Palomino said:
Quote:At what level of the technical did you actually make the emotional connection? Or did you always have it and it just got better with better equipment?
I guess there have been significant steps (Decware amp, power cords, new DAC, etc.), but this weekend was a bit of a revelation which only took place because I had all the right pieces in place.
I was like, "wow, I think I just achieved hi-fi."
From listening to your progression unfold, it seems like your stage was well set with room, cables etc, and the new DAC/transport/power supply combo tipped you over the top? Like the old story, the source, the source the source???
The thing that tipped me over the top was definitely Decware. I got an SE34 and 944s (with a Rega Apollo then) and off it went...the magical moments.
But as I learn more, I realize that, though my room has problems, mostly it is really, really good. It has adobe walls, wider at the base, so generally angling upward, segues into irregular room spaces like alcoves and other rooms, and a great deal of irregularity in the plaster. The combination gives the reflections a real problem doing the bad stuff plumb and level sheetrock rooms set up. Also the ceiling is irregular round log beams with a herringbone pattern of rough pine boards on top with open cracks. On that tarpaper creates a "diaphragm," with a foot of fiberglass on top, and an angled space above created by the "flat roof" that is really slightly sloped. This space is pretty well air tight above with sealed parapets and a foam roof, likely creating a helmholtz resonator of sorts. Finally, the ceiling changes height in the part of the room that expands into the dining area, kitchen and entry, and the whole floor is irregular bricks laying on a bed of sand.
So I have a live space that is naturally diffused and good at absorption of some of the frequency range before any real room work. With some bass traps, more absorption (conventional and otherwise), and finally EQ for low bass I could not get with traps, the room is amazing.
Progression-wise my room and Decware put me there with good recordings right off. As I have improved source, room, cables, vibration, tubes....it just got better. But the emotional effect started with Decware in an inadvertently created room that has extraordinary qualities for contributing to the sense of live feeling music.