REPRODUCED FROM HI-FINEW S
Vega G2.1 when used on its own. EXTRA SLAM M ore subtle were the gains when running DSD64 files through the Sirius G2.1, but they were there to be had. Playing a rip of The Velvet Underground & Nico inDSD64 [from Polydor UIGY-9608] showed the upscaling in the Sirius G2.1 was making the 1967 m ix a litle m ore explicit without trading any of its rawnes . By com parison the directo-Vega stream wasjusta litle softer and a bit m ore polite, whether with Nico’s vocals on ‘Fem m e Fatale’,the snarl of ‘I’m W aiting For M y M an’ or the strangenes of ‘Heroin’. In these cases the upsam pling proces orseem ed to bring a litle extra drive and expres ion. The same benefits were apparent with very diferent recordings,including therecent box-setreleaseofthecom plete Brahms symphonies by the Danish Chamber Orchestra under Ádam Fischer on the Naxos label [8574465-67]. Playing the CD-qualityversion – it’s also available as a 192kHz/24-bit download – I thoughtitsounded justashade thinner via the Vega G2.1 alone.W ith the Sirius G2.1 in the chain,however,the m usic gained both substance and space,notto m ention an extra serving of dynamic impact, bringing out more of the interplay between the m usicians,and the subtletiesof the scoring. W ithouta doubt,the Sirius G2.1 isa worthwhile addition if
Sirius when compared to using theVegaG2.1’sInternet radio capabilty. The National Youth O rchestra of G reat Britain’s performance of Danny Elfman’s Wunderkammer, writen forthe orchestra,was both more vibrant and thriling via the Sirius G 2.1, from itsexuberantopening to the stabs of bras and percusion and dancing strings. The sam e went for CD-quality files (or 48kHz/24-bit)played through the two-box chain. G uitarist Bernie M arsden’s2021 Ches set [Conquest Music; 44.1kHz/24-bit]gained m ore ofthe im pres ion ofa band jamming together via the Sirius,which had the efectof opening up the already weighty,driving sound ofthe
were the equaliser and speaker corection setings:having hefted m y speakers into obviously wrong positions,itwasim pres ive thatIwas able to getthem back to sounding corect,which bodes wel forthose whose living space dictates sub-optim alpositioning. SUPER RICH Trying a wide range of m usic sources and formats, what im m ediately becam e clearwas that, while playing music into the Vega G2.1 directly at high resolutions showed no advantagewithorwithout the Sirius G2.1 in the chain, lower-resolution file form ats showed enhanced air,space and detailwith the upscaleractivated.Forexam ple, playing the 320kbps Radio 3 HD stream of Prom s concerts sounded richerand m ore substantial,with an overal greatersense ofinvolvem ent when played from m y laptop via the
SPECIALLINKS Connecting the Sirius G2.1 to the Vega G2.1,and indeed other Auralic devicesincluding the AriesG2.1 Stream ing Transport and Leo GX.1M asterClock,isthecom pany’sproprietaryLightning Link, which uses a m odified version ofthe HDM Iconnector.Fam ilar though thatm aylook,the design m eansyou can’t use generic AV-type cables,but m ust em ploy the cables supplied with Lightning-com patible Auralic products. Lightning Link is a com bined data and controlinterface,described by the com panyasa‘low-jiter,bi-directional18Gbpscoupling thatopens the doorto jiter-free operation ofal the devicesin yoursystem ’. Clocking inform ation is also transm ited back from the receiving device to the unitsending,fordata synchronisation.Italso caries system controldataforeverything from volum econtrolto proces or engine setup,alowing al linked Auralic devices to appearin a single,unified controlinterface. From the earliestdays ofthe standalone DAC,m anufacturers have been trying to im prove the integrityofdata flowing between devices.Externalising the ‘Inter-IC Sound’(I2S)system hasbeen a popularm ethod asthisprotocolcariesthe clockand data signals separately,ratherthan requiring the receiving device to recoverand reconstructthe clockinform ation buried within the datastream .
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