The Grimm MU2 really struggled with this track. I spent a lot of time playing with the unit’s output level to maximise performance, but never managed to make it sound anything but flat and uninvolving, disjointed and congested. The major fill that arrives after the opening section really didn’t happen, while the thumpy, driven drum and bass that propels the centre section lacked weight, drive and definition. The overall presentation was softened and condensed, slightly distant and detached. While the differences between the C1.2 and Studio Player might conceivably be collapsed by questions of taste or system situation, both of the more expensive units were clearly more musically accomplished, capable and communicative than the (admittedly half-the-price) MU2. Fortunately, the Grimm handled locally stored files considerably better, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
The Studio Player has achieved a level of temporal integrity, rhythmic flow and musical momentum that I’ve not heard from streamed sources outside of the Wadax Reference DAC and Streamer. Playing a 16/44 FLAC of the Oliver Davis Anno, the precision, space, focus and separation of the C1.2 are certainly attractive. But switching to the Wadax simply injects so much body, pace, presence and a fluid sense of musical progress that the music comes alive. The soprano voice gains a chest and substance behind the mouth, while the strings quiver with a vital energy and colour.
Even with a solo voice and small string orchestra, this is a performance that is built from the bottom up. Bass notes are rich and perfectly placed, with not just weight and body but pace, placement and attack that keeps the music moving. You hear it here, but just wait until you start streaming small jazz ensembles. A 24/192 stream of the classic Blakey album Moanin’ quickly establishes just how musically compelling the Studio Player’s combination of timing integrity and musical substance can be. The horns really rip, yet without glare, while the rhythm section gels beneath them, even when Bobby Timmons takes off for an extended solo. If ever a streamer got the PRAT thing right, then this is definitely it!
You can highlight the differences (and slant the performance) through careful choice of material. Solo piano brings out the note-to-note precision of the C1.2, just as jazz or larger orchestral music plays to the body, presence and temporal continuity of the Studio Player. But short of listeners with an exclusive diet that leans one way or the other, it’s impossible to ignore the superiority of the Wadax when it comes to the sense of musical shape and communication that makes a performance worth listening to. The Reference DAC and Server achieved a similar step-change in streaming performance (at a considerable price). The Studio Player manages to offer the same fundamental musical attributes at a far more approachable price point – a price point that is, in high-end terms – something of a bargain.
Switching to locally stored files, the performance differences condense, the C1.2 coming closer to the Studio Player, with more substance to its sound, to go with its transparency and resolution. The weight of those solo piano notes is more clearly defined, the shape of phrases and the player’s pace through them more explicit. It scales dynamic swings more readily, with greater tonal and musical density. Meanwhile, the Grimm improves significantly, bringing far more weight and body to the performance to create a greater sense of musical presence, acoustic space and depth – although it still lacks the ultimate clarity and separation of the C1.2, or the fluid articulation of the Wadax. In relative terms if I granted the units arbitrary scores of 10, 8 and 5 on streaming, those scores would narrow to 10, 9 and 8 on the best file replay, suggesting just how big an improvement the Grimm delivered, freed from the vagaries of the incoming stream. But also suggesting just how comfortably the Studio Player maintains its musical superiority.
The direct path…
One other thing that all three DACs I’ve been listening to here have in common is a variable output capability, intended to drive a power amp directly, obviating the need for a separate line-stage. This ultimate expression of the OBI has long been one of the most cherished (and in practice, least supportable) goals of digital designers. The financial logic is inescapable, especially if you are trying to justify the price of your expensive DAC: “Look – the DAC might cost a lot, but you save all that money by not needing a line-stage!” As if the line-stage does nothing, or can simply be hung on the outputs of the DAC. Let’s be clear about this proposition: it’s utter BS and the evidence for that is pretty irrefutable if you just look for it or listen to it.
