[howiebrou]

Hi,

Was wondering if anyone has any experience or has listened to the players form AudioAero (Prima, Capitole or Prestige)??

Thanks!

howie

 

[Asr]

I owned the Prima for about 3 weeks. While I'm sure it's a great CDP when properly implemented in the right system and for the right person, I couldn't live with it. The sound was too colored for me - too forward in the upper mids, and too much around the mid-bass too. A deliciously warm, lush sound of course, but not very agile and it didn't have the raw level of detail that I've found I prefer. Try to audition if possible.

 

[J-Pak]

The Capitole is supposed to be a world class CDP. I have no experience with it, but trust some people that do. I would arrange an audition if possible.

 

[tom hankins]

I've owned the Capitole, Capitole MKII, and the Prima SE DAC used with a Sony SCD-1 as transport. The SCD-1/Prima SE was my favorite of the bunch.
IMO the Audio Aero digital products are far and above the best digital players I have heard. Preamps in them are better than most built in pres, and I have run them with and without preamps. I prefer a preamp though. The SE versions offer more detail and a little more speed to already good products. I have not heard the Prima CDP.

 

[compuryan]

I heard a Capitole at a recent meet. Its build quality was excellent and it sounded awesome. Definitely give them a look.

 

[Loftprojection]

I have a Audio Aero Prima MKII hybrid integrated amp. I don't know how their CDP and DAC sound but my integrated amp really sounds good. I had compared it to about 10 or 12 others in the same price range when I bought it and it was definitely the best to my ears. I would love to have the money to by one of their high end tube amps and even better to mate it with one of their high end CDP/DAC!

 

[howiebrou]

Thanks for all the encouraging comments! I heard a Capitole and Prestige recently and they both sounded very analogue to me. Very nice indeed..

Worth a serious audition imho.

howie

 

[J-Pak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by howiebrou /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks for all the encouraging comments! I heard a Capitole and Prestige recently and they both sounded very analogue to me. Very nice indeed.. Worth a serious audition imho. howie

Very nice. In my experience that's what separates the good digital from the run of the mill.

 

[Roam]

I own the Capitole SE and had a Prestige on an extended in-home audition. I honestly didn't like the Prestige that much, it was edged out by the Capitole SE on redbook CDs so I'd stay away from it unless you absolutely need a front-loader and the ability to play SACDs.

The Capitole SE is the best single-box CD player I've heard. It's a very high resolution player with the ability to extract lots of details from those shiny discs, and it does so while sounding natural and almost analog-like. It does not have the harshness and leading edge emphasis which plagues many "high-end" digital components. The Capitole just puts everything out there on a large layered soundstage which will wrap all the way around and even behind you on a good speaker system. Everything is there, and nothing is unnaturally highlighted.

Is it perfect? No. Compared to my Simaudio Andromeda it comes up a bit short in dynamics and weight, it's not as solid sounding and lacks a bit of focus & drive. The Andromeda also has the edge in resolution, then again, it also costs nearly twice as much and it's a bulkier and more unwieldy 2-box design.

The Capitole's a special CD player, I think you'll be very happy with it.

 

[PFKMan23]

Roam have you heard the Resolution Audio Opus 21 or any of the other oft talked about players (Ayre CX-7xe, Meridian G08, Esoteric DV60, etc..)?

 

[Roam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PFKMan23 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Roam have you heard the Resolution Audio Opus 21 or any of the other oft talked about players (Ayre CX-7xe, Meridian G08, Esoteric DV60, etc..)?

Haven't yet heard the Opus 21 nor the Ayre. The G08 was underwhelming, lacking in resolution, too smoothed over & veiled. It's not in the same class, not even close. Esoteric places too much emphasis on the leading edge transients, it, along with every Wadia I've heard is too analytic & digital sounding. The resolution & detail is great, but the presentation is godawful, they're great if you want to hear a kleenex drop in a concert hall, but for actual musical enjoyment they leave a lot to be desired. The top Wadias and Esoterics will have an edge over the Capitole in detail retrieval & resolution, however, they suffer from the ills of digital sound, that is to say they tend towards a mechanical, analytical, and somewhat sterile sound.

 

[Absorbine_Sr]

I listened to the same Capitole that compuryan did last weekend. The X-RAY V3 that I currently have is a very good source, but after listening to the Capitole through my own amp, I can see that I can improve my listening experience. If I had to try to nail down what was so good about it, it would be the fact that the music comes together as a whole. Whereas on my X-RAY a detail will stand out and be heard, on the Capitole it is heard, but only as a part of the full performance. So you don't end up thinking "I can hear the pick hitting the pick guard", you think "My God was he playing that guitar, and I'm hearing every iota of it".

That was my experience with the Capitole.

A_Sr.