Has anyone heard the SimAudio 650D?

Notice that all players on category A+ have SACD capability.

Also see the editor's note, just before the A+ equipment list: "SACD and DVD-A player ratings are based on how they sound sound with their respective hi-res media, not CD." I believe this explains why they are all listed ahead of the 650D and some other fine players on category A.

Has any one compared the 650D with dCS Debussy? Besides the differences in features (which I am well awere), I am interested on how they compare sonically. Heard both at a dealer demo system (all Simaudio top of the line gear), but have no chance to do it at home (McIntosh pre-power).

Nothing strange about it, Mike gets only one vote when it comes to the recommended components list.

Llcan,

What were your impressions of the differences in sound between the 650 and dCS based on your experience at he dealer?

The Debussy and 650D were very close performers, with a slight edge to the 650D, being it a tad more dynamic and more engaging.

Both were very detailed with no digital glare, at least to my ears. Bass performance was quite good on both. With hi-res material the 650D excelled with fantastic sound stage. The Debussy again was very close but with a presentation somehow more distant.

Need to consider the context though:
A full Simaudio system might have favored the 650D.
The 650D served as a transport to the Debussy during this audition. Speakers were the Raidhos 1.1.

That is why I would like to know other opinions about this comparison on systems other than full Siamaudio gear.

I am also considering the dCS reputation for firmware upgrades, including the already announced capability for DSD over USB (soon to be available on the Debussy).

Thanks Llcan. If the dealer was comparing cd playback on the 650D to the digital input of the Debussy then for sure that's not "apples to apples". I've found different digital coax cables to influence the sound so the cable between the 650D and Debussy would have been a factor in your evaluation of the Debussy. Too bad you couldn't have compared them both solely as DACs with some sort of computer audio serving as your source...

Simaudio will say that the greatest sonic potential of the 650D is as a stand alone dac for a quality computer hard drive source but it's taken me a lot of trial and error to get the sound from my Sooloos MC200/Simaudio 650D combination to equal and surpass the sound of just using the 650D as a traditional CD player!