The perils and rewards of very high resolution
All throughout the last three decades, I have come to accept that with every upgrade there is usually also a price to pay, and it will eventually become obvious one way or another. This leads to upgraditis and tweaking - not necessarily bad things, though expensive and frustrating at times.
With the arrival of the Spectral DMA-500 Anniversary Reference monos last summer, pairing with the 30SV preamp, the musical bar in this system was raised far beyond expecations, but really materialized only after the new ML panels and panel-electronics were replaced. The level of resolution, articulation and musicality of these amps is something that one has to experience in a properly set up system to really appreciate.
However, there is a huge price to pay for such fine and high level of resolution: will the Spectral Super Veloce technology end up exposing major deficiencies in one's system? The answer is probably 'Most likely so'. In all likelihood, anyone who really hates high resolution, or find Spectral analytical despite all the musicality, will absolutely - absolutely - hate my system. It was indeed the case in here as well, which had me making a number of tweaks, before I could actually get to the point of really liking the sound:
1) The new step-up transformers driving the electrostatic panels have less distortion and noise than the originals
2) I had to modify the Alpha DAC further and address tiny high frequency hash and distortion; tiny, but audible; it probably had to do with a bit of an aggressive leading edge
3) Analog was still not exactly at its possible best; though bass performance was incredible, I was clamoring for a faster leading edge and better articulation. At the same time, there have always been sibilance issues with some LPs, and in that department, my test record has been the Sheffield 'Growing Up In Holywood Town', a redord I've had for over three decades. McBroom's sibilance has always sounded a bit phasey in here, and many other systems I've heard it in over the years. All of this had me experimenting with anti-skating and VTF/VTA. It has taken about two months, but I have finally been able to mostly get rid of the phasey sibilance, and equally important, bass performance is significantly improved in terms of speed and articulation. For bass adjustment, I used every single Telarc and Reference Recordings LP I have, and they are all true references in that area. Regarding VTF, the A90 was not tracking correctly (especially with Telarcs) until I went a tiny bit over the recommended 2.3g. Once more, analog proves to be a huge pain in the butt to finely tune, if it can ever be. But I have been able to get very high bass articulation, and that's what really matters now.
Analog performance would not be where it is right now without the modifications to the arm and the Pass XP-25 phono, as well as my custom platter interface, but at least now I can appreciate the qualities of the fundamentals of the Pass circuit itself, though I feel it still has a few problems in the treble region (which my DAC doesn't, with the same Reference Recordings material, but it could also be a number of other factors).
Digital performance would not be where it is right now without the 3000SL transport and my extensive DAC modifications, but the Berkeley folks also have a spectacular fundamental design.
When the local audiophile group visited last, I had not commenced on #3 yet. Nonetheless, I am now ready to link to that fantastic audition here
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...sary-reference-monos-take-center-stage.26949/ and sit back, relax and listen.
The Super Veloce technology is really frightening and dangerous, but since the results speak for themselves in here, Kudos to the Spectral team, and I am still waiting for that Phono stage, and hopefully it will bring me over the edge and finally exclaim Wow - I am not exactly there yet.