General Asylum: REVIEW: EVS - Electronic Visionary Systems Millennium DAC Processors by Art Margolin

I've had the Millennium DAC (the model with built-in attenuators) for one week now, so these are preliminary observations. Needless to say, these observations are relative to my system (see below), within my listening room (12'X22'; wooden floors, plaster walls), with respect to my ears (more musician than audiophile).

1.The unit doesn't sound very good out of the box (i.e., sounds slow and somewhat congealed). It needs to burn in for 24 hours before its characteristic sound emerges.
2.Impressions after 24 hours: the characteristic sound of the unit appears to be one of exceptional refinement and musicality. In particular, it seems to excel at capturing the local, and unique, acoustical space of instruments, such that each instrument appears to "float" within its own space, while at the same time participating coherently in the entire musical texture. I had never heard this before (I haven't heard the mega-buck processors, so can't say if they do this) and it's highly captivating, to say the least.
3.Perhaps related to the previous point, the DAC has an imaging quality which is different from what I have previously encountered. The imaging, at first blush, appears to be less than "pin-point," but then pin-point imaging may require a homogenous space that all instruments can be located within. The fact that in Ric's DAC each instrument is first and foremost captured within its own space may contravene the homogeneity requirement. At this point, the local-space presentation sounds more like live music in which instruments impose their signature on, and generate, their own acoustical space (in interaction with the larger acoustical venue), than the "precisely located within a blank-space" kind of presentation that gives rise to apparent precise imaging, but may also sound somewhat artificial and "electronic." I'm still thinking/listening on this, to me, interesting issue, and will post further thoughts as they emerge.
4.Timbre is highly realistic, instruments sound richly like themselves (this would seem to be an fundamental requirement for musical reproduction, yet surprisingly few components seem to be able to achieve it). No portion of the frequency spectrum seems to be emphasized or highlighted - the DAC appears to be quite neutral across the frequency spectrum.
5.Related to point 2. above, the sense of detail is complex, as it has the quality of musical lines relating across and within acoustical boundaries, rather than with respect to a common and perhaps artificial backdrop. I appreciate this complexity, and enjoy hearing, say, the counterpoint of a clarinet, presented as a breath-generated sound, and piano, as a percussive-generated sound, such that each retains its unique identity while creating a larger "piano/clarinet" space in simultaneous presentation. The continuity of line appears to be exceptional; the DAC converts acontextual properties of sound, usually thought of as "detail," into contextual properties of concurrent musical lines.
6.Timing: this is one area that, as noted above, the DAC changes significantly within the first day or so. At first, it sounds slow, like it's struggling to keep up with the music. Twenty-four hours later a dramatic change seems to occur - pacing is neither quick nor slow, but as though now emerging from within the music, which means that timing is such as to present the multiple dimensions of notes, macro and mirco, in their own time relative to the overall rhythmic structure of the music.

In general, I think the way music sounds as created by this piece of equipment is subtle and highly nuanced and a great benefice to those of us tired of monochromatic hi-fi sound (which we sometimes pay a lot for). Needless to say, I'm very pleased with my purchase (I'm not usually, and, fairly or not, based on what I hear think many designers might be somewhat tone-deaf).

There's more to say, but I'm going to go back to listening.

REVIEW: EVS - Electronic Visionary Systems Millennium DAC Processors Review by Art Margolin at Audio Asylum