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Meitner DCC2 vs. Analog - Opinions Please

I have been been contemplating the move to analog for a year or two, and have collected about 70-80 discs in preperation. I also have 600 or so CD's and a smattering of CD/SACDS.

I was thinking along the line of VPI HRX (7k or so used), a Shelter 90X cartridge (2.7k), and a phono-stage such as an ARC REF used (4.5k?) or Aesthetix Callisto (4-5k?) and interconnects ($500 or so). I would also need to reconfigure my rack and maybe get longer interconncets for my amps, but lets leave that out for now. That would add up to about 17k or so if I threw in a VPI 16.5.

Now, it seems I can get (new) the Meitner DCC2 and CDSD for the same 17K, less about 8-9k I could free up by selling my ARC REF2 MK2 pre and ARC CD3, for a total outlay of about 8 - 9k. I could also sell one pair of my Audioquest Diamond X3 (might not do this, I really like them) and I would not have to change my rack.

Can anyone comment on how close the Meitner gear might be to a rig such as I described? It seems like upgrading my CD player and adding SACD would be more cost effective than spending all that money to play less than 100 discs.

Also, can anyone comment about the pre-amp section on the DCC2 vs. the ARC ref2mk2?

Thank you all in advance for your thoughts.

Ron
rlips
audio999
178 posts
 
Don't even think about it,RUN to analog !

Suggestion: Shelter 501 MKII ($800) instead of 90X ($2700)

501 MKII is one of the best value under $1000.(I like it better than 901 in the mid area that would be a good thing for your system,haven't heard the 90X)

I know you have extra $$ to buy a cartridge,but saving $$ is not a bad thing. You can play with 501 first and upgrade it later if you think it's still necessary.

Good luck!
twl
3,251 posts
 
I am familiar with a situation of a person I know who has the newest Meitner stuff, and also a Teres 265 TT with an OL Illustrious tonearm, and Shelter 901 cartridge. The entire analog rig was approximately $7900, all brand new. The Meitner gear cost alot more than that, and he bought it new.

The Meitner does not match the analog gear, but it comes closer than any of the other digital stuff he tried. The Meitner is very good digital gear, one of the best.

Realistically speaking, there is no digital gear that will compete with a turntable like that.

However, with a limited record library like you have, it may be a consideration to be able to get the best possible reproduction from your larger digital library. In that circumstance, it may be a worthwhile thing to get a great digital player. It will sound very good indeed.

But it is not going to beat(or even match) a high end TT rig such as you outlined.

This is not to say that you wouldn't have a very enjoyable system with a Meitner digital setup. You definitely would.

Personally speaking, and I am biased, I'd get the TT and more records, and never look back. Analog is a cut above, always has been, and it looks like it will continue to be that way.
ez2hear
45 posts
 
Bottom line is there is no digital rig that will be the equal of a good analog rig. Analog is the HIGHEST resolution source we have (it is infinite). The Shelter 90-X is a special cartridge and worth every penny.
hooper
396 posts
 
I had a similar dilemma, and, like Tireguy, I went digital--for any number of reasons. I've heard some world-class turntables in my life (Rockport, SME Model 30, TNT HR-X), and to say that the Meitner gear (or any digital, for that matter) can't match a great analog rig is selling the Meitner stuff (and digital in general) WAY, WAY short. Personally, I like the Meitner gear better in most respects than any turntable I've personally heard, and as I mentioned above, I've heard some pretty good ones. IMHO the Meitner is the first digital component to truly play on an even ball field with the very best of analog. But to each his/her own. They're just different flavors of the same ice cream.
cincy_bob
270 posts
 
My analog rig is the VPI TNT, JMW-10 arm and van den Hul Frog cartridge, which I am running into the Manley Steelhead phono stage. I am also running the EMM Labs CDSD into the DCC2. The DCC2 doubles as a preamp for my analog rig. The Meitner gear is the best digital sound I have personally experienced. It approaches the sound of analog, but, in my opinion, does not match the performance of my analog rig. The differences are most apparent with large scale orchestral music. If I was not a classical music fan, however, I suspect I could live without my analog front end. Since I am a classical music fan and since I own thousands of LPs, I intend to continue to run a high end analog rig in the foreseeable future.

In response to you question about the quality of the preamp in the DCC2, I found that it matched and, in some respects, slightly exceeded the performance of the Lamm L2 I was previously using as my line stage. While I have no personal experience in comparing the DCC2 to the ARC Reference line stage, I would expect the DCC2 to be very competitive.
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