Focal Electra 1028 be vs Aria 948

AVUser001

AVUser001

Full Audioholic
Congrats and I hope you love the Aries II. Lots of rave user reviews. It is a completely different design than something like a Benchmark DAC. I think I'm going to try out a Benchmark DAC 3 HGC. They offer a free home trial, so if it does not better my current DAC, I can send it back.
@mtrot , what amplifier are you using ?
 
Hench4Life

Hench4Life

Junior Audioholic
Well, I certainly hope I made the right decision. My patience got the better of me today/tonight, and I broke down and brought a Denafrips Ares II DAC. The purchase was quick, but the thinking prior had been long. (long for me anyway).

Purchased a pair of Focal 1028be 'bout three weeks ago. I knew about 3 days in that I needed more. The speakers, sure enough, filled the room OK, but there was/is a certain amount of compression (muddiness {too strong a word} ) And I know they could sound better. I talked to quite a few online and local. Most thought the weak link in my system is my receiver. Just happens to be a Denon, but that's not the point. It's a 2008 model and the internal DAC just isn't that strong. It seems to be the consensus.

So I've been on the reading campaign and YouTube watching 'till my eyes didn't respond to redeye relief drops or other more powerful optical drugs.

Wow! The electronic world. The more I read, the more I found. Most of your guys know this already, but you should protect your loved ones 'because it's obvious to me--DAC's are taking over the world. Seems it wasn't that long ago that only the real fat cats--$$$$$ could afford this resolving, opening up, not necessary, but oh so nice, accessory.

Now, with so much tech and so much--be honest--experimentation, the DAC world is much more affordable for us mere mortals.

I was stuck on some of the higher-level names until I fell upon a review/video for the Denafrips Ares II in fact I was almost at the final checkout for a AudioMirror Tubador. This also had good reviews. But my usual stop JUST BEFORE I hit the send button on my payment, I hold that web page and do a last-second check.

Of course, the net is full of stupendous reviews. YouTube is a highlight show. I know. However, the reviews on the Denafrips were/are off the charts. You really have to read between the lines, look hard for what is not said, and compare, compare, compare.

After a while, you begin to see the trees within the forest. And you funnel down to the more respected reviewers. Hard to ignore from some who you respect.

Ordered today. The company is stating back-ordered. It might be 4-weeks. We'll see. I'll check in when it hits my doorstep.

++Oh Yea, Incidentally, I remember the Thiels. The best imaging I had EVER HEARD.
Congrats on the Denafrips! I think you're going to like it. It tested pretty well at ASR. The 2 DACs I was looking at was the Aries and the Topping D90. But both of them are in high demand and back-ordered, and I needed something immediately! The D70 was a hot item less than a year ago, measures really well, and was in-stock (and CHEAP!) so I grabbed one. I'm quite happy with it and don't see swapping it any time soon. Unless I use it for a dedicated headphone DAC. The Denafrips has an almost cult like following, and yes, lots of love on YT. No doubt you'll find it an instant improvement over the PS Audio.

I thought it was pretty funny over at another forum, some guy was complaining about his Electra Be's. He knew it was the speakers letting him down, because his front end was without peer - you guessed it. PS Audio Stellar Gain! Just no imaging, flat, tilted, recessed... Sound familiar?

I'm indecently pleased with the imaging of the Kanta's, especially given I thought the family room would be the kiss of death. Considering I just plopped them down, I've only changed toe-in a bit. Wide, deep and high. Insane amounts of bass. Every time I put it on I can't stop. I plan to try reversing the setup, but with no drapes yet it's not going to be a good comparison. Also don't want to spring for cable until I know where it's coming to rest. Right now all my cable is too short! It's like they knew exactly the worst spots to put the outlets.

My old listening room had a dedicated 20amp circuit, I think that was my biggest concern here. So far it's not been nearly as bad as I'd imagined, but I'd still like to do something about it. The wiring here seems pretty random, and unlike my other house I don't seem to have a wiring diagram here in the plans. One advantage to reversing the setup is it would be a breeze to give it a dedicated line. I'm just lucky the amp doesn't require a 20amp circuit! Now to get the rest of my stuff!

stereo-4081.jpg
 
KEW

KEW

Audioholic Overlord
I owned Maggie MG3a's for a few years back in the late 80's - early 90's. I had serious amounts of juice going to them, eventually 2 Adcom GFA-555's running in mono. One thing I learned early on was not so much ultimate wattage but current. They need gobs of the stuff in reserve. Even the 2 Adcoms weren't enough (600w each bridged IIRC). I did eventually figure out that although the Adcom had watts out the wazoo and a decent amount of current, I was demoing the speakers with Spectral amps.
It is not well publicized, but as a general rule, if you bridge an amp, you are reducing its ability to handle low impedance (high current). Thus if you want to drive a 4ohm speaker with a bridged amp, it really should be capable of playing into a 2 Ohm load (when not bridged)! So bridging gets you some big numbers for wattage, but compromises the amps ability to play into low impedance. This is reflected in the Adcom GFA-555's specifications by the fact that they do not give a power rating into 4 ohms while in bridged mode:
It is rated to deliver 200 watts per channel into 8-ohm loads from 20 to 20,000 Hz with no more than 0.09 percent total harmonic distortion, or 325 watts into 4 ohms at 0.25 percent distortion. As a bridged-mono amplifier, it is rated at 600 watts into 8 ohms with less than 0.25 percent distortion.
I don't like this because it seems like deception through omission - it is not at all obvious to consumers that the absence of a 4 ohm rating when bridged means you should avoid it!
 
Hench4Life

Hench4Life

Junior Audioholic
It is not well publicized, but as a general rule, if you bridge an amp, you are reducing its ability to handle low impedance (high current). Thus if you want to drive a 4ohm speaker with a bridged amp, it really should be capable of playing into a 2 Ohm load (when not bridged)! So bridging gets you some big numbers for wattage, but compromises the amps ability to play into low impedance. This is reflected in the Adcom GFA-555's specifications by the fact that they do not give a power rating into 4 ohms while in bridged mode:

I don't like this because it seems like deception through omission - it is not at all obvious to consumers that the absence of a 4 ohm rating when bridged means you should avoid it!
Spot on - and something it took me a while to figure out. When all else fails, manual, reading, some assembly required. But yes, you need to read between the lines and stop "assuming". So yes, the fact it goes to 600w bridged and no other ratings should have given me pause. The fact is, 2 of those things bridged wasn't really much of an improvement over 1, other than looking absolutely bitchin' and having 4' garden hose speaker cable!

Back then, I'd never dealt with a speaker with such a load, and everybody I knew had pretty efficient speakers. I'd send the amps into clipping and thermal shut down at even moderate levels. I suppose if I'd have been less smitten with the things, I would have noticed the demo rooms I listened to them in were either driving them with McIntosh SS or Spectral that probably cost a bit more than the car (it starts with a "P") I was driving?
 
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