2. digital
  3. 1034359984

transport/dac combo beats any one-box player...

yah, I know I'm askin' for it here- but I don't care! It's Friday afternoon, Thanksgiving is almost here, and it's pretty much deadsville at the office, so here we go:

I'm inviting comments on the title of the thread. I recently sold my AA Capitole- initally enraptured by the midrange, later realized all musical information was not being retrieved (confirmed by Audiophile friends whom I respect when tested in their system as well), and bass lacking. Also- don't even get me started on how disappointing the Gamut CD-1 was- talk about NO BASS!!!! Ironically, the best one-box player I've owned I now wish I hadn't sold- The Sim Audio Eclipse- phenomenal detail retrieval and air, and best bass I have ever heard from a one-box, but I sold it due to the 'upsampling' craze going on, and the fact that the Cap could drive my modded Altec 'battleship' (165wpc in triode using only a pair of 811 output tubes) tube monoblocks direct. Also, was able to get rid of a DCS Purcell upsampler at the same time- and the mids on the Cap did seem more alluring at the time, as well as being able to move from three boxes (Eclipse; Purcell; and an ARC preamp) down to one.

SO- after selling EVERYTHING off, I am looking to ramp up in digital again (considered analog- but have no records, and don't have space for a TT). Just picked up a cool old transport- Esoteric P1- get this- tested this transport in to the digital 'in' on the Capitole, and the result KILLED the Capitole running full range- WAYYYY better PRAT. So I am now convinced- a transport/dac combo IS the best way to go. Believe it or not, I heard another transport/dac combo last weekend that was great- Vecteur transport and Audiomat Tempo dac- DAMN they were good- in fact, we did a blind a/b test b/w that combo and a Nottingham TT analog setup using the SAME record/disc- the latest Tom Waits offering. We cued both up and simply switched back and forth b/w inputs on the integrated amp, and wow- the digital combo was very close to the analog- yes, the record had a bit more air and slightly more dynamics, but after hearing how close the trans/dac combo was, I am now rejuvenated, after almost giving up on digital. The build quality on the French transport and Audiomat dac was impressive to say the least, and it translated to the sound as well- and the Dac is SS, which surprised me as well.

I am extremely interested in how the Audio Note Dacs sound- apparently they are incredible and everyone I have spoken to says the new 3.1x balanced version is the way to go- THIS will probably be the next acquisition, followed by, or in tandem with, a GNS (Steve Huntley) superclock/cap/power supply upgrade to the Esoteric P1 transport that he feels puts it in the league of, or above, CEC.

So- that's it- unless someone convinces me otherwise, for under $10k total cost, transport/dac combos are the way to go over one-box players. Bring on the comments...
sutts
sutts OP
700 posts
 
Genesis 168- how are you Johnny? Long time no speak? Still selling used Cardas out of your condo down by the waterfront? I gotta call you sometime- need some advice on these Audio Note Dacs- 'cause have heard great things about 'em. Re: the P1- I had heard it is supposed to be above the P2- using the best clamping system (except for their legendary P-0 only in Japan limited-edition-impossible-to-find-model. Oh well, we'll see- modding it one day might be fun!

Oh yeah- just for fun sometime, you should check out the Vecteur L-4 cd player (used as transport) down at Rob's Place (Applause Audio) on Queen St.- extremely good, and at the price (~ $2,400 CDN) a great deal. Happy Thanksgiving.

Sutts
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
While there are advantages to a one-box CDP, particularly the lack of a need of an interface (and I would expect that adherents point to that strongly), I still prefer a well-executed (i.e., with a very good and jitter-free interface) transport/DAC approach because in part the power supplies can be much better for each of the separate components and each of the components can be tweaked to its best performance using better parts without the space constraints of the single box. The TEAC you got is a good example of that--as overbuilt as they come in stock form, and still performing strong many years after its introduction; tough to find any single-box player that can match it for build quality.
sutts OP
700 posts
 
agreed Rcprince- by the way, what IS the best matching Dac I could get for the Teac? I want the most analog, natural sonic signature yet not willing to pay any penalties across the frequency extremes. Have you ever heard the Audio Note Dacs??
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
Sutts: My favorite DAC has always been the Audio Logic, which I've owned starting in prototype form since 1994 or so and have now in its 2400 version. It has one of the bigger power supplies, outboard, around for a DAC, goes plenty deep in my setup (I get usable bass in the 18-22 hz region with my speakers, and it delivers the goods), although there may be some Krell products that go deeper, and it is the most "alive" DAC I've heard out there in terms of a natural presentation, soundstaging, etc. Tubed, of course. For the used prices being asked, I'd call it a bargain. Haven't heard it with a TEAC DAC (only my Forsell and the CEC), so not sure how it would go with it, but I wouldn't expect any gross mismatch.

The Audio Notes are supposed to be exceptionally musical; I haven't heard them except for the kit version of the cheapest model, which I wouldn't trade my DAC for but for its price was astonishingly good sounding, I'd imagine their pricier units would sound great. Their gear seems to be designed for the person who wants to get off the equipment merry-go-round and listen to the music, like the Jadis components. I'd put the Audio Logic in that category too, but I admit to being prejudiced on this one. There's a lot of Audio Note owners on this forum who I'm sure can help you more.
sutts OP
700 posts
 
thanks Rc- have a great weekend, and enjoy the music!
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