Can you hear a difference between the top analog preamp and a straight wire? Listening test

[Blumlein 88]

So when you say ‘top’ preamp, was your tongue in cheek?

Hey cut the guy a break. He hasn't even put a box or name on it yet. Once that is done with ads showing it was indistinguishable from a straight wire, should go for $8 k easy as a bang for your buck entry into the high end world.

Then when it is established he'll make a Signature series with name brand components like Vishay resistors and such. For like twice the price. It will sound better than wire.

 

[pma]

Then when it is established he'll make a Signature series with name brand components like Vishay resistors and such. For like twice the price. It will sound better than wire.

Sure. But I need to worsen the parameters as well to get a sound signature. As of now, the multitone is not much different from the direct wire path.

BTW, this thing was built in 2009.

 

[voodooless]

So much work, and you only get the performance of a simple wire

 

[morillon]

gain and output impedance? ;-)

 

[Sokel]

gain and output impedance? ;-)

I believe it's this one:

Dispre 2 - JFET english

 

[MaxwellsEq]

I believe it's this one:

Dispre 2 - JFET english

Well spotted!

 

[Newman]

Hey cut the guy a break. He hasn't even put a box or name on it yet. Once that is done with ads showing it was indistinguishable from a straight wire, should go for $8 k easy as a bang for your buck entry into the high end world.

Sarcasm?

Then when it is established he'll make a Signature series with name brand components like Vishay resistors and such. For like twice the price. It will sound better than wire.

Haha, now I’m with you.

 

[mhardy6647]

Dispre.

Is that as in Dispre is as good as dis piece of wire (?)

One is reminded of (allegedly) Dizzy Gillespie's quip referring to his own band of musicians:

Dis band should disband.

Imagine if Dispre mad a preamp for digital audio tape transports? DATpre.

 

[pma]

I believe it's this one:

Dispre 2 - JFET english

Your belief is correct .

 

[Adis]

Subtracted one file from the other, busted the difference by about 40 dB, could clearly hear it.
Does this count?

 

[wwenze]

Subtracted one file from the other, busted the difference by about 40 dB, could clearly hear it.
Does this count?

Interesting, IMD says -110dB no difference. My previous experience with diffmakers is they start to generate their own noise below -80dB

 

[Adis]

Interesting, IMD says -110dB no difference. My previous experience with diffmakers is they start to generate their own noise below -80dB

What's IMD?

 

[solderdude]

That’s it! That is the real bottleneck!

And because you had to use 2 of those cables to connect to the pre-amp that bottle neck weighs double making the files indistinguishable.
The 2 cables removed all of the goodness the pre-amp brings.

Next time you need to use 2x a Nordost Odin 2 cable for this test for the test otherwise it is a waste of time.

 

[JSmith]

What's IMD?

Intermodulation distortion.


JSmith

 

[Blumlein 88]

Subtracted one file from the other, busted the difference by about 40 dB, could clearly hear it.
Does this count?

You can do this. I assume busted is boosted. That is about where I hear it as well with 40 db of gain added. Now having done this with many devices you usually get some weird noises and very unbalanced FR in the residual. This is notable for being very clean and even when boosted with extra gain. Noise and distortion levels had to be really low for this to be the result.

Does it count? NO! that would be cheating.

 

[voodooless]

You can do this

But only if you align the files with subsample accuracy and account for the clock drifts. So if you export the delta out of Deltawave, then yes, otherwise, I'd be very cautious.

 

[Sokel]

Subtracted one file from the other, busted the difference by about 40 dB, could clearly hear it.
Does this count?

???

 

[Blumlein 88]

But only if you align the files with subsample accuracy and account for the clock drifts. So if you export the delta out of Deltawave, then yes, otherwise, I'd be very cautious.

Well that is what I did after I listened, then ABX'd it and then examined it with Deltawave. Boosting the difference file with 40 db of gain you faintly hear the music. I didn't do a straight inversion like in Audacity.

 

[Blumlein 88]

???


View attachment 373054

Don't know what is different, but I think I had nulls around -80 db. Or maybe my memory from yesterday is bad.

 

[ZolaIII]

Quick listened on mid levels (74~76 dB SPL). R seams little more consistent to me (12 to 16 sec), clicks and pops 36 to 41 sec makes me feel not liking to dive into it more studies and at higher SPL.