AudioMeca vs. AudioAero vs. Electrocompaniet

Hi Farhad - When I first purchased the Mephisto, I had an Elecrocompaniet EC4.5 preamp which has a "balanced/unbalanced" switch. The switch allowed a user to go between the two inputs on the preamp very easily. At that time, I was moving to a new preamp made by Supratek which doesn't have balanced inputs. I was concerned because all my previous systems were balanced only. I didn't like or trust RCA - single ended cables. Whether it be because the XLRs fit better, looked cooler or were just different, I don't know, I just always used balanced.

To make the comparison, I installed two runs of Nordost Quattro Fil. One was balanced and the other was single ended. To make a long story short, I heard no difference in sonic character between the two interconnects. Using balanced cables produces a 6db increase in gain but...that was really all the difference I could hear.

Balanced cables are VERY good for LONG runs as they have better rejection of RFI but I don't think they sound better or worse as a general rule of thumb.

RCA cables are annoying. They either fit too tight or don't fit tight enough. XLR's are very convenient. In all honesty, I would prefer to use XLR simply because it connects better but I wouldn't expect it to make my system sound better unless I had a cable run that was longer than 3 or 4 meters (which I do not).

Now that I use all RCA cables, I can honestly say it that to me, the performance of RCA is just as good as balanced.

Top Ten Players? This is tough because my system changed so much between listenings that it's hard to say what the exact order should be.

Clearly the three best players are listed below - but under that the order is a little more jumbled based entirely on my system at the time of auditioning. For many of those players listed, I didn't spend the COUNTLESS hours testing interconnects and power cords to tune/tweak to my tastes.

- Lin CD12

- Audio Aero Capitole & Audio Meca Mephisto (tie)

!-- This is where the order starts to get a bit funky ---!

- Accuphase DP75v
- Wadia 860 and 861
- Electrocompaniet EMC-1 Mk II
- Marantz SA-1
- Cary 306/200
- Electrocompaniet EMC-1 Mk I
- Meridian 508.24
- Resolution Audio CD55

Bryan-I have heard most all of the players on your list and I would have to agree with you!! You have been a fountain of information through out this thread and many others(not to mention private emails!), a truly class act audiophile!

I realize this may be a bit off topic if so I apologize. When comparing these different components there is another aspect to consider. One thing I have found with optimizing the sound of the mephisto transport is isolation. I have a mephisto II with ekianthus DAC and while I found it the most musical I had heard I had not compared it to a lot (wadia and linn ikemi). What I did compare it to was the live music which I listen to a lot, our piano and my turntable and found I did find the cd wanting. Bryan has been very helpful with suggestions on powercords and I am in the process of looking at that. I also am trying new interconnects and digital cable but the verdict is out till the cables burn in but in the meantime I have had a chance to alter the support. My transport sits on a very heavy stand of mdf with sandfilled plinthes sitting on carbon blocks and I thought that was all I needed. A friend lent me darumas and the results were dramatic. The soundstage opened up amazingly. The midrange and high end were more transparent and the bass was more defined. The music breathed a lot more. In short it was way closer to what I have heard in live music and not just with my 'test' discs. The results were so remarkable my wife, who thinks I'm nuts sometimes, commented on the change very positively. I have now got the player on symposium rollerblocks and shelf and the results are just as good if not better, though rollerblocks alone did not do it. So just a thought when you are looking at digital do not forget the support or isolation. Hope this is not too off topic but all three are great players I understand, I think this might help a lot to people trying them out.

Gajgmusic I agree with you about isolation and its importance however I am curious why you would buy a Mephisto II CD player AND a Enkianthus DAC. The Mephisto II and the Enkianthus share the same DAC.