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Post by pete on Jun 12, 2022 10:19:27 GMT
I am a few days into listening to the DAC. It has been left on continuously apart from around 10 minutes while I had a little root around its guts a couple of days back. In that time it seems to have settled in nicely. I am not sure how much use the DAC had in recent years, but it certainly seems to have improved a little over the last couple of days. So, from memory I retraced some listening habits. The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, Djmaldi…..the usual suspects are all played through. Without mercy. The one almost glaring difference I can't ignore is the Parasounds' supremely good tone. I mean, they have absolutely nailed this for me. It isn’t warm, woolly or overly rich, it’s just very natural sounding. Very trustworthy. If you were to have an alien land here and he wanted to know what a clarinet sounded like, I would be very happy with the example the parasound would deliver. Piano’s are equally as well represented. There is never going to be a full soundboard size sound from this setup, but it’s convincing enough in its weight and its tone. Goosebumps are a frequent visitor, and they showed up in their number whilst listening to Simon and Garfunkel yesterday. Ok, to be absolutely fair, the Soekris did this too, and the separation of both vocal tracks via the 2541 was such that you get closer to the mixing desk, I suppose. The Parasound is not getting me to the mixing deck, but its doing something else. It’s like this: The Parasound presents music with the same feel as if you were there to watch somebody play. Like you’ve paid to be in the gig. Listening to some Dave Brubeck puts me at a seat or a table, maybe two from the front, drink in hand and there to take in the experience of the occasion. RELAXED in the chair, free from consciously listening for micro/macro/nano details, nuances, reflections. Just taking it in, and it doesn’t seem to require any effort or attention to connect in this way. I am enjoying this. That's wonderful Oliver. It is all too easy for all of us to listen out for the changes in components details and nuances, as you say. But, really, it should all be about the music and the enjoyment gained from listening to it. Glad you are enjoying it so much. |
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Post by antonio on Jun 12, 2022 12:43:34 GMT
Very pleased you're enjoying the Parasound, I assume you took a chance when purchasing so always nice when your instinct pays off.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 12:49:55 GMT
Very pleased you're enjoying the Parasound, I assume you took a chance when purchasing so always nice when your instinct pays off. Yeah, pure chance Dave. I do like a gamble. |
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Post by jandl100 on Jun 12, 2022 12:54:50 GMT
Your description of the sound, Oli, does I think tie in well with what I expected you to find... Ah, yes, old fashioned digital DAC tech. Right up my alley, I generally favour this approach. At its best imo, it can result in increased music plausibility, at the cost of less technical measured precision. Musical plausibility. It sounds like real music. It does! |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 13:24:07 GMT
Your description of the sound, Oli, does I think tie in well with what I expected you to find... Ah, yes, old fashioned digital DAC tech. Right up my alley, I generally favour this approach. At its best imo, it can result in increased music plausibility, at the cost of less technical measured precision. Musical plausibility. It sounds like real music. It does! "Plausibility" is a very good way of describing it. I still crave a bit of that Soekris transparency.....just 1-2%, but I think that's because I'm so used to hearing it. Its an odd craving, because it's not like the music needs it? |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 14:53:01 GMT
Just been having a read of a few Parasound Upgrade threads and to my surprise, I missed something when I took the lid off...... There's a significant amount of Blackgate caps! 10 per channel apparently. Black an gold electrolytics for those who don't know what they are looking for. They are coming out lol  |
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Post by sq225917 on Jun 12, 2022 15:04:59 GMT
Really? I'd replace the regs before I touched those.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 15:35:54 GMT
Really? I'd replace the regs before I touched those. Well I thought so, but now I'm questioning whether to take them out? I need to whip the lid off again and have a look. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 15:47:57 GMT
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Post by misterc on Jun 12, 2022 16:04:37 GMT
Black gates YUK bin em
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 16:08:17 GMT
🤣🤣 I knew you'd say that. Thinking some Panasonic's or Wurths |
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Post by mikeyb on Jun 12, 2022 16:58:07 GMT
Frodo and Sam didn't like them Black Gates either  |
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Post by antonio on Jun 12, 2022 16:59:07 GMT
Are Black Gates a little hard edged/analytical?
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 17:35:36 GMT
Are Black Gates a little hard edged/analytical? I read years ago that they were a little soft sounding. I bought some AN Kaisei for the Krell KSA100 and i did feel that the description was very much on the mark for those. Only really one way to see, and thats to take them out and put some Wurth Or Panasonics in, which are what i have used everywhere else. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 17:37:10 GMT
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Post by karma67 on Jun 12, 2022 17:41:34 GMT
i bet that market is rife with fakes. tread carefully. |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 17:42:47 GMT
i bet that market is rife with fakes. tread carefully. I am sure it is....but my BG caps are genuine. Flogging them will pay for the recap lol |
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Post by karma67 on Jun 12, 2022 17:46:28 GMT
ah you're selling ,i thought you were buying,my bad.
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Post by misterc on Jun 12, 2022 17:52:30 GMT
I once fell for the BS fitted a couple in one of the original Wadia's man what a pile of pooh, big mushy warm dross
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Post by sq225917 on Jun 12, 2022 17:55:09 GMT
Loved the hi-q nx as decouling caps, especially in naim circuits. Not a fan of thexstadard grade especially in the feedback loop.
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Post by macca on Jun 12, 2022 19:43:41 GMT
look at what just two of them sold for  |
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 19:59:12 GMT
look at what just two of them sold for Absolute madness mate. |
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Post by rexton on Jun 12, 2022 20:21:24 GMT
Please tell me your joking, thats just fucking stupid.
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 20:52:56 GMT
Please tell me your joking, thats just fucking stupid. Nope, there is a huge market for Black Gate caps. New ones, or NOS I should say, go for hundreds. There was some for sale earlier this year. Salvaged from somethung. He was asking £35 a cap IIRC. He sold them all. In all seriousness, I may be able to pay for the recap by selling the BGs.....mad. |
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Post by rexton on Jun 12, 2022 21:19:08 GMT
WOW, that's just crazy, I'm still bowled over by this. Why dosen't everyone just do E-waste salvage and become millionaire by end of week?
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 12, 2022 21:35:44 GMT
WOW, that's just crazy, I'm still bowled over by this. Why dosen't everyone just do E-waste salvage and become millionaire by end of week? There are companies doing this. Not for BG caps though. |
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 13, 2022 21:44:08 GMT
The audiotuning.de upgrade boards have arrived:  Now installed, which wasn't as easy as I'd have liked. The incumbent devices were somewhat stubborn, but with some care and patience I managed to get them out unscathed. I went straight back to the tracks I had recently listened to in 16/44, and I can tell you, they were absolutely unbelievable. That percentile of transparency and resolution I'd missed is now here, and it has not come at the expense of plausibility. It hasn't affected the tibral quality I have fallen for, and it has not affected the tonal quality. It's just more resolving, more transparent. The bass in particular, wow. It has weight, heft and layering but with the addition of some inner details like touch and technique. It's a little more agile, more nimble, but it has not lost the core ingredients to sounding like an accurate representation. The Cello of Janos still delivers emotion, flair, momentum and fluidity, but again, to hear the movement of the left hand on the neck, to hear him breathing whilst playing.....this is what I wanted. The insight.....this is what I hoped for. Every track, absolutely improved beyond the significance of £150........ But there is a problem. Or a quirk.....you can decide. Between every track I am getting a click. Doesn't matter if it's the same album....it happens everytime. I contacted audiotuning.de and they said they have never heard of this before and test every set of boards in a Parasound D/AC1000. Which is fine, but it's not really ideal. Is it bothering me?....a little. it will probably increase in issue as time goes by, so I may have to try and loan a Streamer to see if it's something between the Aria and Parasound, or if it does it in everything. Should it be removed by changing streamer, I am so impressed with the sound that I will sell the aria and get something else. Then there is issue No2...... slightly more annoying. It doesn't do 24/96.....it does 24/48. Again, i fired off an email and quite correctly they replied to say it does say that in the advert. They say the chip can do 24/96....not the DAC. I must admit, it is written clearly and I didn't read all of the description as closely as I should have, so that's on me. But I'm a little disappointed. 24/96 isn't the be all and end all. I can easily re-encode my while library to do that particular output, but the fact I have to is a little disappointing. It hasn't soured things. This evening's session with the Parasound has been one of absolute joy. I can't recall ever being so enthralled by digital replay. |
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Post by misterc on Jun 13, 2022 21:50:15 GMT
It will do 24/88 as well thre is a reason for this
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Bigman80
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Post by Bigman80 on Jun 13, 2022 22:01:56 GMT
It will do 24/88 as well thre is a reason for this Marvellous....... Do i have to guess? |
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Post by antonio on Jun 14, 2022 4:34:08 GMT
The click between tracks is annoying. Could you try setting up the Aria again connected to the Parasound, might sound strange but I've got a problem with my Auralic, I set it up with the connection to the dac using the rca output to bnc but have wanted to try a different cable which is rca to rca, and even though I am using the same output socket I get no sound!!!
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