[miklorsmith]

At long last, here's the first of the Altmann reviews.  The unit is out on tour and hopefully we'll get some real content here at last.

Please keep comments about the reviews in the Tour thread to keep this one just for the reviews themselves.  I will ask the mods to move outside commentary to that thread.

Bon apetit!

[miklorsmith]

I recently read an interesting essay by Srajan Ebaen in the “Industry Features” section of 6moons. Essentially, it posits there is precious little absolute truth in this hobby. An extension of this observation is that angst, anguish, and compromise are more the rule than exception. We are forever questing for betterment and ultimately our own version of perfection, though defining our own personal view of perfection is exceedingly difficult. Knowing how to get there is even harder.

Is the goal “flat frequency response”? As an owner of a TacT preamp which can make a full-range system “flat” in-room, I can say “flat” is generally undesirable. Even our ears do not have “flat” response, being more sensitive to midrange at quieter volumes and having flatter response as the volume goes up. Do we tune for quiet or loud volumes? TacT has a variable loudness feature in their newer models to compensate, but that is another matter.

Many cry “Make it sound like live!” How many recordings have that goal? Compression on nearly all recordings assures the failure of this idea. Should we try to replicate what the engineer heard during the mastering process? Maybe, though I expect most recording monitors would be considered boring by many audiophiles.

Sharing measurements can provide information engineers find useful, but reading Stereophile reviews shows the relationship between measurements and subjective feeling is dubious at best.

Subjectivists, me included, inform others to pursue what sounds good. This is a great ideal but breaks down in sharing with others. If someone on an audio forum says “I LOVE THIS”, what does it mean to me? Without knowing preferences, gear, and experiences of the writer, there is nothing a reader can use to make their own choices.

Somehow, we decide not only what sound we like but what framework of decisionmaking distills our choices in how to spend our money. I use my own ears and intuition, and a few reviewers’ opinions and tips. I have a few audio buddies whose ears I trust and their views are important too.

Using this haphazard “strategy”, I have wound up with the following setup:

Transport – Modwright CDP or Red Wine Audio Squeezebox 3
Preamp – TacT 2.2XP
DAC – Altmann Attraction (main array only)
Main array amplifiers - Yamamoto A-08s or Red Wine Audio Signature 70 monoblocks
Subwoofer amplifier – Crown K2
Speakers – Zu Definition Pros
Cables – various, primarily Zu

The TacT is capable of performing all functions in the digital realm. It has built-in DACs or can send a digital signal for outboard processing. I have always used the built-in DAC for subwoofer duties but have never been satisfied with them for mains.

My view is that instrumental Tone is the cornerstone of quality audio reproduction. Accurate portrayal of dynamic relationships is nearly equal and arguably intrinsic to convincing Tone. Both qualities live centrally in the midrange, which I believe is the necessary beginning of great sound.

My discovery of battery-powered, non-oversampling DACs with the Red Wine Audio Monica-2, then the Ack! DAC 2.0, much like single-driver, crossoverless speakers, showed me a new way of listening. Focusing more on how the reproduction makes the listener Feel instead of how it “sounds” paves the way for a personal shift. NOS DACs may sound soft around the edges but allow immersion and relaxation where digital reproduction can promote analysis and tension.

I consider the nonoversampling sound to be a move toward holistic presentation and away from audiophile detail. Focus is on lithe transition of notes rather than plucked strings. Much digital is strong with string and weak on wood where my preference is toward decay and tonal richness. Instrumental separation is often touted but digital can remove performers from their proper context in the band and present each separately, supernaturally.

NOS apologists would say the softness in the treble is better than the disorganized noise characteristic of so much digital gear. Softer transients? A necessary penalty for maintaining singularity of performance. The purely emotional ears can just let this sound wash over, forgetting all the normal audiophilisms.

However, the analytical brain does not rest, asking how the strengths may be maintained while adding the extension and dynamic pop of more conventional solutions.

Enter the Altmann Attraction DAC. This is a nonoversampling DAC without a case. Rather the circuit board is press-fit into a treated spruce board, said to minimize effects of resonances. It is available with a proprietary jitter-reduction circuit called JISCO, and can be upgraded to decode sample rates from redbook standard of 44.1 khz up to 192 khz.

I used this machine primarily from the digital outputs of my TacT 2.2XP preamp. Somehow, the two did not get along perfectly. The TacT outputs a 24-bit signal where the Altmann is a 16-bit machine. Both TacT and Altmann said this should not have mattered but even shipping both units to TacT for a couple of weeks did not cure the problem.

Essentially, the problem was related to a rushing noise at quieter volumes. I was able to listen extensively to the unit at louder volumes, though I sometimes do enjoy my system playing quietly and this was not an effective, long-term solution. I was able to use the volume control out of my Red Wine modded Squeezebox 3 and also used the unit out of a Modwright Music Hall CDP with none of these noise problems.

Without question, the Attraction DAC aligns sonically with the nonoversampling camp. Immediately with the first few notes, it was obvious that this is a piece that quiets the soul and promotes long listening sessions. The lack of “digital sound” is obvious.

This plays out in the performance. Musicians are part of the band, not occupying individual and separate spaces. Second and third harmonics of instruments are clearly portrayed with long and sultry decays. I find the stereotypical digital presentation to be skewed toward the leading edge of the note, such as the plucking of strings and popping of a drumhead. This can be exciting but misses much of the instrument’s personality.

The NOS sound is good at revealing these harmonics but generally worse at the leading edges. Dynamic pop is deemphasized and details are obscured. The Altmann is much better than the NOS average with appropriate sharpness and detail retrieval. Add superb organic flow and this is an intoxicating piece of audio equipment.

Treble response is quite good, and struck cymbals have long, shimmering decays. The midrange and upper bass are fantastic with loads of texture, strong leading energy, and outstanding harmonics and tone. I cannot comment on deep bass response, as my system has powered subwoofers below 65 hz.

I hope this review gives some context to my own priorities related to audio and what about this DAC is so (quietly) spectacular to me.

[TheChairGuy]

miklorsmith has asked to limit the posts on the Critic's Circle, regarding the Altmann unit, only to reviews of the product.  Please make any and all commentaries outside of a review on the topic in the related topic about the tour:

Make your well wishes and post questions about the unit here: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=34838.0

If you have a review of the unit's performance, please post it in this topic here on Critic Circle.

'TomW16'...I removed your post here and added (under my name) to the Audio Central similar topic.  I do not have ability to remove a post and merge in to an existing topic under your name. 

Thanks for your understanding, folks.  Any questions on this - ask Mike/miklorsmith.

[RoadTripper]

First off miklorsmith really deserves a big thanks for making this audition tour possible. How I got in this queue I don't really remember but I am glad I did. While I do not want to prejudice you,  I must say that you guys downstream are going to find this piece most interesting.

I really relished the idea of listening to a piece of audio equipment without having first shelled out the cash for it. No longer would my ears be pressed by the psychology of having made a big purchase. (Especially in this case. With the whole DAC exposed as it is on a piece of pine it gets real easy to make a list of other things you can get for $1K or so.)  The old scenario of "I just bought this thing so I am going to find out why I like it so much" becomes "I want to buy this thing, so I am going to find out why I like it so much". There is a difference.

Of course there is another side to that coin. You can't keep it. You have to unplug it and put your old (old hat) DAC back in. That may turn out to be painful. More on that later.

My setup for the audition:

Maxtor 500 GB HD / PC
Squeezebox (SB3) modded by RWA running on battery.
Altmann Attraction DAC
RWA Signature 70s monoblocks
VMPS RM40s
Cabling - various - nothing unusual.

As is being mentioned in these threads, I had some problems with the whole setup. It actually played off my Squeezebox right of the bat no problem. But after about 10 minutes, things started sounding a little goofy. It sounded like my speakers were clipping - but for no reason. Clipping, when it happens, usually tracks with the dynamics of the piece. Not this time. Eventually it sounded like half way between two stations on my FM dial.

Those first 10 minutes though were something else. I heard enough in those 10 minutes to want to buy the thing. In a word, what I heard was wetness. Here is another way of expressing it. Going from my Scott Nixon (RWA modded) battery DAC to the Altmann was like going from grape juice to wine. I know those are different metaphors. The idea is that it had a richness and a life that made the SN sound a bit dry and wooden.

After some panicky moments (days actually) where I thought I broke the Altmann and thankfully determined that the battery was the problem, I was back up and running. I was on to evaluation. One thing I learned is that the demo disc which is going to be making the rounds on the audition tour wasn't for me. Not that the music wasn't to my liking. It's that I had to evaluate with music that I know.

For example, Billy Budd, Benjamin Britten's great opera, and one of my favorites had some moments where massed strings had an incredible solidity and bite that the SN only hinted at. Reduced jitter? Probably. Brass ensemble work, trombones especially, started to approach that ringing wave of power that I know from experience. Diana Krall's Tribute to Nat King Cole album, track 7, "Hit That Jive, Jack" features a duet with Diana and someone. It was only about two stereos ago that I even realized it was a duet. Each improvement to my systems has revealed more. With Altmann, it was the best yet. Most telling was "Last Rose of Autumn" track 7 from "The Great Dobro Sessions" . Dobro music is great for revealing emotions. That's what all those slides are about. Well, the Altmann was dripping here. It wasn't some tubey sonic signature that I'm talking about. I am talking about Stacy Phillips' dobro playing. Just ridiculously humanly rich.

There is one demo track that I must comment on. "Keep the Bugs of Your Glass and the Bears off Your Ass" by The Bad Plus (whatever that is). I am guessing this is a demo track for the purposes of demonstrating bass reproduction. Well the Altmann just smokes the SN on the bass lines. It was actually a bit scary. A growling drive I never heard before.

So as I listened for a few days, generally enjoying things, and working out how I was going to pay for the Altmann, something psycho-acoustically very interesting was happening. As time went on, I began to suspect that the Altmann wasn't materially different from my SN. That is, I didn't think I could A/B the two with any reliability at all. Whether that was true or not, I never tested. I wasn't really all that interested in swapping things in and out, back and forth. But as I listened, I couldn't really capture that initial wine vs. grape juice sense. Not saying it had left. I just couldn't say for sure that I wasn't hearing things. There were even tracks that had that all too familiar "my $8K stereo still sounds like a victrola".

Before I go any further, I must throw in the big caveat on all this: I have a pretty good case of tinnitus.(Last time I checked, the music needs to be more than a steady 85 dB to drown out the ringing.) In fact, I listen to music as much as I do simply as a way to escape tinnitus - not that I listen to it loud enough to drown it out. Tinnitus, obviously, has the undesirable effect of masking many of the details that better music reproduction equipment is supposed to offer. I was well aware as I listened to the Altmann that much of its greatness was being lost on my own damaged ears.  But, initially I know I heard some sweet rich music in my living room.

So, how was it putting the SN back in? Well, oddly, going the other direction has not been like going forward was. This is partly because the SN modded and on battery power is no slouch.  With at least this one exception: the "Keep the Bugs of Your Glass and the Bears off Your Ass" track clearly shows in an inescapable way at least where the Altmann comes out on top.

I do have some issues though. The instructions say you need to unplug the power cables from the unit while charging. I see that area as a point of failure. If the connectors for power were to break from all the plugging and unplugging, (like my laptop's did) it would be most unfortunate. I see it as a likelihood. Why the Altmann hasn't been engineered with a better battery solution, a la RWA - thanks Vinnie - I don't get.

Anyway, thanks again to miklorsmith for his generous offer of this audition tour. I am anxious to hear how it stacks up to some of the other equipment down the road.

[Brad]

I just finished up my time with the Altmann today.  It is leaving in the morning, on its way to MGalusha.
I would really like to thank MikeS for making this tour possible.  I enjoyed having the opportunity to hear the Altmann in my system, room, etc, for an extended audition.   

Here goes (insert dramatic pause from first time reviewer):

I thought I would start with what's most important to me in audio.
TONE
TONE
TONE
TONE, righteous TONE - the wail or pluck of a guitar, etc (piano, brass....)
Getting the notes and beats right
A full range of balanced sound - bass/mid/high
A warm, somewhat liquid sound
Imaging is pretty far down my list - but it adds a lot if everything else is right.
I know when things are clicking if I'm eager to sit down and listen and reluctant to stop listening.


I started out intending to do a wider comparison - throwing SACD and vinyl into the mix, but I ended up mostly comparing the Altmann to the analog outs of my RWA modded Squeezebox 2.  Here is the whole system.

Sources are:

RWA-analog-modded SB2 (with Bolder-modded Elpac power supply)    Also the primary digital transport for the Altmann
Denon DD turntable with DL103 cart
Toshiba universal player (also tried it as a transport with the Altmann) - lightly modded

Amplification:

Scott 222c tube integrated amp (rebuilt by HotGlass audio)
Trends TA-10 (I mostly used the Scott - couldn't tear myself away)
Parts Express 100wpc plate amp driving the Augies, driven by the Scott's center channel preamp out

Speakers:

Hawthorne Audio Silver Iris Coaxes (running full range)
Hawthorne Audio Augies (crossed over at 50hz, driven by PE plate amp)

Cables:

Bolder digital coax cable
Bolder M80 interconnects
Mapleshade Golden Helix speaker cables to the SI Coaxes
Ancient multistrand copper cables to the Augies (15+ yrs of break-in)

I listened to the following when comparing - over the course of a few days and a few moods:

Tito Puente - Mambo King
Tommy Emmanuel
Allison Krauss
Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys part 2
Amos Lee
Blue Man Group
Police - Ghost in the Machine
Randy Travis - Forever and Ever Amen
Jack Johnson - Brushfire Fairytales
Metallica - And Justice for All & Ride the Lightning
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
Eva Cassidy - Live at Blues Alley

I used a Radio Shack meter to get a fairly close SPL match.
The Altmann has a much higher output signal than the modded SB2, so it had an easier time driving the Scott and thus the plate amp.  The modded SB2 is appx 1v - not sure what the Altmann kicks out, but I'm pretty sure it exceeds the 2v CD spec.
I had to turn the level down on the plate amp to balance out the sound with the Altmann inline
The SB2 is a better transport than the Toshiba - at least with the Altmann

Differences with the Altmann:

Cymbals were more natural - both in their tone and the decay of their sound
Soundstage height and depth were increased
It was VERY VERY quiet - overall system noise went down a couple of notches (blacker backgrounds, yadda yadda)
Percussion was very nice - transients were sharper and had more impact - again nice decay
There was a LOT more bass than with the modded SB2, which even after adjusting the plate amp, drove the music along very well, giving it a sense of ease
(something the Hawthornes do well already at 97db sensitivity )

Using the Altmann:

I used the 44.1 setting with the JISCO ON
Using Mike's provided charger, using the RatShack battery was easy - easier than vinyl anyway 
Definitely a hair shirt type of component.  The Altmann was so light I ended up using a weighted tape dispenser (which brand? - not going to tell - you'll have to try your own to see what sounds best) to keep it from turning over due to the weight of the digital coax and interconnect cables (pictures coming)

Summary:

Did I like it?
Yes - it did a lot of what my modded SB2 does - but more.  More current, more bass, more drive, more music  It brought a definite analog sound to digital.  It was non-fatiguing and I simply enjoyed listening.
Is it out of place price-wise in my system?
Yes - cost of the Altmann is WAY more than any of my other components.  It is making me rethink the idea of getting a better turntable as my next component purchase though.
Would I buy one?
Maybe - we'll see how much I miss it when it's not in my system
Did I want to sit down and listen to it?
Yes - I made time every night I was home to listen
Did it make me forget about spinning vinyl and just enjoy the ease of digital?
Yes - I didn't play much vinyl at all during the audition period.
What did your wife think of it?
She thought vocals were richer and the bass was fuller
She also thought it was a LOT of money for something that looks like that

Side note:

Ironically, during the time I had the Altmann, I had to make my first trip ever to Seattle for work,
so I got to meet the owner of the Altmann and spend some time talking audio with MiklorSmith over some of the best salmon I've ever had (alder-planked)   The salmon review will be posted separately.  I DID order an alder baking plank.

[rajacat]

Excellent review Brad!

Raj

[macrojack]

One of the best reviews I ever read. Got right down to biz but kept a light tone without distraction. Kept in mind that the product was the topic, not him. Covered any consideration I could imagine other than a few which will have to be considered specific to my different system.
I will be getting the Altmann after Mgalusha and I have to admit that I feel a little intimidated by the prospect of following this effort.

[mgalusha]

I finally had a chance to write up some thoughts on the Altmann. I'm certainly no reviewer and my chicken scratch is not as elegant as previous reviewers but hopefully offers some value.



I have been fortunate enough to participate in the demo tour of the Altmann Attraction DAC run by Mike Smith.

First a little bit about my values, goals and objectives in regards to audio reproduction. First and foremost is tonal quality. If the instruments and voices don't sound realistic it doesn't matter what else the system does well as I can't get past artificial tone. Of course all systems are artificial but many can get the basic tone correct.

The next thing that causes me happiness or distress is the high frequency presentation. This is the area where most digital front ends fail for my tastes. My current digital source is a very heavily modified (analog section) Squeezebox 2. While I like it better than any other digital I've owned and most that I've heard it pales in comparison to my analog source in this regard. Even good digital sounds pretty lame IMO compared to vinyl.

During my time with the Altmann a few friends came over with some additional toys to play with, so I had the opportunity to compare the Attraction DAC to a few other devices. My primary comparison was with my much modified SB2, this was one of the first ones modified by Bolder Cable and I have since modified it several more times. As I'm friends with Wayne at Bolder he's been kind enough discuss his mods with me and as I'm a DIY type I generally do all my own work. My SB2 and power supply are essentially the same as Bolder's top offerings in regards to the analog outputs. My SB2 does not have any of the digital output mods as I don't have a stand alone DAC. I used my SB as the digital source for nearly all of my listening with the Altmann. I also had the opportunity to compare it a fairly heavily modified Slim Devices Transporter and a Monica II non oversampling DAC. There is quite a bit about the comparisons to the other devices in this thread: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=37662.0

I listen primarily to Jazz but also have a lot of other music depending on the mood but for this I used pieces I listen to or have heard numerous times.

Since I can't get past bad tone I'll start with that. Tonally I found the Altmann to be very good, in particular vocals and stringed instruments sounded very good, very rich and full. It was one of the first things I noticed so we were off to a good start.

Regarding the bass, I found the Altmann and the SB2 to be very similar. Others have mentioned the Altmann had better or more extended bass than their Squeezeboxes. In my system this was not the case. Looking at the circuit board I noticed that the Altmann uses 3.3uF output caps, this is the same value as my SB2, so the -3dB point should be the same.

In the area of high frequency reproduction I had the initial impression of less extension in the Altmann but after a while I decided this was not it, the difference was more like a softer HF presentation. I suspect this is a result of the non oversampling architecture and I can see why people are fond of this. In a less damped room or with aggressive speakers or electronics I would find this much easier to live with in the long term.

Then there is imaging and spatial presentation. This seems to be an area where there is less agreement on what is important in a system. For me I enjoy a system where the sounds of the instruments and singers escape the speakers and where it has the ability to present the low level ambiance cues. For me those low level cues affect the reality of the presentation, even though I know many of them are artificial. I just enjoy the sense of a hall or space. I found the Altmann to do quite well in this area, depending of course on the recording. Interestingly, the SB and the Altmann were somewhat opposite in regards to how the spatial information was presented. On some recordings the Altmann presented layers to the music hat I hadn't heard before but on others it was closed in while the SB would remove the speakers. The caused me to wonder if there is something in the way the music was encoded that makes it somehow different when decoded by an OS vs Non OS DAC. I don't know of anything that would cause this but it popped into my mind while listening.

In the previously mentioned thread there is much discussion of running the Altmann on an expensive linear power supply VS a battery. As part of that listening session Wayne connected a capacitor bank to his SLA and to me it sounded better with the cap bank connected than it did off of straight battery but not as good as the linear supply. As I was still curious about this after Wayne took his toys and went home, I built up a cap bank to use with the Altmann. This consisted of a 15,000uF cap, a 220uF cap and a .1uF cap in parallel along with a switch to connect and disconnect it to the power supply.

I found I preferred the sound with the cap bank engaged. The sound seemed less constrained and more open with the caps turned on. With Mike's permission I've included this with the DAC so that others can experiment with this as well and hopefully report their thoughts.

Did I prefer the Altmann to my SB overall? No but there are some things I like better about the Attraction, in particular the way it has with vocals and stringed instruments. I could be quite happy with the Altmann but I like by current setup a bit better.

Thanks again to Mike for making this possible. It was great to listen to the Altmann Attraction DAC and I very much enjoyed my time with it and had no desire to remove it from the system. For me that is a very good thing. I've put entirely too many components in the system that make we want to remove them, either immediately or after living with them for a few days. The Altmann never did that and that is a very good thing. Very much worth the time for an audition I'm sure it will find many fans, I count myself as one.

System Info:

Source - much modified Slim Devices Squeezebox 2 with gold Bybees.
Preamp - none, connected direct to Marchand XM-44 electronic crossover.
Amps - mids/highs - R.E. Designs LNPA 150, bass - Rotel 1080
Speakers - Meadowlark Blue Heron 2 modified for active amplification. XO from bass to midrange is at 275Hz, 4th order LR active, mid/high is at 4kHz, 1st order passive.
ICs - DIY design using Neotech shielded twisted pair silver cable with the shield connected to ground through a low pass filter.
Speaker cables - 10GA twisted pair for bass and Analysis Plus Oval 9 for mid/highs.
Power - BPT BP-2.5 Ultra balanced power unit. PC's are assorted DIY stuff. The seem to work well.
 

Mike

[pardales]

Nice review mgalusha. I am enjoying reading these reviews. I have had the Attraction DAC since the summer of 06 and still love it. I also have Altmanns BYOB amp. I run both components off of the same Optima Red Top Battery. I have heard other people talk about using a capacitor bank but I am not a DIY'er, have never soldered anything, have very little technical knowledge, and basically don't understand what this is -- yet -- I would like to try it! Can you take pictures of this to show me or walk me through it? 

So, where's the Attraction off to next?


 Thanks,

[miklorsmith]

macrojack has it now.   

[macrojack]

My turn?

Well, it's like this.......

Long ago when Ron Reagan was removing Jimmy Carter's solar panels from the White House, I met a guy by the name of Jon Skoczylas who was working in a stereo store in Denver. Jon discovered that I was unimpressed with the downturn in quality that I saw in the Japanese stuff he was selling so he started talking about this family he lived with at the time. It was headed by a guy named Norm Wilson and it was called Transcendental Audio. Norm was selling Hafler mods which were done by a Colorado Springs guy named Jeff Rowland and he was selling all manner of designs and tweaks. There were upgrade kits for existing products and parts to build your own. I remember JVC ribbon tweeters and Ted Jordan aluminum mid range drivers. There were subwoofers created from enormous cardboard carpet tubes. It was a kluge of weird looking stuff that produced results that were not yet available in the stores I visited back then. I was positively fascinated by the possibilities they were showing me. In 1981, Jeff built me a custom made battery powered preamp with both moving coil and strain gauge phono sections and 2 full tape loops for $325. God, was that thing ever cool.
I mention this because the Altmann Attraction DAC took me straight back to that period with its unimpressive, home-made appearance juxtaposed by its amazing sound quality.
My primary focus in audio these days is value. I've bought into Srajan's realsization philosophy wholeheartedly and then bought the most expensive pair of speakers I've ever owned. On the other hand, I was able to take about $8000 from my electronics to pay for them when I sold my Rowland separates for an RWA Sig 30. So that is where the system is today.

Zu Audio Definition Pros
Rane PEQ 55
RWA Sig 30
RWA DAC
Sony DVP-S7000
Technics SL 1000 MK II
Denon DL 103
Bellari VP 129
Cotter MK 2L
Crown K2
Zu Cables
Kenwood KT 917

I have the system I do because I believe passive crossovers to be detrimental to the successful reproduction of music and because I want high resolution in my playback. The Crown amp was suggested by Mike Smith as a bass upgrade and it has proven to be an enormous improvement over my NAD 2200. The Crown arrived last week during the Altmann evaluation and it further enhanced the bass I was getting from both DACs but it actually widened the gap making the Altmann that much better on the bottom.
I do not hold any lofty goals as far as measured reproduction is concerned and I do not see myself as musically sophisticated enough to pose as a reviewer.

That said, I was pretty stunned by the vivid presentation and electric delivery of the Altmann. Every note was delivered with aplomb and alacrity. Attack on drums was snappy and leading edges were fairly distracting in that they seemed to just appear rather than to have been generated. I want one to keep for mice elf.  My Red Wine Audio DAC is no slouch and over a period of a couple hours I realized that part of the seeming superiority of the Altmann was its higher output. There was a difference of two or three clicks on my RWA  volume control between them. Nonetheless, it was plain that Herr Altmann has a better mousetrap than mine. Every note out of the Attraction was delivered in bold print. It just really stood out by comparison.

I hope this ramble down memory lane was at least amusing and I hope some of my comments concerning the Altmann experience provide a useful perspective.

I want to thank, first of all my parents, and, of course my producer, both my psychiatrists and the wife of my neighbor. None of this would have been possible without you and the rest of you know who you are. Take a bow.

Oh, and lest I forget -- thanks to Mike Smith for this novel and fun idea and to the Lonewolf for providing a very fine demo disk. I used it for most of my listening. My kids had a rollicking good time with Talking Heads " Stop Making Sense", Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here" and Tom Waits "Swordfish Trombones".

A good time was had by all.

[pardales]

Any more reviews coming or is the tour over?

[launche]

I was on the tour list but the Altmann DAC arrived just when my new son was born so unfortunately I was unable to listen critically and write a review.  The short time I did spend with the unit was very pleasing and I found it to be a very smooth and natural sounding unit that I sat down and just listened to and cared not to begin dissecting things, which is what I'm looking for from my system at this time.  My current sources are the Paradisea DAC w/Monarchy DIP Upsampler, EE minimax CD player and Modified McCormack DAC 1.  The Altmann was more akin to the Paradisea and Minimax (appearing to give me a bit more of what I enjoy about those units) as opposed to my McCormack DAC 1 which is more analytical in presentation (and not in a bad way).  I have since sent to unit to Gordy.

Thanks again Mike

[nature boy]

Gordy and I had a great time listening to my system a couple weekends ago, time flys.  He brought along the traveling Altmann DAC which we paired with my OPPO HD970 through a VH Audio coax digital cable.  The Altmann DAC is everything that's been claimed, a rich, full analog like presentation on all the CD's we listened to.

Tonally, the Altmann was very similiar to my APL modified Pioneer 563A, but a bit more fuller sounding.  The soundstage was also deeper and a bit wider, with better separation of individual instruments on large orchestral pieces of music.

I'd say the APL modded Pioneer gets me 90% of the Altmann DAC, which suits me just fine 

Gordy may also want to chime in with his observations.

NB 

[Jon L]

The Altmann DAC is everything that's been claimed, a rich, full analog like presentation on all the CD's we listened to.

On "all CD's"?  That's not necessarily a good thing IMO.

[Adamay]

Good question, Jon L (essentially, does the Attraction dac obscure detail in order to produce an "organic" sound).  My Altmann Attraction is a curious beast in this regard: it has a capacity to communicate an amazing level of detail but without ever sounding edgy, etched, etc.  Thus, I can clearly, easily discern well-recorded/mastered cds from badly recorded/mastered cds.  But, and here's the interesting thing, the badly-recorded cds almost never sound, well, _really_ bad in the way they do with many other digital front ends.  I have a tough time explaining it; you almost have to hear it to understand what I mean (and I'm not trying to dodge the question).  Thus, I can readily agree with the earlier poster who said that he enjoyed every cd played through it.  But I can also confidently attest that you will have no trouble distinguishing well-recorded from badly-recorded cds, and the level of detail I am getting from mine is simply stunning.

Vecteur D-2-->Altmann Attraction--> VH-Audio cottoned silver IC's with bullet plugs-->Don Allen custom tube pre-->Nuforce Ref. 8.02 mono's-->VH-Audio CheLa speaker cables -->GR Research Paradox 3's (upgraded internal wiring & crossover); powered by PS Audio UPC-200 & Jon Risch custom digital isolation filter

[Jon L]

Vecteur D-2-->Altmann Attraction--> VH-Audio cottoned silver IC's with bullet plugs-->Don Allen custom tube pre-->Nuforce Ref. 8.02 mono's-->VH-Audio CheLa speaker cables -->GR Research Paradox 3's (upgraded internal wiring & crossover); powered by PS Audio UPC-200 & Jon Risch custom digital isolation filter

Altmann DAC-Nuforce combo, heh?  Interesting.  I have a set of CheLa as well; no compatibility issues with the Nuforce?

[ferenc_k]

Good question, Jon L (essentially, does the Attraction dac obscure detail in order to produce an "organic" sound).  My Altmann Attraction is a curious beast in this regard: it has a capacity to communicate an amazing level of detail but without ever sounding edgy, etched, etc.  Thus, I can clearly, easily discern well-recorded/mastered cds from badly recorded/mastered cds.  But, and here's the interesting thing, the badly-recorded cds almost never sound, well, _really_ bad in the way they do with many other digital front ends.  I have a tough time explaining it; you almost have to hear it to understand what I mean (and I'm not trying to dodge the question).  Thus, I can readily agree with the earlier poster who said that he enjoyed every cd played through it.  But I can also confidently attest that you will have no trouble distinguishing well-recorded from badly-recorded cds, and the level of detail I am getting from mine is simply stunning.

My experience exactly the same. You do not have to focus your attention to the recording itself,  you can do if you want, but you can be focused to the music. Regardless of the recording quality. Plus if you have an Altmann system, you will not be interested any to find which is better: tube or solid state. Technical questions are just not interesting anymore. The Altmanns just grab the essence of the music, so fluidly, confidently, you will not believe until you live with for a few weeks. The Altmann equipments are just about the most anti-hifi, anti-high-end, anti - audiophile equipments you can find.

[Adamay]

Hey, Jon L:  no compatibility problems between CheLa and Nuforce.

[Gordy]

Michael, thank you much for providing the unique chance for so many to hear the Altmann in our our systems.  Your generosity leaves me gratefully in debt to you!

After reading the first two feedback reports on the Altmann I was so intimidated by the excellent writing that nearly wrote to Michael asking to drop out. Thankfully I had a change of heart, as I would have missed out on hearing a truly fine piece.

Also, kudos to Sean at Zu for putting together a great shipping system, very very nice! 

My first couple of days  listening consisted of comparing the Altmann to my modded P3a dac, both being fed by a stock Olive Symphony and  Stereovox hdxv cabling.  Speakers are Jim Salk's  HT-3's fed by monoblocked SKA 300 amps capped with Rubicons and a diy S&B tranny pre. IC's are VH Pulsar's. 

My P3a is basically the same as a Modwright level 1 mod plus a battery supply mod done for me by Vinnie at RWA.  I've been very happy with the battery mod as it really helped calm down the hot / digital top end of the unit, that is, until I heard the Altmann...  Simply put, my poor P3A got blown off pretty handily.  Staging, both width and depth, was only slightly larger but, what really struck me was how much more organic sounding the music was, this thing is a tone monster.  Compared side by side with my dac, I just couldn't find any fault with it.  Strong bass, rich midrange, natural sounding top end and a fast, fast attack / leading edge. Dang!  It took a couple of days for my dac to stop sounding sluggish and relatively irritating. Dang again!  Switching the Jisco module out didn't seem to make any noticeable difference with my (HD drive) system.  I also tried switching the supply caps out of the PS line and found pretty much what I notice with my own cap system ( Thanks Mgalusha, I stole your idea some time ago) that there is a slight decrease in "jump factor" dynamics but, no real tonal or noise suppression differences, at least not to my way of listening. 

That weekend I visited with Roger/Natureboy where we did some listening comparing his APL modded Pioneer 563a to the Altmann fed by an Oppo 970 dvp.  Here the differences weren't quite so drastic, the APL being a very nice unit itself.  The main improvement brought on by the Altmann was in the midrange, which was a bit fuller, making the APL Pioneer sound somewhat lean in comparison.  Staging was also slightly larger with the Altmann, though I didn't notice this so much as Roger did.  I was still enthralled with that magical tone I suppose.  We did try switching the Jisco unit out and, to my ears, the Oppo/Alt. combo lost some air, detail,  image density.  We also tried switching the battery supply caps out but, as I was off to the side handling a/b duties, can't really comment there.

Last Friday I drove up to Occam's Brooklyn home for the May N.Y. Rave and to hand off the Altmann to Chris/Posterchild.  Here the Altmann spent considerable time going up against a modified Zhaolu, a modified City Pulse and a stock Paradesea dac as well as an Empirical Audio modded Sony 7700, though I'm not sure of the extent of the Sony mods, I'm sure Chris will fill us in there.  The transport used with the Altmann was  a Maui modded NorthStar.  Again, I was totally transfixed by the organic-ness, the tonality of the Altmann. I've heard both the Moded Zhaolu and the modded City Pulse in the past and both are fine units in themselves and a matter of taste which is the better.  Next to the Altmann though, the Zhaolu was nicely detailed but somewhat thick sounding and the CityPulse detailed but, lean.  The Paradesea seemed to be as I've read, warm and smooth but here in comparison it sounded too smooth, too polite at the expense of detail.  Of course all three contender units are 1/5th to 1/3rd the price of the $1400.00 Jisco Altmann. 

We also tried switching out the Jisco and, with the Northstar transport, not much change was noticed, by me anyway.  The supply cap swap was a different matter with preferences going both ways, some preferring the caps in and some thinking the sound somewhat leaner, detrimental.

My only problem with the Altmann is it's perceived value.  Maybe $100.00 worth of parts nailed to a $0.25 piece of pine.   Okay, I've been reminded that at least one bit is custom blown but, jeez louise, no regulated ps or even a chassis as an expense.  It's hard for me to accept the price tag attached.  What isn't hard for me to admit is that I'm just whining because I can't afford it.  Dang #3.

Thank you once again Michael, it was a true pleasure!!!

PS:   Friday morning before driving to Brooklyn, I threw together an aluminum "L" bracket with an on-off-on switch nailed to a pine board (kinda like the Altmann!) an ugly but effective way to avoid having to swap wires while playing/charging.  Chris is going to send it back to me so I can at least make it look a little less laughable and I'll then send it to Carl to try/use.  The alligator clips on the charger system are less that perfect for connecting to the switches tabs but, perhaps he can get permission to replace them with 1/4" quick connects instead.

Gordy

Edit:  A year or so ago I had the chance to spend a week or two comparing the P3a with Lonewolf's ECD-1 using a  stock Denon 2900 as a transport and since then the Ecd-1 has remained my favorite dac heard in my system.  I remembered it as throwing a much larger soundstage, finer detail and a firmer image.  Not trusting my addled year old memory to compare to the Altmann, I was very eager to hear the Electrocompaniet again and asked Chris to bring it to Paul's Rave last weekend.  Well, towards the end of a long day of listening we did get the EDC-1 in and, in the context of Paul's system and the other dacs, the huge shift in soundstage didn't strike me so much, though the detail and strong image were still there.  Compared to the Zhaolu and Paradesea it came across as a bit dry, more neutral perhaps, with better extention than both.  Against the Altmann it sounded lean, clinical almost.  Probably being too hard on the EC but, I must confess that I was (and am) simply enthralled with the total presentation of the pine board.  Nothing I heard from any of the other units made me think that there was anything missing from the Altmann that is of any real importance to me.  Sweet!