Quote:
Originally Posted by
m. zillch /t/1270579/the-official-marantz-sr7005-receiver-page/1980#post_23112050
[This is a general post and is not meant to specifically address the previous one]
Pure Direct and Source Direct are worthless marketing gimmicks (that don't even work exactly as advertised, but that's a side issue). They cater to the "audiophile" "purist" mentality that one's speakers are "perfect" (
and their room acoustics, at least for the limited number of them who understand how critical a speaker's placement, angling, and the room shape, etc.,
profoundly alters the tonal balance) and therefor thinks, "We don't need no stinking band-aid, electrical modification called EQ, thank you very much". They seem to forget that the very speakers themselves have a much more primitive EQ circuit already built in: their, OMG,
passive crossover, prone to all sorts of colorations and phase issues, etc that make any "shortcomings" of the active circuits look quite benign in comparison.
This exact same mentality is also why we have the ridiculous and audibly destructive "LFE + main" or "double bass" feature in most if not all current brands, which should be patently avoided
by all even if one's speakers have multiple 15 inch woofers and are the size of refrigerators, assuming there is a competent sub being used, that is. It is in place to stroke the ego of buyers with big speakers.
Many of you who have worked in this industry for many decades, like I have, may remember the third option after "source" and "pure" called "CD Direct" back when CDs were new and all gear had to have a stamp of "CD Ready" to pass muster with the naive consumers. What did it do? Well it bypassed the potentially sound bastardizing aspects of one's input selector, of course, and lay a direct path from the CD input straight to the preamp. "But what if that direct switch itself introduces the exact same sort of problem that the input selector knob is being accused of introducing?", one might ask. "Shut up. You need whatever gimmick we
tell you you need!" replied the audio vendors.
Me? I'm waiting for "Ultra Pure SACD Direct Bypass PRO" which, not only bypasses the tonal balance, ch. trim, delay circuits, bass management, and illuminated indication that it is even engaged, not to mention the input selector, it even bypasses the preamp section
entirely so your variable volume out SACD player, with its wonderful DACs, drives the power amp itself, without any "colorations" that the lowly, pedestrian hobbyists stupidly endure. "But what if the variable volume out circuit of the SACD player itself has the same distortions as the..." "SHUT UP AND JUST BUY IT ALREADY!"