2. digital
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I'm so confused....

Ok, first I thought I would make life easy and get the NAD 541i. Then I saw an Audiophile review of the Philips 963SA that made me rethink my whole life. Then I read the thread here that compared the two, only to find that the guy that started the thread went off and got a Jolida JD 100A, which was what I was giving a serious eye to a couple of weeks back. (Then I started reading all about these DAC gizmos, but that's a whole different can of worms...Don't get me stahted!)

Anyhow, now I don't know what to do. Is HDCD anything I should care about? Is SACD a passing fad...Sony's latest Betabust, or does it have legs? If I have the sweet warm sound of tubes such as a Jolida, do I even care about SACD? (FYI, I listen to just about every sort of music imaginable...From punk to Gregorian Chant...Though mostly jazz and classical.)

Or should I just stick with my Aiwa boombox and skip the whole darned thing?
dcwinton
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
SACD and DVD-A are not a passing fad, but fortunately there are "Universal" players that play both as well as regular CD's, and movie DVDs. At least one such player (Pioneer DV-45A) can get you started for about $400.

There are many Receivers, Preamps, Power Amps, that offer decent sound for not much money. Start with the Adcom line, and compare others.

Speakers are a world (universe) to themselves. Listen before you buy, they all produce different sound, and you want ones that sound good to you. Take your time and you will eventually find something you like at a price you want to pay.

Now, you are in business. Buy good discs and enjoy them. Resist the herd mentality to update frequently. Wait until you can hear a significant improvement at a fair cost.
glen's avatar
glen
714 posts
 
If you stick with the boombox you'll save a lot of money. If you jump into high end you'll here the music.

Much like the ring of power, once you slip it on it's very hard to take off.

Can you tell what movie I watched last night?
dcwinton OP
11 posts
 
Thank you, but I omitted some info. The boombox comment was facetious.

I have just replaced a Nakamichi receiver with an NAD 370, and my well loved, and well worn 25 year old JBL 4311 studio monitors with a pair of Kef RDM 3's. The CD that I'm looking for will replace a Yamaha CDC 845 that I paid about $450 for about 8 years back. Not real high end, but more than a boom box. Currently I'm using a new NAD T571 DVD/CD, but that will go into a different place when a current house remodel is completed.

I have about 2000 LPs and an equal number of CD's. I have an old Sony TC 765 reel to reel deck, that I used to archive LPs and various rarities with, until I got too lazy and blank 10" tapes became more difficult to find at Circuit City-type places. (I recently moved this two-ton unit and my 12 year old step daughter could not understand what it was even after I explained it to her.) I'm upgrading because after all these years I finally have the time, money and household geography required to enjoy good equipment with some confidence that it won't wind up with peanut butter stuffed into the jacks. Oh yeah, and family members have decided to take various parts with them to various corners of the earth so it's buy or die.
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