Big Difference With New Source?

My experience with digital front ends is probably similar to a few others out there.

I had started off with a cheap CD player many, many moons ago. Over the years, i had changed players. Sometimes out of wanting something new, sometimes out of having to replace a player that was "wounded". There were some subtle changes along the way, but nothing really major. Out of all honesty, i think that most of the improvements were simply due to the normal "trickle down effect" as digital technology has grown over the years.

All of that changed when i picked up a tubed DAC. While i had tried a few different SS DAC's before, i was not prepared for the difference in liquidity, increase in soundstage depth and air, separation of instruments, drastically increased "musicality" and overall improvement that came with the addition of the "antique" technologies known as tubes to the digital signal. It was by far the biggest step forward in digital that i had ever taken. There was no more digital glare or "sterility" that i had so often encountered in most digital recordings and presentations. Instead, there was music that flowed freely from my speakers like never before from a digital source.

I was overjoyed to say the least. I liked it so much i ended up buying three more tube based DAC's ( some 18 bit, some 24 bit ) for other systems. Along with that went the associated variations in tubes, etc... It was both fun and enlightening to see the differences that various makes of tubes could introduce into a system. I was in "digital bliss", or so i thought. Little did i know that this wasn't going to last as long as i would have thought.

One day a package showed up at my shop. It was a DAC that i had ordered months and months prior. While it was an SS unit, i was guaranteed that it would put my tubed DAC's to shame. I was told that i would have the speed, frequency extension and transparency of SS with the warmth, liquidity and natural presentation that tubes offered. If i didn't experience this, i was free to return the unit with no questions asked. Needless to say, i was both reluctant and excited at the same time.

Upon hooking the new SS DAC up, i was immediately aware of how precise and clean this unit sounded. Not only did notes pour forth with razor like precision, they did so as effortlessly as Nolan Ryan threw a fastball. The sound was pure yet had such a soft and liquid character with great extension at both ends. I new my "old flame" of a tubed DAC would seem like yesterday's news. That is, if i were to ever hook it back up. I did do that, but not for quite some time. The difference was so startling and instantaneous that it swept across me like a revelation sent from above.

The bottom line to all of this was that i had reached a plateau at one point. This took place after literally trying over a dozen different players, dac's, etc... from various manufacturers. I thought that i had reached a point that would be hard to surpass. Then, all of a sudden, something rose above that plateau to show me that there was the potential for better performance and increased enjoyment. Just as i had come to rest on what i thought was a pleasant plateau with my new-found love, another product awoke me from my slumber on that plateau to push me forward. While i have moved forward from that "push", i am now pretty content with what i currently have. That probably means that there is something coming my way shortly that will make me sit up and take notice. That is, IF i want to.

I'm sure that there are others out there with similar stories and experiences. As such, their system and yours will only evolve to the point that you want or will allow it to. Sometimes the step forward is very noticeable and quite large. Sometimes it is gradual and made up of a bunch of smaller steps. Either way, there is always new ground to be explored with most of it being at least "different" if not pleasurable. It all adds up to what most would consider to be an educational experience in what can be a very fun and enjoyable journey.

Do your homework, demo as much gear as possible and spend your money wisely. If you play your cards right, you can check out quite a bit of gear in your house / system without really losing money should you decide to keep rolling things over. Variety is the spice of life and i encourage you to partake of that "spice". Why settle for less when there is so much more out there : ) Sean
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so Sean, after all that you didn't even introduce us? What's her name?

With a revealing system, changes in source are very apparent and IMO establish the basis for achieving a natural musical presentation devoid of the digital artifacts that we all seem to dislike. I have an NAD 541 as my cdp in a project studio with SS into Tannoy monitors but I wouldn't use it in my dedicated listening room for classical music (there I use Merlin VSM-Ms with tubes). I have used an Arcam Alpha 8se, CAL Delta / Bel Canto DAC 1, and Dan Wright modified CAL Delta / Tact RCS 2.0 internal DAC. Each of these had its own character (as did the selection of digital cable connecting the transports and DACs). I think the choice of equipment (including cdp) depends upon what music you want to listen to and your personal preferences about sound presentation. My Arcam was more forward and very detailed while the Delta/Bel Canto combination was more laid back and smooth. I preferred the latter but I can imagine others preferring the Arcam. I've never heard the Rega Planet 2k but from everything I've read, my guess is that it would be a great match for your equipment based on what I like. YMMV however.

Hi Ptm...I do think CD players sound different enough to make the upgrade worthwhile, but the differences are much much more noticeable when the rest of your system is upgraded. I'm not familiar with most of your components, so I can't comment on them. If you are planning on making other changes you might want to make them first. If not, then spend the money on the better CDP (and consider buying used...you get a lot more for your money).

What represents a major, dramatic improvement is a relative thing that changes over time with your tastes and listening experience. As you listen to more and more gear you get a better sense of which components have an effect on what aspect of sound, and once you have that ability changes that would be relatively minor to a novice become dramatic to the more seasoned listener.

A novice, for example, can readily pick out differences in speakers but can not always hear "significant" changes between CD players, although to a more experienced listener the two CD players can sound like "night and day." That said, I don't think any component makes a more absolute difference to a system than speakers as they are not only responsible for delivering information accurately but, more than any other component, will impart a certain character to the sound given its overall design(i.e. 2/3/4 way, sealed/ported, monitor/floorstander, cone/ribbon/stat, crossover order, etc.) and how it interacts with your room. This is not to say upstream components don't have character as they most certainly do, but they will not impart their character to the extent that speakers do to the overall system(which is why novices don't have a hard time hearing differences between speakers but don't always pick up as easily on changes to electronics). So don't expect the change to be "quantitatively" as different as changing speakers, but "qualitatively" a CD player may yield a bigger improvement depending on your system and tastes.

I'm saying all this because if you don't like the "character" of the sound of your system the biggest absolute(note, not qualitative but rather quantitative) change you can make is with regard to speakers. If, however, you basically like the sound of your system but want to improve it then I subscribe to "the chain is only as strong as the weakest link" theory, and it's up to you to discover which that is through trial, error, and playing a hunch.

I think you're on the right track looking at the source(assuming you're happy with the "character" of your system), and given your level of equipment I'd think you would hear a fairly dramatic improvement to your system by upgrading to a better source component, but don't expect the change to necessarily hit you over the head immediately--it may or may not. Some things to listen for would be not necessarily the level of detail but rather the way in which detail is presented--is it more natural/believable? Also there should be more clarity of space between players/instruments that allows them to more clearly exist individually. Bass may become tighter and better defined. Soundstage may expand in all directions, and elements at the rear of the stage especially may become more readily identifiable and easy to hear/place in space, and echos and reverb will tend to tail off in a more natural and extended way. Anyway, these are some things to listen for, and I bring them up because sometimes you need to listen into the music more to pick up these changes.

So this has a lot to do with perspective and expectations, and the above is meant to help provide some of the former while also managing some of the latter--hope it helps and best of luck.

By the way, my guess is Sean's referring to an EVS Millennium DAC as I had a VERY similar experience when I got mine. Talk about dramatic improvements. Come on Sean--fess up.

Tim