Okay, so now the fun part begins - the actual listening. The Hermes is all set up. I can do a simple A/B comparison by toggling the input on the Directstream between I2S-unput 1 and I2S-input 2.
Just for background info, a quick description of the equipment for the front channels of my system:
My source is strictly Redbook, a Jay’s CDT2 MK3 with an internal OXCO tied by Inakustic I2S to a
A Ditrectstream DAC with full jrichards improvements using I2S input number 1, then to a
A Bryston BP-26 preamp with MPS-1 (Bryston outboard power supply, to
Sony SEQ333ES Equalizer to a
DBX-3BX to a
McIntosh C-20 tube pre-amp to a
Bryson 4BSST2 amp, to a
Magnepan 3.7i speakers mounted on Mye Stands
This is my front channel setup without my rear channel equipment or my subwoofers. I only use the front channels when I test new equipment. My rear channels and the subwoofers are used when I just sit back and enjoy music.
In this Hermes test I ran an AES cable from the Jay’s to the Hermes and then ran from the Hermes to the Directstream using the I2S input number 2. Input number 1 remains the direct Jay’s to Directstream connection. The direct Jay’s to Directstream still uses the Inakustic I2S cable. The Hermes AES and I2S cables were not as good.
To judge the Hermes addition I toggled back and forth between Hermes and non-Hermes, on a sizable number of different songs and albums. Even though jkrichards and I evaluated two very different sound sources, my results were remarkably similar to the results Jeff obtained in his Hermes PS Audio review titled, “Quick review of the new Denafrips Hermes DDC used with the Directstream DAC.” (Located in the DAC section of the PS Audio forums).
Some excerpts from Jeff’s review:
“1) When I first installed the Hermes in my system the music felt faster and more impactful sounding, there was a higher level of detail (not in a clinical way), 2) Transients were tight and the decay of instruments sounded more real. Especially percussion and acoustic instruments. 3) Anything I’ve listened through it sounds more open and wider, there is plenty of air traveling around, especially while listening to live recordings. 4) picking up notes out of thin air wasn’t a challenge anymore. The air felt heavy and dense. 5) The images became clearer and sharper, depth was nicer,”. (Numbering added by me)
Like I said before, I’m in really good place right now, because I’m extremely pleased with my current sound. When I first started testing out the Hermes all I was really interested in was getting a final reduction in mid-range hash/distortion, particularly in vocals - especially in massed vocals. As I listened to the first two songs my attention was diverted to the music becoming more impactful (Jeff’s first item he listed). The Hermes adds a delightful bit of oomph to the total music spectrum. This was evident in all instruments, but especially evident with percussion. (Jeff’s second point).
The next thing I noticed was the improvement of the bass. Not only was the sound of the bass slightly more noticeable with a gorgeous bloom throughout the bass range; but the entire bass range was clearly audible and homogeneous. There were no dropouts or soft spots. From drum kicks below 40Hz up through 320Hz and beyond. Adds a luxurious quality to the overall sound.
As I concentrated on the improved bass my attention naturally moved to notice the improvement in the sound of other individual instruments. (Like Jeff’s third and fifth point). I thought I had excellent location of individual instruments in my sound, but the Hermes brought out even more localization of each instrument. Additionally, each instrument had more space around it and each instrument developed more of an individual 3-D quality than ever before. While the individual instruments were a little clearer and sharper, each instrument developed an individual depth. Instead of sounding like a collection of 2-D instruments placed at different soundstage depths, now each one of the instruments sounded like they were each 2 to 3 feet thick. These instruments, with more air around them, were all individually spaced around the soundstage. I thought I had a pretty realistic sound prior to this test but the Hermes sure added a noticeable amount of realism.
After all that, my attention finally reverted to evaluating any occasional harshness/distortion in the area of vocals. I’m happy to report that while the Hermes didn’t remove all of the occasional harshness/distortion, the Hermes did reduce it to a point that I can easily live with it. That was a big bonus for me.
To this point the insertion of a Hermes between my transport and my DAC is a definite success. I was lucky enough to find a good used Hermes for under $900 so at this point I’m definitely keeping it. If I was given a free trial of the Hermes and would need to pay full price of approximately $1700 to keep it; I might think twice, but probably would pay the extra money and keep the Hermes. Like I’ve said, I don’t need much to improve the sound quality to the level I desire, but the Hermes exceeds that. I can’t think of $1700 that I could add to my amps, or preamp, or transport or DAC that would give me this much bang for the buck, especially added to the level of sound quality that I already have. The closest thing I could use to describe the impact of the Hermes would be the impact experienced by those who did the full jrichards Directstream DAC upgrade. As I remember the impact of the Directstream DAC upgrade, the Hermes is almost that good.
I don’t have any idea just how large of an improvement the Hermes was for Jeff, as opposed to the amount of improvement I received. Jeff was using the Hermes to improve his source, which used a USB connection. I’m going to assume my transport with a high quality OXCO, that could utilize an AES connection to the Hermes, would start off with a slightly higher quality signal to send to the Hermes. In that respect I’ll assume I would have less room for improvement. If this is true and sources with USB connections can improve even more than I experienced, than this would have awesome implications for anyone with a system featuring a source that uses USB and also has a CD Transport or a Streamer. A DDC unit like the Hermes would offer the ability to improve two or more sources. Just hook them all up and select which input you want with the press of a button on the front. The Hermes would convert all the different signals to I2S to send to the Directstream.
I do have a couple more tests I want to try. I want to check out a volume anomaly I’m experiencing to see if the Hermes is adding to it. Secondly, although I stated in the article that I didn’t think I could take the $1700 (the cost of a new Hermes), and achieve equal results by applying the money to improving an amp, preamp, DAC or transport. Well, I just made a purchase I’ve been lusting after. When I have my new Jay’s CDT3 MK3 Transport burned in (about another full week) I’ll be able to test how spending about $3300 to upgrade a transport rates against adding theHermes to the old transport. Also, the CDT3 MK3 has an improved clock that a couple of reviewers have mentioned features jitter, so low, it can’t be measured. I’ll be interested to find out if a Hermes can work its magic on equipment like that.
Tim