System #425 (Purity)

[RealityBroker]

1) Dan & Diane Smedra

2) Livermore, Colorado, USA

3) Martin Logan Purity (powered)

4) 2011

5) None

6) Two Squeezebox Touch (SBT) units (Livingroom and Bedroom) primarily streaming music from MOG & Pandora premium subscriptions: 320kbps & 192kbps, respectively. His/hers Apple iPhone 4S for remotes. The Livingroom SBT is connected via AudioQuest Cinnamon Optical to PS Audio Direct Link III DAC. The DAC upsamples to a 24/96kHz or 24/192kHz signal which is delivered by custom-built Audio-Envy cables to the Purity speakers. Looking to add CD transport shortly. The Bedroom SBT drives AudioEngine 5 powered speakers. Together a spectacular 'home' system.

7) I first listened to the Purity in 2009, then again in 2010, but each time considered them out of my price range. Then late in 2011, ML and Best Buy moved them out at deep discount. I pulled the trigger. The overall acoustic quality is phenomenal. At first I used the iPhone 4S as the digital source (great sound quality), then the SBT which was a step backwards, finally adding the DAC to produce the hoped for "pure musical bliss."

The accuracy of the sound stage and technical layering of music tracks are stunning. Album track layers which are poorly mixed immediately stand out. Likewise, those studios who know their stuff are able to spin music magic.











With fully-dropped sound curtains.

 

[TomDac]

Welcome aboard! Weird that the iPhone had better sound quality than the Squeezebox.

 

[RealityBroker]

The Squeezebox Touch uses the AKM AK4396 entry-level consumer DAC (http://ow.ly/8AEbL) while Apple selected the Cirrus Logic CLI1560B0 (upgrade from 4) for the iPhone 4S (http://ow.ly/8AFkh). Of course, these respective DACs are only part of the overall EE architecture and may not tell the entire story.

 

[TomDac]

Cool..

How much better does that DAC make everything?

 

[RealityBroker]

As you know, the digital out connections on the Squeezebox pass the signal directly to the outboard DAC of your choice. The improvement is clearly noticeable in the music's dimensionality...or as we say with good wine..."complexity." As you are likely aware, the DL3 uses Texas Instrument's "new 24-Bit resolution, 192kHz processor TI PCM1798DB with 123dB dynamic performance, low 0.0005% THD, differential outputs, and 8 times oversampling filter". But I majored in accounting/business...so it just sounds great.

Since I'm very new to the audiophile world, I'll need to spend time hearing other system to obtain a level of comparative objectivity. I did listen to two other local systems: 1) one multi-component set up at $20-25K and another at $50-75K. My simple system came in between them in audio quality. However, neither of the high-ends used electrostatic speakers and the room acoustics may have been a large part of the equation.