The following is a extension of the previous info posted as a user review on the REAC VRDS 701CDT.
This time it is used in another system where the system owner has carried out substantial investigations into a Digital Source, from trying out numerous Devices and Modifications to a range of Devices.
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System Owner
Today was the day that the TEAC CDT came to play, and with it came our resident poster of down to earth opinion and logic, Macca. I couldn’t quite believe it had been 5-6 years since he was here last, but when we dissected what system I had at the time, there was no doubt. For this occasion was not only an opportunity for me to hear this new off the shelf CDT, but also a chance for Macca to hear what I had done since he was here last…..which is a lot.
The system previously consisted of a DCB1 preamp, PecanPi DAC, Krell KSA100 MK1 and Pioneer CS-77A speakers. As I said, it’s been a while.
We decided to allow the CDT to warm up while Martin got his head around the system. The X50D has been on 24/7 so no need to warm that up. We played a fair bit of music in that hour. Tracks from Robert Plant, Gary Moore, ZZ Top….the list goes on.
After a little while Martin turned to me and offered the following opinion (not verbatim)
“If I had one criticism, it would be that it’s too smooth…almost overly smooth. It’s missing some crunch. It’s also missing a bit of air and space around the HF”
I wasn’t entirely in agreement. The system is refined and i have always thought of it as such, but i then started listening to it for crunch and yea, i can see what Martin was getting at. The room and acoustic solutions may have impacted the HF’s space and air too. Maybe it was a little too polite. If so, i have no idea what i can do about it at this point. We listened for a while and then got down to business. Files vs CD.
The plan was to rip the CDs and then put the rip on the X50D and compare it to the CD it came from. I had already done a few rips prior to Martin’s visit, but he had two CDs with him. Joni Mitchell Blue, and Dire Straits - Love over Gold. I ripped Joni Mitchell first and we compared “The last time i saw Richard”
I will keep the description fairly brief so as to not fatigue you all, but my perception of what I heard was that when we played it on the X50D, the soundstage seemed to flatten off a bit, front to back. It was wide, but it didn’t seem to have a lot of depth VS the TEAC’s presentation. The TEAC equalled the X50Ds soundstage width, but it had more space front to back and top to bottom. This gave me the impression of a more natural presentation, with better 3D imaging. There was also one other change I noticed. When JM played the piano, via the CDT, it sounded more vibrant, more dynamic. Admittedly, it’s maybe a 2-5% difference, but it’s how I felt when I heard it. Quite honestly, I don’t know if you’d pick it out of a line up with any regularity, but I felt it, and it was a feeling that didn’t leave me all the way through today’s session.
We played Peter Schneider’s - Secret Mission album and again, to me, via the CDT, the trumpets had more “thrasp” when they were played, and if i am being 100% honest, it sounded more alive, like it was bouncing along, like it was fun for them to play and it was fun for me to listen to.
The session was bloody brilliant, and in a world where you had to pick one or the other, we both said we would pick the CDT, which surprised me as I had absolutely no inclination that I would feel that way when we started this session.
Funnily enough, when we swapped from the “internet obtained” FLAC files to WAV files ripped from the CD’s, that feeling of everything being too smooth went away. There was absolutely nothing to grumble about SQ wise. In fact, it sounded epic to me. I know that when you download P2P shared files you are at the mercy of the quality of them, and yes, i am sure my official purchase of Sera Una Noche file (AIFF) would sound epic too, but the fact is that i only have a couple of VERY decent files like that, vs an entire library of files with origins i have no idea of.
One of the things that became apparent today was that buying a CD with the EXACT mastering you want is a very desirable thing. The copies of Joni Mitchell and Dire Straits that Martin brought with him were FAR superior to even the 24/96 versions of both albums that I have, which were P2P downloads btw. Which kind of proves the point.
In the midst of all of this, it’s easy to forget why this session was arranged, but i should point it out as I feel it’s a point worth making.
Originally, I had questioned CD’s or CDT’s ability to match modern day technology. I bought an old Audiolab 8000CDM and gave it a damn good listen. Ultimately that fell by the wayside due to reliability, but it wasn’t up to it sonically either. The TEAC is a whole different story. It’s right up there with one of the best file based transports i have heard, and in my humble opinion, if you own an X50D you should be extremely pleased with it, especially if you get the PSU changed. However, for me, the future of digital in my house looks to be CDs.
The X50D has been sold, and I have bought a TEAC VRDS - 701CDT in silver.
Humongous thanks to Martin for dragging the TEAC down here for a listen. I owe you a pint or two at the next show/bakeoff
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TEAC Owner
I'm speaking with TEAC. see if they will put me on commission 
No hanging about there just go for it. I like it.
I put a few thoughts up:
Always enjoy a meet up with Ollie because like me he never gets bored of talking hi-fi. Plus I did want to get a listen to his Troels speakers.
The streamer vs CD was very interesting. The random files from the internet we listened to first didn't sound so great to me, but I think there was a couple of things at play.
First I had to adapt to a very different room and although the speakers are not dissimilar to those I own (both three-way front ported towers) the overall presentation was quite different.
Second I had only just got out of a car from a 40 minute trip down the motorway, I know that the noise from that dulls my hearing for a while after. Much later when we played another of those files it sounded fine.
With the cd copied to hard drive vs the same CD in the player, both synchronised, we could swap fairly fast between the two. (Now I think about it, having one running ahead of the other might have been better).
Have to say I did not hear any specific differences, except maybe the decay on Joni Mitchell's piano was not so delicate with the streamer. Also as Ollie mentions the trumpets maybe had a bit more rasp. But Ollie did blind test me - I got two right and two wrong. If there are differences they are at best tiny at least for me.
Gut instinct though - If it was a dealer demo and I had to walk out with the transport or the streamer, sound quality the only factor - I'd walk out with the transport. But it's a choice I already made so I'm going to have some bias.
But onto the speakers - yes, once I was acclimatised I could start hearing all the good things they do We listened to the whole of Oasis - 'Definitely Maybe' which is probably the second best test disc you can get after Thin Lizzy 'Live And Dangerous.'
The Oasis will show up any crap speaker usually within seconds. A studio recording mixed to sound like a gig in a working man's club. Hardly any mid-bass, a shedload of very low bass, dense mix, musically raucous. It's a killer.
Well, it sounded great, top to bottom with everything there - for example you could even hear the backing vocals which are well buried in the mix without having to actively listen out for them. Yes, that's the sort of thing I base my judgements on, I'm afraid.
Bass goes deeper than my speakers even though they are maybe 50 percent larger, the kick drum had power behind it mine don't do. But then on a lot of speakers that kick drum isn't there at all.
Never got untidy but they didn't smother the recording either. They are very refined but not to the point where it starts killing the sound.
Great speakers. Plus the finish on them is outstanding.
Anyway thanks for having me Oli - when is your TEAC turning up?
