System #460 (CLX)

[roberto]

Hola Peter... regarding my turntables...I do not want them any more. Why? I spent more time cleaning them, than really enjoying the music. On the other hand, I still have them. Are where I have Martin Logan stock. I still have over 3000 LPs. Still have the Linn LP-12, the Golmund Studio and the Oracle Delphy VII. I know that you are saying that I am a treacherous regarding vinil. But digital is giving to me, all what I need to be happy with the sound. Fast, easy to use, tons of different albums right away, and played very, very nice, at a point that I said to my self. Roberto, if you want to enjoy digital, you must stop to listen analogue. And this is what I am doing. I do not want more expensive cartridges with broken needles. Besides, analogue is not perfect. It mistracks, produce lateral distortion, the record has to be very clean, if you do not want to get dirt, and to listen a whole side of a LP, right at the end, you can see the tip or the needle full of dirt! So, right now, I do not want to spend my time life, cleaning the tips, because the sound is awful.
Regardding the M-Dac, I think it is that good for the price!. For the first time, I can stand a whole cd with strings. The strings are mellow, with the right timbre. The image, the air between them is different than analogue. You have to learn this kind of sound. It is very different than analogue. The absence of noise, rumble, wow and flutter, Seen a pic of 20KHz at -60dB in my oscilloscope, made me think different. Digital was steady can clear, and this was not possible with any of the turntables...right now, I am learning to listen to digital. I know I am going to be nailed here, but this is now my liking! I do not want to debate who is right or wrong. This is my personal decision and I am truly enjoying my system that much!... when I get to the bodega, I will take pics of my turntables and my records. I have part of them there. Happy listening my dear friends... this is only an old fellow thoughts. No war, peace and love to everybody!

 

[greg2putt]

Hola back at you Roberto,
You got it right with music is all about what makes you feel truthful, real and enjoyable.
I'll add one aspect of the Olive that I love. That is when we have parties and I pass around the IPad with the Olice app and folks grave to pick their favorite song/album and tell a story when... Music people love brings them out and opens them up... And they're then more receptive to someone else's 'favorite'. Love the music!

 

[roberto]

Hola back at you Roberto,
You got it right with music is all about what makes you feel truthful, real and enjoyable.
I'll add one aspect of the Olive that I love. That is when we have parties and I pass around the IPad with the Olice app and folks grave to pick their favorite song/album and tell a story when... Music people love brings them out and opens them up... And they're then more receptive to someone else's 'favorite'. Love the music!

Hola Greg2putt. You are right!. Music is to me, the nourishment for the Spirit! I am sure that God will restock to us, all the hours that we had dedicated to listen to the music!. My poor ears are now enjoying to the music and the musician(s) that had all their feeling playing the musical instrument(s) or singing. I think that, because I am liking digital this much, my ears are not discerning all the problems that I did complain with digital sound some time before. Right now, I am enjoying digital sound so much, that I decided to take out of my little dedicated to the music room, all the analogue source that I had before. I can live with AIFF audio format. I am not saying that my system is perfect, no sir. I know that the source prior the mic is analogue. My guitars are analogue, and I listen at the end through the speakers, analogue, right? Music is analogue! Yes, but the devices that we use to reproduce analogue, are old, and digital is just a child, but a beautiful child now. There are so many new things in digital, that we never thought they were possible, so many new things will come in the coming years. Again, thank you so much for your recommendation. I am sure, because you are convinced too, the Olive is a good piece to use and its sound is one of the best in the market today. Right now, I am like a kid, playing with new toys. I am learning tricks of how to get the best of the digital collection. I am very happy with the results, and how my system is giving love. My CLXs are now having the KT-120 power tubes (replacing the 6550C) at my ARC power amp, and I am getting more warmer sound, crystal clear highs, with tons of mid-range without glare, liquid and transparent dynamics, and more organic sound over all... yup, I know, I am crazy! Happy listening.

 

[Bernard]

Roberto,
Have you considered getting an Olive 6HD for your CD collection.

Olive is currently advertising on Audiogon (but not on their website) the 06HD for $3K instead of $5K.

 

[roberto]

Thanks Bernard. It must be a wonderful machine, but I am very happy with my toys!... again, thanks a lot!. Happy listening!

 

[khenegar]

turntables/reberto

that is funny your dumping vinyl and i am going back into it, i am really enjoying it! your right i forgot how it was a pain to clean the record setup the turntable but the sound is just wonderful. i haven't played a cd in weeks. I have hundreds of albums that i never got rid of when cd came into being. I enjoy the quiet background of cd's the ease of being able to listen to the whole performance with out getting up it is great. But i have so many albums that i could not get on cd. when i started back it brought back a lot of wondeful memories of the time when you had guys over to listen to the latest album and bitched when it had only one good song on it. I was in the times when you built your own speakers amps and really enjoyed what you accomplished. It is a shame you have completely dumped vinyl special when you have such outstanding turntables just sitting there collecting dust. Why don't you sell them and use the money for more digital equipment? I respect your opinon and i know you will enjoy what you have. but it is nice to go back to the good old days when audio was not computers, processors but just good old analouge. Oh! some records i play are just as quiet as cd's with more dynamics. go figure. I have friends that feel the same as you about digital sound. they think i'm nuts. I love your system i am jealous! thanks

 

[roberto]

that is funny your dumping vinyl and i am going back into it, i am really enjoying it! your right i forgot how it was a pain to clean the record setup the turntable but the sound is just wonderful. i haven't played a cd in weeks. I have hundreds of albums that i never got rid of when cd came into being. I enjoy the quiet background of cd's the ease of being able to listen to the whole performance with out getting up it is great. But i have so many albums that i could not get on cd. when i started back it brought back a lot of wondeful memories of the time when you had guys over to listen to the latest album and bitched when it had only one good song on it. I was in the times when you built your own speakers amps and really enjoyed what you accomplished. It is a shame you have completely dumped vinyl special when you have such outstanding turntables just sitting there collecting dust. Why don't you sell them and use the money for more digital equipment? I respect your opinon and i know you will enjoy what you have. but it is nice to go back to the good old days when audio was not computers, processors but just good old analouge. Oh! some records i play are just as quiet as cd's with more dynamics. go figure. I have friends that feel the same as you about digital sound. they think i'm nuts. I love your system i am jealous! thanks

Hola Khenegar... please understand that when I write that: I do not want to listen any more analogue, it is because I really missed it! I am telling to myself this!!!. I have my records and my turntables. Still have my VPI record cleaning machine 16.5, tools for adjustment the tone-arm/cartridge. But, as I said before, if you want to really enjoy digital, you must stop to listen to analogue. You are doing something good. And I know that there are a lot of great analogue recordings. I do not want to loose my time searching on a turntable a song. I have it right away with my Mac Mini. The sound? Faire enough to enjoy the musician(s), stage, air between instruments, voices without glare, very dynamic sound, and yes, digital still is not perfect. But analogue is not too. On the other hand, this is a bug that I have inside me. Who knows? I might return some day back to vinyl. There is a big fight inside me!. Thanks for your kind words, and great advice. Happy listening!

 

[roberto]

Hola... can I make a confession? Yesterday, I did play my LP-12 Linn with an Acurus phono stage for MC cartridges. Vinyl is great too! I took it off right away! I can say, vinyl is still, one of the best sources of audio. Wide stage, open and clean sound. This is not April fools. It is the truth!. Happy listening!

 

[Peter_Klim]

Ja ja ja Roberto! Just when you thought you were out... Vinyl has pulled you back in! JK

Hey, I was just thinking...not saying that you are not right, but how can the M-DAC make the CDs you play sound better than what you played the CDs through before, if the CD disc themselves were not recorded at the higher resolution that the M-DAC can play? Or is it just the higher resolution digital files that you say sound better than vinyl?

 

[roberto]

Peter, I do not know how they do that. I think it is their software, and also you have seven digital filters where you can play with. But, what I do is, I trust my ears. What I am listening, I do like it that much. The sound is different, but not bad at all. First, you do not have any odd noises, skipping needles, lateral distortion, with loud passages, no jumping needle, also, no feedback and no rumble. I have no wow, and no flutter. So, as you can see, analogue is not perfect. When you listen to analogue, you learn to avoid all these things, and enjoy the wonderful sound of analogue. Yes, I know, I just said odd noises, and things that are inherent to analogue, but all these anomalies, you can filter them mentally and choose only the signal. On the other hand, the M-DAC, first for the price, and also for the famous Sabre of 32 bits, makes this unit very powerful. You have the soul of the musician(s) and also have great image. The stage is wide. Bass is robust and deep. The fingering at the guitar is very understandable. The piano never mistrack. I remember myself putting a little coin on top of the head shell, to increase the force to the needle for better tracking in some passages, and there is no wow at all. You do understand both hands without any effort. The strings are mellow and silky. The wind instruments are palpable, and also are projected with tons of energy. Percussion is dynamic and there are effects that you can tell right away. Listen Quality of Silence, by Steve Davis. There, sometimes, Steve plays with his bare hands on drums. Because I had same LP records and CDs, I made a lot of comparisons. Usually I liked better my LPs. Buy also I had being listening analogue for 50 years, and digital only around 10, and was not listening as I am now. Now I do not complaint the digital sound quality as I did before, until got the M-DAC. Digital on these days, is that good. I have the music right away, I do not loose my time cleaning the records, and cleaning the needles. I think I am happy with this quality of sound. And everyday are new approaches, new path for software, and better overall sound. Digital right now is a child of 10 years old. And the child is growing. You can have a lot of fun with a child with this age, and he is learning son fast! I have an 11 year old granddaughter. She is a very smart child. I wish you a very happy analogue listening and of course digital sound too!.

 

[MPS]

Digital right now is a child of 10 years old.

I think this child was actually born in the -70's

 

[roberto]

:bowdown:Hahahahaha. Wikipedia says this: "...
In 1937, British scientist Alec Reeves files the first patent describing Pulse-code modulation.[1]

In 1943, Bell Telephone Laboratories develops the first digital scrambled speech transmission system, SIGSALY.[2]

In 1957, Max Mathews of Bell develops the process to digitally record sound via computer.

In 1967, the first digital audio magnetic tape recorder is invented[clarification needed]. A 12-bit 30 kHz stereo device using a compander (similar to DBX Noise Reduction) to extend the dynamic range.

In the 1970s[when?], Thomas Stockham makes the first digital audio recordings using standard computer equipment and develops a digital audio recorder of his own design, the first of its kind to be offered commercially (through Stockham's Soundstream company).

In 1970, James Russell patents the first digital-to-optical recording and playback system, which would later lead to the Compact Disc.[3]

In 1972, Denon invents the first 8-track reel to reel digital recorder.

In 1978, Sound 80 Records of Minneapolis records "Flim and the BB's" (S80-DLR-102) directly to digital before pressing the vinyl LP. The mastering engineer is Bob Berglund. The recording system is a 3M Digital Audio Mastering System.

In 1979, the first digital Compact Disc prototype was created as a compromise between sound quality and size of the medium.

In 1979, the first digitally recorded album of popular music Bop 'Til You Drop by guitarist Ry Cooder is released by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in Los Angeles on a 32-track digital machine built by the 3M corporation.

In 1982, the first digital compact discs are marketed by Sony and Philips,[4] and New England Digital offers the hard disk recorder (Sample-to-Disk) option on the Synclavier, the first commercial hard disk (HDD) recording system.[5] Also that same year, Peter Gabriel releases, Security, which was an early full digital recording.

In 1990, digital radio begins in Canada, using the L-Band.[6]

In 1991 Alesis Digital Audio Tape or ADAT is a tape format used for simultaneously recording eight tracks of digital audio at once, onto Super VHS magnetic tape - a format similar to that used by consumer VCRs. The product was announced in January 1991 at the NAMM convention in Anaheim, California. The first ADAT recorders shipped over a year later in February or March 1992.[7]

In 1996, optical discs and DVD players begin selling in Japan..."

Analogue was born in the 14th century with a bell and a cylinder...:bowdown:

The child that I was telling about, was mine. It was my first truly experience with digital sound. My first cd player was a Sonograph, made by Conrad Johnson. It was a Philips cd player modified by them. At that time, I had a Mitchel turntable. Of course I loved more my Mitchel. Happy listening!

 

[roberto]

The first device that did reproduce sound was a bell with a cylinder, made in the 14th century. Also says: ...The earliest known recordings of the human voice are phonautograph recordings, called "phonautograms", made in 1857. They consist of sheets of paper with sound-wave-modulated white lines created by a vibrating stylus that cut through a coating of soot as the paper was passed under it. An 1860 phonautogram of Au Clair de la Lune, a French folk song, was played back as sound for the first time in 2008 by scanning it and using software to convert the undulating line, which graphically encoded the sound, into a corresponding digital audio file...

Before Martin Logan, I had all the line by Conrad Johnson. I got my first Sonograph CD player on 1986. this same year, I got my very first contact with Martin Logan. I became a ML dealer on 1987. Met Mr. Gayle Sanders and Mr. Jim Power at the CES show at Chicago Summer Consumers Electronic Show. And since then, I have being a witness of their faults and success! Faults? Here in Costa Rica, our weather is too humid. The stat panels sometime did last only two weeks of singing! I had to replaced them very often, and of course, always had the support from Mr. Jim Power any time. I became somehow a rat lab. I got different types of panel coating formulas, to try them here, and had to report the finding. The Company made a special chamber, where the humidity and temperature varies dramatically for testing the new coating. In '93, as I recall, the new adhesive for the coating was resulting a miracle. No more failures. This atomic level adhesive had being improved at a such point that on these days, and over a decade ago, there is no more problem regarding humidity and temperature. Back to my first cd player, I had at that time, a Mitchel turntable. Of course, the Mitchel with a Denon MC cartridge. I think it was the 103, and got hooked by the Moving Coil sound!. Then got the Koetsu, and Sumiko Talisman Alchemist IIIS. Still I use this cartridge. I am not saying, it is better than my Koestu, but I do like the Van Del Hul shape tip. Happy listening!

 

[ted betley]

Just lovely.

 

[roberto]

Hola Ted... Thanks!. Happy listening.

 

[Bernard]

Vato, is that you (the distinguished-looking guitarist) in your avatar?

 

[roberto]

Hola my dear friend Bernard!. Yup, that´s me. My brother Arturo took it on my 65th birthday four months ago (December 25th). Thanks for the nice description of me, hahahahahahahaha.... still waiting a call from my niece. Happy listening!

 

[edwinr]

Roberto, great system. I really like your listening room. It just goes to show you don't need to have a huge room to enjoy electrostatics.

I agree with your comments about digital audio - it's come a long way for home use. I know the quality has been there in the studio for many years. But it's only recently that quality dacs and digital peripherals have become more affordable.

I have to say though, that over the years I have walked away from vinyl many times. Just when I think I'm over it, I weaken and play an album. I don't know whether digital is 'better' than vinyl or not, but there's some kind of magic going on when that little chunk of metastable allotrope of carbon hits the polyvinyl chloride.

 

[roberto]

Thank you my dear friend!. Well regarding vinyl, I know what you mean. I just want to be away a little time. My turntables are getting some dust now... digital is on these days, enough, with the right timbre and great stage. For the first time in my whole audiophile life, I could listen a complete violin with Spanish guitar... about one hour and my ears did not get any fatigue, because with my other dacs, I got that. Never got that with a LP. Again, thank you so much for your nice words! Happy listening.

 

[Bevensee]

Hola Roberto,

Thanks for sharing your system. I really like your guitar-and-CD-shelf-floor-to-ceiling room tuning. It's good to hear that you focus on which medium gives you the best and most relaxed musical experience. For me, that medium is vinyl, but even I have to admit that CD can be fine today.