The Future is Here Now

Last post I mentioned how pleased I was with Amarra Symphony media player.
Symphony also contains a room/speaker digital correction system, licenced from Dirac.
I guess that is why Symphony is so expensive as I presume they pay licence fees to Dirac.
I trialed Dirac, and while I liked what it did,  I didn't like its in-built processor, which I thought stifled dynamics.
I thought maybe it could be a lot better combined with a good player like Amarra which is why I gave it a go.

I reported in my last post how impressed I was with the sound of Amarra in its own right, and now I can report on the integration of the room/speaker correction function , named IRC in Symphony.
It took me quite a while to figure out how to get everything functioning properly- in essence you measure the room, configure a "target" filter, which in theory fixes all your problems , apply the filter to the Amarra player and away you go.
Of course its not that simple, as choosing the right target for the room/speaker and, most importantly , your taste, takes quite a bit of trial and error.
The default suggested target has a slight downward leaning slope towards the high frequency. "Flat" response is actually not desirable at all, tending to sound a bit peaky in most systems.

I used the system first on my Lipinski studio monitors , with active subs underneath, and they actually measured very well. Indeed the suggested target was not much different from the actual measurement, and it was no surprise that with IRC switched in there was not much difference , and not worth using.

Next I tried IRC on my stacked AR-LST vintage speakers. LST stands for laboratory standard transducer , and back in the 70's and 80's they were regarded as highly accurate monitors.
They didn't measure quite as well as the Lipinski's, but still very respectable and would put most modern speakers to shame. The target filter for the AR's had a bit more correcting to do, but i couldn't find the happy medium of correction and retaining the sound I've come to enjoy with the AR's. They are driven by six tube amps, and are something I listen to for enjoyment, rather than critical listening.  I could make some fine corrections with the IRC, but overall I preferred the sound unaltered.
At this stage I was ready to give up on Symphony with IRC and just buy the standard Amarra without IRC.

A friend mentioned to me that he had heard an electrostatic set up that used an OTL direct drive set up, and it was the best system he had ever heard, a big call, but I trust this guys ears, and it got me thinking to build an OTL direct drive amp for my own stats.
So I pulled the stats out from storage and set them back up to listen to while I pondered on an OTL design.
I have to say I was quite disappointed with the sound as I've gotten used to the very precise imaging and accuracy of my monitor speakers. Sure electrostatics are clear as a bell, have a big soundstage, but there is always that "electrostatic" sound, the midrange sounds just a little light , male vocals need just a bit more "weight", in comparism to a moving coil speaker. The light weight of the stat speaker certainly gives extraordinary speed and detail, and I guess like all speakers you have to acknowledge they have strengths and weakness's. And if the stat is full range, bass is compromised, and if it is a hybrid, its difficult to integrate the bass driver with the stat panel.

But before I put them away I thought I'd see how they measured in the room with Symphony. Now I suspect it has a lot to do with how stats load a room, but the measurement was not very good. So this would be a good test to see how well IRC would deal with such a problematic result.
It made a dramatic difference, in fact it was a totally different speaker, much better integration, better bass, better mids, better treble, better everything!
This was with the default target, and after a few hours listening I decided to try a different filter, as I was now beginning to better understand the relationship between target and result.
After a couple of hours I had it pretty good, and I was very impressed with my new non- electrostatic sounding speakers!
Further substantial gains were made over a couple of days using the DEQX parametric equaliser to fine tune the final sound to taste . This is very easy to do with the DEQX as one can sit in the listening position and adjust the EQ in real time.

The sound now is nothing short of very impressive, I could rabbit on about it, but I want to finish this blog so I can go and listen!

The interesting thing is that IRC really didn't do very much for accurate speakers, and yet it transformed something that I now realize was incompetent , into something that is far  better in most ways than the "competent" speakers, it's certainly more interesting and enjoyable to listen to.

Perhaps conventional, accurate, well designed moving coil loudspeakers are working close to their optimal design and there is little to be gained from digital correction, apart from room influences.

It is a fact that many of the finest regarded speakers are quirky in nature- electrostatics, horn speakers, ribbons, etc - all have many enthusiasts, because they do most things well, but the same enthusiasts would admit that they have weakness's. Digital sound processing (DSP) can possibly make them near perfect, perhaps better than any "conventional" speaker. I certainly believe that electrostatic speakers benefit greatly from DSP, in my experience.


I believe DSP is the future of hi-fi, I'm an old tube guy, and I still believe there will always be a place for a tube pre-amp in any system, but DSP will make tremendous inroads into our listening experience and , importantly, pleasure.

I cant wait to see what the next few years will bring.

Like everything, it takes patience and some understanding to get the best from a system such as Symphony. Its important to understand that you still have to achieve what is subjectively "best" for your ears. There is no "correct" target , and there is no easy solution. But when it works it is sublime.

Amarra Symphony and DHT tubes.

Amarra Symphony version 2.6 is now easily the best Computer Audio software media player.

I discovered it accidentally while researching DSP systems, and was blown over by the huge improvement in sound quality over its competitors - Audirvana Plus, JRiver etc.
I'm not sure exactly what they are doing that makes it so clearly superior, but it is by far the best digital audio I've ever heard.

"Analoge sounding" is a tired quote, but it is very apt for the sound of Symphony.
If you have ever heard a master tape on a studio quality reel to reel machine you would know that it is the most "direct" sound you can hear. Amarra Symphony has much in common with that level of sound quality.

Some of my best recordings are from the 1960's - tube microphones, tube reel to reel recording, the dynamics are startling. In many ways we have gone backwards in recording technology.

However , digital is getting better and better, and I'm sure it wont be long before those old masters are surpassed.
Of course these days everything is recorded to computer files, and then released as digital  files, or burnt to a physical format such as CD or SACD.

Of all the ways to play back these files, I'm convinced that Amarra Symphony is easily the highest quality playback device currently available.

Forget sample rates, bit depths, all the techno babble, Symphony plays music!

It has faults, it's library file management is a long way behind the ease and elegance of JRiver, and its not exactly cost effective, as it is expensive.

However, I think it is worth its cost. I saw this on the Computer Audio forum as a comment on the sound quality of Symphony and I quite liked the analogy:

I hesitate because I've only had a few hours with Symphony, but I opened that can of worms now didn't I. The change is hard to described so I will resort to an analogy (surprise). The experience is akin to taking in a gorgeous view of the ocean from the comfort of your air-conditioned room. Through a perfectly clear floor to ceiling window, it's beautiful. However, when you find yourself standing on the other side holding on to the railing, it's breathtaking. The sun on your face, the heat, the breeze, the smell & roar of the ocean.. a somewhat different experience than that lovely, plush, climate-controlled room.

Amarra paints a beautiful sonic picture, one which has held me captive since first listen. The recent update to 2.6 is fabulous & I truly wondered what more could I ask for my humble system. I sincerely doubt I would have upgraded if it weren't for the new iRC component now offered in Symphony. The SQ is beyond what I expected and for me the change was immediate and palpable. I can only imagine what room correction will add. I can't wait.

Symphony will really make a substantial difference to you audio enjoyment- get it!

So what has this got to do with Directly Heated Triode (DHT) tubes?

After nearly 35 years of building with DHT tubes I know most of the tricks to get them sounding as required. Most DHT preamps, indeed most tube preamps,  tend to lean towards the "tube" sound character of warm and romance. And that is what I was doing myself when I released the first commercial 6SN7/300B preamp many years ago.
Over time though it became increasingly more neutral and accurate as better designs and tube loading methods were used.
Although I dont make a 300B preamp now they are still very good sounding , if a little bloomy through the bass regions.

The 300B was replaced with the 101D, and this tube could best be described as "analytical" with very good sound-staging and imaging properties, something I came to consider just as important as the "tone" of a preamp.

My preamps were now a long way from the "warm and romantic" sound of most contemporary tube preamps, and I think that was the main reason for their success.
They still had the "magic" of tubes, that vividness and directness , but were also very accurate and full of resolution.

I used the 101D tube because it was , in my opinion, the only new production tube available that was reliable, available and suitable for preamp use.

Of course there are many other DHT tubes suitable for preamplifiers, and I've tried all of them over the years- the NOS tubes from the 1930's on can be superb (the 71A is a wonderful preamp tube) but they are very hard to find in matched and unused condition.

 Lately, in a quest for the ultimate balance in tone, and the 3D effects I value so highly I've turned to Russian DHT tubes.  While these are also mostly NOS they are available in  quantity, and most importantly are unused and of very high construction and quality.

They've allowed me to build preamps that are of even higher resolution and accuracy, perhaps in terms of absolute performance the very best tube preamps ever built .
(I'm not the only person using these tubes, there are a handful of designers around the world having fun with the Soviet tubes)

But now we have an enigma - you certainly could not call these preamps "warm and romantic" and I suspect many tube lovers would find the sound a little challenging.

Its possible, and relatively easy  to "warm" up any design , and some tubes have a tendency to sound slightly warmer - given time I can build a preamp EXACTLY to a customers taste.

But you know what?  A preamp that is coloured eventually becomes boring.

A coloured preamp can be very "enjoyable" , but when a really well constructed recording is played through a system that is composed of a collection of equipment that is working optimally , in synergy, at high levels of technical proficiency ,  meaning accuracy and resolution at the nth degree, then the truth of the recording comes shining through, the musical soul and energy is there for you to hear and be a part of.

You cant get higher than the truth.

This is the way that Supratek preamps have evolved, so if you want a warm "tubey" sounding preamp I can build it for you, and I'm happy to do it.

But , using a superb digital front end like Amarra Symphony, an accurate DHT preamp, with similarly accurate power amps and speakers , you will never be wondering what you may be missing out on.