NovaFidelity / Cocktail Audio X50D
Sept 24, 2023 20:09:07 GMT
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antonio, optical, and 4 more like this
Post by Bigman80 on Sept 24, 2023 20:09:07 GMT
As regular visitors to the forum will know, I recently embarked on a mission to upgrade my Aqvox DAC. The result of that work is to be published elsewhere on the forum, but it's relevance to this thread is obvious, for it was this work that uncovered another issue that had not been obvious/highlighted until the DAC had taken a few steps up in performance.
The Aqvox had always sounded a little lean tonally, and light of bone crushing LF delivery. I'd heard three of them in my system and all three sounded the same. The culprit must have been the DAC, no? Well...yes AND no. You see, when I previously had the Aqvox hooked up to the Digibit Aria it also displayed very similar tonal characteristics, although not quite as severe as post DAC surgery. The installation of the X50D made me think it was more HIFI than the Aria at the time, but until the surgery it wasn't obvious. Now it was.
After completing the upgrades to the DAC and leaving it playing for 300+ hours, something became clear....the sound wasn't where I wanted it to be.
Through a rather sensible and welcome PM chain with a long established member of the forum, and after reading a few very well written threads on various other forums, I was now leaning towards the idea of trying a CD transport. I rigged up an old Rotel CD player from the garage with a decent coax cable and gave it a whirl. I was enthused by what I heard. So enthused, I bought a "better quality" CDT, an Audiolab 8000CDM. The upgraded DAC was attached to a CD transport. It delivered something I had not heard from the Aqvox/X50D combo...... a hint of soul.
The AL8000/Aqvox combo allowed for a closer connection to the music via emotional attachment, rather than outright resolution and possibly at the expense of it. It gave more realistic mass and volume to the instruments, and most definitely made human voices sound far more human. The downside was that the soundstage lost some of its "devoid of light" background that the X50D delivered. It lost some of the "carved in the ether" presentation too, but vitally, the slight loss of these small but significant things meant it didn't beat the X50D hands down. Instead, it was great...but different, not perfect, not an overall winner. So, in a bid to see if I could "have it all" a meet was arranged with macca for his TOTL TEAC CDT to come and put the X50D and AL8000 to the test. However, it's never that straightforward is it. A few days after the meet was arranged, the AL8000 started to behave as you would expect an ancient CDT to behave. CDs not reading was the last straw and it was sent back. This meant I only had the X50D to use, and I wasn't loving it. In frustration, I popped the lid to be nosey. There before me was the nemesis of great sound (IMHO).....A SMPS.
*Yes, I knew it was there when I bought it, and I should have dealt with it then, but didn't*
I knew it had to come out. After floating the idea on the forum, I spoke to firebottle as I was little daunted by Tony's statement that the X50Ds circuitry was delicate and prone to damage easily. I haven't worked on things in this realm, so I feel caution is always wise. I needn't have worried. Within 24hrs Alan had given me all of the details required and the parts for a temporary LPSU were on the way. Another 48hrs later, it was lashed up and back in the system.
Thanks again Alan!
The X50D is a bit of slow starter IMO. It really does need some time to get back to sounding it's best after it's been powered down. I'd been too quick to play a few tracks and felt the LF was a little bit lumpy and lacked definition. I left it playing for about 4-5hours and then had another listen. Better, but not there yet. The next day, it had seen another 24+ hours of continuous action, so I sat down and played the CD rip I'd done of Marlon Williams' self titled album. I was gobsmacked. The sound that greeted my ears was significantly different to how it had sounded via the X50D before. It was extremely fluid, certainly more fluid that anything digital i have heard here before, but it was also girthy and massy. It had volume and heft, but still had bags and bags of resolution and detail.
I played on for a few tracks and swapped to Sera Una Noche - La Segunda.....
This sounded better than the vinyl, for the first time ever in my house, it sounded better than the vinyl.
I listened to the entire album and was completely engaged all the way through. I heard things in that session that I have never heard before, it was simply "much improved"
Of course, S.U.N were recorded on a digital Korg device, and the file I have is a direct copy of the original recording. Unfiltered, unmolested. It came straight from the file made on the Korg, so it should be better than the vinyl IMO. I decided to try a few older albums, but eventually i ended up at the make or break moment....A Day In The Life..."why waste any more time" I thought. The result of listening to that track was probably what should be described as a watershed moment.
Up until that session I felt I had achieved enjoyable digital. Digital that was good quality, easy to listen to, neutrally voiced and full of resolution. However, I had never achieved digital replay that fully and unconsciously convinced me that I was listening to authentic instruments or voices...it just never has. I considered making digital the main source at one point, especially when I had all the noise issues around vinyl, but I couldn't make that move with any conviction that digital would satisfy long term...because it wouldn't have.
The PSU change to the X50D, and the upgrades to the Aqvox, have taken my digital replay into another dimension.
"A Day In The Life" sounded so good that I finally got goosebumps to the degree I get them with vinyl. The emotional connection to that song was there too, the feel was there....the MAGIC was there. Eva Cassidy....OMG, WOW...seriously wow. Her voice sounded so pure and soulful. Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over troubled water....Couldn't talk. Huge lump in the throat!!!!! Honestly, it was such a seriously impressive session that my head was wobbling all night 🤣
There's more to come too, as I did all of that with my stand by prototype BT2 with TKD pot. It's a bloody good pre as is, but it's not as good as the full fat version. At this point, my enthusiasm for digital replay has been ignited. I have been chasing this dragon for years, and I feel like I finally have it by the tail.
Tony asked "what is missing from digital that vinyl has?"
Well, i suppose the answer is a LPSU in the box, but the reason for that is unclear to me. Is the LPSU cleaner? Is it causing less interference? Is it adding distortion? I don't know, but I do know that whatever it is doing, it's worth 100x the cost of putting it in, in terms of musical benefit.
I'll add more to this when I have my BT2 back, or have replaced the parts in the prototype to reflect a full build. I really want to be sure I am hearing what I think I am hearing, and until that happens I am going to reserve some judgement...but as of right now, I am very impressed.
The Aqvox had always sounded a little lean tonally, and light of bone crushing LF delivery. I'd heard three of them in my system and all three sounded the same. The culprit must have been the DAC, no? Well...yes AND no. You see, when I previously had the Aqvox hooked up to the Digibit Aria it also displayed very similar tonal characteristics, although not quite as severe as post DAC surgery. The installation of the X50D made me think it was more HIFI than the Aria at the time, but until the surgery it wasn't obvious. Now it was.
After completing the upgrades to the DAC and leaving it playing for 300+ hours, something became clear....the sound wasn't where I wanted it to be.
Through a rather sensible and welcome PM chain with a long established member of the forum, and after reading a few very well written threads on various other forums, I was now leaning towards the idea of trying a CD transport. I rigged up an old Rotel CD player from the garage with a decent coax cable and gave it a whirl. I was enthused by what I heard. So enthused, I bought a "better quality" CDT, an Audiolab 8000CDM. The upgraded DAC was attached to a CD transport. It delivered something I had not heard from the Aqvox/X50D combo...... a hint of soul.
The AL8000/Aqvox combo allowed for a closer connection to the music via emotional attachment, rather than outright resolution and possibly at the expense of it. It gave more realistic mass and volume to the instruments, and most definitely made human voices sound far more human. The downside was that the soundstage lost some of its "devoid of light" background that the X50D delivered. It lost some of the "carved in the ether" presentation too, but vitally, the slight loss of these small but significant things meant it didn't beat the X50D hands down. Instead, it was great...but different, not perfect, not an overall winner. So, in a bid to see if I could "have it all" a meet was arranged with macca for his TOTL TEAC CDT to come and put the X50D and AL8000 to the test. However, it's never that straightforward is it. A few days after the meet was arranged, the AL8000 started to behave as you would expect an ancient CDT to behave. CDs not reading was the last straw and it was sent back. This meant I only had the X50D to use, and I wasn't loving it. In frustration, I popped the lid to be nosey. There before me was the nemesis of great sound (IMHO).....A SMPS.
*Yes, I knew it was there when I bought it, and I should have dealt with it then, but didn't*
I knew it had to come out. After floating the idea on the forum, I spoke to firebottle as I was little daunted by Tony's statement that the X50Ds circuitry was delicate and prone to damage easily. I haven't worked on things in this realm, so I feel caution is always wise. I needn't have worried. Within 24hrs Alan had given me all of the details required and the parts for a temporary LPSU were on the way. Another 48hrs later, it was lashed up and back in the system.
Thanks again Alan!
The X50D is a bit of slow starter IMO. It really does need some time to get back to sounding it's best after it's been powered down. I'd been too quick to play a few tracks and felt the LF was a little bit lumpy and lacked definition. I left it playing for about 4-5hours and then had another listen. Better, but not there yet. The next day, it had seen another 24+ hours of continuous action, so I sat down and played the CD rip I'd done of Marlon Williams' self titled album. I was gobsmacked. The sound that greeted my ears was significantly different to how it had sounded via the X50D before. It was extremely fluid, certainly more fluid that anything digital i have heard here before, but it was also girthy and massy. It had volume and heft, but still had bags and bags of resolution and detail.
I played on for a few tracks and swapped to Sera Una Noche - La Segunda.....
This sounded better than the vinyl, for the first time ever in my house, it sounded better than the vinyl.
I listened to the entire album and was completely engaged all the way through. I heard things in that session that I have never heard before, it was simply "much improved"
Of course, S.U.N were recorded on a digital Korg device, and the file I have is a direct copy of the original recording. Unfiltered, unmolested. It came straight from the file made on the Korg, so it should be better than the vinyl IMO. I decided to try a few older albums, but eventually i ended up at the make or break moment....A Day In The Life..."why waste any more time" I thought. The result of listening to that track was probably what should be described as a watershed moment.
Up until that session I felt I had achieved enjoyable digital. Digital that was good quality, easy to listen to, neutrally voiced and full of resolution. However, I had never achieved digital replay that fully and unconsciously convinced me that I was listening to authentic instruments or voices...it just never has. I considered making digital the main source at one point, especially when I had all the noise issues around vinyl, but I couldn't make that move with any conviction that digital would satisfy long term...because it wouldn't have.
The PSU change to the X50D, and the upgrades to the Aqvox, have taken my digital replay into another dimension.
"A Day In The Life" sounded so good that I finally got goosebumps to the degree I get them with vinyl. The emotional connection to that song was there too, the feel was there....the MAGIC was there. Eva Cassidy....OMG, WOW...seriously wow. Her voice sounded so pure and soulful. Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge over troubled water....Couldn't talk. Huge lump in the throat!!!!! Honestly, it was such a seriously impressive session that my head was wobbling all night 🤣
There's more to come too, as I did all of that with my stand by prototype BT2 with TKD pot. It's a bloody good pre as is, but it's not as good as the full fat version. At this point, my enthusiasm for digital replay has been ignited. I have been chasing this dragon for years, and I feel like I finally have it by the tail.
Tony asked "what is missing from digital that vinyl has?"
Well, i suppose the answer is a LPSU in the box, but the reason for that is unclear to me. Is the LPSU cleaner? Is it causing less interference? Is it adding distortion? I don't know, but I do know that whatever it is doing, it's worth 100x the cost of putting it in, in terms of musical benefit.
I'll add more to this when I have my BT2 back, or have replaced the parts in the prototype to reflect a full build. I really want to be sure I am hearing what I think I am hearing, and until that happens I am going to reserve some judgement...but as of right now, I am very impressed.
