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Old 05-21-2022, 05:46 PM
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prepress prepress is offline
Semi-audiophile
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Brooklyn, by way of Nashville
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Today I conducted an experiment. I took the Super IC off my pre/power connection (C2300/MC501) and put it on my SACD player (MCD500), then took the MusicLink Plus off my LD player and used that for the pre/power connection. I used four tracks I'm quite familiar with from my standard audition list, plus one random extra:

1. Fanfare for the Common Man—Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Louis Lane conducting;
2. Hallucinations—Eliane Elias
3. Cross Currents—Eliane Elias
4. Close to the Edge—Yes
5. A Horse with No Name—America

So, what did I hear? Overall, though the core sound wasn't radically different, I'd say everything sounded a bit cleaner, perhaps more focused. As for specifics:
• On Fanfare the orchestra sounded a bit tighter. The decay on the gong at the beginning lasted a bit longer.
• On Hallucinations the drums seemed a bit more dynamic and impactful, the piano a bit more realistic. On Cross Currents I noticed the bass line a bit more in spots.
Close to the Edge was the real test, as I was listening for that low synth note just before the end of the "I Get Up I Get Down" section's end; actually there are two such notes, the second being at the very end of the section and I'd never noticed that one as clearly before, it was more obvious and had (I think) a bit more articulation to it. The prior low note was more prominent than usual, more easily heard than before.
A Horse with No Name was clean as well, and the acoustic guitars had that clean sound spoken of earlier.

I admit I didn't put everything back to listen the regular way, I called the store and am looking to use Transparent's Trade Up program to get two pairs of Super for my two main sources (SACD and Blu-ray). I'm not going whole hog for now, because of the money, plus my LD player doesn't get a lot of use so I don't see any sense in giving it interconnects that cost as much as I paid for it back in the day. So there you have it. I'm expecting things will sound at least as good as I just heard with the Super I have back in its regular slot.
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