Author Topic: Altmann Attraction DAC Review  (Read 20146 times)

miklorsmith

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« on: February 01, 2007, 02:55:22 PM »
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.

miklorsmith

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2007, 02:56:16 PM »
Hey guys, here's the first draft.  If there's anything you'd like to see added, let me know.  It'll go up on AC in a few days.

WEEZ

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #2 on: February 01, 2007, 06:15:23 PM »
It's fun to find a component that 'does it' for ya, right?

It's very hard to put what we hear into words...you done good.

WEEZ

lonewolfny42

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2007, 12:00:36 AM »
Looks good.... :wink:

Now I'm just wondering....the TacT....did you ever try a tube preamp in your system ?

Quote
NOS DACs may sound soft around the edges but allow immersion and relaxation where digital reproduction can promote analysis and tension.

A more relaxed sound- a good tube preamp.....with is nice.

miklorsmith

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2007, 09:37:08 AM »
I've had a Modwright 9.0SE which was great sonically but didn't give the functionality the TacT allows.  My opinion is that even the softening tubes can provide does not eliminate digital glare.  Depending on the amount of softening, it can hide some of the problems but some detail gets thrown out too.  I want it all.   :D

Hantra

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2007, 05:37:39 PM »
Careful!   :!:

Once you get hooked on NOS, you're not going to be able to go back to the other side.

miklorsmith

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2007, 06:44:21 PM »
The funny thing is that I'm currently using a Lessloss 2004 DAC which flies in the face of all that NOS stuff and is still very musically convincing.  It's a very different beast - much more "neutral" and detailed.  The panel at my recent listening session preferred the Yamamoto to the Red Wine Sig. 70s, but I wouldn't be surprised if that flipflopped with a mellower DAC.

Right now I'm using the Lessloss/RWA combination and it's really nice.  For an NOS/Tube guy this combination seems too clean and clear at first but after acclimating to it, the Yamamoto sounds a little syrupy.  As far as SET amps go, the Yammie is anything but syrupy.  So, I guess the best DAC and amp are the ones I have playing!

lonewolfny42

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #7 on: February 03, 2007, 01:01:00 AM »
Quote from: "Hantra"
Careful!   :!:

Once you get hooked on NOS, you're not going to be able to go back to the other side.
Speaking of which B.....you should have a listen to that Paradisea dac....nice little dac.....smooth.
I say this having heard a Scott Nixon dac....there have been a few in the Rave that have had them.... :wink:

mgalusha

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2007, 07:43:36 AM »
Very nicely said. I agree that getting the tone right is essential, closely followed by dynamics and linearity. I have no fondness for components, primarily speakers, that appear to change tone as the level changes.

Really looking forward to my time with the Altmann. :D

Mike

miklorsmith

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #9 on: February 03, 2007, 09:00:40 AM »
We may be having further technical issues.  The second battery may be kaput.  If that's the case, the charger is toast which isn't a big deal except that another battery will need to be replaced at $30 a pop.  It's highly annoying.

lonewolfny42

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #10 on: February 03, 2007, 06:48:35 PM »
Quote from: "miklorsmith"
We may be having further technical issues.  The second battery may be kaput.  If that's the case, the charger is toast which isn't a big deal except that another battery will need to be replaced at $30 a pop.  It's highly annoying.
Sorry to hear your having problems... :?

miklorsmith

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2007, 07:49:12 AM »
Stop #2:

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.

Offline Carlman

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2007, 10:05:21 AM »
It would be helpful if there was some basic info on these DAC's... you've certainly peaked my interest in the Altmann.  
However, what are the full names of the gear you're experimenting with... where do you buy them, how much do they cost, weigh, dimensions?  Are they kits or complete?  Do I need to tube roll with them?  Are the battery-operated or do they plug into a wall?  etc. etc...

I may be dense or just not in the know... but I'm interested in putting the Altmann and/or the Lessloss into the mix of my latest comparo's.

Thanks,
Carl
I really enjoy listening to music.

miklorsmith

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Altmann Attraction DAC Review
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2007, 10:42:08 AM »
They're both battery units, though the new Lessloss uses AC for the digital portion and , MKII version has a soft recharge function that allows the unit to play continuously while charging.  The Altmann can be configured with any 12V SLA battery, even a car battery which would give 200 hours of continuous playing time.

Here are the links to the two pieces:

http://www.mother-of-tone.com/attraction.htm

http://www.lessloss.com/  (great digital reference, even if you don't buy anything from them)

lonewolfny42

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