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发表于 2011-1-10 22:40:54
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Jkeny’s modified Hiface:
Timber & Tonal balance:
While there is no shift in tonal balance per se, there are however differences between the stock Hiface and the modified one in the way they affect the DACs. (Edit: The more solid bass representation of the modified Hiface changes the perceived tonal balance into a more neutral one than the lighter sounding stock Hiface).
The most striking feature of the modded Hiface is a better extension at the frequency extremes: the bass extends deeper and the highs extend higher and in a cleaner fashion than the Hiface.
In comparison to each other, the sound of the modded Hiface is fuller. But this is different from the false warmth injected by some jittery converters. While the Teralink X2, for instance, is indeed warmer than the stock Hiface, it achieves so by adding the same extra warmth and haze to all the sounds, which reduces the overall resolution.
So what to expect from the modified Hiface? With well designed and neutral DACs, the sound gains in tonal density and realism.
The instruments are more easily recognized and … they gain in realism.
Another strength of the modded Hiface is the way it renders the specific timber of very close sounding instruments.
Listening for instance to the Concerto for 2 violins - Vivaldi, you can clearly hear that Carmignola and Mullova are playing 2 different violins (Stradivarius and Guadagnini if my memory serves me well). The violins are not only beautifully rendered but they also have distinct tonal signatures. While some warmer converters can make this album tolerable to listen to, they rob the inner details of the instruments and make everything sound the same.
Of course, this won’t be the case with every DAC, the better and the more transparent the DAC, the more subtleties you will be able to enjoy.
Soundstage & Imaging:
Here, the modified Hiface achieves something really interesting. It can throw a huge soundstage (if the components downstream are up to the task) while retaining a superb imaging capability.
If we take the Teralink X2 for example, it can throw a pretty big soundstage but it lacks depth and is fuzzy and blurry. After listening for a while to the modified Hiface I understood that part of what it was doing is to push the soundstage further back which is good for headphone listening and with entry level DACs. However, by doing so, there is a blurring of the layering lines and lack of depth.
The Hiface on the other hand throws a smaller soundstage in comparison to the Teralink X2 but it is a lot more defined a layered.
What the modified Hiface does is to throw a bigger soundstage than any other converter. To be more specific, the soundstaging is upfront like the stock Hiface but it has a tremendous depth which makes it seem a lot bigger overall. While listening to the modified Hiface, you just feel like having an open window into the representation.
I have previously described the stock Hiface as having a holographic imaging. Here the modified Hiface goes a little bit further. Thanks to its greater tonal density and to its more accurate timber, you get not only a holographic imaging of the performers, but you get a greater sense of realism. You feel there are real persons breathing and performing in front of you.
From a technical point of view, the stock Hiface was already very good in that regard. But whatever, the modified Hiface is doing, it seems to be more convincing emotionally speaking.
Overall, the modified Hiface makes it a lot easier to mentally “reconstruct” the place where the recorded event took place. It just makes more sense.
Dynamics:
I first thought that I wouldn’t have much to write about in this section of the review. When listening to the modified everything was fine, I had huge macro-dynamics and beautifully rendered micro-dynamics but I assumed that was coming from the rest of the chain. It was until I reverted back to the Teralink X2 and Stock Hiface that I noticed the difference.
When trying new gear, we get accustomed sometimes too quickly to the benefits and it is only until we revert back to the old gear that we realize how far we have come from.
Here, the modified Hiface was actually a pretty big step up in dynamics. In fact, reverting back to the stock Hiface (or worse to the Teralink X2), the sound become duller, with slowed transients.
Once again, since the modified Hiface is only a usb to spdif converter, the limiting factor in most situation will probably be the DAC itself. But in comparison to other converters, the modified Hiface gave the most dynamic results regardless of the Hiface. So my bet is that is this characteristic will be audible in all DACs.
Transparency & Definition:
The Hiface has an excellent analyzing capability. It can dig very deep in the recordings but renders the information in a very natural way. While the stock Hiface is slightly more upfront with the details, the modified Hiface has a lot more low level details. With the right associated DAC, you can get a very detailed and relaxed representation.
Personally, I have never heard in my system a converter as detailed and at the same time as analog like as the modified Hiface.
On interesting thing I also mentioned in my review about the dac19dsp is that with the modified Hiface it is the first time I can clearly hear a big improvement on 24/96 files.
Before that, I used to have a hard time distinguishing properly upsampled 16/44 data to 24/96 from the native 24/96 ones. In fact what I had realized is that most differences we hear going from 16/44 to 24/96 are due to the poor filtering at 44.1. Even with my entry level dacs (emu 0404 usb, audio-gd dac100, audio-gd FUN, Purepiper DAC A-1, Zero DAC), I can hear the differences between 16/44 and 24/96 but simply because their digital filters are relatively poor at 16/44.
With the modified Hiface associated to the dac19dsp, it was something else. I really heard an increase in resolution by going to 24/96.
Preliminary conclusion:
Contrary to what I am used to, I have made very few musical examples simply because it is very dependent on the associated DAC.
The modified Hiface is a very transparent device. It doesn’t have a sonic signature of its own. As far as I could tell, the overall sonic signature will depend more on the associated equipment and the recording itself than on the modified Hiface itself.
For more details about musical examples, I invite you to read my review of the DAC19DSP for which I used the modified Hiface as a transport. (See here: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/rev...ection-483899/).
While the modified version that jkeny sent me is still a prototype, I can say that it by far the best converter I have listened to in my system. I was expecting a small improvement (since I considered the stock one being excellent) but I was totally surprised by the level of performance of the modified Hiface. Its effect on the sound was not subtle at all.
jkeny described the sound of the modified Hiface as similar to that of expensive analog and I couldn’t agree more: his modified Hiface make the other converters sound broken.
Personally, I have already asked jkeny if I could send him my stock Hiface to have a similar mod done to it.
Jkeny的修改Hiface:
木材及音调平衡:
虽然没有在本身的音调平衡转变,但也有与股票Hiface和影响的方式与不同的DAC的修改之一。 (编辑:将一个比打火机探空股票Hiface较为中性之一,修改后的Hiface感知音调平衡的变化更坚实的低音表示)。
该改装成Hiface最突出的特点是在极端的频率更好的扩展:扩展更深的低音和高扩展更高,比Hiface干净时尚。
相较于对方,在改装成Hiface声音饱满。不过,这是由一些紧张的转换不同的注射假的温暖。虽然Teralink X2的,例如,的确是比股票Hiface温暖,它实现了通过添加额外的温暖和相同的阴霾所有的声音,从而降低了整体解决。
那么什么期望从修改后的Hiface?有了精心设计的和中立的DAC,在音调的声音密度和现实收益。
这些仪器可以更容易地确认和...他们在现实收益。
另一个改装成Hiface强度的方式呈现了非常密切的探空仪器的具体木材。
例如以小提琴协奏曲听力2 - 维瓦尔第,你可以清楚地听到Carmignola和Mullova是两个不同的小提琴演奏(斯特拉迪瓦里和Guadagnini如果我没有记错我好)。小提琴不仅提供精美,但他们也有不同的色调签名。虽然一些温暖转换器可以让这张专辑忍受听,他们抢劫文书的内部细节,让一切声音一样。
当然,这不会是每一个数模转换器,更好和更加透明的案件的数模转换器,更加细微您就可以享受。
声场与影像:
在这里,修改后的Hiface实现东西真的很有趣。它可以抛出一个巨大的摄影棚(如果下游的组件均达到任务),同时保留一个极好的成像能力。
如果我们举一个例子Teralink X2处理器,它可以抛出一个相当大的声场,但缺乏深度,模糊性和模糊。经过一到修改后的Hiface边听我了解,这是什么做的是进一步推动声场回这对耳机聆听与入门级DAC的很大一部分。然而,这样做,有一个分层线和缺乏深度模糊。
在另一方面Hiface抛出相比,Teralink X2的声场较小,但它是更大量定义的层次感。
修改后的Hiface没有什么是比任何其它转换抛出一个更大的声场。为了更具体的声场是像股票Hiface前期但它有一个巨大的深度这使得它看起来很多大的整体。当收听到修改后的Hiface,你只是觉得有一成表示打开窗口。
我以前描述为具有全息成像的股票Hiface。在这里,修改Hiface去远一点。它的密度更大的音调和它的更准确的木材谢谢,您得到的不仅仅是一个全息成像的表演,但你得到更大的现实意义。你觉得有呼吸,在你面前表演的真实的人。
从技术角度来看,股票Hiface已经在这方面非常好。但是,不管,修改后的Hiface是干什么的,它似乎是感情上来说更有说服力。
总体而言,修改后的Hiface使它成为更容易在精神上“重建”的地方记录的事件发生。它只是更有意义。
动态:
首先,我认为我不会有很多写在这部分的审查有关。当聆听到修改后的一切都很好,我有了非常大的宏观动态和精美呈现微动力,但我以为这是从链的其他部分的到来。直到我还原到Teralink X2和股票Hiface,我发现其中的差别。
当尝试新的齿轮,我们习惯有时太迅速的好处,只是直到我们恢复到旧齿轮,我们才意识到我们已经走了多远的。
在这里,修改后的Hiface实际上是一个相当大的一步动态注册。事实上,恢复回股票Hiface(或更糟的Teralink X2)的,成为乏味的声音,与减缓瞬变。
再次,由于修改后的Hiface只是一个SPDIF的转换器,在大多数情况下的限制因素将可能是DAC本身USB接口。但相对于其他转换器,修改后的Hiface给最有活力的结果无论Hiface。所以,我敢打赌,这个特点是将声音在所有DAC。
透明度与定义:
该Hiface拥有一支优秀的分析能力。它可以挖掘的录音,但非常的信息呈现深非常自然的方式。而股票Hiface稍微更详细的前期,修改后的Hiface有很多低级别的细节。有了正确的相关DAC的,你可以得到一个非常详细的和轻松的代表性。
就个人而言,我从来没有听说过在我的系统的详细,并在为模拟像的修改Hiface同时转换器。
有趣的事我也提到了我对dac19dsp审查是经改装过的Hiface这是我第一次可以清楚地听到了关于24/96的文件有较大改善。
在此之前,我曾经有一个很难区分正确upsampled从本地的16/44 24/96 24/96数据。其实我已经意识到的是,我们听到最多的分歧,从16/44到24/96去,是由于在44.1穷人过滤。即使我的入门级数模转换器(动车组0404 USB,音频,广东dac100,音频- gd的乐趣,纯笛DAC A - 1,零发援会),我可以听到16/44和24/96之间的分歧,而只是因为他们的数字滤波器在16/44相对较差。
相关的修改后的dac19dsp Hiface,这是别的东西。我真的听到了前往24/96号决议中增加。
初步的结论:
相反的是我习惯了,我已经很少有音乐的例子很简单,因为它是在相关DAC的依赖。
修改后的Hiface是一个非常透明的装置。它没有它自己的声音签名。至于我看得出来,整体声音签名将取决于相关的设备越来越记录比对修改Hiface本身本身。
有关音乐的例子更多细节,我请你看我对DAC19DSP为此我作为交通工具的修改Hiface审查。 (见这里:http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f7/rev...ection-483899/)。
而修改后的版本,jkeny送我仍是一个原型,我可以说,它是迄今为止最好的转换器,我听到我的系统中来。我期待一个小小的改进(因为我认为一个是优秀的股票),但我完全被修改后Hiface性能水平感到惊讶。其对声音的影响不是很微妙的。
jkeny描述为类似昂贵的模拟,该修改的Hiface声音,我不能同意的:他的修改Hiface使其他转换器破音。
就个人而言,我已经问jkeny如果我可以把我的股票Hiface他有一个类似的模做它。 |
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