Here's an interesting article by John Swenson that I haven't seen anyone mention yet:

www.audiostream.com/content/qa-john-swenson-part-3-how-bit-perfect-software-can-affect-sound

The reply comments are also interesting. (Peter is mentioned too.)

Mani.

If I wasn't going for the BD-Design Orelinos, I would definitely try an all Sanders amp/speaker setup. I've already got his Magtech amp and rate it very highly. I haven't heard his full system in person, but every report I've read about it suggests it's truly world-class.

And I really like his business model. Superbly engineered products, from someone who really knows what he's doing. Order directly from him. Very competitive pricing - no middle-man to pay off. If you don't like it, return it for a refund. Sound familiar???

I really think this is the only way high-end audio can survive. The expensive audio outlets/dealers will be left to supply branded 'audio jewelry' only.

Mani.

I found it quite difficult to hear obvious differences, but here's what I think.

1. Schemes 1-2 and 1-3 sound similar.

2. Schemes 3-4 and 3-5 sound similar.

3. No Appointment sounds slightly different to schemes 1-2/1-3! With non-hyperthreading, this was unexpected. (Maybe this is just me being fooled.)

I prefer schemes 3-4/3-5 over 1-2/1-3. The latter two schemes sound slightly 'thicker' with a slightly more bloated low-end. But I have to say these differences are pretty small through my current system.

In any event, with my 6-core, non-hyperthreaded CPU, I'm going to stick with Scheme 3-5 for now.

Mani.

Oooooh, I likey, likey a lot.

This XX version sounds incredible even on my currently modest system. The clarity and focus of the sound is incredible. And this is achieved with the sound remaining smooth and relaxing on the ear. A true step up in performance. Peter, I think your description of 'severe' in the release notes is spot on. Really, well done.

For all of you who have not gotten around to installing 1.186... do it now!

I'll be playing around with core appointment schemes later on. I don't use hyperthreading and will be interested in hearing the differences (if any) that the new core appointments make.

More later...

Mani.

Edit: PS. All I need now are a world-class pair of active horns The wait is really going to test my patience.

A bit late, I know... but Merry Christmas everyone!

Cheers, Mani (relaxing to an incredibly good Medoc).

PS. My system in 2014 should bare virtually no resemblance sonically to my 2013 system. Pretty much everything will be different. (Of course the NOS1 will still be there, but will be different.) Bring it on...

Hi y'all. I finally got a chance to try Q5=1 with the other settings suggested in this thread. Nice.

But I have an issue here. I think I've become addicted to Phase Alignment (+) again, with strength = 0. PA just transforms the sound in my system. Everything snaps into place. The top-end becomes super, super sweet. There is a perceived loss of bottom end, but I suspect this is due to less bloat than a lack of real extension.

I like the new settings in this thread, but I can't quite wean myself away from PA(+).

Mani.

Ah, OK. Understood. Yep, it's always sad when someone brilliant loses their mojo.

But is this "knowledge from then which is still very current" really only in the head of KOJ? Surely there must be others who have it too, no? And if there really aren't, then might it be possible to recreate the knowledge by taking something like a PMII, studying its ADC chip and reverse-engineering it?

Mani.

Hey Peter, thanks for saying it explicitly. But I kind of already surmised your conversation about non-ringing filters with 'Prof' KOJ from what you posted at the time (I think you referred to him as 'the most famous recording engineer of the lot', or something like that). So no real surprise for me there.

As for the PMII. Well, there's so much 'secrecy' about it that it makes you wonder why. I mean, it's an old machine now and there's no intellectual capital to protect. So maybe the continued secrecy is to conceal some 'untruths' that were told by the PM team at the time. Maybe one of these was that it was a genuine R2R ladder ADC (as explicitly stated by Michael Ritter in at least one article)??? In any event, it was and still is a good ADC, however it actually works.

I'm confused by this though:


What are you referring to here that "can not work"?

Mani.

Hey Peter, on Nick's suggestion I've been trying PA(+) with strength=1 for the last few weeks and I really like the 'in-the-room' affect it has on the sound.

Do you know if Q5=1 (and the other settings) would be compatible with my PA settings? Of course I can try this for myself (and wouldn't hesitate if I had a preamp in place), but would rather hear back from you first if you think there may be some adverse effects.

Cheers, Mani.

Juan, this is incredibly cheeky of me and I'll ask for forgiveness in advance...

For €6K, you (or anyone else on this site) can have my Swing MkII speakers (they were €23K new, ex VAT). They're not perfect, but they do so many things well that I doubt there are better speakers for this sort of money. Certainly, they have a 'liveness' to their sound that I've only heard from ultra-high sensitivity speakers. (These are 114-115dB/W!) They have built-in gainclone bass amps, so you just use them as you would any other passive speaker. The only downside is that I have no packaging material, so ideally they would need to be collected in person from my house.

If I had space in my home office/studio, I would definitely be keeping them. But alas I don't, and I need to make way for my new horns in my main room. So they've got to go.

Anyone interested, just send me a PM.

Cheers, Mani.

PS Peter, of course, if I've over-stepped what you deem acceptable, let me know or just delete this post.

Hey Paul, I look forward to hearing your new set up at some point.

But I have to say that I still remember the first time I came to visit you. You had your ANEs a little away from the rear walls. Although I agree that the bass wasn't as powerful as when you moved them further back (by cutting into your skirting boards), I really liked the overall sound as it was. I think there was a 'lightness' and 'delicacy' to the sound that was really nice. I even said that you should just keep things exactly as they are.

Knowing what you have now, you're probably really glad that you ignored me. But I hope the new positioning of your S5s has restored some of what I liked so much, but no doubt with a much more powerful bottom end. If so, I can imagine you're getting a pretty special sound right now.

Mani.

Just a quick update and probably a final wrap-up of this thread...

You know, sometimes you only know how much something means to you once you've been without it for a while. Well last week I decided to try all the amps I had lying around to see which to stick with until my Orelino speakers arrive. And there's absolutely no question about it, the Sauermann monos are the amps. I blame the bloody bass controls on the back of the Swing speakers for creating a bunch of '"red herrings" for me. I've got Nick and Paul (Scroobius) coming over next weekend, and although there won't be time to swap amps around (and I don't really have the inclination to either), I hope they agree that the Sauermann/Swing combo provides a pretty nice sound.

Mani.

Hey Peter, I also heard your "old" system. I remember listening to (your) Paul playing real drums and then comparing that to a recording you made of the same drums played back through your system. You may not have heard me, but I specifically stated that your system's LF impact was just a fraction of that of the real drums. If you're now getting close to the real thing, then I can't wait to hear the Orelinos for myself. The whole setup must be something truly special.

Mani.

Haha, as usual, I'm away from home when a new XX idea comes up. But I'll try the new settings as soon as I get back over the weekend.

Actually, I can try them right now... but only with my Win7 laptop, Audioquest Dragonfly DAC and cr*ppy Beats headphones. Will try them anyway though...

Mani.

Hi Diede, thanks for sharing.

I just hope the Orelinos work as well in my much smaller (than Peter's) room. I'll find out soon enough...

Mani.