dcs sound

Audiomeca Mephisto II & Enkianthus. Much more analog sounding. I never thought I would own anything else, then I heard the Audiomeca. It is gorgeous sound and just so natural.

I am not a big friend of Digital, because all the years I listened at Demo's to the most expensive units ( ML, Krell, Wadia etc....) I always thought: ".............the sound is not worth the price ...........I don't hear what is so good with these units .....and so on " The dCS Demo was the first were I really thought, that the presentation is SO MUCH better than everything before I heard, that I invested more time with these units. The Elgar / Delius alone ( DAC ) is very, very good. I think it is because they construct their own Processors. Believe me, I love Analog, and this unit is extremely good ( for Digital ). With the Purcell ( D/D Converter = Upsampling to 176,4 or 192 khz ) the Sun is rising. More high frequencies, more air, wide presentation and so on without the usual digital artifacts. A friend who listend to my combo went a few days later to someone else who wanted to sell a Wadia 860. After 5 minutes my friend asked the owner to stop the demo. It was total different, typical digital ............. I think upsampling alone is not the secret, it is the combination - like I wrote - with their own electronics ( processors ......), because some other maufacturers offer 192 khz too, but they don't reach dCS. These are really unique. The main advantage with these is - the upgradability for the future based on software, DSD possible - millions of used CD's are out there and all can be listened dramatically improved. I can wait total relaxed for the future, I survived the HDCD hype, I will see what is going on with SACD or DVD-A, and when something is going on with these seriously I send my dCS units back for upgrade when new outputs ( firewire ) are necessary. It is like a premium record player: It doesn't get old

There are some dealer demo's out there. Not because they are bad, because of the upgrade prices for dsd from dCS. It is very expensive for dealers, so they give them out to order new ones.
But for interested ones who are waiting with cash, they can do a REAL BARGAIN now.

While I think the dCS Elgar is an excellent piece, ultimately my preference in my system was and still is the Audio Logic 2400. I felt the AL to be more alive sounding and dimensional, the Elgar a little restrained in comparison. You're really talking about personal biases here, though, all of the units mentioned in this thread offer superior sound. However, I think the Purcell is the best upsampler/filter combination/whatever you want to call it I've heard and the best improvement to 16/44 CD out there right now. I can listen to Cds without it, but I can't get near the musical and emotional involvement that I get with it in my system. I have and greatly enjoy vinyl and SACD, and the Purcell makes CD much more competitive with those setups, particularly with respect to harmonics, dynamics and reduced harshness at higher listening levels. I've had mine for a year and a half and don't ever regret getting it.

After re-reading my post, I noticed I may have not been entirely clear. I recently sold my dCS gear to pay for a home remodeling project. I had every intention of replacing the dCS stuff in September with another Purcell and delius, until I heard the Audiomeca. I have listened to the Dodson, dCS, Levinson Reference, Wadia, etc. and the Audiomeca topped them all. Everything else sounded thin and distorted until I heard the Mephisto and Enkianthus. I did not realize it until I actually listened to the Audiomeca. I really thought the other products were outstanding. This is truly the first digital combination that I have heard that rivals vinyl.

Pierre Lunet really know his stuff. It is my understanding the he designed the Golmund gear and saved his best work for his own line. The transport mechanism is his own proprietary design and is remarkable.

Before you go out and spend a ton of money, give it a listen. You will not be disappointed.

Must agree with Jtinn.Check out the Audiomeca.