Spintricity - EmmLabs Shootout: CDSD/DCC2 versus TSD1/DAC2

After breaking in the TSD1 (pictured) and DAC2 on the main system for 700 - 1000 hours, we figured they were battle-ready and took them downstairs for the shootout. Emm Labs CDSD SE/DCC2 SE two-box CD/SACD transport and DAC [silver badge] with older non-German transport versus
Emm Labs TDS1/DAC2 two-box CD/SACD transport and DAC [black badge]

The system: Emm Labs into Audio Note U.K. Ongaku integrated amplifier into Marten Coltrane loudspeakers. ODIN speaker cables, and ODIN power cord on the Ongaku. Valhalla power cords on the Emm Labs pieces.

This test comes on the heels of the \'Best bang for the buck: ODIN power cord or ODIN interconnect?\' shootout [which will be published shortly, oops.] and right before the CDSA with ODIN power cord versus the TSD1/DAC2 with Valhalla power cord [that appeared on the Audio Federation blog].

This test is complicated by the fact that we are also testing the Nordost ODIN power cord and interconnect at the same time.

Why?

Because we are nuts? Or because there are too many of us and people keep coming up with more tests they want to perform? Or maybe because *some* of us have been at the brewskis?

Not sure we will get to all of the tests, but at least we are driving ourselves crazy wondering about them.

Test #1 Going from Valhalla interconnects on the DCC2 to Ongaku connection to ODIN interconnects

More separation, much more like the CDSA, which has very good separation and midi-dynamics [aka lively]. Tighter, better decay, better balance of bass and effects. Less maximum dynamics. Steve: better sense of space. Neli: Better voices. Being very familiar with the CDSA and this sliver badge pair - I could still hear, without switching back and forth, the tell-tale slightly compressed maximum dynamics and higher noise floor of the pair versus the CDSA. Otherwise the silver-badge pair is better in all other ways: resolution, sound-stage, presence, solidity, etc.

The Shootout: The TSD1/DAC2 black badge pair in comparison with the Silver Badge pair

A. We first played an acoustical set - by someone famous who I am not familiar with.

Easier to understand words. More delicacy. Hear more threads in the music. Hear shape of mouth as part of song [this just wasn\'t a \'I heard them turn the page\' type irrelevant detail, the shape of the mouth communicated the emotion and technique of the singer, yet another technique by which the brain uses subtle parts of the sound to register, interpret and unconsciously understand what the ears are hearing. Yet another way humans communicate with each other beyond just the \'words\' themselves.]

Pacing is more natural. Again, this is something that is almost independent of what we usually descibe as \'tendancy towards foot-tapping\'. This had more to do with the \'flow\'. There was something to do with the very minute parts of the timing that seemed very natural, reminding me of live acoustic music. That the beat is spread out over time - not just a one-a-two-a-three but there are synchronizations between players at other times of the song, not always on the beat. It was these that were being revealed in a subtle manner but increased the realism and enjoyment of the music.

The screech of the higher notes on a guitar where more real. Why? I wasn\'t able to figure it out completely - to figure out how this was different than the Silver Badge pair. Perhaps the sound was more refined and got more of that \'squeakiness\' right. Maybe because the decay was better - these squeaks decay differently than the main notes. Maybe because the squeak and primary note were in better balance - that they were more part of the single act of playing a note, instead of just a set of frequencies splattered at the listener. I think all these are true to some extent - but perhaps may not be the primary reason the sound of the squeaks seemed more real.

Steve: Decay is much better. Lower noise floor. There is a natural flow to the music.

B. Radiohead \'In Rainbows\' - House of Cards

More space around things. Not just in the soundstage - but in all other ways as well. Notes are allowed to finish their thing. So much more to listen to - the song is much less repetitive, you can hear how they changed each stanza. Another dimension in the music opens up. This is something we will explore more here, and in future articles.

Steve: System sounds like it is not trying very hard.

C. Opera / Choirs

Many voices instead of a soup of voices. This added more of the human-to-human element, which is probably more important in choirs than in other types of music. Well, not more important, but it is usually missing and adds a familiarity and immersiveness that is quite heartwarming. More lip in sound of trumpet.

Neli: More harmonics, richer.

Steve: You could hear how the voice, in the opera or solo parts of the choir piece, naturally got closer and farther from the resonance frequencies of the hall [these pieces have a LOT of hall information]. The volume of certain frequencies of the voice was accurate enough that you could hear how the hall was influencing those frequencies in this way.

D. Perfect Circle - eMOTIVe, Fiddle and the Drum [many voices singing a\'capella]

It was fun to hear them going in and out of sync with each other. Yes, other effects to do with very accurate timing and lots of low level information being preserved. Voices real and personal. Harder to ignore voices when they sound like they are right there - before they were kind of buried and blurred into all the other voices.

E. Radiohead - Amnesiac. First track.

Sounds grow and decay in their own little spot. Not swamped by other sounds. Everything, all the many, many sounds Radiohead puts in this [all :-)] song, could be easily followed. Each sounds decay into final nothingness was there to enjoy. It was not swamped by the other sounds. We have heard this song 1000s of times - on all kinds of systems. This is NOT something that we have been able to hear and enjoy before. Yes, it is probably evidence of how Radiohead put the song together on tape. But is sure is entertaining - and adds a whole new dimension to enjoying music. How many times have we all gone to a live show, and just followed one musician\'s playing for awhile, kind of ignoring the other players? This is apparently harder to do on a home audio system than when listening to music live - or at least it was until now.

F. Elton John

Getting late. Very tired. This is the 3rd shootout this evening - [after the earlier ODIN Bang-for-the-buck shootout we got side-tracked into a little shootout of 4 power strips :-)]. Less bass than the shootout last week with this song? Don\'t know. Spent a lot of time listening to the various parts of the music. Neli: the piano and voice seemed much more in balance [I think do to the fact that one did not periodically dominate the other as much, that times when the voice was soft it could still be heard in its entirety. And vis-a-versa].

I will summarize the shootout involving several power distributors (aka power strips) quickly. Oh boy do they sound different from each other and the Office Depot $60 special , although gritty and uneven - retains at least most of the dynamics and is cheap. Very cheap. The two outlet $1500 Acoustic Revive sounded better - looked better - and didn\'t tip over as easily. But it is also more expensive. [OK, I have this thing about paying a lot of money for power strips. Sorry.] The less expensive ones really added too much and took away too much. But this made me wonder if a $10 \'power strip\'-like thing similar to one of the tools we used as a reference during this shootout might just beat about anything. More on this as soon as I remember to press buy in my stupid cart sitting in my stupid browser tab for over a month now because my stupid memory just ain\'t what it used to be [and it’s not like I did it any good during my misspent youth].