[sheldaze]

I still buy cd's but only occasionally now, because Tidal. I'll bring a couple of SACD's and some (as above) hi-Rez tracks burned to DVDs, and a Blu-Ray Audio disc.

 
The reason I was not bringing the Oppo was I found it difficult to switch between layers of the disc - multi-channel, 2-channel, CD.
I would love to hear the SACD discs!
 
Unless @yage can do the layer switch, I'm going to try to stay away from the DVD and Blu-Ray for this go around

 

[gandhisfist]

Just realized that the way I'm planning to set up this time, if I take my dap away from my station and hook it up to someone else's there won't be a music source at my station at all.  Hopefully this doesn't inconvenience anyone, my headphones will all be there, but i may not bring all my amp/dacs this time as I try to focus more on listening to other stuff.  If I do bring all my stuff, i'll bring the optical repeater i have and a usb audio to optical converter so people can use their PC's at my station.

 

[yage]

   
The reason I was not bringing the Oppo was I found it difficult to switch between layers of the disc - multi-channel, 2-channel, CD.
I would love to hear the SACD discs!
 
Unless @yage can do the layer switch, I'm going to try to stay away from the DVD and Blu-Ray for this go around

 
The Ayre can navigate DVD-A discs without the need for a TV, though it's not entirely intuitive just by looking at the remote how to do so. It will also only play the stereo layer of SACDs and mix down any multi-channel content on a DVD-A to two channel unless a stereo track is chosen. One thing it can't do is Blu-ray.
 
I'll bring the player if people are interested, but I'm more inclined to leave it at home.

 

[Billheiser]

I'll bring a few discs but no problem if people don't get around to using them.

 

[ScottFW]

I have a handful of SACDs but haven't played them in a long time. I had a Philips SACD1000 that died once, was fixed by Philips, survived a while longer, and then mostly died again. This was the infamous Furore chip failure fiasco circa 2003 if anyone cares to google it. I still have the unit stashed in a closet somewhere in case I ever want to harvest parts off it for other projects, and I never bought another dedicated SACD player. I'll look through the discs and bring a couple of the better ones.
 
I have a couple of redbook CD players I "could" bring... a thrifted Sony CDP-750 (TDA1541 DAC) that I've recapped and tweaked slightly with a better op-amp and low jitter clock. That one is analog output only.
I also have an early-1990s Philips LHH500 in champagne gold color. Opulence... I haz it. That was a pretty well-built machine in its day with a CDM4 swing arm transport, robust power supply, nice component quality, proper relay-muted outputs, etc. It was one of Philips' high-end forays into bitstream and has 4 DAC chips, two per channel in differential configuration. I've replaced all 8 of its op-amps (4 each in the unbalanced and balanced output sections) from the old JRC NE5534s to LME49990s and that really woke up the sound. It has unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR analog outs, and coax & optical digital outs. In addition to being more versatile for hooking up to other gear, its analog outs also sound a little better than the Sony's, so the Sony might stay home.

 

[sheldaze]

  I have a handful of SACDs but haven't played them in a long time. I had a Philips SACD1000 that died once, was fixed by Philips, survived a while longer, and then mostly died again. This was the infamous Furore chip failure fiasco circa 2003 if anyone cares to google it. I still have the unit stashed in a closet somewhere in case I ever want to harvest parts off it for other projects, and I never bought another dedicated SACD player. I'll look through the discs and bring a couple of the better ones.
 
I have a couple of redbook CD players I "could" bring... a thrifted Sony CDP-750 (TDA1541 DAC) that I've recapped and tweaked slightly with a better op-amp and low jitter clock. That one is analog output only.
I also have an early-1990s Philips LHH500 in champagne gold color. Opulence... I haz it. That was a pretty well-built machine in its day with a CDM4 swing arm transport, robust power supply, nice component quality, proper relay-muted outputs, etc. It was one of Philips' high-end forays into bitstream and has 4 DAC chips, two per channel in differential configuration. I've replaced all 8 of its op-amps (4 each in the unbalanced and balanced output sections) from the old JRC NE5534s to LME49990s and that really woke up the sound. It has unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR analog outs, and coax & optical digital outs. In addition to being more versatile for hooking up to other gear, its analog outs also sound a little better than the Sony's, so the Sony might stay home.

I had a Philips SACD1000 that died too. It literally died while sitting in a closet, undisturbed. Crazy...

 

[Billheiser]

I had a Philips SACD1000 that died too. It literally died while sitting in a closet, undisturbed. Crazy...

I had an uncle like that.

 

[yage]

@sheldaze, have you ever tried out your Pono in balanced mode?

 

[sheldaze]

  @sheldaze, have you ever tried out your Pono in balanced mode?

Absolutely!
Yes:
 

1. I have balanced cables specifically for the HD650 and the EL-8.
2. However I also have balanced cables that end in standard 4-pin XLR, so you can try it too! Bring your phones!

 
I'll be using my HD650 at the meet with the 4-pin XLR cable, so I can switch between desktop amplifier and Pono.

 

[gandhisfist]

Absolutely!
Yes:

• I have balanced cables specifically for the HD650 and the EL-8.
• However I also have balanced cables that end in standard 4-pin XLR, so you can try it too! Bring your phones!

I'll be using my HD650 at the meet with the 4-pin XLR cable, so I can switch between desktop amplifier and Pono.

You have a balanced cable for the el-8? I would be curious to know where you got it, and I'll be sure to bring mine to try it out at the meet.

 

[Psalmanazar]

I still buy CDs. Never drank the SACD kool aid. Not that anything I listen to would come on a SACD; they're more likely to be cassette only than that.

 

[sheldaze]

You have a balanced cable for the el-8? I would be curious to know where you got it, and I'll be sure to bring mine to try it out at the meet.

The cables are specific to Pono. One end is balanced (pair of 3.5mm) for Pono - the other end is terminated for EL-8, HD650, and 4-pin XLR. Those are the three cables I have for Pono.
 
I have thought about getting a balanced cable for the EL-8, terminated in 4-pin XLR. But I think I would more likely be using an open headphone at home. And the guy who sold me the EL-8 balanced Pono cable (at the Nashville meet) suggested that I could use it and easily find a conversion to 4-pin XLR (i.e. female 3.5mm pair on one end, and 4-pin XLR male on the other). My research has said this cable does not exist. It could be made, but not worth my effort. Sorry

 

[yage]

 
The cables are specific to Pono. One end is balanced (pair of 3.5mm) for Pono - the other end is terminated for EL-8, HD650, and 4-pin XLR. Those are the three cables I have for Pono.
 
I have thought about getting a balanced cable for the EL-8, terminated in 4-pin XLR. But I think I would more likely be using an open headphone at home. And the guy who sold me the EL-8 balanced Pono cable (at the Nashville meet) suggested that I could use it and easily find a conversion to 4-pin XLR (i.e. female 3.5mm pair on one end, and 4-pin XLR male on the other). My research has said this cable does not exist. It could be made, but not worth my effort. Sorry

 
A conversion cable from Pono balanced to XLR can be bought from Surf Cables. I think John Atkinson of Stereophile used it during a review.
 
http://www.surfcables.com/collections/surf-cables-ponoplayer-cables/products/ponoplayer-cables
 
Use the drop down menu to select the terminations.
 
EDIT: Oopsies, misread the post. Surf Cables doesn't have that termination in the menu, but I'm sure they could make it.

 

[gandhisfist]

Ah, understood.  That's a shame, I haven't looked into third party cables for the EL-8C yet.  I don't know if those proprietary connectors are available for cable builders or if they have to destroy a stock cable for it.  How was yours made?

 

[sheldaze]

   
A conversion cable from Pono balanced to XLR can be bought from Surf Cables. I think John Atkinson of Stereophile used it during a review.
 
http://www.surfcables.com/collections/surf-cables-ponoplayer-cables/products/ponoplayer-cables
 
Use the drop down menu to select the terminations.
 
EDIT: Oopsies, misread the post. Surf Cables doesn't have that termination in the menu, but I'm sure they could make it.

No prob...my balanced Pono cable with 4-pin XLR are from Surf Cables.
I probably ought to take a class from Barry on how to make my own cables. I hear he charges the cost of a sandwich from Potbelly 

 

  Ah, understood.  That's a shame, I haven't looked into third party cables for the EL-8C yet.  I don't know if those proprietary connectors are available for cable builders or if they have to destroy a stock cable for it.  How was yours made?

Believe it or not, Audeze is starting to make stuff. I got a discount from the dealer, but here's the link:
 
https://www.audeze.com/products/accessories/el-8-balanced-cable-pono-sony-pha-3
 
I'm really looking forward to their lightning cable amplifier and DAC cable