Decisions, Decisions
Okay, let's apply room correction based upon the measurements taken earlier. I use a slight slope with 5dB of gain towards sub bass. I did try a flat line approach but found that the bass becomes too thin with the filter applied. Reading over the Audiolense guide, I noticed that there is a suggestion to slope things downward somewhat from low frequency to high frequency and I've found this to be my preference.
Let's have a quick look at the estimated room response for both DACs before we continue further. Unfortunately, Audiolense does not provide an option to record a frequency sweep after the correction has been applied. We've contacted Juice Hi-Fi about this and they've told us they're looking at providing this option in a future update. They did tell us that the estimated result is remarkably accurate based upon tests they've conducted themselves. If such an update is made available, we'll be sure to use the feature to present data in the future if the need arises.
Doede DAC |
Opus |
There is an unfortunate side effect at this point once the correction is applied to the TDA1543 DAC. The 20dB or so of attenuation applied by the filter means I have to turn the volume control to near maximum to get anywhere near the test volume I was using prior to applying the filters. A 6dB gain switch on the TVC does give me headroom of a couple of clicks, but it's far from optimal. To use this DAC with DRC, you'll either need to stack a number of TDA1543s in parallel or use some kind of gain stage on its output. Still, there's just about enough volume on tap for me to get an idea of its sonic signature in comparison to the earlier sound and in comparison to the WM8741.
With DRC engaged, instruments become far easier to pick out and subtle details are more noticeable at the listening position. The best word to describe the effects of DRC is balance. The other shocker is that the basic nature of both DACs remains the same. The TDA1543 midrange gains more edge definition especially on vocals (not that it needed them). The Opus soundstage gains pinpoint precision with lots of air. Complex passages of music are rendered without any perceivable congestion on both DACs.
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Clauzii - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
.. I can recommend a Terratec Phase 22. No computernoise whatsoever. Pure, clean sound. I don't have a surroundsetup, but movies through this card sound brilliant, with a lot of detail and no digital 'fnitter-fnatter'.Clauzii - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
Have to correct myself: With the card You can actually hear all the bad mixing of the movies themselves.daar - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
Honestly, for a tech review site, I'm very disappointed that you nixed any pro sound cards and went for the audiophile kool-aid. Proper regulation and filtering can deliver clean enough juice for the best audio applications and while the USB option is kind of interesting, it creates more clutter, is more expensive, and the supposed better quality can't even be objectively tested.There wasn't even an attempt to build a measurement procedure, and while some sustain the notion that audio is beyond measurement, since when does AT throw out standard science and efficient engineering in favor of pseudoscience?
RobinBee - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
"Proper regulation and filtering"Yes. A good motherboard does this. And: A hi-fi sound card such as ASUS Xonar D2 (PCI bus) delivers »clean juice«, very much better than Creative's x-fi. And: A good case makes a pc rather quiet.
RagingDragon - Saturday, December 6, 2008 - link
And a sufficiently powerful amp and/or headphones with good isolation make PC noise irrelevant.Servant of Shodan - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
Not meaning any disrespect to the author - it was a good article - but I've notice a lot of camera reviews recently, and now a review about audiophile stuff... and it just seems so out of place for a PC enthusiast site.There are hundreds of credible sites for both cameras and stereos/speakers/amps/etc.; and I feel that it sort of muddies the waters here to have these types of articles, when there are other excellent places where they fit in perfectly.
I come to Anandtech for computers. I think it should keep to that topic.
SpeedyVV - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
Holy cow, audiophiles i think are THX certifiable!!!Can you guys actually hear yourselves???
All joking aside, I love music, and sound, and guitar tube amps, a nice hi-fi.
But the stuff you guys talk about is way, WAY, beyond me ;-)
Boushh - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
DRC does realy work. Last year I exchanged my old SONY AV receiver for a new Denon AVR-3808 with Audyssey. With the SONY I was unable to get a good sound at my listning postion (specialy the rears never actually worked). And even though I had my reservations for things like Audyssey, I ran it on the Denon. And low and behold: Now I was in the middle of everything. I was realy amazed that taking some samples with a microphone could have such impressive results.The second thing: DAC's for computers. I recently saw that Cambridge Audio released a DAC for (among other things) computers (http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=320&...">http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/summary.php?PID=320&.... Maybe a good idea to compare that to the setup used in the article. It seems to me that instead of all those components it would (for the most of us) be alot easier if it was just in one box. But maybe that is just me :-)
Anyway, nice article. It shows that people who are intrested in audio and are willing to do something for it are always on a never ending road B-)
strikeback03 - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
... that this article shows that looks are not everything, as those drivers look like the cheap junk that comes in stock car systems.jabber - Monday, December 1, 2008 - link
They probably are! Remember in the world of 'high-end hi-fi' you build a component out of $20 worth of bits, stick a bit of varnish sanded wood on it then add on the 2000% 'hi-fi mug tax'.Its one of the best businesses to be in if you are unprincipled and lazy.
Your customers are easy because they have invested so much money in their systems they are always open to fear and doubt about it. Easy prey!