Tri-Vista SACD, what do you think?

I am a proud owner of a Tri-Vista SACD player. I have auditioned a few units over the past few months.... here's my recap....

Classe CDP-1 - Great player but only single CD format.

Consonance SACD - Great player... full bodied sound, multi format but hesitated because of it being a China product. (I'm not prejudiced toward the Chinese since I'm Asian as well but I've heard negative comments on Chinese components not having my research or engineering as products coming from other countries)

Electrocompaniet EMC-1up - Unbelievable player. Great soundstage, airy and extremely musical. Couldn't justify due to price and single format.

Classe Omega SACD - This unit was the best SACD player I listened to. (I own a Denon DVD-2900 and have been listening to SACD's since February). It was way more musical and detailed compared to the Consonance. The Redbook playback was horrible. My Denon blew it away. I was extremely disappointed. I seriously considered this player just for the SACD section but couldn't justify due to the price point, which by the way was 40% off of list.

I bought the Tri-Vista without an audition. (I gambled on the reviews I've been following since MF talked about releasing this product) Let me tell you it was the most nervewracking audio transaction ever. I had the opportunity to return the unit within 14 days if I was not satisfied but 3 weeks later it's still in my stack.

This player does Redbook and SACD remarkably. The sound is airy, open, has a wide soundstage and is not only full but very detailed as well. At the price point compared to the other units I think that this player is a great value. I highly recommend this player. Feel free to email me with question if you have any.... I've got a JPS Digital AC power cord on order and I'm hoping that it'll take this player to the next level. It made a huge difference on my Denon 2900 and other components I introduced it to.

Here's a list of my components:

Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD
McIntosh C2200 Tube Pre-amplifier
Classe CA-400 Amplifer
B&W Nautilus 802's
REL Stadium III Sub-bass

The review in Stereophile left me wondering whether they liked it or not. Obviously they can't irk MF. But this was one of the least useful reviews I've read in Sterophile. I know some mags dislike doing them, but comparisons really, really help because it provides some context with something you might already be familiar with. I think the online reviewers are better about this.

Although I found it of limited use, there is a review in the current Stereophile magazine. This featured review does little comparison with the competition - mostly it focuses on a $32K DCS rig (pointless) and MF's own redbook player. How it fares against the Asian or European players (Sony, Shanling, Phillips, ...) is not addressed. My experience with this rag leads me to suspect that this is a calculated omission. Stereophile has tested all these players, so why no comparison? Probably because they're as good (or better) at half the price or less, and given the amount of advertising space MF has been buying, this just wont do. So, what's a poor consumer to do? My advice, as always, is to do your own comparison with your own ears, and vote with your wallet. And please, share your experiences with the forum.

cheers,

The latest Gramophone classical music magazine gave it a rave review, both for redbook and SACD. I have not heard it myself and have no interest in tempting myself.

Spizm,
Do you know if the Tri-vista was sufficiently broken in when you compared?

I did a A/B comparison between the Tri-Vista SACD player and their A308cr CD player, and the A308 sounded better overall especially considering the price was 3x more for the A308. More detail and clarity. However, I didn't have a SACD with me at the time, so I don't know how well it handles SACDs.