meditations on the PMG DAC 6 hours in:
NOTE: I spent extra time with my Mk1 prior to receiving the PMG DAC and really loved its presentation of all the genres I favor - and tbh was so wowed again I began to wonder if the PMG DAC upgrade might be unneccesary…
SPOILER ALERT: IT WASN’T!
I already told my wife how much money this PMG DAC has saved us since I will never have to upgrade again - it is that good right out of the box - “Saved? US?” (She’ll understand eventually…).
PMG DAC SOUND
here are some first impressions, only a few hours in:
what had once been watered down is now full bodied
fresh sound, like the difference between a crisp iceburg and wilted romaine
‘small’ sounds perfectly represented *
no discernable improvement in bass or drums over mk1 - yet
space exists
breath from human voice more palpable - feel like i could embrace the vocalists (even janis joplin)
*darkest ever background
volume to speakers via amp much lower than with mk1, but controls truly analogue (incremental drop as I dial down, not high to quick drop low vol like had with mk1)
not hearing clearer placement of instruments some have mentioned, yet
using Octave Record’s Reference Music Track 8, I noticed the ‘decay’ is phenomenal - the note delicately drops off with all the purity of true analogue (the little analogue devil on my right shoulder is whispering “you’ve been listening to digital too long now”)
lots of ‘finger pluck’ from acoustic guitars, hearing fingers/picks on strings
love slack key guitar, so switched between DACs listening to Dennis Kamakahi’s “Wahine 'Ilikea” and already felt closer to the live performance than the Mk1 without a doubt, the PMG DAC also brought out more detailed vocals from the same recording
not hearing added weight to pianos (what other instrument can balance off an entire orchestra on the other side?), but def hearing more detail and more accurate highs than my Mk1
ambient sounds more naturally expansive around the listening space - wrote this when listening to synth piece by Thomas LaFond “Slow Moving Ferns” from Octave Record’s Reference Music SACD
more to come…
