Guys,
A few day ago I posted a note on DACs in the thread on Wadia iTransport. It is interesting reading.
Please go through posting number 9 in the following thread.
http://www.hifivision.com/mp3-mp4-wma-players-accessories/1508-wadia-itransport.html
I am not arguing for or against anything. It is just my view point. Just to give an example.
As part of auditioning, I once heard a Wadia CD Transport connected to a Wadia pre amp, and a Wadia poweramp. These were connected to the diminutive B&W 303, through cables that were heavier than the speaker !! I played Shankar Mahadevan's Breathless, and Kitaro's Kojiki. The sound was so good, the demo guy tried to steal my CDs !! This was in an AV exhibition.
More recently, I spent a whole afternoon auditioning the Wharfedale 9.6 speakers. These were connected by 32 gauge cables to a power amplifier (Pulz 250) from a company called R&S Electronics in Mumbai. The source was a ordinary Yamaha CD player connected to the power amp through Pulz's Pulz 100 pre amp.
I used this system for over 5 hours without any fatigue. Believe me, the speakers disappeared completely, and the sound from the singer and the instruments were floating in the air. I was playing a carnatic CD with a singer, a veena, a mridungam, and a tampura. I was shocked once, when I heard the veena playing next to my left ear. I was sitting some 10 feet away from the system.
My conclusion? very simply this. Just specs may not have much value. It is the careful mixing of source, amplification, and speakers that have some chance of taking you to audio nirvana. Some really inexpensive systems can provide music as good as the multi-thousand dollar ones.
A few day ago I posted a note on DACs in the thread on Wadia iTransport. It is interesting reading.
Please go through posting number 9 in the following thread.
http://www.hifivision.com/mp3-mp4-wma-players-accessories/1508-wadia-itransport.html
I am not arguing for or against anything. It is just my view point. Just to give an example.
As part of auditioning, I once heard a Wadia CD Transport connected to a Wadia pre amp, and a Wadia poweramp. These were connected to the diminutive B&W 303, through cables that were heavier than the speaker !! I played Shankar Mahadevan's Breathless, and Kitaro's Kojiki. The sound was so good, the demo guy tried to steal my CDs !! This was in an AV exhibition.
More recently, I spent a whole afternoon auditioning the Wharfedale 9.6 speakers. These were connected by 32 gauge cables to a power amplifier (Pulz 250) from a company called R&S Electronics in Mumbai. The source was a ordinary Yamaha CD player connected to the power amp through Pulz's Pulz 100 pre amp.
I used this system for over 5 hours without any fatigue. Believe me, the speakers disappeared completely, and the sound from the singer and the instruments were floating in the air. I was playing a carnatic CD with a singer, a veena, a mridungam, and a tampura. I was shocked once, when I heard the veena playing next to my left ear. I was sitting some 10 feet away from the system.
My conclusion? very simply this. Just specs may not have much value. It is the careful mixing of source, amplification, and speakers that have some chance of taking you to audio nirvana. Some really inexpensive systems can provide music as good as the multi-thousand dollar ones.