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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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General Asylum General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories. |
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In Reply to: Well, perhaps, but... posted by John Marks on September 1, 2002 at 18:26:52:
I hope you will pardon my enthusiasm, for it is genuine. The Tact has done for me what no amount of effort and dollars have, it has provided a tonally correct listening experience. And that means more of the concert hall in my home. A lot more.Remember that this is an initial impression. And my experience so far has been limited to using a mediocre transport. Toslink is not the ideal connection,and the Sony ES player I am currently using is far from perfect (I need a special S/PDIF connector to hook up my Muse). But Tact believes nowadays transports do not make a big difference, and even with the Toslink the sound is generally devoid from digital artifacts (other than in difficult passages with loads of high frequencies). This leads me to believe the unit's DACs are quite good. And whoever doesn't like them can use the unit in D to D mode and the DAC of their choice.
I do not know whether digital correction itself introduces any other distortions. If it does I cannot detect it so far. What I can detect is that with the Tact the balance of frequencies at the listening position is blissfully correct. The effect is almost miraculous. For instance, instruments' harmonic profiles are natural, as opposed to skewed one way or another. This makes them sound more real. And this effect also reaches deep into the recording, setting right the ambient cues that our brain processes to create a soundstage. Try it. By switching to bypass mode you will be amazed at how much of the music's gestalt is lost due to a disorted frequency response. I had never realized that until now. The Tact also makes speakers time coherent, perhaps not a minor issue in this regard.
I have not listened to the SigTech but I referred to it in my report. Its process seems cumbersome to me. And I understand the SigTech works differently with respect to the all important listening time window. But this will only make a difference in the high frequencies where in any event room treatment is the way to go. I do not know how the 2.2X addressed listening windows for highs, but it seems effective to me.
LPs and SACD I admit, are not the ideal medium for the Tact. I will forego both for now. In my room neither is a match for corrected PCM.
For a moment you almost made me feel ashamed of my passing shot at Harry. But he does it to others so I'm sure he wouldn't mind (not that the man would participate in this forum, right?). So having read Ben Johnson's The Alchemist I couln't help but note the similarities. Humor aside, I really enjoy reading HP's articles and believe he is one of the best magazine editors I know of, bar none. In fact I am dissapointed at the direction TAS is taking without him at the helm (I sense he is too). An opportunity for Stereophile.
By the by, I did not announce the end of history. I do not believe in Marxian utopias. I am more into the "enlightenment" of Adam Smith.
Thank you for your response. I continue to enjoy your column in Stereophile.
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Follow Ups
- Re: Well, perhaps, but... - hexenboden 09/1/0221:58:58 09/1/02 (0)
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