Massdrop Airist R2R DAC Review

[Mnyb]

I also call BS on this.

I do not care for accuracy, I do not want to hear ear bleeding sound. I don't care for that. I want that distortion of pleasure. I want a device that adds flavour to the music.

What you going to say now??

Whatever you will say. I wrote my answer on top.

Ear bleeding sounds? I only have that when the recording is badly produced or there is something else broken in my system , the DAC is the wrong place to even try to “fix” this.

Btw if you buy a painting do you bring out the crayons to “improve it” to your liking ?

IMHO no product can have set of pleasing distortion that makes all recordings sound better , you end up with one optimal system for each record.

It’s a more sensible approach to have a hi fidelity system ( transparent and accurate)
And either accept that some recordings sounds garbage or apply some EQ or tone controls in those instances.
The truly good recordings will shine in such a system.

 

[protoss]

If you don't care about accuracy, you can subscribe to Weird Al Yankovic and enjoy all of the hits.

Yup this is exactly where this topic will lead too.

You have nothing to add.

 

[GrimSurfer]

Yup this is exactly where this topic will lead too.

You have nothing to add.

When silly things that are written in audio forums are amplified, the craziness buried in the noise floor become readily apparent.

This is the downside of "gain" when it encounters distortion. If you can't appreciate this on a technical level, you don't stand much of a chance here.

 

[Hugo9000]

When I want a lush, gorgeous, golden sound from a violin, I put on a recording by Gil Shaham. When I want a brilliant and beautiful silvery violin sound, I listen to a recording of Jascha Heifetz.

If I'm in the mood to hear an Isolde whose voice is steel with brilliant flashes of silver, I listen to Birgit Nilsson. If I'm in the mood for bronze with glimmering gold, I listen to Nina Stemme. haha!

I choose the artist and instrument to give the sound I find the most beauty in, or to match my mood.

Beauty should be in the performance and the recording. If it's there, then an accurate system can reproduce it. Why would anyone want colorations to distort the artist's real sound?*

Obviously, the above is my own opinion and approach to my music and playback. Apparently many people want to change the sound of the voices and instruments of the artists they listen to, I guess? Why not listen to an artist whose voice you actually like?

*Within the limits of accuracy available to us, of course! This is about not adding unnecessary colorations or choosing willfully inaccurate reproduction and not to claim that I have access to a system that has total accuracy/zero coloration of the source material.

 

[Martin Takamine]

If the others sounded “the same” they could have been transparent and correct it’s the expected result when comparing competently designed DAC’s they have no sound your hear the source material.

I concur but I like what the Airist distortion does to the music and when I tire of its influence then I'll swap it with the D70.

 

[protoss]

When silly things that are written in audio forums are amplified, the craziness buried in the noise floor become readily apparent.

Not really. A steady bias of only looking for 1 sound signature is the norm. That's silly what I consider.

Anyone else questioning or challenging it will always look insane. How true is this?

 

[GrimSurfer]

Not really. A steady bias of only looking for 1 sound signature is the norm. That's silly what I consider.

Anyone else questioning or challenging it will always look insane. How true is this?

Everyone is entitled to their likes and dislikes. Just don't try selling them on the internet using a loosely qualitative argument.

 

[nscrivener]

I also call BS on this.

I do not care for accuracy, I do not want to hear ear bleeding sound. I don't care for that. I want that distortion of pleasure. I want a device that adds flavour to the music.

What you going to say now??

Whatever you will say. I wrote my answer on top.

There is nothing "ear bleeding" about an accurate dac. That is a complete myth. If that is what you are experiencing with a well-engineered dac, then it's something else in your playback chain going wrong.

Here's an analogy for you.

I like to make espresso coffee. If I get freshly roasted beans, and I dial in the grind just right, grind a precision amount of coffee, make sure the grinds are well distributed in the puck, have the water temperature set just right, and extract the right amount of espresso for the correct amount of extraction time, it can taste amazing in all of the right ways.

Would I ever want to add sugar to that? No way!

Now let's say something goes wrong in the above process and I end up with an over-extracted, bitter brew. Now, some sugar will go some way towards 'fixing' the beverage. It will make it more drinkable and therefore 'better'. Would it ever compare to the well extracted espresso referred to above? Absolutely not. The sugar makes the poorly made drink taste better, but the well-made drink taste worse.

 

[protoss]

Overall,

This is the main debate.

R2R vs everyone.

R2R is not measured well. That's just a fact now. This is not BS. or anything to it. I heard over 10 R2R dacs and they all sounded romantic, and beautiful. Of course it did not have the details of a AKM or Sabre. Who cares. That's another purchase.

If some people think that accurate detail sound is better than a romantic sound than so be it. But the sound of a romantic sound will always be here. It will never go away. Accurate, detail analytical sound is just boring. It's great to analyze the music. After awhile give me that romantic R2R dac sound please!

 

[protoss]

Everyone is entitled to their likes and dislikes. Just don't try selling them on the internet using a loosely qualitative argument.

I agree

 

[GrimSurfer]

If some people think that accurate detail sound is better than a romantic sound than so be it. But the sound of a romantic sound will always be here. It will never go away. Accurate, detail analytical sound is just boring. It's great to analyze the music. After awhile give me that romantic R2R dac sound please!

Define "romantic sound" in measurable terms.

Surely, if such a thing exists, then it can be so defined in a world where we can detect and measure sub atomic particles.

 

[protoss]

Define "romantic sound" in measurable terms.

Surely, if such a thing exists, then it can be so defined in a world where we can detect and measure sub atomic particles.

There is no such thing. These are silly audio terms you say for warm and such. You know. Just a pleasurable sound. That's all.

 

[BillG]

After awhile give me that romantic R2R dac sound please!

I'm not sure how romantic sounds when applied to audio, but it's far less expensive, and far more flexible, to accurately model it in terms of frequency response, harmonic distortion, and dynamic range with DSP software...

 

[nscrivener]

I'm not sure how romantic sounds when applied to audio, but it's far less expensive, and far more flexible, to accurately model it in terms of frequency response, harmonic distortion, and dynamic range with DSP software...

And even easier again to just stick some cotton wool in your ears. Job done.

 

[BillG]

And even easier again to just stick some cotton wool in your ears. Job done.

Now you're just being cruel...

 

[nscrivener]

Now you're just being cruel...

I was just thinking laterally about the ways we could add some pleasurable distortion and remove some detail from the music

 

[BillG]

I was just thinking laterally about the ways we could add some pleasurable distortion and remove some detail from the music

I think I'll have my lady friend stick her tongue in my ears while I'm listening to my favorite tunes. Yeah, that should do it...

 

[protoss]

Heres a question.

Can we call distortion natural and organic?

 

[GrimSurfer]

There is no such thing. These are silly audio terms you say for warm and such. You know. Just a pleasurable sound. That's all.

No, I don't know. Please explain what romantic sound is.

You used the term three times in one post. Surely it is something that is important to you. And being important, you must know its constituents.

 

[GrimSurfer]

Heres a question.

Can we call distortion natural and organic?

No we can't.

When a frog croaks, it croaks. There's nothing that adds distortion to its vocalizations. Until we record it and play it back.

It is then distorted to a greater or lesser degree, depending on the quality of the recording and playback gear. The less distortion these devices add, the closer we are to hearing what the frog acually croaked.