2. digital
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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
natalie
404 posts
 
Rcrump Nice to see you around. Your Assylum cord is a giant killer. Thanks Its made a huge difference in my system and has left money in my pockets to buy more Music.

Spend less on gear more on music.

If your not DIY inclined. go to

www.diycable.com

No more a decent human than Kevin. Who builds these to high Spec and at great price's.
rcrump
427 posts
 
Thanks Natalie....That old cord is a great place to start and likely better than 80% of the current commerical cords out there....Funny how not many in this thread are talking about comparisons with good analog, the real test of a CD system.....Am I the only one to still use analog as a reference? Guess I'm getting old! The CD system I mentioned above is awfully close to my Rockport/Blowtorch analog....The Audio Note might be better than the Cruncher as have a friend who has spent a bit of time with each albeit in different systems, but pricing is awfully high for the Audio Note at almost 20K I thought.....Heard from a reviewer the other day and they were going on about the Ayre CDP....I sure would rather than everything in one box for a change, but think the DVD player was about 8K or so, more than I will pay for a digital system that has resale of maybe 30% of retail in a few years....
rcprince
3,070 posts
 
Hi Bob, nice to see you here. In answer to your observation, the Forsell/Purcell/Audio Logic is the one digital combo I've been able to listen to in the same session as my turntable. That was the acid test for me. Even without the Purcell that was true as well. I imagine Audio Note owners feel the same way.
rcrump
427 posts
 
Phil Tower has one of the Audio Logics with a Kern modified CEC transport and seems pretty happy with it....I've been fiddling with the G&D and Cruncher for about eight years and have them working very well, but the analog is better in direct comparisons using the two CD/vinyl recordings I have that are close enough to compare....Problem with comparisons is that most any vinyl is better than most all CDs and have about seventy-five "duplicates" on the two formats with just two that sound like each other....Guess I'm trying to say it isn't easy to make digital sound like a good turntable....It takes lots of time and energy to coax music out of CDs...
sutts OP
700 posts
 
As the thread originator, thanks to all participants for your very informed comments. I am thinking the Audio Note 3.1 balanced dac is the way to go, and will probably pursue that avenue- all owners of this piece sound universally thrilled about their purchase. Most likely will also look at some nice mods on the Esoteric/Teac transport, as Steve Huntley at GNS and I have been discussing it. This would probably be a decent digital combo.
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