CEC
and dCS?
April
16, 2021
Marc,
I
was wondering what your thoughts were on using the CEC TL1 transport with the dCS Rossini
DAC. I had the Parasound version of that transport many years ago and it was very
smooth-sounding. Anyway, thank you for letting me bug you.
Allen
Ballweg
Not
bugging at all. The CEC TL1, an old-school CD-only transport, is one of my all-time
favorite digital products. Its sound is so lithe and seductive, no matter the DAC to which
it's connected. It looks cool, to my eyes, and it is also serviceable, no small point when
dealing with a piece of equipment that's approaching 30 years old. It would sound very
good with a dCS Rossini DAC; however, a dCS transport is a much better option, especially
for one reason: the AES2 connectivity between transport and DAC, which the CEC transport
doesn't support. This is an advanced, low-jitter connection and it allows for upsampled
data to be sent to the DAC. I greatly prefer the CEC's AT&T connection to any other,
but it is not supported by any currently made DACs (of which I am aware). AT&T sounds
most neutral, linear and wide-bandwidth, all of which are welcome with the CEC transport.
-Marc Mickelson
Active
or passive?
April
12, 2021
Marc,
Assuming
one’s amplifier is fully capable of driving a particular speaker that is available in
both a passive and active form (with powered sub), which version might you recommend?
Larry
Phillips
The
active approach has some compelling positives, including being able to tailor the
amplifiers to the individual drivers of a speaker. However, active speakers haven't taken
off among audiophiles because, as a group, we like choosing each piece of the system,
including (and especially) the amplifiers, and for those of us who love tubes, there
hasn't been an active speaker that uses them, for obvious reasons. If what you're asking
about is only the bass, there are two extra potential advantages: DSP and room correction,
which can lead to better integration of the bass with the mids and treble in a particular
system and room. I have liked the MartinLogan speakers that use DSP and room correction,
although I would also say that some of MartinLogan's older models that have passive bass
(especially the Prodigy and Odyssey) sound well integrated too, and there is minor
provision (a trim control) for in-room fine-tuning. -Marc Mickelson
"Subscribe
me"
April
1, 2021
Marc,
Please
subscribe me to your list.
Thank
you!
Jim
Wicks
You
have been added. To join TAB's reader e-mail list and find out about new articles
first, send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com.
-Marc Mickelson
