2. digital
  3. 1011810958

Stereophile's A+ vs A rating leaves a question

Looking at the Oct 01 Stereophiles Recommended Components CD players leaves me scratching my head. I'm only slightly interested in SACD and am about to upgrade to a new, and probably last CD player (96 or 192KHz sampling)

The question arises in that Stereophile's A+ rating states that the rating only applies to SACD performance and not to red book CD performance. So if one is first interested in standard CD performance and wouldn't mind having SACD capability the ratings are useless.

I am currently considering the Sony SC DXA 777ES, Muse 190, Meridian 588/508.24, Cary 306/200. A real zoo isn't it.
keis
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
Just spoke today with Andy Bowman at Vintage Tube Services (616-454-3467) about this same question of availability. Relax! These tubes (Nu-vistors) are in plentiful supply. The was a story awhile back that Musical Fidelity bought up all of the remaining supply of Nu-vistors. Not true! Also, I believe that the Nu-vistors are good for about 50,000-100,000 hours, or a minimum of 5-10 years, if the unit is left on 24/7! Also, if there is no dealer in your area, you can have one shipped to you from an out-of-state dealer, and save quite a few bucks in sales tax! Happy Tunes!
keis OP
176 posts
 
Thanks Fat. Still have questions about Audio Aero. The company is small, overseas, and only been around 15 years? This is a major investment. It like buying a DeLorean. Great car but who fixes the thing after the bankruptcy?

Small stereo companies, even those with great products do tend to go out of business.
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
Keis, there are several exceptional after market facilities that do repairs and modifications. If you own a classic piece of equipment, there will always be someone to do the work (look at the old tube gear from the '60's....Marantz, Dynaco, etc. An advantage of a smaller company is that you don't have to pay the HUGE costs of infrastructure and advertising. Hey, how much of your purchase price of a piece Cary or Levinson gear goes to the advertising budget?
keis OP
176 posts
 
Good point. But I wouldn't call Cary large. Levinson yes, as part of Harmon surely is in the hi fi world.
More to discover