Audio Aero Capital CD vs SACD

hi Matt,

my opinion on your first question is that a separate dac would be unlikely to improve the Capital; which doesn't need improving. part of the magic of the Capital is related to it's tube output stage.....which would be bypassed if you used a separate dac. on the other hand until you tried it you wouldn't know for sure. in your case i think the #37 transport would be more appropriate for your #36s dac.

i have heard from a friend in Australia that by installing a "direct out" from the dac and bypassing the internal volume control and gain stage the sound improves. my experience would tend to prove that. who knows, i may have preferred the Capital in that configuration.

of course, one man's magic can be another man's limitation.

as far as $$$$, i think most would choose the Capital over the Linn but i will keep my Linn.....i prefer the Linn by enough margin to balance the $$$ savings by selling the Linn and buying the Capital. with 3200 cds i can justify in my mind the best cd playback. in my system i get no advantage with the internal volume control/gain stage of the Capital.

Thanks Mike, very informative. I too have always loved the CD-12 but, as you note, at $6900 vs. $20,000, this says a lot not only for how far even 16/44.1 digital has come but for the Capitole as well. If they are that close in your system, I am looking forward to hearing the Capitole.

Mike-I am very surprised with your comments, though the Linn is one of the few greats that I haven't listened too. In particular with the SACD I noticed the opposite, it didn't have anything on the Capitole. Though it is possible the Valhalla is a little more nuetrel then the Jena(we used Valkyre) thus leading to your thoughts. It is interesting to hear this from another discerning listener, just so I know was the capitole broken in? I know when my friend got his he was ready to send it back, but he didn't and really warmed as it broke in, giving it the analog sound-to me anyway, keep in mind I have not listened to near as much vinyl as you guys seeing as I have never owned a turntable. FWIW the capitole was also used in my friends system with Tenor amps, and the volume on the amps sounds different then the volume on the player, it was hard for us to say which sounded better, I am sure time will tell.
Tim

Wait till the new SACD Gold Aero comes out ..any time now.

Tim, with all due respect to the Capitole (i guess i was misspelling it, sorry), any sacd player with a sufficiently high quality output stage should better any cd player, assuming other issues are equalized. how many sacd players have a sufficiently high-quality output stage?....possibly not man (i do think the SA-1 qualifies). the additional resolution of sacd, taken proper advantage of, wins every time.

the wild card here is the volume control and gain stage of the Capitole. if you love what it does, it may "add" something that you may prefer over whatever the sacd player you are comparing it to does. but this sacd player will be most likely going thru a preamp of some sort and add the signature of that preamp. so now you are comparing the relative performance of these preamps. personally, i believe the volume control and gain stage of the Capitole slightly colors the sound compared to my reference; which is "no" preamp (active gain stage). many prefer an active gain stage, and they may not agree with my preference. unless you can isolate the gain stage from the Capitole you will not know what and why definitively.

comparing the volume performance of the Audio Aero Capitole 192/24 with the Placette RVC in my setup made it clear to me that the Placette was the more neutral performer. whether that is preferable in all systems would be a matter of taste....."can you handle the truth?"

the Capitole used in this comparison is owned by an Audio Aero dealer, is the latest version, and fully broken in. i would be surprised if your friend with the Tenors is not familiar with the dealer involved here.