[tkteo]

For SLRs we are talking about a camera + lens system. There aren't that many options for each lens because there are only three major third party lens manufacturers.
 
At least for audio we have several headphone manufacturers, several amp manufacturers at different price and performance ratio points.

 

[estreeter]

Quote:

Don't get me started about photography.... I took a small step last year by picking up a Nikon D5000 with the 2 kit lenses. I like it a lot. When my wife inquired about some different lenses, I decided to look into prices. Holy cow! we were thinking of getting an 18-200 lens so we would not have to swap our current 18-55 and 55-200 so often. But it costs more than I paid for the whole kit! And it is not even considered that nice of a lens! I can see how people could easily spend more in that area than their music rig.

I went on a trip to China a few years back, and part of the journey involved a boat trip down the Li River, a spectacular landscape that draws tourists from all over the world. I had nothing more than a point-and-shoot Canon, but the guy next to me had some serious gear, including a tripod and lenses that looked like something the CIA would use for long distance surveillance. I suspect that 'serious' photographic kit makes a lot of headphone purchases look like petty cash - fortunately, we still have dCS and a few Japanese cartridge manufacturers to regain bragging rights. 

 

 

[estreeter]

Its certainly compact for an integrated speaker amp - check the first photo in this article:
 
http://www.ultraaudio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=103
 
I dont recall the white Macbook being any bigger than a 14" screen, and the C5i is dwarfed by almost everything in the photo. Excellent. 
 
Edit:
 

 

[estreeter]

http://www.hifichoice.co.uk/news/article.asp?a=8874
 
LIKE: Very energetic sound with plenty of detail too; small and efficient
DISLIKE: Balance seems a little tilted towards the bass
WE SAY: A very practical product with wellrounded performance; environmentally friendly

 

[RipcordAFF]

At the risk of brining this thread back from the dead, I thought that I would provide everyone a little update. I actually picked up the c5i last year and have been absolutely loving it. It replaced a peachtree Decco2 and this unit completely destroys everything about peachtree. The DAC is superb. The Decco2 DAC, while good in its own right, sounded muddy and veiled in comparison. The level of detail coming from the c5i was simply incredible. Mind you, I am mainly listening to high bit rate Mp3 (256, 320) and a few lossless songs, so there is certainly a bottleneck in my source material. My speakers (AV123 ELT525s) are likewise not top-flight (though Sierra-1 NRTs will be here on tuesday!). 
 
That being said, I could not be more happy. The headamp is very well done as well, a good step above the Decco2 as well. While this is an expensive unit, I cannot believe that one could find a comparable DAC, headamp, AND power amp for the same price, and in such a small and utterly attractive package. I don't quite understand the lack of buzz about this unit, but I would recommend it to anyone.

 

[robertdarzi]

Hey guys,
 
Hope I'm not intruding! But I was doing a recent comparison of Class D amps, and I think that if you're nifty with your hands, building a Hypex based amp is going to get you a lot more bang for your buck.
 
Friend built an Ncore recently at just under the price of the C5i, and at 200w into 8ohms, it's not a lot, but my word, the absolute control of the audio places it on par if not slightly better than our Bryston 4B SSTs... I am going to switch to those ncores. Even their lesser models which are 'substantially' less than the new Ncores are leaving Bel Cantos (including the ICEpowered REF1000s) in their wake.
 
It's not so much build as simply connecting the wires (everything is provided and it's literally plug-two-componets-together-and-to-connectors-and-play).
 
Rob

 

[robertdarzi]

Quote:

At the risk of brining this thread back from the dead, I thought that I would provide everyone a little update. I actually picked up the c5i last year and have been absolutely loving it. It replaced a peachtree Decco2 and this unit completely destroys everything about peachtree. The DAC is superb. The Decco2 DAC, while good in its own right, sounded muddy and veiled in comparison. The level of detail coming from the c5i was simply incredible. Mind you, I am mainly listening to high bit rate Mp3 (256, 320) and a few lossless songs, so there is certainly a bottleneck in my source material. My speakers (AV123 ELT525s) are likewise not top-flight (though Sierra-1 NRTs will be here on tuesday!). 
 
That being said, I could not be more happy. The headamp is very well done as well, a good step above the Decco2 as well. While this is an expensive unit, I cannot believe that one could find a comparable DAC, headamp, AND power amp for the same price, and in such a small and utterly attractive package. I don't quite understand the lack of buzz about this unit, but I would recommend it to anyone.

Hey Ripcord,
 
Looking forward to your thoughts on the Sierras! Am sure you'll enjoy them greatly.
 
Have heard everything about them but not actually heard them... 

 Looking to purchase them for my study desk, but currently stuck between those and the Vapor Breezes which run RAAL tweeters.
 
Anyhow, all the best with them!
 
Rob