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Old digital that still kicks butt

Not being a believer that time necessarily = progress, I would like to offer the following example of a sonic gem that has transcended time and can totally kick butt in a modern milieu:
1. Marantz CD5000 al la CD48, Philips Cd753, CDS751: what do these players all have in common:?    the miraculous TDA1549 chip. As Lucas Ficas alias ’Lampizator‘ has described this chip is a killer and  probably the best Philips has produced. If you take the output straight from the chip via high quality output caps the sound quality is still right up there. Add a cathode follower if you you wish for greater solidity and slam at the expense of ultimate clarity.

Add some chassis damping and you have something that plays real music.
128x128pesky_wabbit
jaytor's avatar
jaytor
765 posts
 
After a 10+ year hiatus from 2-channel audio (I was focused on home theater), I decided about nine years ago to set up a system in my home office. I had a Levinson No 39 CD player that I had purchased in the late 90s. The drawer was pretty flakey, but I was able to hook it up to my computer using a USB to SPDIF converter.

The No 39 was a very well regarded DAC/CD Player in it's day, but I figured that DACs had likely improved a lot in the intervening 15 years. Also, the USB to SPDIF converter was kind of flakey.

So, based on excellent reviews, I bought a Wyred4Sound DAC-2. Well, I gave this DAC several months to see if it would break-in and/or I could get used to the sound, but to no avail. It just sounded thin and strident compared to my ML. So, out went the DAC-2.

Several years later, I finally tried another DAC. This time, an Yggy A2. This DAC was a clear improvement over the No. 39 in almost every way. And my current Denafrips Terminator Plus is significantly better yet.

So, while I think good quality older DACs can still deliver decent sound, a good modern DAC offers pretty significant improvements. 
dill
2,539 posts
 
Bitwise Musik System Zero DAC fed by a Monarchy Audio DT-40A transport connected via AES/EBU connection.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 



Old digital that still kicks butt


Especially well designed ones that use the very best of the last R2R ladder dac chips made the PCM1702 and PCM1704 chips and if you can get them with PMD100 or 200 HDCD filter chips, but not mandatory, after those the next best AD1862N or TDA1541

TDA1549 old early bitstream (single bit) not good musically or dynamically, don’t care what Lampi says about it.

Just use the search for PCM1704 and then PCM1702
http://vasiltech.narod.ru/CD-Player-DAC-Transport.htm

Cheers George
artemus_5's avatar
artemus_5
1,984 posts
 
Last Friday night as I had a marathon session, I kept thinking that my CD player (Theta Miles) sounded way too good. My vinyl sounds better (as it should) but the Miles is there nipping at its heels. The Miles does not have the high freq extension as the TT but its 20 yrs old too. I suspect it needs caps & a refresh. One big help is the footers under it. I use my own DIY roller blacks which offer tremendous soundstage  & presence when used under a CDP. I was shocked at how much difference they made.
larryi
4,057 posts
 
If you have a chance to hear a 20-year old Audio Note DAC 5, you will see how little the state of the art has progressed.  It has been a while since I have heard the Linn CD 12, but I agree with the posting above that it is extremely good.  It also doesn’t hurt that it is so pretty to look at too.
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