I was, but since the Stratus only has SE inputs that was my only option. @ProfFalkin clearly has the scoop on this - the Pre/Post A2 difference is news to me!
I guess I’ll take this opportunity to update my observations on the DAC comparison.
I signed up for a trial of Quboz a couple of weeks ago so I went and found a few lossless tracks to A/B with just in case the lossy Spotify track was affecting my findings. The first song - Diana Krall’s “Superstar” from her Wallflower album (24-bit, 48kHz) was also available on Spotify so I A/B’d the two sources and try as I might I couldn’t pick out a significant difference. This isn’t surprising as I’ve done some of the online tests before and I was only ever about 60% correct in identifying Hi-Res streams. No statistical significance. I’m looking on the bright side - if I was able to hear a clear difference, I’d probably be spending another fortune in equipment to match that high bar!
So back to the DAC A/B. For all of these I had two USB cables running from my computer - one to each DAC. I used the Quboz player which allowed me to select the DAC from a menu, so my process was left hand on the mouse button hovering over the DAC selection and right hand on the input select switch on the back of the amp. I’d listen to a passage, switch DACs and repeat 3-6 times to make sure any observation was repeatable.
Here are my notes on “Superstar” describing the Yggy vs. the BF2:
- 0:16 - 0:26 - As the strings build and layer, the soundstage was noticibly more “enveloping” than the BF2. To use a bourbon analogy (sorry teetotalers), it was like that “warm blanket” feeling of a George T. Stagg washing over your tongue compared to a Stagg Jr. Both feel wonderful, but the GTS has an oaky smoothness that’s nearly unmatched.
- 2:33 - The brushes stood out to me in this passage so I really homed in on visualizing what the drummer’s hands were doing. With the Yggy the sound was more visceral and lively - the high-frequency “crackle” of those brushes was more palpable and “real” over the BF2.
- In general, with the Yggy the vocals seemed to have a tiny bit more reverb than I heard in the BF2. This is an observation I had before with the Spotify track, so maybe there’s somehting to it. It makes me wonder if those extra 2 bits somehow reveal more of the studio’s acoustic qualities. Whatever it is, I like it!
I went back to the main screen and with a filter for 44k+ music, saw some new release options. I chose the new album by Kings of Leon (apparently it’s been 5 years since their last album!) that was streaming at 96kHz - “When you see yourself…”
- I started with Track 1 which was the title track. I picked two or three passages to A/B but as much as I tried I couldn’t pick out any significant differences between the two DACs. That said, the track was very sonically “busy” with layers of high-frequency sounds. I think this makes it much harder to find anything since there aren’t obvious voices or instruments for your mind to track. At least that’s what I’m telling myself - I suspect the gurus out there could pick out many more details than I could.
- I went on to Track 2 - “The Bandit”. Right away at 0:08 I found a clear distinction between the two DACs. The Yggy rendered a more “3D” sound field to my ears. The guitars seemed to “blossom” with a texture that wasn’t present with the BF2. It was actually quite similar to what I heard on Wallflower where along with the 3D presentation I felt I could hear more of the qualties of the recording studio being reproduced. By comparison, the BF2 sounded a bit more “deadened” (and I do mean a “bit” more)
So I’m ready to draw some conclusions and move onto the amp comparisons. Here we go:
- The Yggy sounds better than the BF2 and it should for 3-4X the price. I think it delivers a more holographic presentation of the recordings and is clearly more revealing with its higher resolution.
- To me, it’s not entirely clear whether the Yggy is worth 3-4X the price of the BF2. Unfortunately I’ve tasted the forbidden fruit and damnit I’m probably going to keep it.
Now the question is whether I keep the BF2 or not. The size difference is significant, not to mention that my electric meter doubles its rotational velocity when I turn it on (I guess it’s the price you pay for Class A stuff!
) The BF2 fits nicely on my desktop and would also pair well with an amp that’s somewhat less… demanding. - My ears aren’t as bad as I thought they might be. I certainly don’t have an audiophile’s ear but I was worried I wasn’t going to be able to find any differences between the two. I feel a bit validated that I could, and that I could put those into words. Now of course I could be totally wrong about everything I said, but hey, let me have my moment.
This was an interesting exercise for me since it stretched out some brain cells that I don’t normally use. I hope the amplifier comparison is as easy (or easier) than this one was because the stakes are a lot higher.