[jjhatfield]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velogreg /img/forum/go_quote.gif You might want to consider a Dennon 3910, if you can track one down. I quietly auditioned a SACD Mods modded 3910 next to a Rega Saturn in a mini meet last month and it more than held it's own . With some music I preferred the 3910's clarity and soft details over the Rega Saturn. By the way, what nib is that in your Avatar?

Thanks for the tip, velogreg, I'll look into the 3910.

As for the nib, that is the nib on my Pelikan M800, my favorite user pen. I love Pelikans.

 

[chesebert]

Quote:

Originally Posted by velogreg /img/forum/go_quote.gif You might want to consider a Dennon 3910, if you can track one down. I quietly auditioned a SACD Mods modded 3910 next to a Rega Saturn in a mini meet last month and it more than held it's own . With some music I preferred the 3910's clarity and soft details over the Rega Saturn. By the way, what nib is that in your Avatar?

Really? anyone wants to chime in with their modded 3910 v. Saturn? I find that hard to believe. But maybe the mod was really that great. I don't know

 

[velogreg]

My hearing is kind of quirky so perhaps it is me but I was really impressed with SACD's mods. Please don't get me wrong, the Saturn was incredible, awesome, phenominal. It is just that I liked the overall music presentation a wee bit better in the Denon (modded). After that minimeet, the search for my next music source is over. Maybe DigiPete will share his thoughts it was his rig.....

Ahhh Pelikan 800, you have very good taste. My favorite is my Visconti. Good luck in your journey. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[jjhatfield]

I made a purchase:

I should have it sometime the week after next. Thanks again all for your recommendations, I think I will be very pleased with this one.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhatfield /img/forum/go_quote.gif I made a purchase: I should have it sometime the week after next. Thanks again all for your recommendations, I think I will be very pleased with this one.

So you ended up with jpelgs Modwright sony! very good choice. Congrats and enjoy.

 

[jjhatfield]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tom hankins /img/forum/go_quote.gif So you ended up with jpelgs Modwright sony! very good choice. Congrats and enjoy.

Yes! The other buyer backed out, so jpelg was kind enough to give me first right of refusal. The reviews for these mods were good everywhere I looked, and your strong recommendation in this thread let me to feel this would be a great choice, not only for SACDs but for regular Redbook as well. I'm hoping it does give me a good taste of what SACD is all about.

I am also pleased by the use of 5687 tubes in the Sony. I'm curious as to how that will sound with the 5687 tubes in the Slam. Plus it gives me some rolling options.

 

[tom hankins]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhatfield /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes! The other buyer backed out, so jpelg was kind enough to give me first right of refusal. The reviews for these mods were good everywhere I looked, and your strong recommendation in this thread let me to feel this would be a great choice, not only for SACDs but for regular Redbook as well. I'm hoping it does give me a good taste of what SACD is all about. I am also pleased by the use of 5687 tubes in the Sony. I'm curious as to how that will sound with the 5687 tubes in the Slam. Plus it gives me some rolling options.

My favorite in the Sony have been the Tungsol D getters. This machine also leaves room for upgrade in the future that will give you real sonic benifits.
the upgraded umbilical cord.
The new tubed power supply.
Good luck and have fun.

 

[sacd lover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhatfield /img/forum/go_quote.gif I made a purchase: I should have it sometime the week after next. Thanks again all for your recommendations, I think I will be very pleased with this one.

Good get JJ .... congratulations!!!

 

[jjhatfield]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacd lover /img/forum/go_quote.gif Good get JJ .... congratulations!!!

Thanks Tom, Earl, for the kind words. I've been picking up a couple of test SACDs to help pass the time while waiting for the Sony. I've ordered a few Living Stereo releases (these are so freaking amazing. Just the redbook side of some Fritz Reiner with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra is sublime. Hard to believe it was recorded with 3 microphones in 1956), a bunch of the remastered Depeche Mode albums from amazon.co.uk, Pink Floyd's DSOTM 30th anniversary, and for something different NIN's Downward Spiral.

More then anything else, I am just tickled to death to have found Roxy Music "Avalon" on SACD. This is actually the album that made me feel the magic of tubes for the first time when I got my Slam. Got great reviews on sa-cd.net. Really looking forward to this one.

 

[laxx]

congrats on your purchase. I hope you enjoy it alot. I've been thinking of getting my cdp modded at dacware.

 

[Wmcmanus]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Welly Wu /img/forum/go_quote.gif I auditioned the Ayre Acoustics C-5xe and I now own the Denon DVD 5910ci. In my humble opinion, the differences between these two units are noticeable in that CD and SA-CD performance comes down to increased dynamics, rhythm, treble extension, and bass attack, but they are not worlds apart at least when comparing through the RCA jacks.

Welly, I'm confused by this. Which of the 2 players sounded better? Can you please clarify? As I was reading, the impression I got was that since you bought the Denon player, it must have sounded better (as described above). Yet...

Quote:

I almost went with the C-5xe, but the 5910ci is available at a much lower price point and it has the best standard definition DVD-Video playback available as well.

This suggests that you were willing to sacrifice a bit in terms of the sound quality advantage offered by Ayre in favor of the better video and lower price advantages offered by the Denon player (and the fact that it can be modified to improve the audio performance).

I'd have to agree that the 5910ci offers a whole lot for the money.

 

[Welly Wu]

Yes, I went with the 5910ci because it was much less expensive. The Ayre C-5xe does sound better in terms of dynamics, balance, resolution, leading edge definition, and transparency, but it is not as others would call "night and day differences." I believe that when you spend this kind of money on any component, the audible sonic differences are very small. I also chose the 5910ci because I decided to take a small compromise in sound performance for top of the line standard DVD-Video performance. If I were to put a percentage difference in terms of better sound quality between the C-5xe and the 5910ci, then I would say it would be between 3% - 5% maximum.

Again, the C-5xe is the better sounding universal player, breathtaking almost, but it is not "night and day differences" better. I found it to be a bit subtler than that kind of blanket statement.

 

[KrooLism]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jjhatfield /img/forum/go_quote.gif Sounds wonderful, but $5,000 is simply not an option. I'm drifting away from the Sony because it supposedly has an internal amplifier, which I am not interested in.

Are you simply looking for a transport?

 

[jjhatfield]

Quote:

Originally Posted by KrooLism /img/forum/go_quote.gif Are you simply looking for a transport?

Actually I was mainly looking for a good SACD player.