OK, the plot thickens… I dropped the DS volume to 92… WTF? It sounds more… um …
“comfortable”…
I don’t get this at all. I am totally fine with it… I just don’t get it. I am liking Sunlight. But I don’t get why this version required some work…
Was my Prima Luna integrated being overloaded? What spec on the Prima Luna should I look at to see if it is robust enough to take the DS input at full volume?
Peace
Bruce in Philly
The 92 is a figment of the DS’s imagination. The DS can’t drive as high as most sources so it’s unlikely to cause overloads to a preamp.
Here’s a brief description of the 92 if you didn’t catch it earlier. I’ve written similar posts multiple times so a search might net one that explains more than this one.
But also remember…if the right people would tell audiophiles, they have to play 24/192 files with their socks off, they would at some point hear it.
A post was merged into an existing topic: DSD Volume
I completely agree. They talk so much to say so little.
Yeah, I think my socks were attenuating my room acoustics, leading to poor sound stage. I find barefoot works well with swim fins being a close second!
An online review… interesting these guys heard what I did… but seem to like it… whereas these same items were not so appealing to me: “Louder, brighter, more forward… fatigue… good recordings great, marginal recordings on the edge…”
Interesting…
The jury is still out with me… I am liking Sunlight more and more… I thought I made my decision and would declare Sunlight fabulous for me, but then I put on a MOFI CD of Alice Cooper’s School’s Out. Boy, talk about mixed feelings… I could follow the dense guitars in My Stars really well but overall, the disc had that edge on the high frequencies again that is not pleasant. Hmmm…
Peace
Bruce in Philly
Go to 17:50 … he is reading from my script…
One thing I’ve noticed is, I’m hearing more of a difference between listening during the day vs late at night when the power is cleaner, with Sunlight compared to Windom. I am using an Audience power conditioner. I did notice a slight difference before with Windom, but it never got in the way of enjoying the music. Now when listening during the day with Sunlight, certain recordings are harder to listen to, mostly with poorly recorded CDs. Maybe time to try a regenerator.
I’m still loving Sunlight! Waiting on the Edcor’s to take it to the next level!
24 days have passed.
Either my DSDAC or my ears or both have burned in.
Martha Argerish plays Rachmoninff No.3 (12/1982 recording) nicely, very nicely in fact. (PST+DSDAC+P12)
Struggling if should upgrade to MKII, if sunlight is the starting baseline of it……
I’m 19 days in and with Sunlight I’ve been able to get truly excellent sound with careful tweaking of this and that, mainly gain structure between my components and a bit of speaker positioning.
I’m getting fantastic sound. I can’t afford the next possible upgrades (the transformer mod, going from DMP to PST) and that’s okay because I’m very satisfired with what I have going on in the system.
I like the ear burning theory 
…
@Terrence , look at VMAX’s post where he says that the XS4400 transformer mod brought the biggest SQ improvement:
@Terrence check this out Martha Argerich Absolutely amazing
Thanks. Look like you are also a Martha Argerich fan like me.
I’ve already posted:
I follow those threads too. Don’t think I have the skillset to replace the components inside DSDAC. But, nice to know VMAX rate sunlight as 2nd best in SQ.
IMHO, to squeeze out the best of SQ for playing a SACD or Redbook CD on PSA gears will be PST+DSDAC w. Sunlight + regenerator (such as P12). Checked @Vmax profile, he only needs a PST to bring the SQ up even more for disk playback.
Neither do I, so I had @wctaudio install it for me. Very reasonably priced and extremely quick turnaround. Quality workmanship with super clean solders.
The TSS, new Amps, or Octave most likely before a PST. Loving the streaming these days
Very good choice, will definitely bring the SQ to another level.
Would like to take same path, but since not doing streaming yet, and capped by upgrade budget, MKII will be my target to be able to continue the journey of DAC firmware update. Very interested on what Ted can do with a more powerful FPGA.
I understand your position and I fear the DS MkII will be beyond my pocket. But when the upgrade bug gets you again IMO there is no better value for money upgrade than the transformers. They are only $51 for the pair and make an enormous improvement.
I know they aren’t a great expense. I don’t trust myself to do the job myself, so that makes it a far more expensive proposition. But that is likely what I might do next when I can. (Though I do lust after the transport).