Post by garbulky on Apr 20, 2012 5:36:33 GMT -5
With 24-bit 192 kHz FLAC files, the soundstage is as big as a house and the holographic imaging is almost as real as that of a live performance. Compared to an audio CD, it's a night and day difference. In fact, on a CD everything just sounds lifeless and utterly fake. And no, it's not a flaw in my stereo system that's causing this because I can very clearly hear the exact same effects on any very high end stereo system.
But when I hook up my DAC through the cheap onboard S/PDIF of a computer motherboard then the magic of Hi Res music files also disappears. The three-dimensionality and separation just falls apart almost completely and the deep bottom end starts to sound all muddy so that I can barely hear the impact of drumsticks anymore and the beautiful detail gets drowned as if someone is smearing mayonnaise onto my window.
This is why I fell in love with my XPA-2 amp, when combined with a good DAC and a pair of really excellent floorstanding speakers it brings the music to life. It's all about the amazing realism. It's the experience of truly "being there". I have absolutely no idea how else I could describe it.
I very much like your description. I too really enjoy the depth you can get out of audio. I just listened to some Wynton Marsalis and it was just amazing how you could almost hear the distance that the double bass was away from the trumpet and piano. I even heard silverware and glasses moving. That experience was breathtaking. It's something I never realized was there until I upgraded my equipment. I guess, until I have heard truly high end equipment, I'll have to hold to my own opinions on jitter as I try my best to go by personal experience. But I do place a lot of stock in other people's opinion who have first hand experience like yours. What speakers and DAC do you use?
