Who R U?

sandra, i can understand your reluctance to jump in to the digital world, wanting to wait for the format wars to settle out. but, you may end up tuneless for a lot of years! ;~)

meanwhile i suggest you pick up an art di/o dac for ~$122 from fullcompass.com, ship it to wayne at boldercables.com, where he'll tweak it for ~$200. then, pair it w/any cheap cd-player of your choice - i like my nad 515 5-disc changer, retailed for $500, i got it a lot less as a demo. do a search on a-gon & on the audio asylum's digital forum for di/o (or dio), for info. while i can't speak for those who have dumped their $20k digital rigs in favor of the di/o, i *can* say i'd rather listen to my set-up than a $3k resolution audio cd-50 that has received so much positive press...

also, while my experience w/solid-state amps is that digital sounds better w/a tubed preamp than run straight-in to amps, w/tubed amps, your results may be different. but, w/o a preamp, ya miss out on all the good vinyl & fm available. a quality tuner w/good stations will *really* amaze you, thru your system, if you have never heard it. and even a half-decent vinyl set-up will blow almost *any* digital set-up away, imho...

doug s.

I actually have been thinking about getting something to get by, but I hate to compromise the sound of my system with something cheap. I am going to look into the new Sony ax7000es player, and will also look into the art io/dac. If anybody has any other suggestions for a reasonable price that will sound good, let me know.

Rivercitylad; as I went to school in Moscow, Idaho (90 miles S. of Spokane), I've spent some time in the fair city of Spokane-- a place I may choose to live if not here on the Oregon coast. Welcome to you and all the new people here on Audiogon.

Congrats to you David, "our" thread now has over 300 posts, and I'm glad to hear of the positive changes in your life and music. I agree, there are some excellent recordings of C/W music, ie Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, and G. Jones come to mind-- but I'm still a Bluesman at heart. BTW, in Oct., I added Vandersteen 5s to my system, and am still falling in love with them ;>). Incredible bass.

Dugg, it's nise to si yore Naim bak on the 'Gon. Happy New Year to all A'gon members and readers. Cheers. Craig.

If you will tolerate a post from an absolute A-gon newbie ("long time listener, first time caller"), here goes:
I'm a psychotherapist for the federal government. Took my PhD from the University of Alabama. Also bishop in an independent catholic church (i.e. not "Roman"). Fifty-six years old, long-divorced, son in the music industry. Built my first music system in my pre-teens and have been listening and tinkering ever since.

In the course of a life misspent, I've been a professional singer and symphony player, choral conductor, and music critic for a medium-market daily paper. I'm immune to snob appeal/brand consciousness and the "oh my god, it's new so I gotta have it" syndrome. I buy only when I can hear a clear and convincing improvement over what I already own. I've gone through far less equipment than many of you--I envy the time and money to do the listening, buying, and selling that many of you have done.

Trained as a scientist, I'm a strong advocate for DBX evaluation of equipment. That being said (and before the subjectivists take down my email address and start planning ways to burn down my house) I also know that many subtle differences in amps, preamps, even cables and tweaks CAN be demonstrated through objective testing. Open-mindedness is needed on both sides of this issue. Alas,it is in damned short supply.

Thanks for listening. I'm happy to be a member of this congenial and knowledgable community.

Will

Welcome aboard Bishopwill, sounds as though you have had a very vicssitudes time. But your in great company, and music is always there for ya.
~Tim