Having both running into a Meridian 563 dac I can tell you that as good as the sb3 is, the 500 is much much better.
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Ethifi: The Bolder modded SB3 plus PS Ultimate MK II replaces a modded Rotel RCD-1070 with Superclock II, DBE digital output, Rubycon's caps, deadening damping sheets & diodes upgrades. I have not side by side compare the SB3 to the "best of best" cdps but IMO, its right up there with them sound quality wise ie: the tweaked SB3 plus the PS. The tweaked SB3 plus PS is not cheap but it will cost much less than an equivalent high end CDP. FYI, before I settled on the SB3 route, I auditioned flagship CDPs from Krell, Meridian & Cary. I did mention the convenience factor is a SB3 added bonus, right:-)? |
I'm not knocking the Meridian 500 transport, but another thing to keep in mind is that I don't believe you can get replacement parts for that transport so it could be a paperweight. There is good synergy between Meridian components but if you look at all the big meridian forums they us Squeezeboxes feeding their DSP8000, DSP7000 speakers for the most part. I own a Meridian 568.2 and personally don't find it very musical compared to my old EAD Signature for music. My friends 508.24 CD player is a very nice unit, but even my Compli sounds more natural and refined. If you don't have a modified powersupply on the SB3's then you are missing a lot! This is a manditory upgrade in my opinion if you have full range speakers. You might even consider getting the analog section of the SB3 modified by Bolder Audio and run it as a preamp/DAC if that is your only source.. that is suppose to be amazing plus you save $$$ on interconnects, power cords, etc.. Any way you cut it you will listen to more music with the Squeezebox than with anything else..... |
Thought I chime in again to refer you to an active thread in AC on the whys (& why nots) of the SB/server route http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?topic=37203.0 |
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