played
was predominantly female jazz vocalists, and it did sound quite transparent, albeit
lacking a bit in soundstaging prowess and timbre.
I just so happened to have Mr. Bungle's California
with me, so asked to play "Goodbye Sober Day." Well, within a minute people were
vacating the room. It sounded extremely harsh and bright with no layering, detail, or
separation. Soon I was the only person left and the rep kindly returned my CD and
explained that the system was "too detailed" for such a bright recording. Huh? I
have never heard that recording sound that harsh with Musical Fidelity, Arcam, Simaudio,
Dynaudio, and JMlab equipment.
Ten minutes later, I played the same track on a lower-grade
system (Marantz CD player, NAD amps and VAF Research -- Australian company -- speakers).
It sounded great with all the detail and separation I expected. It even attracted a crowd
of listeners.
I realize that a transparent system will highlight bad
recordings, but can a system be too detailed? Or could it have been a poorly set up
collection of components? I guess price should never be used as a sound-quality benchmark.
Richard
Synergy can trump individual component quality
and setup can trump everything. At a hi-fi show, however, it is frequently easier to get a
modest system sounding good than one of the "super" systems. My rule of thumb at
shows is to always believe good sound and to never trust bad sound.
A really good system should allow you to hear the
musicality in all of your recordings. You may hear a recording's shortcomings, but you
should also hear the stuff you've always liked on your favorite discs. You may be
disappointed in the way they sound, but you should still appreciate the music.
When somebody tells me they have a system "so
good" it reveals how bad most recordings are, I just compliment them on their good
fortune -- and thank heaven that I'm not so discerning that my listening has become a
blood sport.
Just my two cents.
New speakers with wife's blessing
May 26, 2004
Hi Wes,
Hello from north of the border. I seem to be in an enviable
position that is giving me problems. The enviable part is that my wife has given me her
blessing to go out and purchase some new speakers, floorstanders at that. The problem is,
I don't know what I should be looking at or if I should be considering floorstanders at
all.
My current set up consists of Creek 4330 Mk II with phono,
Cambridge Audio D500SE, Paradigm Mini-Monitors, and Pro-Ject Debut II 'table. The reason
for the new speaker search is our 10-month-old daughter who will be walking (unsteadily)
soon.
My problem is that I don't know if my amp is up to the task
of driving anything much larger than the Paradigm Mini-Monitors.
I live in an area where I have access to a fair range of
choices (B&W, KEF, JMlab, Paradigm, Energy Connoisseur, Athena, and a few more
brands), and have tried most of those. I really like the JMlab Chorus 710, Paradigm
Monitor 7, and a KEF two-way floorstander that I forget the model number of. I haven't
arranged for any home demos yet, but I would like to. I just don't know if any of these
would work well with my gear.
I enjoy and respect your writing and would appreciate any
help, suggestions, advice and insight you may be able to offer. As I'm sure I will
probably not be in this position again (having my wife's blessing), I want to take full
advantage if possible.
John A.
The Creek has a surprising amount of grunt for such a
small amp (it's only small on the outside -- it's a monster inside). I think that any of
the speakers you have mentioned should be within the Creek's ability to drive them.
I have auditioned the JMlabs, which I found extremely
listenable, and I heard the Paradigm Monitor 7s for an extended session at a friend's
house and thought they were fantastic (but Joe is a master at system setup, so no surprise
there). I've always liked the KEF sound, but I haven't spent any time with the current
models.
Since you're in Canada, you might also want to check out
Axiom. The company has four floorstanders that are awfully good -- and awfully affordable,
which should free up some funds for all those children's books (and shoes!) you'll be
wanting.
Tri-Vista and Sophias
May 24, 2004
Hello Wes,
I recently read your review of the
Wilson Audio Sophia speaker and its pairing with the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD
player. I own the Tri-Vista and am very happy with it and have for the past few months
been looking for the right speakers. I noticed that you were very impressed with the
combination yourself and was wondering if you could offer any new insight or suggestions
as to the long-term listenability of the Sophias.
I listen to anything from Nina Simone to Depeche
Mode and everything in between. Do you feel that the Tri-vista and Sophia combination
would reproduce all types of music in a positive light? I am not a rich guy, and if I
decide to buy the Sophias it will have been a carefully made decision -- and your opinion
will play an important part. Anything you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Kevin
One of the great things about my job is that I
get to listen to a lot of cool gear. I won't even pretend that I don't get a kick out of
that. What audio geek wouldn't?
But there have been a few times in my career when I
didn't want to listen to anything new, I just thought. "I could live with this very
happily," and then I would put off changing my system as long as possible.
The Tri-Vista/Sophia combination was one of the
systems I really hated breaking it down when it was time to move on. Now that doesn't mean
that you will love the combination as much as I did -- or even that there might not be
better systems out there. But I would be a very happy audiophile with a system based on
those two components.
And, like many of the best systems I have
auditioned, as good as it sounded from the get-go, it impressed me even more the longer I
listened to it.
Sophia versus WATT/Puppy 7
May 20, 2004
Wes,
I've read your review of the
Wilson Audio Sophia. Have you reviewed the WATT/Puppy 7? Could you take time to
describe the differences you heard or any difference in performance? I am currently in the
market for a new pair of speakers and have narrowed my choice down to these two.
Rick
I have not heard the latest incarnation of the
WATT/Puppy, but listeners I respect have told me the Sophia caused a major reconsideration
of the WATT/Puppy, especially in the area of bass integration -- which is something that I
think the Sophia handles better than the early iterations of the W/P I have auditioned.
I'm working on getting a pair of 7s
to review, so I hope to return to this topic. Of course, Marc Mickelson, in whose ears I
trust, has already written a
definitive WATT/Puppy 7 review on SoundStage!, so there probably isn't much
left for me to say on the subject. But I really want to hear them, so I'll soldier on.
(It's a tough job, you know?)
Musical Fidelity or HeadRoom?
May 17, 2004
Dear Mr. Phillips,
I am seriously considering two headphone amplifiers,
and I noticed in my web searches that you are the author of reviews of both of them.
So I can't resist asking you a simple but (to me)
important question. Between the Musical Fidelity X-Can V3 and the HeadRoom Home (with
standard electronics), which would you choose, if my headphones are Sennheiser HD 650s?
Thank you very much for your insight!
Berry Taylor
I'd probably opt for the Musical Fidelity, given
that choice. It is warmer and fuller sounding than the now somewhat long-in-the-tooth
Home. But I bet HeadRoom is working on a newer version and we'll just have to see how that
stacks up when and if it shows up.
HD 650 reviews
May 12, 2004
Dear Wes,
I read your review of the
Sennheiser HD 650 headphones with great interest. I got enthusiastic about them first
when reading about them on www.headphone.com.
I started to read other reviews and they were all very positive. So I decided on the HD
650s, since it's an affordable set of headphones. However, looking for prices, I came
across one other review that gave me a cold shower. It contradicted the other reviews,
saying that what I appreciate so much, (true reproduction of music without coloration) was
missing.
This was the only negative review I found, but it
caused me to doubt whether I should really buy these cans. I am curious what you think
about this and would appreciate your views. As you are obviously fond of the HD 650s, I
hope you will come with some decisive arguments I can trust to counter the negative
reviewer's point of view. Or is he really right? Thanks for your help.
Walter
I made my case in my review. The other reviewer
obviously disagrees. That's the way preference works.
What I find interesting is that you have done
enough research on the Sennheisers to realize that the majority of the reviews on them are
positive and you seem to put more stock in the one negative review than the
consensus of all the other reviewers combined.
If you'd only read two reviews, one positive and
one negative, I could understand your confusion, but under the circumstances, I'd trust
what most commentators have to say. That doesn't guarantee that you won't agree with the
lone dissenter, merely that would be the way to bet if you wanted to gamble that any of
us knows what we are talking about.
Cable upgrade
May 10, 2004
Hi Wes,
I have a pair of Wilson WATT/Puppy 5s and have been
using an eight-year-old pair of Transparent Music Wave Ultras as speaker cables. No big
complaints with the cables. (In fact, I just auditioned a pair of TARA Labs The One, and
the Transparent pair was the winner.) Still, I have the feeling I could enjoy significant
sonic improvement with improvements in cable technology. Would you advise any for
audition?
My system:
Wadia 270 CD transport
AT&T glass to Wadia 27ix D/A converter
TARA Labs The One balanced to BAT 31SE preamp
TARA Labs The One balanced to McIntosh 2102 amp
Transparent Music Wave Ultra to Wilson Audio WATT/Puppy 5
It's a real pleasure to seek advice from someone who
has had his name in lights for so long.
Tom
Naturally, I'm a big believer in being happy with
what you have -- which causes huge internal conflicts with my audiophile's craving for
constant change, so I understand why you ask.
The problem is that you take such a beating when you
trade in expensive audio cables. If you think driving a new car off the lot causes major
depreciation, just try to sell any cable that isn't brand new.
Fortunately, Transparent Cable has an extremely
strong upgrade policy, which allows you to keep a fairly huge chunk of your initial
investment. Contact your local Transparent dealer about arranging for auditions of their
newer cables and the details of the upgrade program.
Shopping for an inexpensive CD player
May 4, 2004
Hi Wes,
Could you please advise me which CD player I could
get with my limited budget ($350)? Recently, I've done some research for the common factor
present in the "best buy" CD players in this price range and a little above (NAD
542i, Arcam), and it would seem that it's the Delta-Sigma Burr-Brown D/A converter. Is
this true? Is there a better product for my NAD C370 amp than the 542i? Thanks and keep up
the good work.
Christian
You're asking two separate questions. Answering
your query concerning the "secret ingredient" of the best-sounding affordable CD
players, the presence of the Burr-Brown D/A probably has more too do with parts cost and
availability issues (both crucial when designing to a price point) than to it being the
true path to enlightenment.
That said, however, some of my favorite, far more
expensive players also use Delta-Sigma chipsets from Burr-Brown, so obviously, in the
hands of the right designer, they can produce superb sound. I happen to like the NAD 542i,
but I also really dig the Rotel RCD-1072, which costs a bit more, but has the HDCD filter.
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