First of all I would like to thank Wayne for assembling and sending out this audition pack for us to try. It shows a lot of trust sending out this many things. So those of you that get it, take care of it. I made a list of everything that should be in the box before you ship it to the next person. I also included Wayne’s instructions for connecting the DIO.
Everything that follows is IMHO!! My system is a work in progress in a way in that I plan on replacing my preamp and DAC/Source next. The system is:
Adcom GCD-700 CD changer
Home Grown I/C
Foreplay preamp
Lex Cables silver I/C
Stratos Stereo Extreme
Bolder M-80 Speaker cables
nOrh SM 6.9
Room=20x25x7 various 2’x2’s of room treats.
Everything arrived safe and sound. I unpacked the DIO and plugged it in to warm up, put the kids to bed, mixed a Beam and Coke (hey, this is going to be a long night) and listened to the demo disc as I unpacked and inspected the rest of the goods. I proceeded to add in the different products into my system. I first swapped power cords to see if my system could benefit from some power cords. This was relatively easy because I only have one component that uses an IEC. I used to have two but that changed when I went from LeAmps to the Stratos. It was hard to tell a difference between the Type 1 and 2 vs. the Quattro Reference. I did notice a bit if change going from the NITRO to the Quattro. The NITRO had a little more drive, punch, uumph. I could not judge background noise as the Foreplay gives a bit of hiss when you are right next to the speaker (inaudible from the chair). Finally, I couldn’t wait any longer. I had to get the DIO in. I used the original PS the rest of the night. I plugged in the upgraded PS for use for tomorrow (Don’t know if it was necessary or not).
Day two involved sneaking away when I could and cranking some tunes louder than I can at night. In the evening I’m around 75dB, today I was well over 100 on some tunes. I wasn’t really comparing anything today, just enjoying some music. At night I switched in the upgraded power supply. This power supply is loaded with bybees and strung with NITRO cabling. I was behind the speakers when I switched them and noticed a bit of change. I swapped them back and raced to the sweet spot. Then again and again. This was getting old so I dragged my wife down and had her do it while I sat in my listening chair. I’ll describe it the same as I did the power cable. The music had a little more drive, punch, uumph.
The rest of my days with the audition pack were spent playing with the different I/C’s, digital cables, and bybees. Wayne includes M-80 I/C’s both cryoed and freshly soldered. Same with the digital cable and demo cd. I have to say that this is the area that I heard the least difference. I’ll also be the first to admit that my system is not the most refined to distinguish the attributes of a cable kept at room temperature and a cable that has spent it’s infancy in a deep freeze. I could not hear a difference in the cryoed cables. The bybees were a different story. I first used them on the analogue out of the Cd player and compared them to the DIO. They brought the Burr Browns closer to the DIO. I then moved the bybees around the system. On the digital cable, then both sides. On the analogue cables, each side. I will try them before the amp before I pack those guys back up. Each position sounded the same to me. Just a bit of a change for the better. The change was a clearer note, more realistic cymbals, and at times more depth. We’re talking bybee steps here nothing got blown away for the better. Well, not yet.
On to the DIO. It is a sporty looking thing. I’m glad it is a bit heavy so the four cables didn’t hold it in the air, it’s not large. This is the first outboard DAC I have heard in my system. I switched it in and wasn’t sure if there was a change. So I let it play and got the wife involved. I had her do some switching while I could stay in one place. I told her to go back and forth noticing a nice change now. Then, while the DIO was switched in, she said, “this one’s better” and asked if she could go back up stairs. To be honest I was expecting a greater difference. When I took my Adcom to Marbles and compared it to the CD-1, the CD-1 blew it away. Since many have moved on to the DIO from the CD-1 I was expecting the DIO to laugh at the Adcom. This was not the case. Maybe we had the Adcom hooked up wrong (var. out vs. fixed out??) at Marbles or something. The DIO helped the Adcom sound better that is for sure. I hear more presence. The instruments were separated. This separation makes them clearer and livelier. Bass was tight, mid bass was clear, mids (vocals and strings) were natural and treble was detailed yet not harsh or fuzzy. It was different than changes I hear when switching tubes in the Foreplay. I used RCA clear tops for the most part. With tube changes I usually notice a change in one region, which helps another region. With the DIO it was an all-a-round improvement. I also could notice an increase in depth on some recordings with the DIO. This was maybe two bybee steps.
I had some time one day to try it with the HT up stairs. The DIO made a bigger improvement on the Yamaha receiver, Paradigm speaker set up and Pany RV-80. The whole presentation of the music was better, bigger, refined. If this was my main system would get a Bolder DIO for sure. This room is larger with a peaked roof and very live. The DIO was jacked into the cd input and the CD’s dac was into the 5-channel input. I find the 5-channel input better than the cd input on this receiver so the DIO would probably do better into the 5-channel input. Space and ambition kept me from moving the wall unit to connect it any other way.
The biggest change I noticed was when I took all the best of the best Bolder goodies out of the system and went back to my original system. It doesn’t sound like crap now but it definitely took a few steps back. All in all, I’d love to have the needed parts of this pack in my system. Every cable is very solid and well built. Wayne makes a good-looking quality product. Each end has the source end indicated and the cryoed jobs are marked as well. The bullet plugs are a hit too. I don’t know if they sound any different than a regular plug, but I like the logic. This was the first time I was able to use the same wire through out the system (M-80). I’m not a cable guru, but I think there is something to be considered with this approach.
I found the greatest differences listening to longer periods of time vs. A/B situations. The demo disc is pretty good. It has some artists I have not had a chance to listen to yet. The first track that struck me was the Bella Fleck – The Flight of The Cosmic Hippo. Nice bass and neat melody. Is the whole CD like this track? Reviews usually give reference to certain tracks. I did not. My comments are all in general as I listened to the demo disc probably close to 10 times. Of course I used my standards and favorites too. I thank everyone for their patience while I took my time with these products, it was a great experience.
The Bolder Audition Pack moves on……
