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Head-fi's Recommended Digital Sources call for nominations - Page 7

post #91 of 142
4/29/04 at 12:51pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by xaipemw
I hereby nominate the Arcam DiVA CD73t. I didn't search this thread to see if it was already nominated... but even if it was, I'd second that!
Repeated nominations are no problem at all Xaipemw, the list is also sort of a poll. Number of votes towards each specific source appears in parenthesis next to the source when there are more than 1 vote for that source in that specific price range.
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post #92 of 142
4/29/04 at 1:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by tom hankins
The Bel Canto PL1A lists for over 2500.00 less than the PL1. Anyone know or heard the differences in the two players? They are described, and look pretty much the same.
The difference between the Bel Canto Design PLayer-1 and Player-1a is that the former has Faroujda DCDi and DVD-Video capabilities while the latter is strictly an audio (two channel) player only.
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post #93 of 142
4/30/04 at 5:24pm
My transport and DAC are both discontinued, but could be picked up second hand, certainly in the UK, with a bit of research and lots of patience.

The Meridian 200 Transport cost £900 when new
The DPA Digital PDM2 two box DAC cost £2,000 when new
The Deltran clock conversion cost £400 when installed.

This adds up to £3,300 or approx $6,500 (1992 prices - I would hate to try and update the price with inflation over the last number of years!).

The only other Transport/DAC at the time (1992) that was even close to the same league was an esoteric Wadia pairing that I vaguely recall costing an arm and a leg - certainly close to, if not more than $10k, so it gives you and idea where my setup was placed in the (UK) Audiophile world in the early 1990s.

I would like to propose my rig in a "discontinued but well worth a listen" category. The current monetary value of my rig bears absolutely no relationship to the sonic quality I enjoy and it beats hands down a number of contemporary sources I have listened to (Naim CD5 for example).

My rig may be "vintage" but it is still in daily use and gives me great listening pleasure.

Brad


PS I also have a Marants CD6000Ki Signature that cost £500 (Sub $1,000). I prefer it to the likes of the NADs and Cambridges currently out there, but it is no match for my main rig.
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post #94 of 142
5/1/04 at 10:31am
I also like to add the Meridian 200 transport( I have the 206) as Best CD Playback (Vintage/Discontinued, but well worth a listen)

And also the Electrocompaniet ECD-1 DAC as cd playback for under 2k$
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post #95 of 142
5/1/04 at 11:48am
I'd like to see the m-audio superdac in the list, it's priced approx. at 300 U.S. IIRC.
While this dac has no reputation here, on several other audio sites it is well regarded and could even be a genuine giant killer (especially with a better power supply and some other tweaks)
It's a nice alternative to a sound card while competing with higher priced stand alone stuff.
It has no problems sounding better then the unmodded RME for example, at least to these ears.
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post #96 of 142
5/2/04 at 12:23am

This whole thing is basically a rat's nest, but...

I'll throw in my two cents.

A vote for the Cary 303/200 CDP. Glorious redbook, HDCD and upsampling.
$3,000 MSRP, available used for about $1500.

I compared the Cary to the Naims, which seemed very dark and less detailed to my ears.

Regarding the NAD C541i, I was very disappointed in its sound, given the positive press it had received. It couldn't hold a candle to the Muse Model 2 DAC I had at the time.

I therefore nominate/recommend the Muse Model 2 DAC, especially with the Bessel filter and HDCD options. Originally $2K, now $350 - $550 used. Excellent soundstage, image depth and smooth. smooth, smooth. Sounds out of blackness. Ultimately, I found it a tad too polite; the Cary has more of the bite I'm looking for with rock.

Now that I've mentioned DAC, how 'bout a transport to go with it? You may be able to get better for more $, but you can't go wrong with a used Pioneer CDP with the Stable Platter Mechanism, such as the PD-65. When I switched from feeding the Muse DAC from my Denon DCM-370 to a Pioneer Stable Platter, it was easy to hear more black and more depth.

All my reco's are ear-tested and experienced by me; YMMV.
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post #97 of 142
5/2/04 at 7:44am
Well, since there is now a "Best CD Playback (Vintage/Discontinued)" category, I might as well nominate the Rega Jupiter CD transport with Rega Io DAC combination in that category. These are the original transport/DAC separates (circa 1999-2000) in the black, finned, cast aluminum chassis (see photos here and here) that originally retailed for $1050 US and $900 US, respectively, or $1800 US as a package. They were eventually superceded by the one-box Jupiter 2000 CDP.

I recently was able to hear the Jupiter/Io combo in conjunction with a Stax Omega II (SR-007/SRM-007t). To put it mildly, this is a combination to be reckoned with, as those of you who are attending the Lower Mainland/Vancouver (B.C., Canada) Head-Fi Meet on May 8th will experience for yourselves.

D.


Edit: specified which category this should fit in.
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post #98 of 142
5/2/04 at 9:52pm
i'll put another one in for the rega planet for the cd player category
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post #99 of 142
5/3/04 at 12:00am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by fyrfytrhoges
i'll put another one in for the rega planet for the cd player category
Fyrfytrhoges, do you mean Rega Planet as another entry, or another vote for the Rega Planet 2000?
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post #100 of 142
5/3/04 at 12:19am

What about Simaudio Eclipse?

I was just wondering why no one had recommended the Simaudio Moon Eclipse for the under 10,000$ category? Is there something wrong with it? If it hasn't been nominated perhaps I should nominate it.
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post #101 of 142
5/3/04 at 1:01am
another vote for the planet 2000, in that price category. if that matters.
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post #102 of 142
5/3/04 at 1:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gettingby
I was just wondering why no one had recommended the Simaudio Moon Eclipse for the under 10,000$ category? Is there something wrong with it? If it hasn't been nominated perhaps I should nominate it.
I guess no one here has heard it yet. Either that, or they don't have a frame of reference by which to compare it.
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post #103 of 142
5/3/04 at 2:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gettingby
I was just wondering why no one had recommended the Simaudio Moon Eclipse for the under 10,000$ category? Is there something wrong with it? If it hasn't been nominated perhaps I should nominate it.
I took your post as if you were nominating it, let me know if you didn't mean to because I added it to the list. The MSRP by 2001 was slightly below $5000, so I added it to the below $5K and below $10K lists.
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post #104 of 142
5/3/04 at 10:16am
After living with the Mark Levinson 360s dac/sony dvp 9000es transport combo for over 2 years I can highly recommend this setup for the under 10k mark. Used the setup would go for around 4k. I can say this it holds its own
against the higher price stuff. I have heard a lot of high end sources & now own the meitner gear.
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post #105 of 142
5/7/04 at 6:33pm
This thread just had to be bumped
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