Audiophilepure

https://www.soundstagehifi.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/1917-orchard-audio-pecanpi-streamer-premium-dac

he PecanPi+ Premium meshed seamlessly with the Starkrimson Monos. Whatever little these exceedingly neutral amps left behind in the audio signal was too insignificant to constitute a true sonic signature. The combo presented this demanding track superbly, lending great clarity to the midrange, in particular. Attack transients seemed rounded off slightly, however, and imaging was somewhat nebulous. Still, for some, the PecanPi+ Premium and Starkrimson Mono amps could put an end to chronic upgraditis.

As part of my audition of the Starkrimson Monos, I compared them to my First Watt F5 stereo amplifier and found that the two were very similar in sound. Whereas the Starkrimson Monos’ forte was their incisive imaging, the F5’s was its warmth and tonal accuracy. This made it a better match for the PecanPi+ Premium, and I therefore did most of my critical listening using this amp, not the Starkrimson Mono pair.

The center image, which was my main goal for improvement, was enhanced dramatically. The anomalies I’d been experiencing were mitigated. Midrange bumps and dips were smoothed. Vocals became more lifelike. I felt more like the image was present in the room with me. This effect was consistent and mattered not whether the image was a male or female vocal, a solo instrument, or a combination of vocals and/or instruments. The area that was formerly bare wall had come alive.

Although fixing the center image issue was my main motivation for seeking out the diffusers, the benefits I heard in spatial dimensionality across the rest of the soundstage were not only welcome, but almost amazing. Before the Q7Ds were installed, the system was performing great in the Y and Y axis, and producing what I thought was a decent depth in the Z axis. The diffusers changed all this and brought the Z axis of depth to life. Most unexpected but very welcome. The depth of virtually every recording I listened to expanded with a lovely sense of air around each instrument and voice. It became much easier to pick out individual instruments and voices. Background vocals and other off-center musical cues were a delight, and in some cases gave the music a new meaning. What does all this really mean? For the first time in my room, my system was now producing a really superior holographic 3-D imaging. This was not subtle.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way, the Centaurus doesn’t sound like old triple-crown Philips TDA1544 implementations old guys keep around to listen to female vocals exclusively. Both Holo and Topping have created a very versatile DAC that excels with physical instruments but never falters if you throw it some Moderat or even Haus Arafna. The Centaurus will gallop along wherever your musical tastes will lead. I felt that my amp choices made a larger impact on the genre versatility of the overall system.

When it comes to timbre the Centaurus is more organic than most chip-based DACs I’ve heard but less coloured than other usual-suspect R2Rs. The highlight here is the mids which are rendered in a way that translates supreme realism. Of course, it has to be there in the recording in the first place. The bass is deep and insightful but to be honest I can’t remember the last time I’ve heard bad bass from a DAC. Treble is okay but I’ve heard more finesse from some AKM-based implementations.