Hi Mike,
Thanks for that detailed and objective review. It was really interesting reading. It will be a tough decision for me early next year between a Lampi Golden Gate or a G-01 Master Clock for my K-01X.
Best,
Ken
Yeah, thanks for the reporting, Mike!
Thanks specially for the two sites you mentioned. I was familiar with NativeDSD, but not with the other one... A treasure trove right there! There's *so much* DSD stuff there! Do you (or anybody else) know if their stuff is real DSD, or PCM stuff converted to DSD?
Thanks a lot for the write-up Mike. It is much appreciated. I have just started to evaluate double DSD and quad DSD but very far away from making any conclusions. Courtesy of Blue Coast Record, I now have all of those plus PCM versions as converted by them. The source was a Reel to Reel tape. Sadly I don't have the tape or that would have really made for a cool comparison!
I trust the LP that you tried is not the source that was digitized into DSD?
Mike, how would Vinyl rips sound on your Lampi?
"but no; this is still not on par with top level vinyl or tape for this listener. yesterday a local very experienced listener/friend came over and I played the new digital toys for him and he was mighty impressed......and loved the Quad. then we played vinyl and it was a whole different level of musical immersion. yes; my digital has improved.....but so has my vinyl."
Your conclusion does not really surprise me, Mike, but would it not have been really nice if dsd 256 could actually compete with vinyl? If I understand you correctly, in particular your phrase "whole different level of musical immersion", the difference(s) is/are still profound! A pity?
Yeah, thanks for the reporting, Mike!
Thanks specially for the two sites you mentioned. I was familiar with NativeDSD, but not with the other one... A treasure trove right there! There's *so much* DSD stuff there! Do you (or anybody else) know if their stuff is real DSD, or PCM stuff converted to DSD?
The DSD 256 titles on the Turtle site are DSD 64 recordings that are upsampled to DSD 128 and DSD 256.
On the Native DSD site, the Yarlung recordings are Analog Tape to DSD 256 transfers using David Robinson's HAPI.
The ones from Just Listen, Navis Classics and Eudora are Native DSD 256 recordings.
thank you Brian,
that explains a lot. why the Quad files I downloaded were very inconsistent. I assumed it was the nature of the beast. i'll have to dig deeper and figure out which is which, and i'll need to get more 'real ones'.
I was told that all those were native by a friend who had them, or maybe I misunderstood him. in any case I did not investigate it myself. I can guess which 'few' were actually native Quad. it will be interesting to get the facts.
To me, going into the GG at DSD256fs from recordings I've made of my tapes and vinyl rig, I really can't tell the difference if I hadn't known it was digital. But I digress.... guess my tape and vinyl rig isn't resolving enough to make a difference!
It's another case of having to pay close attention to the provenance of the recordings.
The Native DSD 256 recordings on Just Listen, Eudora and Navis Classics are quite good in my experience.
The Yarlung Analog to DSD 256 transfers are very well done as well. But they aren't native DSD 256 recordings.
But now that Bob Attiyeh at Yarlung has acquired a HAPI converter for his record label, who knows. There could be Native DSD 256 recordings from Yarlung in the future.
Another place to look for DSD 256 recordings is Blue Coast Records. David Robinson's HAPI has been loaned to Cookie and Patrick for some tests.
Blue Coast has taken their Blue Coast Collection 1 sampler from Analog Tape to DSD 256 in one release.
In another, they did a live Native DSD 256 recording of Quiles and Cloud that's now available.
I've found some DSD 256 releases on eOnkyo and a couple of other sites.
Not sure of the provenance of those.
On the Debussy in DSD 256, heard that one on the NADAC at The Show Newport.
Any news on when that might see the light of day? Would love to nab a copy of that one!
we did listen to one 2xdsd ripped from the 45rpm vinyl (a tape sourced Decca) and then listen to the vinyl. as great as the 2xdsd was, it was not the vinyl. and YMMV....some people raised on PCM have a different sonic compass than myself and might like the digital better. but no one I listen with feels this way. but it is a subjective question.
To me, going into the GG at DSD256fs from recordings I've made of my tapes and vinyl rig, I really can't tell the difference if I hadn't known it was digital. But I digress.... guess my tape and vinyl rig isn't resolving enough to make a difference!
Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |