[bob katz]

Originally Posted by Chris Kress

I was waiting for this guy to say that he works in an anechoic chamber : ) I overlooked his previous test recommendation which does look flawed to me anyway. Otherwise, for me, this issue is resolved.

I would like to say thank you all very much for the excellent help I received. Here is the point that was confidently re-enforced: When the technical excellence of a system rises to a fairly high level, the combination of personal preference and tuning of the entire chain with various components, cables, acoutic treatments etc., will bring the system to completion.

By the way, Chris, I can guess probably why you are preferring the direct connection of the DAC to your monitors than going through the Avocet! As I had a similar experience. I used to have a pair of Reference 3As in Studio A, supplemented by subs, and now I ask myself how I could possibly have worked with those. They are considered to be excellent speakers, but their degree of coloration became quite obvious over time. They are designed to be audiophile speakers with a "reasonable" degree of accuracy and you can hear most inner details in them.

In the end, how many misjudgments did I make during the period when I had the 3As? Actually, not very many. Because I applied all the science and art and skill at my disposal to linearize that room, components and speaker system in an integrated way! And then to learn the remaining defects and learn how that system translated to the outside world. During that period of time, a minimalist route to the loudspeakers and a direct connection from my DAC actually did sound best!