Deep listening

Been busy lately. Quite a scare learning the missing MH370 when I was in overseas and will be flying back two days later. Life is so unpredictable. I feel for the passenger and the crew love ones. 

Do you buy what these guys are saying? Deep listening is the way to music appreciation? Before we come to that, we must identify in what capacity are you in? Musician, music critic, music lover, recording engineer or audiophile listens differently. I ruled out the assumption of hearing deficiency due to old age for this sake of argument or otherwise we bundle in wild parameters and this will be endless. Musicians focus on virtuosity, timing, flow and chemicals. Music critics too walk along the same line, their job is to write about music anyway. Recording engineer is tasked capturing the essence of the performance. Mixing engineer edits the recorded music and enhance stereo sonic enjoyment, you know the hoo and ha. They mastermind the listeners focus via amplifying specific instruments, specific loudness, specific effects etc. Soundstage is another byproduct of mixing, and we all love soundstage. After all, they produce what we want.

Audiophiles, let's be honest, a little bit of everything, but mostly recording. Because quality of recordings showcase the prowess of one system, usually big scale music. Great bass garners praises. Thus, sells by itself especially among audiophiles. Question is how often to you listen to these stuff?

Deep listening is a very tiring exercise. I can't speak for others, to me of course. Try it for an hour and tell me it is not. You are as if crunching your brain picking up the abundance of musical and non-musical signals, process them into something that make sense to us. Our brain is a complex computer, largely un-utilised, only brain surgeons would explain how it works. When our brain gets tired, you can't think straight. Anyway, just follow the flow of the music and you will appreciate timing or beat is the essence of music, no two ways about it. 

Music appreciation does not have to be that technical. Sit at the sweet spot and let music speaks to you. It comes down to two scenarios, either the music speaks to you or not. Like a sermon, some preachers can preach better than the others. There is another phenomenon, digital is less involving than vinyl. I always have the feeling that digital is constantly yearning for attention regardless of price. Digital sounds cold and stress after prolong listening while vinyl is gentle on ears.

Wide bandwidth is something I am not ready compromise. My personal belief is a system must be able to move air effortlessly. Therefore, I am leaning towards multi driver speaker configuration. Even though, the less than perfect coherency bothers but that is physics, at least not until the technology allows us. Tonality is of paramount importance in any system playback. The higher the price, the more money goes to the tonality. Ask the DIYers, good drivers cost money! Perfect linearity at a restricted bandwidth is definitely not good enough, tonality deteriorates at the extreme frequencies is highly undesirable. Compression, distortion, ill controlled step in and there is nothing you can do about. I can't live with them. It is narrow tolerance, try a tight shirt on yourself. This you avoid, that you better not play. I wouldn't mind tight skirt on babe though.

Three way speaker is the most cost effective solution, and is the most mature technology of speaker building. Be it TMB or MTMB, if it is not coaxial, I prefer MTMB configuration for a beefier mid that I do not have to contend with lean meat. Bass is the most difficult to reproduced, a little fat on the bass would be fine, sir. Adding a sub adds a different set of problems. Mind you, the sensitivity of the speaker does not really tell all the truth about a speaker. Your hearing is a more reliable instrument.

I was recently convinced that active crossover is the way forward. A Sin she showed me how he improves his cheapo system via active crossover. That was a gigantic improvement and I can imagine if it is employed in a better system. Active crossover increases the responsiveness, not until you listen to one to be convinced. It introduces immediacy, immediacy brings life. The bass quality leapfrogs, fuller, more resolution, cleaner and less edgy. Muddy Water is not here. The improvements overspill to the critical mid. The vocal becomes purer, refined and transparent as if the voices were throaty. I was nevertheless impressed with the results, easily tripled the performance. Truth is the inductor in the passive crossover sucks out a lot of juice!



Big scale music is demanding, not any system can reproduce its full majesty. Even Mark Levinson's latest high end assault with his flagship M1, 100dB/W/m high efficiency speakers, best driven by his 200W per channel monoblock, bi-amping! This is serious juice to bring the performance alive. Puny amp, the ability to assert control the drivers is highly questionable!

And the fact that the employment of active crossover in Daniel Hertz M1 will be awesome! Active crossover on M1 magnitude casts a "must listen before I die" on my personal wish list. The speaker configuration and OMG 18" drivers compounded my interest! I am confident that M1 will be THE most dynamic system your money can buy. Period.

French kiss of death

In the world of culinary, the French and Chinese are considered the best of the best. These are there for two reasons, creativity and originality backed by a rich history of revolutions and civilizations.

French has long been considered unusual and quirky. It goes as far nobody (non French) understands French! French romance, this psychological affection plague anything French.

Why with all the French things? The story begins with my Marantz CD94 MKII LE temperamental behavior, picky on disc. Feeling discontented, I was out to hunt a CD transport. CD transport is a thing of a past, there aren't many out there. A paradigm shift, people listen to download music.

The cheapest dedicated CD transport can be had for RM3k+, Stello top loading CDT. RM5K gets you a Cyrus CDT. For significant more, you get CEC CD transport. Alternatively, I could buy a Chinese CD transport, hey, it is just a bloody CD transport. How complicated can the CD transport get, right?

I have my reservations on Chinese stuff. First and foremost, 220V power rating. Current voltage is the mother of good sound. Within 10% tolerance, everything is fine. However, 250V is not uncommon here, the sound will get aggressive and grumpy. Secondly, only a handful of Chinese know how. Creamy mids and exaggerated lows voicing, I can't help feeling a lit greasy. Not my type of sound.

Under the hood of a Chinese product, you see boutique caps, exotic components and complicated circuitry and this is contrary to its western counterparts. Impressive as it may seem, but let's not get carry away, it is the voicing that matters. Pass Labs uses only common parts, so is FM, so is Goldmund, so is TAD, so are many others. Their design is simple. Think of a second, if boutique parts guarantee good sound, it would be much easier achieving good sound. Absolutely not, it is all about implementation, implementation and implementation. Each of them has a unique voicing that appeal to certain group of fi.

Trust me, I had been through that path, trying to outsmart the game is not a bright idea. The audio companies do not hire engineers to produce a mediocre sound. Honestly, I do not see high level audio any difference than performance car. If you want high quality sound, you could not not spending. You are paying for the design work. There is no two ways about it.

YBA came to me by eventual consequences. Heritage is the latest series to YBA product line up. Heritage is a line up from the entry Design series, fourth line down after the flagship Signature, Passion and Genesis series. In my opinion, the offering is too wide and they should narrow their product range.

Heritage CD100 (above), Passion CDT450 CD transport (below)

I happened to test XTZ CD100, price was right. For the sake of benchmarking, the friendly dealer gladly plays YBA Heritage CD100 for me. Look, I have patronized this dealer on many occasions, never spend a penny. Soong's sales attitude is highly commendable that he entertain requests. Some dealers snobbish attitude, let just say I'll rather spend my money elsewhere even though they sell good sounding products. So what? I'd not recommend my friends to spend there too.

YBA employs a standard clean faceplate to all series, black faceplated Design series is excluded, simple and elegant. Instead of press button, YBA opts for small toggle switch. Neat, the toggle switches provide tactile response. The CD transport is located at the right side, pretty ergonomic for the righty. The drawer mechanism is smooth. The reading of TOC, table of content is blissful. Overall, the minimalist and clean faceplate of YBA spells elegance.

The heart of Heritage CD100 is Wolfson 8740, not a red hot chip for digital conversion. Knowing Yves Bernard Andre the man through media interview, Yves Bernard Andre has some serious credentials to his name, a teaching professor in a renowned university, worked in Goldmund and Audax, later went on started a luxury audio company named after his initials. Among YBA design philosophies, simple design, short signal path, thick bottom chassis plate, nonmagnetic screws, three isolation footers, anti resonance, power, thermal, electromagnetic, vibration and electrostatics distortions management, these merit how YBA sounds. Yves Bernard Andre himself, an engineer, a learned musician and a tweaker, is a rare breed on his own. He is currently teaching at Ecole Polytechnique.

Most engineers don't think outside the box, it is a real sad thing. YBA later sold to a French businessman, it did not take long to later sell his shares to Shanling. Shanling is top Chinese audio company with worldwide distribution. YBA would leverage on Shanling distribution strength to revive YBA and re-entering high end audio. Shanling later hires Yves Bernard Andre as technical consultant. Shanling gave YBA a serious second sting of life in high end audio with a new French management.
 
Well aware that Heritage CD100 would beat XTZ but I did not prepare for the significant improvement. My heart for XTZ turned cold instantly, my mind was as if being bulldozed, blank. Heritage CD100 has a sonic that reminiscence of high end audio, breathtaking clarity, pristine, clean, decoupling notes that are captivating. A sound that associate nobility.

There is a SRC feature that I could upsample to 192kHz from 44.1Hz since I omit the DA. How could this be? I wrote to YBA and they told me SRC is not applicable if I use as CD transport but my ears are telling me the obvious difference. At 192kHz indicated on the display, an expansive soundstage, a magnificent spacious 3D albeit slightly thinning of sound. That 192kHz had put the final nail in the coffin. The dealer told me he outsold YBA Heritage CD100 player, I grabbed his last unit and the new batch will see price up. Blame our weak currency.

Heritage CD100 in my system, O my God! noise floor dropped to a new level. The cleanliness has become my new pride. It helps a great deal to let the wholeness of harmonics permeate through, hearing more detail, longer decay, feeling more ambiance. The space grew in magnitude. Could it be a fresh pick len? Could it be a more accurate read? I am clueless. One thing I quite certain is a quieter transformer. A buzzing transformer? You can kiss the unit goodbye.

YBA tonal balance is vastly different from Marantz. Marantz comes with fuller mids and lows. French romance at work, more refined highs, shed off some body, more Q and dry bass. As such, the image is more pinpoint, more spacious sound field as if the crews had switched the lighting at back stage.


Conclusion
Today's audio has a peculiar polarization, entry level and high end. Middle kingdom is slowly becoming a vacuum. Audioing is not cheap no more like those days in 80s.

Quality is a repeatable standard regardless the locality of production, it is the attitude, it is the mindset. Some Chinese companies can produce good quality products too. Designed elsewhere and made in China is the way to go to beat the price. KEF LS50, Stereophile recommended class A component is an excellent globalisation example, BMC, TAD, YBA, XTZ, Audioquest, Tara Labs and many others too adopting this strategy.   

Get yourself to listen to French flavor for a change of taste. This is my last catch in 2013. French kiss of death, I am now RM5k+ short. Beware of the risk of French romance, don't blame me for not warning you. Happy New Year everyone.

Follow ups
My guests could tell the improvements brought by YBA, citing the higher resolution and darker background.

BMC PureDAC follow up

The cruel AB test, definitely not in my place because I will have a hard time letting the winning component leave. O my wallet is thin enough already! Furthermore, the changing of component in my system is a big hassle, have to deal with the delicate isolation and space constraint isn't conducive for equipment changing. Thus, I jumped on the opportunity to see BMC PureDAC steps in to the ring with the mighty dCS Debussy in a Wilson Sasha based system in a friend's place.

Stereophile reports, "Inside is the latest version of dCS's software-updatable "Ring DAC." This is a five-bit design, operating at 2.822 or 3.07MHz and handling the audio data in a proprietary five-bit format at DSD's sample frequency. All incoming digital data are oversampled to this format before being converted to analog". http://www.stereophile.com/content/dcs-debussy-da-processor  This is neither a 1 bit nor multi-bit machine.

Proprietary software and chipset are great cool sentiment, however if the product is sold few, no economy of scale. Cool factor for a price, someone will have to burden the cost. This is basic costing.

On the other hand, PureDAC uses common chipset. The design team was working on perfecting the circuitry to optimize the chipset. No rocket science and marketing hyperbole. Just plain ol school good engineering. PureDAC throws in DSD 128, this is a welcoming feature since digital evolution is light speed. Anything over three digital years is deemed obsolete. Future proof is a plus point.

The name dCS weights a ton, considered by many an untouchable icon in digital playback. By any standard, this PK is completely insane especially in term of price. BMC is neither BMW nor BMC bike, new kids on the block. Debussy is going for RM40k while PureDAC is RM7k+ locally, that's a difference of six fold in price. Does PureDAC have the David's sling?  Let's get on to it .......

I give praise to this Sasha based system because it is one of the better Wilson systems. The owner tireless efforts to get the best of Sasha is admirable, he tries everything under the sun to make Sasha shine. His strive for good sound will one day makes him a guru. There is no cut to experience.

Typically, Wilsons with its revealing nature require skill to set them up right, definitely not a novice's speaker. Much like Messi and ex Barca coach Pep Guardiola, they learn and relearn from each other. Both of them bring out the best of each other. The virtues of Wilson that we all come to know are, realism, dynamic, soundstage and bass slam. They are considered the best value in high end for what they capable of but not the most finesse by the world standard. Their European cousins fare much better in finesse department.

We began listening to Debussy, drives the amp direct. O gosh! The system sounded punctured like a tired old man running up the stairs. Blame Wilson Sashas for gain demanding, a lazy buffalo needs whipping to work. Nevertheless, the observations were based on 2 volts output albeit lacking in gain.

Tonality
In term of timbre honesty, Debussy is perceived to be more accurate. And accuracy always comes in the expense of musicality. Right out from the box, PureDAC is musical, has a noticeable bloom exhibiting romanticism. This tube like romanticism does vocal palpable, warm, organic and soft leading edges. No long hours listening fatigue. The succulent and liquidity qualities are the hallmarks of great vocal reproduction, free of digitis. Most dacs these days manage jitters far better, I have no complaint here. The blooming renders 3D images, projecting some meat to the bone. Debussy in contrast is leaner, colder and a tad quicker comparatively. 

Due to the forward midrange, PureDAC could easily misinterpreted as less detailed. Far from edgy, the highs has a rounded quality but I would not think the highs are rolled off. I could hear all there is to be heard only the extension is slightly short lived compares with Debussy. Debussy is more extended, the decay hangs around slightly longer, presenting a more airy and spacious soundscape. Having said that, in absolute linearity, Debussy highs still sound rosy, delicate, sweetened compares with say EMM Labs, a stone cold accurate DAC.

Debussy's leaner bass demeanor has the quick and bounciness that I prefer. Both dives equally deep. PureDAC has a fuller bass. 

Soundstage
The illusion of soundstage is room size dependent. In the battle of soundstage, Debussy wins, hand down. It manages to depict a wider and deeper soundstage, thanks to Debussy more extended highs. Both equally competent doing the spooky spatial thing with Stonehenge like images, capable of withstanding the storm. Credits to the amp for the iron fist control. Again, the spatial thing is what Debussy known for did not disappoint.

Transparency
Utilizing digital volume control, PureDAC steps all over Debussy albeit lacks of gain. We listened to softies. BMC's Digital Intelligent Gain Management is superior to yesteryear digital volume. Debussy has a hazy presentation in comparison. This did not surprise me. I had a good read about its voltage volume control and this listening reconfirmed my findings. The more traveling distance of signal will prone to more signal loss and sonic degradation.

There is no way you can cheat the battle of signal loss. I am a staunch subscriber of minimalist audio - less component and tuned via cables and tweaking. That's of course if you wanted a specific sonic signature of a particular brand, pre and power is the way to go.

Dynamic
A tie, probably PureDAC has an edge in dynamic but not as quick as Debussy. A worthy note, PureDAC sits on Debussy, while Debussy was rested on Nordost Sort Kones. We all know how isolation can do, right. It is not surprise to see that Debussy is more exciting but they were not compare on a fair ground.

Conclusion
A durian falls from the tree, the fruit is ripe according to the planter but it is the work of gravity for the scientist. Who is right? In a span of two months, I have heard two sub RM8k new dacs come close to dCS in performance. PureDAC is one of them. Competitors are catching up. To my ears, entry level dCS's might is narrowed and certainly not six fold the price would suggest.

Both Debussy and PureDAC are not able to drive direct to the amp but PureDAC gives a good run for the money taking into account that PureDAC was just taken out fresh out from the box. We all love underdog, don't we?

PureDAC is the most tube like solid state dac I have ever heard. Given some break in time and a right power cord, PureDAC will pop eyes!!!

A summer Christmas part III - BMC PureDAC

Are you to eligible to audio truth? Men love nice words especially audio. Most of the time, audiophiles mince their words.

The greatest fun of audioing is building a system of your choice of components and tweaking to acquire a desired sound. It will be an honour if people can relate a sound to your system.

"Doc, could you help?"
"What's wrong?"
"My audibility outdoes my audio skills."
"Improve your skills, silly."

The greater the gap, my fellow friends, the greater the ridicule. Let's be honest to ourselves, we all suffer this mischief audible blues somehow or other. We all like to talk about high end audio, hearing the highest fidelity of sound only few of us can afford. But, our systems are far from optimized.

The Chinese quotes old gingers are more pungent. Listening skills could be acquired over time with repeated practices, this goes without saying audio sharpshooters are not born overnight. Exposure widens the horizon, for that reason, I always accord high respect for the audio veterans. It is their fruits of discovery that we capitalize on and strive to be better.

Back to where we were, I was determined to make S1EXs perform. The search for a DAC is on. My pre and DAC are my liability, they should be out. I have been this far, I will not stop here. Make no sense. Thorough search led me to BMC PureDAC, a DAC/headphone amp/pre-amplifier. It seems to fit the bill.

Minimalism, I believe is the way to further cut signal loss via shorter path. A remote control volume control is a godsend gift. BMC is relatively unheard of. Check this out Candeias Engineering. It is a classic story of innovation driven company behind the scene that decided to go on their own way. Pure series is BMC new budget friendly line-up in addition to their premium Reference series. They set to corner the market with more technologies for lesser money. I gave the dealer a ring telling my intent, he graciously let me try a unit in my system with no obligatory purchase. Reliability is a big concern, I take no chances, in that critical 48 hours, heating or crashing would have the unit returned.

PureDAC is visually far more eye pleasing than in picture. The fascia design is distinctive. The built is sturdy. Weighting in at 5.4kg, the input option is generous. It accepts AES/EBU, Toslink, coaxial and asynchronous USB. USB is now the next big thing, PureDAC capable of PCM 32 bits 384kHz and DSD 128. Future proof. Analogue outputs are balanced XLR and RCA outputs. If you are using BMC amp, BMC suggests that you utilize the proprietary BMC link connection for superior sound. No option to dim the display panel though. They are not glaring to the eyes. The remote control is of push button, rather handy and slim. Overall, the build and finish of PureDAC is unseen at this price range.

Maximum PureDAC volume is 66. My techie was impressed with the advanced circuitry especially a headphone DAC/amp. The output stage for the headphone amplifier is nothing short of spectacular with DMOS FET. This is a forward thinking company. BMC recommends using their belt drive transport in order to reap PureDAC full potential.

BMC bundles PureDAC with their following proprietary technologies

• DAPC, digital analog power conversion for the headphone amplifier.
• DMOS FET lateral MOSFET, zero negative feedback and super low impedance LEF (Load Effect Free) output stage. LEF allows single ended operation even with high current output which is said to have absence of distortion.
• And lastly lossless DIGM (Digital Intelligent Gain Management volume control). Visit BMC Pure DAC.

And if you were present at Mr. Carlos Candeias, President of BMC briefing session during KLIAVS 2013 recently, he could not have stressed more on distortion. Citing distortion as the main culprit of hindering high fidelity playback. Managing distortion, managing the fidelity.

When I first lay my eyes on PureDAC, I figure it would fetch RM10k. Not until I checked on the net and found MRSP USD1690, my desire to give PureDAC a got became stronger. My friend and I were astonished with the price versus built and puzzled how on earth how did BMC manage to control their costs. It clears the air to know that the president of BMC married to a local Chinese and resides in Shanghai, Hangzhou to be exact. Candeias speaks six languages, Chinese too, don't play-play. Knowing the local culture is the best way to guard intellectual properties and low cost especially in China.

Wasting no time, I hooked up my crappy Pioneer DVD player to PureDAC via coaxial input and single ended RCA out to power amp. PureDAC sets a ten seconds time delay to allow charge up upon powered. Hit Play, my first thought came into my mind was "O boy! This is a dead quiet DAC". Low noise floor allows me the feel the tranquillity, a rarity from budget DACs. My air conditional fan noise became intruding. When a DAC as quiet as this, detail permeates. No noise is getting in the way.

Out from the box, PureDAC sounded cold and sterile though. After 20 minutes, things starting to come together. Comfortable listening volume at my place is 40-45 and occasionally cranks up to 60 for heavy orchestral work. It gets pretty loud at 60. Wow! This is a musical dac, the first thought that came in to my mind. Unlike some DACs that immediately grab your attention with their awesome resolution, offering everything but texture. Guitar, in particular sounded natural without being over emphasized with profoundly glassiness. If you are looking for microscopic detail, a feel of extravaganza to show off to your buddies, PureDAC will disappoint. You'd properly have to look elsewhere. I have heard dacs that packed with plentiful detail but wear you out after prolong listening. These dacs are likening to superficial boosted highs Chinese pressing CDs, that eventually a turn off.

After 24 hours power on standby, PureDAC ran a little warm at about 30+ degree Celsius. PureDAC started to show its true color, a human tone. This slightly dark tone treated vocal with an adequate bloom without homogenization. I melted in my chair listening to Cai Qin. Her throaty vocal quality was deemed correct as I can relate to her memorable live concert. I would not care much on the piano on Cai Qin album, they are synthetic. I arrived at this with PureDAC on spikes sitting on chengal planks.

PureDAC preserves the harmonic structures, the rightness of sound. Say the Commemorative CD 2013, Chitlins Gefiltefis from Christian Mcbride/Conversation with Christian, track 13 is a bloody good example. The Jewish harp has a unique and complex harmonic structure, the overtones vastly different from the fundamental tone. It was like a twist of harmonic. Jo took time to explain how a Jewish harp is played, sadly, I couldn't grasp entirely how the harp was being played. The Jew's harp looks like a horse shoe to me.

I somewhat do not like this track that much before because my earlier room acoustics and hardware were the hindrance. This track received a new breath of life with PureDAC. Greasy! I was opened to a new window to this track, the tendon strings were tenacious and the strings were delineated. Sitar too has a complex harmonics with crazy overtones which can form a challenge to playback. Preserving complex harmonic is important because I am very particular on tones. PureDAC responds to what it sits on. Cleaner sound on marble and warmer on MDF platform. A digital cable is critical that sees a chameleon PureDac.

Off to the tonal balance, PureDAC camps on the neutral school of sound. Falling slightly to the warm side of neutral. It sounds like everything but mechanic. I was greeted with a dense Class A analogue-ness, added some meat to the bones. Hey KF (A class A topology advocate)! I do not need to have class A amplification to have class A sound! What sets PureDAC apart from most modern dac is the ability to convey emotions.

The highs were easy to listen to with no irritating fatigue. Suffice to say I'm not missing anything. The sound through PureDAC is balanced. On low registers, PureDAC bass slam packs with weight but looses to American cousins in terms of bass authority. It is the dynamic where PureDAC makes up some ground. Transparency and soundstage are at par with its competitor if not greater.

One worthy note, PureDAC IEC is of UK phase, so if you are planning on using US power cord, you would have to reverse the phase. It makes a lot of difference, more spacious, more spatial, more depth and more effortless. Lots of products were screwed due to this phasing. Many thanks to my techies for I would not have arrived at this level of revelation without them.

Let's see how PureDAC fares in the plethora of sub 2000USD dac, the fiercest fighting ground. NAD M51, Benchmark HDR, Wyred for Sound DAC2, Anedio D2, Audiolab MDAC, Arcam FMJ D33, Mytek DSD192, M2Tech Young and Hegel HD25. They all have one thing in common, a remote volume control.

I have no chance to test all of them but the new generation dacs are vastly superior to yesteryear dacs. It is the matter of finding a DAC to your preference. Indeed, a dac can certainly pivot the sound of your system. Behringer SRC2496 is a solid Class C in Stereophile Recommended Components, a brand that have deep root in pro sound. SRC2496 sounds reckless, raw and uncivilized and is a great addition to a sleepy and lazy system. In a lively system, SRC2496 proves to be too enthusiastic. In terms of musical and finesse, PureDAC is firmly in a different league. SRC2496 is also no slough in detail department, it eats MSB Link III alive. The ageing of MSB Link III is shown. Rega dac has a different flavor altogether, triumphs on musicality, everything is inoffensive. NAD M51, a hot dac in the market hold a typical NAD creamy house sound.

The conclusion, PureDAC is not a dead neutral dac. It has sweetness, it has body, it has soundstage and it has slam. It is easily tweak-able. And I shall report again in a follow up on various power cords. PureDAC is beyond doubts, one of the dacs to watch if you shopping for a sub 2000USD dac. You will need to fork out a lot more to beat PureDAC. And this is not a hired review!!!! I put my money where my mouth is, bought the review unit and playing it happy ever after.

Contact BMC dealer, Mr KW Ng, Dream Audio at 012 3117959