TOPIC:

Hi All
I recently removed my emotiva xsp1 gen 2 balanced preamp from the setup and left just the S HD doing full preamp duty and the sound opened up tremendously almost like a veil was lifted off the sound ... cleaner, more dynamics more everything. any ideas why??

Does this just mean that my fully differential balanced emotiva preamp just sucks and ruins the sound or am I having gain issues... am I not setting things right???

I have no idea what to think here I always thought that the emotiva , even being a highly-regarded( albeit not Ultra high-end) balanced preamp with excellent reviews would give me better sound for analog side of things...especially volume control, than the shd but Im starting to think my assumption was wrong

My set up used to go

Source ....(turntable/tt preamp via rca or Hi Res flac ,dsd and tidal stream audio via usb )>>>SHD (with volume set to -6db Dirac dbnd 2db bump parametric eq at 100hz q 0 .7)>>>emotiva preamp via xlr>>>> my power amps via xlr (twin PS Audio monoblocks stellar m700's)>>> speakers (Focal Kanta 3)


Now...

Sources>>>SHD,>>> Amps>> speakers


Can anyone shed some light on this??

I recently replaced a Bel Canto PRe3 + separate DAC with a SHD and the difference is amazing.

I put a lot of that down to two things:
- I can integrate stereo subs correctly and have a small amount of delay on my mains (1.19ms)
- a very challenging listening environment, the entire left wall is glass

When I got a good set of measurements for Dirac (on the third attempt) and crossed to my subs at 100Hz everything inside the music came into sharp focus instead of the 3D image being blurry. That's not to say it sounded bad before...

Then I dialed up a target curve and couldn't believe my ears

Dear Both,

Such nice feedback from both a you! What a great way to start the week!
We're certainly happy to hear that you're enjoying your platform... We'd be super grateful if you could take 2min to share that experience on our review section of the SHD on the shopping cart... www.minidsp.com/products/streaming-hd-series/shd

Thanks a ton for your support and enjoy your tunes!

DevTeam