Measurements & Preview of Holo Audio Spring 3 DAC / wPreamp (Prototype)

[sq225917]

Agreed

 

[Le Concombre]

I'm now biased against PCM, happy to switch to SDM for the second part of the comp. This is DSOTM's Great gig in the sky, the DAC has now been fed for over 100 hours and there still are differences up to 1.5 dB in the 1/24 spectrum of how PCM and SDM processes sound in my room. You're welcome to show your spectrum of the Great gig for fun (could be an idea for a thread) or contradict me by showing identical spectrum yield by different DACs

 

[sq225917]

Who expects sacd and pcm mixes to be the same, they won't be identical masters.

 

[Le Concombre]

Who expects sacd and pcm mixes to be the same, they won't be identical masters.

same PCM source played through the PCM & the SDM paths of the same DAC

 

[sq225917]

At no point would I expect pcm and pcm fed into sdm to measure the same

 

[Le Concombre]

At no point would I expect pcm and pcm fed into sdm to measure the same

here I compared PCM turned SDM 256 feeding DSD module of the DAC and PCM turned PCM 1536 feeding R2R module ; please consider scrolling back to post #76 : some consider that all well engineered DACs sound alike and that I'm presenting pure measurement errors if I can measure differences

 

[sq225917]

I'm not sure that dsd and pcm dacs sound the same is a commonly held belief. If they measured the same, sure.

 

[pkane]

I'm not sure that dsd and pcm dacs sound the same is a commonly held belief. If they measured the same, sure.

I measured them using Holo Spring just now. I don't see any of the large frequency differences posted by esteemed @Le Concombre . In fact, they are a very excellent match with no likely audible differences.

 

[Le Concombre]

I measured them using Holo Spring just now. I don't see any of the large frequency differences posted by esteemed @Le Concombre . In fact, they are a very excellent match with no likely audible differences.

Thank you for showing differences do not come from some DSP trick that would modify the frequency response. I have no doubt your test is as earnest as mine. It simply is not relevant to show how the same music, made of impulses, excite differently certain frequencies of the room and thus our ears , whether it's PCM or SDM processed. Maybe because your test does not measure transients nor any time domain information.

 

[sq225917]

Thetes no frequency response differences in the audible band between pcm and dsd that would account for what you see. What you are seeing is an artifact of an uncontrolled variable in your test setup, plain and simple.

 

[pkane]

Thank you for showing differences do not come from some DSP trick that would modify the frequency response. I have no doubt your test is as earnest as mine. It simply is not relevant to show how the same music, made of impulses, excite differently certain frequencies of the room and thus our ears , whether it's PCM or SDM processed. Maybe because your test does not measure transients nor any time domain information.

DSP trick? What are you talking about? And how could I not measure time domain when I measured both, frequency and phase?

 

[Le Concombre]

DSP trick? What are you talking about? And how could I not measure time domain when I measured both, frequency and phase?

phase is a measure of transients ? please explain how. why can't you simply reproduce my test and show your results ?

 

[pkane]

phase is a measure of transients ? please explain how. why can't you simply reproduce my test and show your results ?

Phase + frequency is the whole signal, everything you could possibly want to measure or reproduce it exactly. If you don’t mind what is your PhD in?

I explained already that your test is invalid because of confounding variables. Why would I want to reproduce it? All it’ll tell me is what my speakers, amps, mics and room are doing to the signal.

 

[sq225917]

Best leave this one alone, under his bridge...

 

[Le Concombre]

Best leave this one alone, under his bridge...

that's a funny one : for I purchased a DAC supposed to perform at best identically as DACs costing a fraction, I live under a bridge. All I can see is that nobody dares showing his spectrum.

 

[sq225917]

Not everyone has the tools. Most that do probably already know how it should look.

 

[tomita]

I pay for their DSD conversion implementation. So far, from Holo Audio I have Cyan DSD, Spring 1, 2 and 3. And I use it only for playing DSD, because it performs better that way.

I could as well ask, why do you buy Spring or May if you don't want their DSD implementation?

(same way for T+A DACs, I pay for the DSD side, not for the PCM side which stays unused)

How does the Spring 3 compare to Spring 2 / May?
Any difference in SQ?

 

[Miska]

How does the Spring 3 compare to Spring 2 / May?

From objective point of view, there's no massive difference. Behavior is slightly different, in terms of distortion harmonic structure and such.

 

[tomita]

From objective point of view, there's no massive difference. Behavior is slightly different, in terms of distortion harmonic structure and such.

Thank you for the information! I'm still waiting for my Spring 3. I ordered it because I wanted a DAC that wouldn't interfere with the signal sent by HQPlayer. However, I was curious if being sent the same signal to both DACS, you feel there's a sound difference between them (Spring/May), but I guess you don't want to express your subjective point of view.

 

[Miska]

I was curious if being sent the same signal to both DACS, you feel there's a sound difference between them (Spring/May), but I guess you don't want to express your subjective point of view.

I have not really compared the sound that way, and anyway any subjective views are unwelcome here anyway (as per this forum, everything sounds the same). I replaced Spring 1 with the new Spring 3 on my office loudspeaker system. Spring 2 is still in my home headphone system (Schiit Jotunheim + Sennheiser HD800). Office headphone system is T+A HA 200 + Solitaire combo.

All running at DSD256 from ASDM7EC modulator.