Mintzar: A Sound Story.

by mintzar on Done For Now
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Description

The Core Audio Technology system is a revelation in audio reproduction.

The entire system comes in a single box. The Kryptos Music Server portion is outfitted with four discrete Core Audio Kalos power supplies. One for each of the Motherboard, PCI Audio Card, Graphics card, blu-ray and hard drives.

The digital audio I2S signal is taken directly from the PCI card unconverted, unfiltered, and DSP free and input directly into the amplifier. No more D/A, A/D, D/A conversions. The amplifier then converts this signal into a PWM format where it is reclocked, amplified, reclocked again, and then converted to analog at the output of the amplifier.

The amplifier has four discrete power supplies of its own for each stage of the process as well as a dedicated atomic reference clock.

This system has a voltage-controlled attenuator that is outside of the signal path for a distortion and DSP free control of the volume granting the low distortion of passive preamps with the drive of an active tube stage.

The end result is a simplified system with endless possibility. No more amplifier, preamp, or DAC, and thousands of parts removed from the signal path. No more audio cables. No benefit from power cables, power conditioning, or any tweaks. The system gets plugged directly into the wall and the only cables required are speaker cables. I personally use $.50/ft zip cord because they make no difference in this setup.

The resulting sound is the highest resolution, most harmonically correct sound possible in audio reproduction. There is no tube or vinyl system that can hold a candle to the energy or texture that it produces.

The signal is then sent to the Kalon loudspeaker, which has no crossover, no phase distortion, and a cabinet-free frequency response down to 28hz.

While there is no way to truly reproduce live music in your room. This is as incredibly close as you can get.
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Components Toggle details

    • Core Audio Technology Kryptos Blu-ray Media System
    High end media server with 9 dedicated power supplies for each of atomic clock generator, motherboard, PCI card, graphics card, hard drives, i2s stage, amp stage, master clock, and digital output. Fully digital signal path all the way up to the speakers. No filters, conversion, or DSP whatsoever. Remove thousands of parts from the system -- no more DAC, preamp, or separate amplifier.
    • Core Audio Technology Kratos Digital
    Part of the Kryptos Media system. A fully digital amplifier. 4 dedicated power supplies, one for each stage (amplifier, I2S, Master Clock, and digital stages). For a fully digital signal path all the way up to the speakers.
    • Core Audio Technology Kalon Loudspeaker
    The Kalon is a zero baffle full-range point source sporting a glass support structure. It sounds even more elegant than it looks. Pictures soon.

Comments 56

Showing all comments by clio09.

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What you're talking about is star grounding the components and matching their ground impedance. You can do this very easily and requires a simple volt meter and some wire. On the other hand you can buy this:

Granite Audio Ground Zero

The concept isn't anything revolutionary and it does work if done properly. In fact I defeat the grounds on all components except the power amps as another means to reduce noise. Dangerous? Well as you can see I'm still typing this post so in my case danger hasn't presented itself. However, caution is advised.

I really don't think active speakers used in mastering should sound musical. They should sound revealing. The engineer needs to hear the actual recording. To that end though I heard the PSI active speakers at the Bay Area audio show and thought they were excellent. Like most active speakers they beam and have a narrow sweet spot, but mastering is done nearfield anyway so there is no reason for them to have wide dispersion.

clio09

I had neglected to mention in my post that a group of us were having a discussion with a respected sound engineer concerning the feasibility of reproducing that "live" concert sound on our systems. After he got done laughing at some of the comments, he painted a pretty realistic scenario for us. Even a live recording, done properly, is subject to the engineers whims when it comes to mixing and mastering. From his own personal experience he noted many times these people were less than careful when setting up microphones and gear and usually wasted when mixing and mastering the recordings. Of course this was not 100% of the case, but I think experience tells us there are many more poor recordings in general out there than great ones.

clio09

That's what puts audiophiles in two different camps. Music lovers or Audiophiles. Music lovers listen to the time, tune and tone of the music. Terms like dynamics, slam, liquidity aren't even in their vocabulary.

Is that you speaking or someone else?

I do understand what you are talking about with noise. I just choose to address it in a different way.

Parts and price (ex. Apogee) don't tell the whole story either. I was at the recent Bay Area Audio show and heard a system that had a $300 integrated and $50 (used) CD player. Speakers were $5500. Cabling was OFC copper 99.99 with cotton insulation. It was one of the top three rooms at the show IMO. The top room IMO used an analog tape set-up of modest price with similarly priced speakers and components.

I still listen to live music once a week. I recorded live music for over ten years and have a number of master concert recordings that are recorded on multiple media formats. I still play them to this day.

FWIW audiophiles that try to build their systems to emulate a live concert experience are in the end going to fail. It can't possibly happen regardless of the type of equipment and room you have to work with. Think 85 piece orchestra, heck even a jazz trio can be challenging. 2 channel is not the right format. Can you get close - sure. Is it fun trying - yep, been there done that bought the T-shirt. In the end though it's like a dog chasing its tail.

clio09

S/N doesn't tell the whole story.

Vibrations = Distortion: When a male enters puberty his voice typically begins to crack. That is distortion. Whether its caused by vibrations or something else is irrelevant.

Tube microphonics is another form of distortion caused by vibrations.

Vinyl too is the same way. It's often artificially musical because dynamics are exaggerated when the needle jumps from right to left.

You have a lot to learn. Youth is a good thing, it means you still have plenty of time (barring the unforeseen) to catch up to those more experienced.

You judge solid state the way you do because you are unfamiliar with what is preventing solid state from doing what tubes are doing and you haven't heard truly well-designed solid state gear.

Not sure where this is coming from but the only piece of tube equipment in my system is my amp. Everything else is solid state. I have heard many great solid state designs and owned a TRL D-225 (stereo version of the Samson monoblocks) and some Nelson Pass designed amps. In my experience and opinion the best transistor designs use bipolar transistors. In the right circuit they produce a more natural sound and are just as quiet as JFETs and MOSFETS. The Class D modules (T, ICE, etc.) can be good (Audio sector for example), but still has a ways to go, especially if they're designed around a switching power supply.

The power supply is the key to the foundation of any component design. People like Paul Weitzel and Roger Modjeski have known this for a while. Ironically the Music Reference RM-10 MkII amp is one of the quietest amps I have ever heard. Even at a local audiophile meeting it was quieter than a pair of well known solid state monoblocks.

clio09

Are you saying that tube hiss is the audible result of electrons smacking up against the plate?

I think most anyone around here knows that tubes emit hiss or tube rush. The quality of the tubes and the circuit in which they are used, assuming its well designed and optimized for the specific tubes it is to be used with, certainly can mitigate most of this.

All sound (even speech for example) is inherently the result of vibrations and distortion. What pleasures or displeasures we derive from those vibrations and distortion are for us to decide. Case in point: ever found yourself listening to someone speak and say to yourself you dislike the sound of their voice.

clio09

Just because Paul has heard those high-end pieces of gear doesn't mean his Dude preamp competes in the same league as those pieces of gear.
At the same time, Paul is trying to get you to hold onto his Dude. Of course he will say all of the other products you were looking at weren't as good.

Where's all this coming from. A while back you were saying things like:

Imagine a silent space, devoid of all noise. There you sit with your eyes closed. Breathing. Quiet. Now imagine a giant drum one thousand feet away. Boom. Boom. Boom. The gusts of energy rushing like a tsunami toward your ears almost blowing you backwards by sheer act of will. Again, boom boom boom and the eruption of a voice so angelic, so open and lovely that you can’t help, but be mesmerized. Where does it come from, you ask? It beams from one hundred feet away up towards the stars and as large as the sun. This is your soundstage. This is The Dude, and he does abide.
and
Like Paul, I have done a fair amount of recording and mixing both for film and two-channel audio. There is nothing that compares to the original master recording in the studio. This preamplifier is bringing me as close to that as I have ever heard in my system, but in a more enjoyable, less edgy, way.
and
For me, neutrality is the ability of a component to completely disappear, to become invisible to the music and the system. The Dude is truly neutral. You can tell when the Dude invades a system, because it’s a transformative experience. You cannot hear it once it’s there, but you know it’s there doing its job, bringing you in, tying the room together.

Now the Dude is noisy and colored?

Maybe its just me but I'd have to say Paul Weitzel has a whole lot more experience when it comes to electronics and recording than you do. Sure TRL has a house sound and granted its not everyone's cup of tea, nor do I always agree with Paul's opinions. At least Paul knows what he likes, it sounds like you're still trying to figure it out. Either that or you're harboring some angst.

clio09

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