May 30, 2017

  • Silnote Audio Poseidon Signature II, Part 2

    Apparently, Silnote Audio have had an audiodharma Cable Cooker [Anniversary Edition 3.5 with Cardas CCGR RCAs] since June 2013. So if you are in possession of Silnote's products after that, they may already have been Cooked. Be that as it may, any time we come across a used cable, even one which has been previously Cooked, it receives a 1-day recharge on my own Cooker.

    Even after a digital cable is Cooked, you need to use it on a variety of gear. This will discern how well or poorly it does its job of (a) passing signal intact, and (b) being impervious to interference and incompatibilities with gear.
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    Assuming a decent DAC is in use, when the Silnote Poseidon Signature II takes signal from the Simaudio Mind 180, MP3 streams are noticeable, for what they lack: grain, hash, spitchiness, static. Guests are shocked or pleasantly surprised that digital streams, without all that distortion, have some sonic stability, flow, image size, and resolution. People actually have fun, listening to MP3, and often state (correctly) that it is not as bad-sounding as the same music on vinyl.
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    When we bring out the professional-sounding NuForce DAC-9, we can plainly see, vis-a-vis reference-level digital cables, where the PS2's negatives lie. First of all, image outlines aren't as razor-sharp as they were recorded. In addition to sounding a little "crowded" (but not to the extent of Wadia's 781i CD player/DAC), absolute soundstage dimensions are reined-in. Add these shortcomings together, and the PS2 is not as see-through transparent as it should be. Assuming the use of top-notch sources, the PS2 does not fully track all the music's minor gradations in speed. Thus, in an overall sense, music loses a little control, PRAT, expression, texture, and feel-and-grip of the note. But really, this is not a long list of negatives. By and large, the PS2 holds the music together. Even as you are aware of the deviations from absolute perfection, you can brush them aside. The music, in most cases, is palatable, accepatable, and unpretentious.

    I think that the Mark Levinson No. 37 CD transport came out in the mid-90s. It was state-of-the-art then, and, 20 years later, is state-of-the-art now. That is NOT an indictment of today's digital. Rather, it is a testament to the No. 37's excellence.
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    With the No. 37 as source, the PS2's negatives two paragraphs above are merely reinforced. But no other major faults are unearthed. And that is a good sign.

    Recall how we found that, no matter what version, and despite their strengths, Wireworld's Gold Starlight digital cables always had a yucky, icky golden glow. Moreover, they drained the energy, inter-image space, and vitality from the music. So imagine getting rid of the Gold Starlights' colorations. That is what you'd get, if you went to a Silnote PS2.
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    Now get yourself a top-notch DAC, such as the one found in the Simaudio 750D. By not making matters worse, the PS2 works well with thin-sounding sources. Yet, if you bust out SOTA sources, and have not much money left over for digital cables, the PS2, in just a relatively small way, gums up the works. Again, it does a good job holding things together, buying time (assuming you even want to aim for the kilobuck digital cable stars), and best of all, letting you appreciate what you have.

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