New-
and old-school digital together?
January
18, 2023
Marc,
I've
been out of audio for 21 years, and now I'm jumping back in with both feet. I know your
review of the Genesis Digital Lens, but do you have experience with the Grimm Audio CC1
and HoloAudio May DAC? I'd like to connect the Grimm to the Digital Lens, but as the CC1
is PLL based, should it be used before or after the Lens? The DAC has a PLL, but it can be
turned off while in the NOS mode for best sound.
Howard
Smith
The
Grimm Audio CC1 is a master clock; the Genesis Digital Lens is a de-jitter unit and buffer
for digital data. The two do different things, and while you can use them together, you
wouldn't connect one directly to the other. (The CC1 does appear to have AES/EBU input and
output, but I would want to know more about them before I would tether the Digital Lens to
the CC1.) Also, the Digital Lens will accept and pass only CD-resolution data; it won't
lock to any source greater than that. You can use it between an old-school CD transport
and your new higher-resolution DAC. In this case, the Grimm CC1 may connect to the DAC and
your source and provide the master clock for both. -Marc Mickelson
MQA-CD
Q&A
January
12, 2023
Marc,
I
know we both like XRCDs; now I hear there are MQA-CDs. Are the two similar? I never jumped
on the MQA bandwagon. Are MQA-encoded CDs really that good? And compared to XRCD? If I
sound confused, that's because I am.
Sheldon
Simon
MQA-CDs
and XRCDs are similar in that both can be played in any CD player. However, they are
rather different overall. XRCDs are essentially CDs mastered and manufactured with extreme
care, which is demonstrated in their sound. In contrast, MQA-CDs include MQA encoding,
which MQA-enabled DACs can decode. Some players can play the MQA tracks directly, but in
other cases the discs must be ripped and the MQA tracks played as files. MQA is
controversial; the only demo I've heard was very promising, but there is plenty of
skepticism on the Internet. To me, it's all about the sound, and I will be discussing MQA
in an upcoming review of the dCS Rossini Apex DAC. -Marc Mickelson
"Sign
me up"
January
1, 2023
Marc,
Sign
me up for your site's e-mail list.
Winston
Cope
You're
signed up and on the list. To join TAB's reader e-mail list and find out about
new articles first, send e-mail to rl@theaudiobeat.com. -Marc Mickelson
