Taiko Extreme - my experience

[PeterSt]

On 9/23/2020 at 8:12 PM, manisandher said:

The first is a real ‘solidity’ to the sound, something I’d never suspected I was missing. I realise now that every other computer front end up to this point has sounded slightly ‘hazy’ and ‘diffuse’ in comparison. The effect is fairly subtle, but once you’ve cottoned on to it, it’s hard to let it go.

 

The second is the life-like dynamics. Percussive instruments seem to have more force behind them, jumping out of the speakers. Transients have real attack behind them.

 

On 9/23/2020 at 8:12 PM, manisandher said:

Hypothesising, I suspect both of these effects could be due to a decrease in noise getting to and interfering with the DAC as it converts the bits into an analogue signal. (Although the bits themselves are actually analogue, of course 😊.) Who knows how these things really work?

 

Me ? but only a little ? And you too, as it seems ...

 

You definitely did not read my description of the new Lush^3, but it is quite exactly the same was what you there dedicated to The Extreme. In other words ... it is not that.

So how can I have the same description for a new USB cable ? And at this moment of writing I did not "catch" the latest phenomenon of it (which was last night when the description of the Lush^3 was already made) : 20 times or so the speed of the Lush^2 (or Lush^1 for that matter).

But imagine: "20 times the speed", PeterSt claims. It really is that outrageous. Because of this alone you won't recognize any familiar track any more. Voices contain ultimately more than you thought. Synthesizers exhibit their On/Off sound in about all what was bland at first. Grey - which you accepted to be normal - transforms to music. That "Grey" appeared to be huge smear. 

And indeed the solidity. And much more.

 

Strangely enough from minute 1 of listening to the ^3, I have continuously be deliberating how such an opposite which the Mach III is compared to The Extreme, could suddenly so explicitly show an infinite robustness. So in very brief the difference (as you will know it, but others won't) : The Mach III was made for ultimate speed (very explicitly so and the change opposed to the Mach II) and it was done by making the Power Supply (super fast) as small as possible. And well, that this is so, you can see easily (because you hardly can see it - haha). And so I was eagerly waiting for your Extreme Observations. All what I could expect was more robustness (with that tonne of capacitance) and actually not more speed (you don't claim that, but talk about the transients in similar fashion, although I suspect for the lower regions (?).

 

If people are still with me, it is now time for the long story short:

There is so much going on with USB that the sheer 100% sure fact that the USB set up will be different for the MoBo involved, while knowing how crazily much a stupid USB cable alone can do to the sound, that nothing needs to happen or it is just that USB setup making the difference. No 10Kg heatsinks, no fast processor, no tonnes of capacitance, but ... stupid USB.

And so again:

 

On 9/23/2020 at 8:12 PM, manisandher said:

Hypothesising, I suspect both of these effects could be due to a decrease in noise getting to and interfering with the DAC

 

if I had to say it: that.

Day before yesterday was my second day with the cable, and there I noticed the complete quietness (call it blackness) of this cable. Noise is out of the way, and "speed" comes in place, which in the end is just less smear IMO, hence the disappearing greyness. This is how I literally thought. And as you know, I always need to find explanations for matter I usually didn't see coming (although I work with a target).

 

The Extreme will work with an enormous low "noise level", but it reflects USB as a first (and from there on towards the DAC).

The Mach III was never made for an extreme low noise level - actually the contrary so it can be speedy in the power supply, which is Linear, like The Extreme and which is crucial for speed.

(people may now think over themselves what I am actually saying here)

 

I hope this coincides with what you noticed, although you need to wait for the proofing of the text above.

Peter

 

Disclaimer: Of course this summarizes the whole hoopla of USB (cables) in a 1000 times too short text with assumed known facts. But we have and had other threads for that. But for those who don't know, the Lush^2 (and now ^3) is about one thing only : shielding (incoming noise as well outgoing noise).