Mediocre sound

LitoZacky

Even for LSi-15 with enough juice, I still feel like I'm hearing mediocre sound quality. Computer -> AVR -> AMP -> Lsi-15 (AQ type 4 cables)

My suspicion for the poor sound is I'm lacking a good DAC. My theory is speakers are the producer of sound, how good the sound is depends on the source. I'm close to purchasing an EE minimax dac or W4s dac 2. Could someone show me what I'm doing wrong, thanks.

part of the poor sound is the harsh ear piercing trebles.

dorokusai

The W4S is much better than the EE. There's a very good writeup on it in the latest issue of The Absolute Sound. Good luck.

LitoZacky

If you had compared both then I don't doubt your judgment, but if you haven't then there's a possibility that you're under-rating the minimax. I heard the w4s is an amazing dac at clarity retrieval, I'm still finding my way into the audio world but so far I'm starting to like warmth sound. I prefer warmth over clarity. If the w4s had sticking a tube in there somewhere that would've been a big +

dorokusai

LitoZacky wrote: »

If you had compared both then I don't doubt your judgment, but if you haven't then there's a possibility that you're under-rating the minimax. I heard the w4s is an amazing dac at clarity retrieval, I'm still finding my way into the audio world but so far I've starting to like warmth sound. I prefer warmth over clarity. If the w4s had sticking a tube in there somewhere that would've been a big +

Your one of those tube is needed folks, so sorry I can't help you anymore. Eventually you'll figure out the right combination. Good luck.

cnh

If that's the case, you might want to run this by Brock, H9, because he's currently experimenting with DACs and the like, and also into tubes.

cnh

messiah

Get a better amp, maybe a Parasound.

LitoZacky

I didn't know an amp makes that much of a difference. I will look into parasound and sunfire

Phil Dawson

What is your source material? You say you are using your computer. If you are playing MP3 files that could be the cause of your problems. MP3 is a mediocre format at best. Phil

SRS-SDA Front
2 cs400i Center
SRS-SDA Rear
Shure 12in sub
B&K ref 10 pre-pro upgr to ref 50
Techniques 1200 TT
Mac MR71 Tuna
Lexicon rt-20 uni player
PSE Studio pre for TT
2 PSE Studio Mono Blocks
4 PSE Studio Stereo Amps
1 Mac 2100 Amp (bridged to mono) for sub

steveinaz

^ exactly; what's your source media?

fishbones

LitoZacky wrote: »

I didn't know an amp makes that much of a difference. I will look into parasound and sunfire

...Or B&K (which tend to be warmer sounding). You would want one of the 200watt models to really bring those LSI's to fruition, since the lower wattage B&K's are half the current (200.2, 2220, 4420, EX442 would be the ones to look out for) But, alot of your problem most likely is using the DAC in your receiver. Getting a dedicated DAC should improve it alot!

...and what Phil said.

I would do the amp after you get a DAC, IIWM.

BlueFox

LitoZacky wrote: »

My theory is speakers are the producer of sound, how good the sound is depends on the source.

Interesting theory. :rolleyes:

As others have said, you need to start with lossless files. Then you need to get the lossless files out of the computer with zero errors, and no jitter. Then you need a good cable to connect to a good DAC. After that, you need good cables to connect to a good pre-amp. After that, you need good cables to connect to a good amp. After that, you need good cables to connect to good speakers. Then you will have good sound.


In the future, replace the "good" components with "great" components, and you will have great sound.

LitoZacky

I connect pc to receiver with optical cable. I play FLAC/APE only using foobar. I tried wasapi for foobar but didn't really hear a noticeable difference.