With relative contributions of TL-2N and DA0.30 described, I now treat them as one to report on how their Japanese unity positioned itself against the Chinese unity of our Jay's/Denafrips combo which executes I²S over HDMI. To visually reiterate how the UK importers view C.E.C.'s digital front end, I've inserted a render of their Vox Olympian. It's the most ambitiously finished and bespoke-parts loaded iteration of their exclusive Living Voice horns. Even for these, the TL-2N/DA0.30 is their choice of digital source. Listening to the same front end temporarily elevated my own views on bleeding-edge digital.

"Would Sir care to drive our Aston Martin whilst he so kindly house sits during our brief vacation?" Hmm. Let me get back to you on that.

Here is the comparative setup.

By contrast, the TL-2N's display font was too small to be of much use from the distance.

I started both CD simultaneously to be virtually sync'd up. A simple press on the Vinnie Rossi remote then brought on line one or the other to check into any sonic offsets. Here is the playlist I copied to two CDR.

Take the live Mayte Martín track "Piense en Mí". Think of me when you suffer. Very Latin. With the C.E.C., this music's temporal elasticity as that underlying come-hither vibe had greater seductiveness. On its emphatic peaks, the heightened loudness didn't narrow down on the voice. It expanded outward all around it. It reads peculiar in the description but does capture the experience. With the C.E.C., the vocal rises didn't zoom in and launch forward to harden just a bit. They bloomed in all directions for a more liberated lateral sense of dynamic expression which remained soft and pliant whilst simply getting louder with unmitigated ease.

Loudness fluctuations came off easier and spatially more expansive. This conveyed a greater sense that the music rode on the living breath of big lungs swelling and contracting. Relatedly, my perception of the progression through time was more supple and sinuous with the C.E.C. and a bit more rigid or tensioned down with our kit.