Bonky
11-04-2015, 21:21
Dear all, even though I wrote this for another thread, it seems to have 'spread its wings' somewhat, and I thus wonder if it deserves its own thread.
The story so far:
I have a Linn Mimik2 cd player with a BNC output. I wanted to by-pass the Linn’s DAC and use a Caiman2 DAC instead. AoS members, as usual have been very helpful and have prompted me in the right direction for a suitable lead, which I bought. (I later found I had one in an old cupboard!).
So this is my report:
The waters are somewhat muddied by:
I replaced the wall socket with a MK unswitched one (The 2 neutral wires were loose in the old socket), and I cleaned all the prongs on the mains plugs.
I bought a 2nd hand Rega Brio-R so was keen to see if the SQ was better/different cf my Sugden A21A amp.
I should also add that Stan’s firmware upgrade came this morning so yet another variable into the mix!
Using the Sugden: At first I could detect no difference between the normal CD output (via the Linn DAC) and Stan’s. This says, I believe, a lot for the oldish (1995) design of the Mimik2.
Slowly and gradually I could hear that female vocals were more open and less sibilant. Violin strings too showed a small improvement. I could detect no differences in the bass. Surprisingly, when I used the Rega amp I could detect NO difference at all between the two sources. Make of that what you will… I repeated the experiment this morning (no alcohol) and came to exactly the same conclusions.
I must tell a tale against myself here… I plugged in Stan’s new RiSC chip and sat back and listened…yep…it was all that people had said… better, more affirmative bass, less of a veil etc etc. It was after 20 mins or so that I realised that the sound wasn’t going through the Caiman2 at all but from the Linn to the Rega! What I was hearing was the wishful thinking/others’ reports/placebo effect.
When I did sort myself out , as I said above, I could not discern any differences between the CD output and the BNC to the Caiman2 and then to the Rega.
So, back to the Sugden…
(Would Stan’s upgrade make an impact?)
Yes; Stan’s DAC was slightly more open and transparent; not ‘night-and-day’ by any manner of means, but an improvement.
Using high-def files streamed to the Squeezebox Touch I was able, again, to hear that Stan’s firmware upgrade made a difference - with better definition of instruments and vocals. (BTW I should add here that I’m 67 years old so my HF must be compromised somewhat).
Tonight’s experiments (my wife is away for the weekend), will involve comparing the phono inputs on the two amps. The one in the Sugden (both MM and MC) is not given the plaudits it deserves. (Patrick of Sugdens told me this(!)…and I agree.)
I expected there to be significant differences in SQ between the two amps. I found this not to be so. Did I read somewhere that the Rega has some sort of quasi Class A output stage?
Thanks for anyone’s interest and help.
BW
Richard
PS Phono’ stages
Reg Brio-R. Impressive; lower ‘noise floor’ and rumble rejection (with no perceivable effect on the bass response). A more forward projection of both voices and instruments.The only problem with my system is that despite using a relatively high output MC cartridge, the volume control has to be wound up way past the 60% mark to make comparisons with the Sugden.
After another 30 mins…I’ve gone back to the Suggie…slightly more ‘authority’ and bass weight (perhaps the two are the same (?)). Male voices seem just a little bit more authentic. Very little in it, however.
For the price, I would say that the Rega Brio-r is an excellent amp, but if you have efficient speakers and a Sugden AS1A comes up on the market - snatch it up!
The story so far:
I have a Linn Mimik2 cd player with a BNC output. I wanted to by-pass the Linn’s DAC and use a Caiman2 DAC instead. AoS members, as usual have been very helpful and have prompted me in the right direction for a suitable lead, which I bought. (I later found I had one in an old cupboard!).
So this is my report:
The waters are somewhat muddied by:
I replaced the wall socket with a MK unswitched one (The 2 neutral wires were loose in the old socket), and I cleaned all the prongs on the mains plugs.
I bought a 2nd hand Rega Brio-R so was keen to see if the SQ was better/different cf my Sugden A21A amp.
I should also add that Stan’s firmware upgrade came this morning so yet another variable into the mix!
Using the Sugden: At first I could detect no difference between the normal CD output (via the Linn DAC) and Stan’s. This says, I believe, a lot for the oldish (1995) design of the Mimik2.
Slowly and gradually I could hear that female vocals were more open and less sibilant. Violin strings too showed a small improvement. I could detect no differences in the bass. Surprisingly, when I used the Rega amp I could detect NO difference at all between the two sources. Make of that what you will… I repeated the experiment this morning (no alcohol) and came to exactly the same conclusions.
I must tell a tale against myself here… I plugged in Stan’s new RiSC chip and sat back and listened…yep…it was all that people had said… better, more affirmative bass, less of a veil etc etc. It was after 20 mins or so that I realised that the sound wasn’t going through the Caiman2 at all but from the Linn to the Rega! What I was hearing was the wishful thinking/others’ reports/placebo effect.
When I did sort myself out , as I said above, I could not discern any differences between the CD output and the BNC to the Caiman2 and then to the Rega.
So, back to the Sugden…
(Would Stan’s upgrade make an impact?)
Yes; Stan’s DAC was slightly more open and transparent; not ‘night-and-day’ by any manner of means, but an improvement.
Using high-def files streamed to the Squeezebox Touch I was able, again, to hear that Stan’s firmware upgrade made a difference - with better definition of instruments and vocals. (BTW I should add here that I’m 67 years old so my HF must be compromised somewhat).
Tonight’s experiments (my wife is away for the weekend), will involve comparing the phono inputs on the two amps. The one in the Sugden (both MM and MC) is not given the plaudits it deserves. (Patrick of Sugdens told me this(!)…and I agree.)
I expected there to be significant differences in SQ between the two amps. I found this not to be so. Did I read somewhere that the Rega has some sort of quasi Class A output stage?
Thanks for anyone’s interest and help.
BW
Richard
PS Phono’ stages
Reg Brio-R. Impressive; lower ‘noise floor’ and rumble rejection (with no perceivable effect on the bass response). A more forward projection of both voices and instruments.The only problem with my system is that despite using a relatively high output MC cartridge, the volume control has to be wound up way past the 60% mark to make comparisons with the Sugden.
After another 30 mins…I’ve gone back to the Suggie…slightly more ‘authority’ and bass weight (perhaps the two are the same (?)). Male voices seem just a little bit more authentic. Very little in it, however.
For the price, I would say that the Rega Brio-r is an excellent amp, but if you have efficient speakers and a Sugden AS1A comes up on the market - snatch it up!