[Happy Camper]

Oh, I've read everything I could find. I have no doubt it sounds good. The white paper on the dac/anagram software reads well. I want to know what the sonic differences are between the 740 & 840. I don't need balanced outputs so the only differences a $400 investment will bring is sound. Is it worth it? The one comparison here mentioned the 840 has better micro detail retrieval which is one of my desires in a source.

I would like to find some comments between the Wolfson and AD dac house sound. Without it, I will probably go with the 840. I asked a distributor if they could comment between the two but no response. If there is little difference, I could buy some more music or another pair of cans.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the rest of everybody's impressions and congrats on your new toys.

Happy holidays to the non-christians and merry christmas to the rest.

 

[tensaichen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif For those who may be curious... I remember reading on the Cambridge Azur PDF brochure that the Arctic line was their highest line of cables (at about $50 a pair) and their lower lines were the Atlantic and Pacific. Well it seems now they have an Azur Reference cable only available in 0.75m length (at about $100). I imagine it's what Cambridge uses for all their Azur product testing so it can't be bad. CAMBRIDGE AUDIO AZUR-REF0.75M at Richer Sounds - HI-FI Separates, Home Cinema, Speakers, MP3 DVD Portables, Plasma LCD, etc. http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/assets...ctlicensed.pdf

Any other place that carries the Reference cable other than Richer Sounds in UK? I can't seem to find any US retailer that carries the product.

 

[Bizzel]

Does anyone have a link to the anagram whitepaper?

 

[EarlofChatfield]

try here:

http://www.anagramtech.com/technology/white-papers/

sample rate converter & upsampling

 

[tinder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tensaichen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Any other place that carries the Reference cable other than Richer Sounds in UK? I can't seem to find any US retailer that carries the product.

No. Cambridge Audio are exclusive to Richer Sounds in the UK.

 

[fierce_freak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif I want to know what the sonic differences are between the 740 & 840.

x2

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif so the only differences a $400 investment will bring is sound. Is it worth it?

I'd say that's a pretty important difference. The whole reason we buy better equipment is for better sound quality. Some connections may yield better sound quality, but in the end it's still the sound quality we're after. I'd say it's more than worth it if it brings you better sound quality, and it's supposed to be significantly better at that. The 740c has not received anywhere near the positive reviews that the 840c has. Most people who have reviewed the 840c can't find anything wrong with the way it sounds. That's pretty incredible if you ask me.

 

[IPodPJ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinder /img/forum/go_quote.gif No. Cambridge Audio are exclusive to Richer Sounds in the UK.

That's in the UK. He asked about the U.S. There are several authorized dealers for Cambridge Audio in the U.S. However, I have not been able to find any of them that carry the Azur Reference cable, but they all carry the 840c.

 

[milkpowder]

Quote:

Originally Posted by IPodPJ /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'd say that's a pretty important difference. The whole reason we buy better equipment is for better sound quality. Some connections may yield better sound quality, but in the end it's still the sound quality we're after. I'd say it's more than worth it if it brings you better sound quality, and it's supposed to be significantly better at that. The 740c has not received anywhere near the positive reviews that the 840c has. Most people who have reviewed the 840c can't find anything wrong with the way it sounds. That's pretty incredible if you ask me.

True. Reviews of 740c have all been positive, but they all say how lean it sounds and I tend to agree from personal experience. The only other CDP I've had a lot of time with, the X-03SE, sounds significantly more detailed without being artificial at all.

 

[infinitesymphony]

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkpowder /img/forum/go_quote.gif ...the X-03SE, sounds significantly more detailed without being artificial at all.

That's the sound of the PCM1704 R-2R DACs. I have the PCM1702 in a CDP and it's very revealing.

Have any 840c owners compared the sound to the Lavry DA10, Apogee Mini-DAC, or Esoteric D-03? They all use the same DAC chips (AD1955).

 

[SK138]

Yes, we did. You can read our mico-meet impressions here.

In short...840c was more detailed with more treble sparkle on most cases...but there is no clear "winner" per se. I would choose 840c over Lavry when it comes to better synergy with HD650 and functionality over Lavry. Slwiser would choose Lavry for his application. In the end, we both win with great DACs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by infinitesymphony /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's the sound of the PCM1704 R-2R DACs. I have the PCM1702 in a CDP and it's very revealing. Have any 840c owners compared the sound to the Lavry DA10, Apogee Mini-DAC, or Esoteric D-03? They all use the same DAC chips (AD1955).

 

[slwiser]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SK138 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, we did. You can read our mico-meet impressions here. In short...840c was more detailed with more treble sparkle on most cases...but there is no clear "winner" per se. I would choose 840c over Lavry when it comes to better synergy with HD650 and functionality over Lavry. Slwiser would choose Lavry for his application. In the end, we both win with great DACs.

I would agree that the 840c is more detailed with treble sparkle than the Lavry for most music but since I enjoyed the Lavry with the headphones that I am using my preference is my Lavry. My headphones being the Ultrasone Edition 9s are very detailed already and they do not need the extra detail while SK138's HD650s and HD580s need this detail and sparkle, IMO. So the synergy between the 840c and the Seenhieser headphone is there. The synergy between my Lavry and my UE9 is also there.

It also may be true that if I had the 840c in my system at home for a couple of weeks and then went back to the Lavry DA10 that I would have a better handled on the differences between the two. It has been noted many times by many people that higher end equipment mostly make their marks after attuning oneself to them and went back to whatever one had before. That difference can be much more significant. I don't know if this would be the case between my Lavry and the 840c, but it is a possibility.

Having one box functionality of the 840c is nice but the smaller Lavry footprint fits my requirements even better for me.

 

[Mher6]

I have never really paid attention to burn-in (I've never been on burn-in binges where I'd leave a piece of equipment burning in for hours upon hours before listening to it). I've read the 840c takes quite a long time to burn-in, so I figured I might as well accelerate the process a little bit. It's always been my impression that burn-in will occur when the CDP is powered on (that is, I DO NOT need to have a CD playing on repeat). True/false?

 

[Asr]

Neither the DAC or the analog output do anything if you just leave a CDP on, how do you expect it to burn in? The only thing that burns in when a CDP is merely powered on is the AC power cord. Gotta spin a disc in there 24/7 to burn it in. Well you should stop the transport every now and then to give it a break. Mechanical wear and tear and all that.

 

[Bizzel]

Or use a digital input.