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Mutec MC3+ interface/reclocker & Abbas Audio DAC2.2SE TDA1541A R1


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46 minutes ago, MattyW said:

Mmm, I think I need it Ian.  ;)

 

From what you've told me,  it's that end game component I've been searching for. I'm done after this. Especially since I've the top of the line Abbas phono stage too which is meant to be every bit as good.  :)

 

 

Really, Matt, it's not that good and you are better off with my CD Player xD

 

It is very good! The Abbas that is :thumb:

 

I like the tube complement that phono uses, and how they are used, should be very nice too, you are going to have some fun with the pair of them, no doubt about it.

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My only concern is that it will show up the low bitrate files much of my collection contains for what they are. So far that's been one of the reasons I love TDA1541 DAC's. The drop in sound quality is either not there or not massively apparent as it is with Sigma Delta DAC's while at the same time outperforming them with high quality content. I'll have to test this when I get it.

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1 minute ago, MattyW said:

My only concern is that it will show up the low bitrate files much of my collection contains for what they are. So far that's been one of the reasons I love TDA1541 DAC's. The drop in sound quality is either not there or not massively apparent as it is with Sigma Delta DAC's while at the same time outperforming them with high quality content. I'll have to test this when I get it.

They will sound no worse, maybe even better, but the better recordings will sound better than now :thumb:

 

I have always been one to look for the better issues/recordings, and if means scrapping those that don't cut the grade...so be it!

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1 minute ago, muon* said:

Spinning Buddy Guy's 'Bring Em' In', I'm going to miss this sound.

It's a good thing it came on the Thursday rather than Monday. It would be much harder to go back after using for longer. :)

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3 minutes ago, MattyW said:

It's a good thing it came on the Thursday rather than Monday. It would be much harder to go back after using for longer. :)

I'll adapt, my player is no slouch, this just goes to another level of realism for me.

 

Can only imagine how good it will sound when fed with the Mutec :thumb:

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44 minutes ago, muon* said:

I'll adapt, my player is no slouch, this just goes to another level of realism for me.

 

Can only imagine how good it will sound when fed with the Mutec :thumb:

Once this Coronavirus thing is over you'll hear for yourself Ian. If it goes on long enough the baby enclosure will be gone and my systems imaging will be restored. It holds things back presently  :)

Edited by MattyW
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I had a whole lot of chores to do and now have had a listen for the past 40 minutes or so. I'm actually completely blown away.  I don't see any need to replace the R1 chip with my S1 or any other changes.  Nothing individually stands out,  it sounds amazing across the board. In no way is it rolled off in any way in terms of bass or treble.  It's all there with a level of realism I've never previously heard. Another unexpected thing is that it doesn't really have a colour of its own that I tell. Perfectly transparent, very musical and toe tapping. It's a complete chameleon changing from one recording to another.  I just don't know how to adequately describe what I'm hearing.....

 

When I first sat down I wasn't initially impressed as nothing stood out until my brain started to process just what it was doing.  It just gets everything right. Just spectacular.

 

 

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Yeah, I was similar when I first fired it up, thinking this is just a little better than my modded Marantz, but the longer I listened the more I realized it was more than just a little better and that it just did everything right! :thumb:

 

And after a while there were those wow! and Ooo... moments when the recordings had it. I even tried to find fault with it in some way later in that day/night but failed to find anything to jump on.

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It really does show recordings for what they are though.  Poor and average recordings are still enjoyable however put a Norah Jones or any other well recorded album on and it's simply spectacular. Interestingly if I didn't already know it had tubes in it I'd never pick that it does. Kind of reminiscent of Linear Tube Audio gear in that it has no sound of its own. It merely seems to reveal what is there.

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And reveals it is a very realistic sonic presentation, woodwind instruments sound like woodwind instruments, brass like brass, piano like a piano ect' :thumb:

 

Piano is not easy to get right either!

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24 minutes ago, muon* said:

And reveals it is a very realistic sonic presentation, woodwind instruments sound like woodwind instruments, brass like brass, piano like a piano ect' :thumb:

 

Piano is not easy to get right either!

I've noticed that too. I never before knew what I was missing  :)

 

It's certainly end of the road for me. I am curious as to whether it would improve further with my Holland S1 chip, though can't see how it could.

 

I've The best of Acker Bilk on order. Really want to hear "Stranger on the shore" through this setup

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44 minutes ago, MattyW said:

I've noticed that too. I never before knew what I was missing  :)

 

It's certainly end of the road for me. I am curious as to whether it would improve further with my Holland S1 chip, though can't see how it could.

 

I've The best of Acker Bilk on order. Really want to hear "Stranger on the shore" through this setup

Vince Jones and Grace Knight put out a nice CD that is worth having titled "Come In Spinner" and can be picked up cheaply.

 

Edit: just noticed this

Baritone Sax - Tony Buchanon

I knew Tony briefly for a time, lovely guy and a great sax player!

 

721433138_VinceJonesGraceKnight-ComeInSpinner.jpg.029e3360d59fc91de57b451370435a1f.jpg

 

 

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1 hour ago, MattyW said:

I've noticed that too. I never before knew what I was missing  :)

 

It's certainly end of the road for me. I am curious as to whether it would improve further with my Holland S1 chip, though can't see how it could.

 

I've The best of Acker Bilk on order. Really want to hear "Stranger on the shore" through this setup

Gotta try the S1. If it's sitting there idle I don't know how I could avoid the temptation.

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2 hours ago, kelossus said:

Gotta try the S1. If it's sitting there idle I don't know how I could avoid the temptation.

Yeah,  I think I'll have to install it when I've a chance 

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Ok, to have written a slightly more cohesive review from what I've heard so far. Initially I wasn't wowed in any way as nothing in particular stood out. I felt a little let down. As I continued to listen an the DAC warmed up I realised that everything is there with a presentation that I've never heard from any sound system before. Music is alive and breathes as a living thing. Sound stage doesn't fit my usual interpretation of a reproduced sound stage. There's width and depth, though it doesn't sound reproduced. Rather natural, as though I'm actually there in the studio. You can just hear deeper into the music.

 

Likewise the detail is unlike anything else I've ever heard. Notes have texture rather than being smoothed out as is often the case with rich and solid sounding DAC's. Micro and macro detail is there though it's hard to separate one from the other, it simply sounds live. Not reproduced, I'd go so far as to say I'm retrieving more detail than I did when I had my Gieseler Groß + Kraftwerk power supply. This is in no way a criticism of the Groß as it was about 1/3rd of the cost of the Mutec + Abbas Audio DAC2.2SE TDA1541A. I'd ordinarily say that layer upon layer of detail can be heard, with body and tonal richness however that's not really right either. You can hear depth and the layers of instrumental detail but everything is perfectly integrated. It makes other music I've heard sound like a flat 2 dimensional reproduction in comparison. Dynamics are greater than I've ever experienced before ranging from extremely quiet to quite loud, with impact and slam where it has been recorded. In a way the DAC combines the richness, body and imaging of my modified Muji Studio DAC II with the superior detail and accuracy of the Gieseler Groß, though that's not accurate either  it though as it betters both of those units on their strong points as well and then some. All the best of the better units I've heard and none of the negatives. It also seems to to have pace, rythm and drive where music has it which I have personally never experienced before.... Even with vinyl.

 

I think Abbas' devices are all about cohesion in tone, detail sound staging etc. It's about emotional content in the music and impossible to measure quantitatively or individually, only as a whole. It's just beautiful.

 

I've read, and experienced that some NOS DAC's have rolled off highs and bass with less detail to boot. Nothing could be further from what I'm experiencing via the Abbas. It has deep weighty bass beyond what I've heard before, and treble extension that will match that of modern oversampling DAC's It's just that everything ties together so seamlessly that you hear everything as a whole rather than focussing on individual parts of what it's doing well as you do with other units. That said, never before has it been easier to follow any particular segment of a recording. Never have I heard music presented in such a way. It flows and displays a sense of timing which even my vinyl setup doesn't exhibit....

 

Another thing that surprises me is that if I didn't already know this DAC was tubed I'd never pick that it was a tube DAC. I seems in no way coloured though rather chameleon like  changes from one recording to the next. It outperforms solid state components I've heard in the area's that solid state gear is generally touted to have advantages over tubes. Namely deep tight bass, speed, precision, impact and dynamics.... It's also the quietest component I've run in terms of noise at odds with other tube geat I've run. Anyway, I'm not sure how to explain this better.... I think it has to be experienced in person for someone to truly understand.

 

I'm just going to sit here and keep enjoying what my ears tell me. I'm simply not good enough with words to describe what I'm hearing any better. It's beyond me. The sound defies description.

 

The other thing is that over long listening sessions it's performance has continued to improve. I'm not sure I can really write anything further as it would need a talented wordsmith to explain this so I'll leave it at that. I mean how do you explain do I explain a totally transparent piece of gear?

Edited by MattyW
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Guest rmpfyf

Sounds like a Killer by another name. Good work.

 

What source format (off the Mutec) and frequency are you running it at?

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Guest rmpfyf
19 minutes ago, MattyW said:

I'm running at 16 bit 48 khz.  :)

Wait till you go higher freq and well-filtered upsampling.... that's a whole new world. 1541's rock.

 

Lock your Redbook at 44.1 BTW. 

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3 minutes ago, rmpfyf said:

Wait till you go higher freq and well-filtered upsampling.... that's a whole new world. 1541's rock.

 

Lock your Redbook at 44.1 BTW. 

Ah, will have to figure it out. Will get there.

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9 minutes ago, MattyW said:

Ah, will have to figure it out. Will get there.

How high does the Abbas go? I2S (192) or simultaneous (384)?

 

Then you want to go to @Ittaku for samples.

 

Locking Redbook should be a straightforward thing on your Mutec.

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9 minutes ago, rmpfyf said:

How high does the Abbas go? I2S (192) or simultaneous (384)?

 

Then you want to go to @Ittaku for samples.

 

Locking Redbook should be a straightforward thing on your Mutec.

In actuality I don't know..... It's coax only so..... Will get there anyway. I look forward to when my baby doesn't need her play enclosure any more. It completely obscures the woofer for my right speaker so when that goes away it will be like a free performance upgrade  ;)

Edited by MattyW
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