Holographic gets thrown around a lot, to me it’s the ability of a chain to separate, not just vertically and horizontally, though that is a part of it, but to convey the space around the instruments. It’s kind of hard to describe.
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Mmm. I’d call that separation. The Focals fucking do that brilliantly.
Hard to describe? I fail how to describe it and didn’t know what it was I until I noticed it was just gone.
So, to illustrate what the sounds emanating from the instruments are hitting and interacting with in the room? To help you visualize the space the instruments reside in? If not, then what’s the word for this?
If we had the words for it then we would use it.
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I think my Helios is holographic
Moving bit out of topic but this comes to mind, when Holographic is mentioned.
https://sxfi.com/sxfitech/
It’s all DSP toys in my mind.
E: But given more. Holographic (audio) imaging might be the thing, same as imaging?
Please just stop. We’re talking about amps and you’re injecting your single track focus and derailing topics.
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I’ve heard many people say the same. It’s like you will know exactly what it is once you hear it.
You will pick up on various dac and amps how cleanly they are PROCESSING and amplifying music. When you reach this level the feeling of music being processed disappears and the music just happens.
Paraphrasing heavily here.
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Interestingly enough… I find the DAC matters less here and more the amp. This is one of those instances where I initially didn’t believe the value of the amp on sound as @M0N had mentioned in the past… then found myself wrong again.
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About the subject.
It’s pretty interesting that RNHP get’s plenty of discussion and when Audio Science measured it, it was not in the “great” selection cause price point vs. performance. As to say but it’s not bad in anyway. Don’t get me wrong.
The newest measurement’s show plenty of other options as well in the same price point.
interesting would be how people choose this amp over the many others?
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Clearly you missed some of the discussion around ASR earlier in the thread (very entertaining). I really like the sound and certain subtleties out of this amp can’t be replicated on my Schiit Heresy, THX 887, and GS X mini. Granted it is most noticeable with the Bifrost 2. The holographic sound is truly wonderful and the extra sweetness really opens up headphones that were disappointing on other amps.
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And he says this is great. And almost all of us that bought one have sold it. There’s something implicitly wrong with this way of testing products. Measurements only show you one small side of an audio product. If you focuse solely in the science you won’t see the heart, the soul.
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It’s like saying that the sea can’t be blue because the water is transparent…
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I could go to great lengths to highlight all manners in which audio sites provide completly worthless graphs showing effectively nothing.
Take the manufacturer provided measurements (I trust them to not fuck up the basic use of a mixed-domain scope) and go with those.
The second problem: Measureing at the boundry of possibilites is very complicated, just plugging off-the-shelf parts together and say “big number good” is not how this works.
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There’s nothing implicitly wrong with measurements. They’re a good tool, just more limited than some would believe. An amp with inaudibly low noise and distortion will sound cleaner than one without. An amp that doesn’t have the power or current to drive a particular set of headphones can be identified with measurements.
Where the ASR crowd goes wrong is comparing one component with inaudible noise and distortion to another with inaudible noise and distortion. A 121 SINAD DAC is better than a 114 SINAD DAC based on SINAD alone? Neither has audible noise or distortion, so they’re effectively equal in terms measurements.
And what if you don’t want “clean?” A certian type of distortion created by tubes is perceived as warm and “tubey” by most listeners. Many consider this very desireable. Is this bad because it has a low SINAD? Or just different? Either way it shows poorly on measurements.
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Tube amps typically measure poorly, but are some of the most sought after (and highest priced) amplifiers. Measurements have their place, but nothing can replace personal experience.
All of the discussions on this, and other audio forums can be be distilled down to how we enjoy our music.
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I find measurements helpful when identifying flaws or something seriously wrong systemically. Other than that, I trust my ears the most…after all, ASR’s measurement rig doesn’t have to listen to my chain and gear…but my ears most certainly do.
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Tube amps came before solid state, yes? If so, I wonder when solid state amps first came into being.
The first solid state guitar amp was brought to market in 1962.
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