It costs 1.55L with audio people in India. Enquired for a friend sometime back.
Acoustic Portrait - Thiyaga DAC
- Thread starter mbhangui
- Start date
It costs 1.55L with audio people in India. Enquired for a friend sometime back.
At the moment I have ordered ASUS Xonar Essence One from Pristine Notes. Let me see if this satisfies my soul :licklips:. If it doesn't, then AP Thiyaga DAC will be the choice.
After placing the order, I am told that there is some octroi thingy in Pune which has somewhat spoilt my mood. I hate paying money to the government for doing nothing
.
After placing the order, I am told that there is some octroi thingy in Pune which has somewhat spoilt my mood. I hate paying money to the government for doing nothing
.
Flash
Well-Known Member
After placing the order, I am told that there is some octroi thingy in Pune which has somewhat spoilt my mood. I hate paying money to the government for doing nothing
Been there done that
I have paid some ridiculous amounts as Octroi.
Me tooBeen there done that
I have paid some ridiculous amounts as Octroi.
and buggers had also ripped open some of my packages for no reason.
Flash
Well-Known Member
Me too
Yeah I now prefer calling equipment to my Mumbai house and then hand carrying it to Pune.
soulofmusic
Active Member
I went for audition of Thiyaga DAC yesterday. Though i wanted to gauge the DAC performance, I ended up listening to a complete Thiyaga setup.
Files: FLACs and MP3s
Source: Computer through USB (Looked like a Silverstone boxed HTPC)
Thiyaga DAC > Thiyaga Pre > Thiyaga Monoblocks > Thiyaga Speakers
I listened to songs ranging from Master of Puppets (Metallica), Hate Me (Blue October), Linkin Park, Norah Jones, Best Audiophile Voices, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali....
What I could note:
1. Wide soundstage with clear vocals for Jazz/Classical. Especially, Norah Jones Nightingale sounded like NJ sitting in the middle of a well crafted band. You could hear the bass at one end while the drums at other (something like that), while the lovely voice sat high in the middle. Actually, this became apparently clear even as I walked in. Some caranatic music was playing on the system through a audio cd and I can say it was very close to any of the live session that I have listened to in chennai temples.
2. When it came to some low bit rate files like Mehdi Hassan mp3 ripped from a LP (not well done), results were not so good.. there were segments where harmonium took over everything and countered its own sound notes, sounding chaos...
3. Rock was laid back and lacked energy. I verified this twice. Heard rock to start off and came back to it after listening to some jazz. It was definitely cleaner. You can make out every word in Hate Me or even Crawling. But I never hit you like rock is meant to.
So, to me it sounded, very good for Jazz/Soft Classical well recorded songs. Rock sounded clinical, but do u want it to sound clinical or energetic?
This left me wondering, if a real system can deliver both rock and jazz with equal finesse?
Files: FLACs and MP3s
Source: Computer through USB (Looked like a Silverstone boxed HTPC)
Thiyaga DAC > Thiyaga Pre > Thiyaga Monoblocks > Thiyaga Speakers
I listened to songs ranging from Master of Puppets (Metallica), Hate Me (Blue October), Linkin Park, Norah Jones, Best Audiophile Voices, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali....
What I could note:
1. Wide soundstage with clear vocals for Jazz/Classical. Especially, Norah Jones Nightingale sounded like NJ sitting in the middle of a well crafted band. You could hear the bass at one end while the drums at other (something like that), while the lovely voice sat high in the middle. Actually, this became apparently clear even as I walked in. Some caranatic music was playing on the system through a audio cd and I can say it was very close to any of the live session that I have listened to in chennai temples.
2. When it came to some low bit rate files like Mehdi Hassan mp3 ripped from a LP (not well done), results were not so good.. there were segments where harmonium took over everything and countered its own sound notes, sounding chaos...
3. Rock was laid back and lacked energy. I verified this twice. Heard rock to start off and came back to it after listening to some jazz. It was definitely cleaner. You can make out every word in Hate Me or even Crawling. But I never hit you like rock is meant to.
So, to me it sounded, very good for Jazz/Soft Classical well recorded songs. Rock sounded clinical, but do u want it to sound clinical or energetic?
This left me wondering, if a real system can deliver both rock and jazz with equal finesse?
I think this is the same thing I heard during the audition at Chennai and honestly this was the first time I liked Carnatic music (in fact I can't tolerate Carnatic music and to a lesser extent Indian Classical). So for the first time I realized how important the source, amplifier and the speaker are if you want to bring out music from a recording.
This is a very important point you are making and I feel there could be some technical answer for this. Since most of my listening do not relate to classical/Jazz, I think I will look at listening other DACs before deciding on the Thiaga DAC.
Has anyone else auditioned the Thiaga DAC with Rock (Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, Jetro Tull, etc)?
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tirthankar
Active Member
Pink Floyd/Tull and Metallica/Deep Purple have two distinctly different sounds. The latter, along with Bands like Linkin Park, use heavy distortion guitar in their music. Systems which are very accurate and laid back in their reproduction can make the sound seem to lack energy. On the other hand though pink floyd doesnt rely on distortion guitar but more on musical variation, and use clean notes. Suitably accurate systems, even if laid back, can make them sound fantastic.
Heavy metal like Metallica needs a more energetic and in your face sound. From soulofmusic's description, it appears to me the Thiyaga is more laid back and relaxed. That can make heavy metal/hard rock sound too polite.
But it is the sort of sound which can make jazz, classical and other softer music... which rely on cleaner notes, sound very good.
Heavy metal like Metallica needs a more energetic and in your face sound. From soulofmusic's description, it appears to me the Thiyaga is more laid back and relaxed. That can make heavy metal/hard rock sound too polite.
But it is the sort of sound which can make jazz, classical and other softer music... which rely on cleaner notes, sound very good.
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soulofmusic
Active Member
Agreed... PF/Tull/Rush are more like progressive rock n more of the acoustic side than bass heavy electric guitars.... I feel 'Wish you were here' would have sounded good on tht setup!
cmsajith
Well-Known Member
Using a latest DAC chip wont make a dac superior, its the design which matters. Remiyo 777 is considered as one of the bast dac in the market even now.
tirthankar
Active Member
On the same note, the Theta Pro Gen Va, even though from 6-7 years back, is still considered a classic and great if one doesnt need more than 20 bit 96k, ie, doesnt use high resolution playback. Other than that limitation, it uses one of the best dac chips ever produced, and is widely considered to be one of the best sounding dacs even now.
square_wave
Well-Known Member
A dac has nothing to do with voicing of a system for rock, jazz, metal , classical etc. The source is a neutral entity. The more neutral and more resolving it is, the more you can enjoy complex music.
If one wants to assemble a music system only for high energy rock, then one has to look at suitable speakers and amplifiers. Speakers with large woofers are preferred. Tweeter designs with lot of bite and attack are a nice idea. Preferably a forgiving design rather than a resolving one. They need to go really loud without distortion.
What give music the excitement is dynamic range. The better the DAC design, the better the dynamics. The catch is that the recording itself needs dynamic range.
Pink Floyd and Jethro Tull has reasonable amount of dynamic range. With the right kind of amp and speakers, the thyaga DAC will work. You will hear what is in the recording.
soulofmusic
Active Member
That is an interesting statement.... especially when i have always seen adjectives like dull, dynamic, lifeless being used in lot of DAC reviews.
As I said, I listened to a whole AP setup yesterday and not just a DAC. So lack of energy in rock music cudnt be pinned to any particular instrument in the chain.
However, this did leave me wondering, what each piece in the chain contributes to? How to know what to fix? Like Soundstage, Separation of Instruments, Details, Bass, Treble etc vs DAC/Source/Amp/Speaker?
Experts pls. educate
If you understand my point correctly even I was telling the same thing.
square_wave
Well-Known Member
Actually this is a very complex subject. Something which almost every audiophile / audio gear designer grapples with.
IMHO, just look for assembling a system which evokes the same feeling in you as you would get when you listen to the music you love in a live setting.
It is a fallacy that the most neutral or resolving system will satisfy all audiophiles or music lovers. Even in rarified realms of super high end audio, there are various camps.
If you can elaborate a bit about what you expect from your music system, folks will be able to make some suggestions.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Isn't the DAC the new "source?" Hence calling the thing that comes before it merely, "transport". When I say the DAC, I mean, the analogue circuitry in the DAC.
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Marantz NA7004 Network audio player/USB DAC at Crutchfield.com
Group buy deals here, not sure whether it is still valid - http://www.hifivision.com/group-buys-deals/24978-marantz-na7004-network-audio-player.html
square_wave
Well-Known Member
I would say the following together form the source:
1. Transport (digital file player or mechanical cd reader)
2. DAC
3. The file / track on cd
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
Using the word "source," as I understand it in a hifi context and that of this conversation,
With other units, perhaps the water is not so clear. Certainly it should be the same, but then, the close linking of transport and DAC within a CD player is not the same as a CD transport connected to a separate DAC.
In an ideal world, all the same bits from digital media always reach the DAC, wherever it is. Perhaps the world is not ideal: the manufacturers of expensive transports certainly don't think so --- or don't want us to!
I don't think that the media is part of the source, because it is constant. Whether it is a vinyl LP, a tape, or a digital format, it remains the same whatever system it is being played on.
This could be moot. A digital "transport" should serve up the same bytes as another digital transport. Within my PC, I am pretty certain that, given two identical files, the same bytes will reach my sound card regardless of whether the file was originally read from a CD or from a hard disk.
With other units, perhaps the water is not so clear. Certainly it should be the same, but then, the close linking of transport and DAC within a CD player is not the same as a CD transport connected to a separate DAC.
In an ideal world, all the same bits from digital media always reach the DAC, wherever it is. Perhaps the world is not ideal: the manufacturers of expensive transports certainly don't think so --- or don't want us to!
square_wave
Well-Known Member
What I meant to say is that all three deserves equal importance when we construct a source. When one evaluates the rest of the chain in a system, all three must be pristine.
If the quality of this is not pristine, there is no point in considering an expensive DAC. If one is always playing recordings with very low dynamic range or playing mp3s, one needs to buy a more forgiving and voiced dac than a very resolving one. This will give more perceived quality than a resolving one.
I beg to differ on this. To me, all mechanical transports sound different. Even the highest grade ones, the pi tracer and the cd prop2m based mechanisms have a distinct sound to it. When it comes to digital file players, a Mac and a windows machine sounds different. Different windows machines sound different. Different playback software sound different. Recently I and a friend have been playing around with Jplay. Amazing stuff. Sounds better than almost all the players out there.
I agree that the DAC will have the biggest impact out of all three.
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