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Blind Shoot-out in San Diego -- 5 CD Players

On Saturday, February 24, a few members of the San Diego, Los Angeles and Palm Springs audio communities conducted a blind shoot-out at the home of one of the members of the San Diego Music and Audio Guild. The five CD Players selected for evaluation were: 1) a Resolution Audio Opus 21 (modified by Great Northern Sound), 2) the dcs standalone player, 3) a Meridian 808 Signature, 4) a EMM Labs Signature configuration (CDSD/DCC2 combo), and 5) an APL NWO 2.5T (the 2.5T is a 2.5 featuring a redesigned tube output stage and other improvements).

The ground rules for the shoot-out specified that two randomly draw players would be compared head-to-head, and the winner would then be compared against the next randomly drawn player, until only one unit survived (the so-called King-of-the-Hill method). One of our most knowledgeable members would set up each of the two competing pairs behind a curtain, adjust for volume, etc. and would not participate in the voting. Alex Peychev was the only manufacturer present, and he agreed to express no opinion until the completion of the formal process, and he also did not participate in the voting. The five of us who did the voting did so by an immediate and simultaneous show of hands after each pairing after each selection. Two pieces of well-recorded classical music on Red Book CDs were chosen because they offered a range of instrumental and vocal sonic charactistics. And since each participant voted for each piece separately, there was a total of 10 votes up for grabs at each head-to-head audition. Finally, although we all took informal notes, there was no attempt at detailed analysis recorded -- just the raw vote tally.

And now for the results:

In pairing number 1, the dcs won handily over the modified Opus 21, 9 votes to 1.

In pairing number 2, the dcs again came out on top, this time against the Meridian 808, 9 votes to 1.

In pairing number 3, the Meitner Signature was preferred over the dcs, by a closer but consistent margin (we repeated some of the head-to-head tests at the requests of the participants). The vote was 6 to 4.

Finally, in pairing number 5, the APL 2.5T bested the Meitner, 7 votes to 3.

In the interest of configuration consistance, all these auditions involved the use of a power regenerator supplying power to each of the players and involved going through a pre-amp.

This concluded the blind portion of the shoot-out. All expressed the view that the comparisons had been fairly conducted, and that even though one of the comparisons was close, the rankings overall represented a true consensus of the group's feelings.

Thereafter, without the use blind listening, we tried certain variations at the request of various of the particiapans. These involved the Meitner and the APL units exclusively, and may be summarized as follows:

First, when the APL 2.5T was removed from the power regenerator and plugged into the wall, its performance improved significantly. (Alex attributed this to the fact that the 2.5T features a linear power supply). When the Meitner unit(which utilizes a switching power supply) was plugged into the wall, its sonics deteriorated, and so it was restored to the power regenerator.

Second, when we auditioned a limited number of SACDs, the performance on both units was even better, but the improvement on the APL was unanimously felt to be dramatic.
The group concluded we had just experienced "an SACD blowout".

The above concludes the agreed-to results on the blind shoot-out. What follows is an overview of my own personal assessment of the qualitative differences I observed in the top three performers.

First of all the dcs and the Meitner are both clearly state of the art players. That the dcs scored as well as it did in its standalone implementation is in my opinion very significant. And for those of us who have auditioned prior implementations of the Meitner in previous shoot-outs, this unit is truly at the top of its game, and although it was close, had the edge on the dcs. Both the dcs and the Meitner showed all the traits one would expect on a Class A player -- excellent tonality, imaging, soundstaging, bass extension, transparency, resolution, delineation, etc.

But from my point of view, the APL 2.5T had all of the above, plus two deminsions that I feel make it truly unique. First of all, the life-like quality of the tonality across the spectrum was spot-on on all forms of instruments and voice. An second, and more difficult to describe, I had the uncany feeling that I was in the presence of real music -- lots or "air", spatial cues, etc. that simply add up to a sense of realism that I have never experienced before. When I closed my eyes, I truly felt that I was in the room with live music. What can I say.

Obviously, I invite others of the participants to express their views on-line.

Pete

petewatt
ctm_cra
86 posts
 
Shadorne - "The fact that there were audible differences in such high quality players is really scary."

As you noted, the results were definitely audible. I do want to say that the sonic differences, though audible from one player to another, were not night and day differences. However, all present were able to identify which player they liked better, thanks to a very resolving system in San Diego.

The same differences from one unit to another were also discernable the following day in a different system using a different recording.

These are some of the very best digital playback units and the total retail cost of the 5 players involved is in the neighborhood of $80-90kUSD and I was glad to have been a part of it. However, sonic differences from one unit to another are independent of the prices of the gears being evaluated. Sonic differences should also be heard from more affordable units. Similarly, I would expect to hear differences from cartridges mounted on the same tt and arm (loading issues aside) regardless of whether you are comparing budget/entry level units or the very best transducers. Ultimately you will be dependent on the system used and its full range reproduction and resolving capability.
jfz
570 posts
 
I am very appreciative that this comparison was done; it didn't appear like advertising to me (although maybe it would have been "wiser" to have Alex leave for a few hours). I also appreciate all the follow-up questions, and the clarification of other(s) who were there. At the risk of anyone thinking I'm wringing my hands (I'm not - just curious), my question has to do with warm-up of players, potential interaction of having other players plugged in simultaneously, etc. Again, I'm just curious, not suggesting at all that the results of the testing done here was invalid. One of the reasons I ask is I'm very aware in my own system that once a component (esp. digital)is turned off, it can take some time to get back up to optimum sound. Seems like those who did this testing thought of almost everything - and did "due diligence" to try to control all the variables they could. So...just wondering how issues like this were handled. Thanks for doing this comparison and posting the results. This kind of thing - including subsequent discussion - is, in the end, a great service to us all. IMHO p.s. Wouldn't it be great if each of these players (or at least the top three) could be used in each of the 5 individuals' systems for a week or so? I'd love to hear their thoughts after that.
bpwalsh
1,200 posts
 
Intriguing but not entirely relevant. Not description was included in the opening post on associated equipment used, the room, etc. except a little by Alex who mentions Pipedreams (unspecified model), some unknown model of Lamm amps, and some model of PS Audio power regenerator powering who knows what. Never mind the preamp, cabling, etc. But we know 16 year old Lagavulin Scotch was consumed.
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Do blind tests really matter in the world of high end audio? I ask because I am certain that many or most Audiophiles would look at results of say a $500 item and a $10,000 item and even if the budget item "trounced" the high ticket item, most would still buy the expensive piece because if it costs more it HAS to be better, face it alot buy with their eyes...not ears. I am also willing to bet MANY items compare very well as super high priced items for a fraction of the cost......and we do not allow ourselves to admit this truth to our inner audio geek.
Two case in points, Dave Wilson demo with a cheap Parasound amp, also another with an IPOD...both left the crowd pleased, but how many do you think actually incorporated those items with Wilson speakers?
shadorne's avatar
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shadorne
7,467 posts
 
Lots of hand wringing and nitpicking over a listening session, IMO.

Agreed but the shootout suggests large and earth shaking differences in performance from several extremely expensive and extremely high quality players....to me this is at complete odds with accurate audio reproduction....how can they possibly sound so vastly different (unless there is deliberate sound coloration or major flaws from the various designs)?

I read the conclusion again...it attributes all the qualities of the audio at the listening session to the CD source (as if nothing else influenced the sound; speakers, music selection, room acoustics, amp, listener preferences...)

the APL 2.5T had all of the above, plus two deminsions that I feel make it TRULY UNIQUE. First of all, the life-like quality of the tonality across the spectrum was spot-on on all forms of instruments and voice. An second, and more difficult to describe, I had the uncany feeling that I was in the presence of real music -- lots or "air", spatial cues, etc. that simply add up to A SENSE OF REALISM THAT I HAVE NEVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE. When I closed my eyes, I truly felt that I was in the room with live music. What can I say.

Furthermore the shootout approach had to arrive at a clear winner (five identical players marked A, B, C, D, and E would also have resulted in a clear winner too, despite there being no differences!)

Unfortunately this sort of hyperbole is rampant everywhere in high end audio reviews, so it is pleasant that a few skeptics have spoken out (even if they weren't there and don't know what really happened and so are just expressing doubt). This makes Audiogon a great and balanced resource.

In conclusion: I do not doubt that each of these players tested are simply excellent! I am not trying to knock the winner (APL product) in anyway. I have no doubt that the APL product tested, in all probability, sounds absolutely fantastic! However, I remain somewhat skeptical that the other products are "dimensionless" in comparison.
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