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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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Critic's Corner Discuss a review. Provide constructive feedback. Talk to the industry. |
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In Reply to: AN, Naim, Linn ... ketchup or mustard ... whatever ... posted by TBone on October 31, 2012 at 10:19:46:
It's very weird reading yourself, especially when that self is probably a decade old. That Naim vs. Sony vs. (eventually) Audio Note was a rare revelation to me. It's always a good idea to contrast what you're accustomed to with something complete different just to see if you can actually hear your favorite with a version of objectivity. It's NOT objectivity, of course, but it may actually be the closest thing we have in audio to objectivity.
Gilbert Yeung of Blue Circle and I had a milder version of that experience years later comparing his BC 501ob dac with my treasured Audio Note Dac 4.1 Balanced Signature. The surprise I had then was that while the BC dac made the AN dac sound more beautiful it also made it sound less comprehensive, less complete. I felt as if I finally heard what the AN dac was doing. Later in the evening we forgot which dac was playing and had a good laugh about it. They obviously both "worked." Different coffees. But that proved prophetic...
The final chapter (?) in the story occurred this year when Creston Funk of Austin Hifi got me to audition a Resolution Audio Cantata after having gotten me to add Crimson electronics to my stable. Comparing the Cantata with the BC501ob and Dac 4.1 Sig made it obvious to me that the Cantata was nuts. I told Creston it sounded like a parody of the clarity and jump of the Crimson electronics. I was on the verge of telling him thanks but no thanks -- what kind of coffee was this??!! -- when he pleaded with me to give it (and myself) another day or so. And sure enough a day or so later, I passed through some kind of door and 'got' the Cantata. (It reminded me of a less aggressive, less affected, but equally PRaTful Naim.) It 'worked.' But more important, I found myself looking back through the door at the BC and AN dacs. I felt as if I could now hear them both more clearly but fascinatingly, they sounded more like each other! I can't tell you how radical a change this was for me, which is why, though I don't yet entirely understand it, I trust it. It had that same feel of a revelation rather than argument won or lost.
I hope this is my last revelation, I'm getting too old for thls.
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Follow Ups
- RE: AN, Naim, Linn ... ketchup or mustard ... whatever ... - Bob Neill 11/3/1206:45:13 11/3/12 (3)
- RE: AN, Naim, Linn ... ketchup or mustard ... whatever ... - TBone 08:17:34 11/6/12 (2)
- RE: AN, Naim, Linn ... ketchup or mustard ... whatever ... - Bob Neill 11:08:50 11/6/12 (1)
- RE: AN, Naim, Linn ... ketchup or mustard ... whatever ... - TBone 11:12:50 11/6/12 (0)
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