Not wasting my time on new Digital


Well guys, I have disappointing news:

Getting all hyped being a tech guy, tried out a new $9000 top flying Integrated CD player, with the apparently best design and parts including Anagram algorithms and ……..

I don’t know boys, this is my second disappointing experience with new digital gear.
I am not going to mention any manufactures that I have been disappointed with.
I have a very nice system to my ears to name a few products including Sonus Faber (Electa Amator mk1 to be exact) Apogee’s, Audio research and more…….

Decided to try some new sources of course and I was told all sort of things and parts and man oh man, the reviews and well to my ears other than my original Oracle turntable and my newer VPI table, my older DAC’s sound much more musical. WHY? WHY? WHY?

New technology, new ideas, new designs, new engineering and we see to be going behind rather that forward. I still like my original Theta Gen V and even my Bel Canto DAC for a fraction of the cost, even my Micromega DAC hands down.

Anyway are there any other people experience the same thing, by the way I have tried some very serious stuff and out of the pricy gear…meridian and Spectral (Spectral SDR-2000 with no upgrades and still sounds amazing) stays on top of my listing.

Appreciate any input.

Cheers - rapogee
rapogee
I think there are too many "bright ideas" being incorporated into the new units. This is either because of marketing pressures or some belief that new=improved. I believe Peter Qvortrup when he says that the more you mess with a bit stream the worse it sounds. My non-oversampling, tube-output Audio Note DAC with its ancient AD1865N chip sounds better to these tired old ears than anything I've heard, and that includes the Meitner stuff.
Simplify simplify. Get a non oversampler player. Any make will do for starters. I am using the cheap Consonance 120, for the time being. Although it lacks some of the bloom of tube varieties, it played the most realistic piano in the room on my Scinnies so far.
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