2. digital
  3. 1188510515

Have You Heard the Northstar CD Combo?

WOW! I just bought a Northstar Transport and the Extremo DAC. I can't believe how good this sounds. It blows away my Sony scd-1 in stock mode, and even betters it with the mods that I had in the Sony. I never thought I could get this excited about a piece of digital equipment. I also love the size. Very small compared the the scd-1 beast. That thing almost broke my back! It is still not the equal of my analog system, but I can go from listening to LP's to CD's and not feel the need shut the digital off and fire up the TT right away.
slowhand
audiobb
103 posts
 
hey,all you North Star owners,i'd like to know a few things about this combo.
1.
How good is the CD-reading ability of this transport?Any of you had any problems with older CDs or CD-Rs or CD-RWs?
2.
On Extremo DAC, and model 192 DAC, can you switch the input source on the front panel?Let's say you have 2 or 3 transports connected to different inputs.Can you switch between them at a press of a button (on a front panel)?
3.
How big is the difference between these 2 DACs?Sonically speaking, is model 192 60% or 90% of Extremo's performance?Of course,when connected to North Star transport.
Thanks for you answers.
tabl10s's avatar
tabl10s
1,090 posts
 
I'm seling an Audient Technology I2S that I no longer use real cheap if anyone's interested. Clark Johnson raved about it in a past Positive Feedback mag.
gammajo's avatar
gammajo
846 posts
 
I have never had my Northstar skip or fail to read any CD that I have thrown at it including CD-R and CD-RW over the years that I have owned the unit with about average of 10 hours play per week
audiobb
103 posts
 
Gammajo,thanks.Has anyone heard 192 transport/DAC with any tube gear (SET maybe) and highly sensitive speakers?
clio09
3,360 posts
 
My combo has no trouble reading CDs, CDRs, etc. You can select the input on the front panel. There are 4 options: 2 coaxial RCA, 1 toslink, and 1 I2S.
More to discover