Post by Nagraboy June 30, 2012 (11 of 28)
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rammiepie said:
Nagraboy....everything in its proper time.
I'm sure the Puccini acting as a preamp also sounds pretty spectacular as another link (the additional pre/pro) has been eliminated.
Because I'm also am avid film buff the surrounds are mandatory for me.
There are some outstanding two channel discs being released by Analogue Productions and I'm sure the Puccini will do them full justice.
Enjoy and when the time comes................
AP? Yes I'm looking forward to the Billy Holiday - Songs For Distingue Lovers SACD. Had it on Classic Records LP but sold it when my TT went. Wonderful early stereo recording with a team of allstar musicians. In fact, it was hearing the LP version which convinced me to buy a turntable - I await the SACD with some trepidation!
The Puccini volume control is very well implemented. It's a win-win in a system like mine.
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Post by Arnaldo June 30, 2012 (12 of 28)
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Nagraboy said:
... My Nagra valve monoblocks and preamplifier are up for sale with the intention of going back to solid-state for less heat and more convenience.
... My next purchase therefore, will likely be some top-level STAX earspeakers, of which I've always been a fan, but never able to justify in the past.
... Briefly, the dCS Puccini is my ideal source for SACDs.
... The RCA and XLR outputs are separately buffered, so my STAX (when I get them) and usual power amps can both be connected simultaneously without any problems.
I've been considering an upgrade to a Stax electrostatic as well, the SR-009, which I tried with tube and hybrid amps from Woo Audio and HeadAmp. The sound produced by the pairings was mesmerizing, but the thought of dealing with the idiosyncrasies of tubes, less so. There are currently two viable solid-state options, Stax's own SRM-727II (http://www.staxusa.com/Driver/STAX-SRM-727II.html), or the made-to-order Cavalli Liquid Lightning (http://www.cavalliaudio.com/products/liquid-lightning-headphone-amp). And while the Cavalli seems promising, proper auditioning isn't practical and I'm hesitant to take a leap of faith based solely on a few positive online reviews.
I'm also on the prowl for a new source, with an eye on the new Esoteric K-05 (http://www.esoteric.jp/products/esoteric/k05/indexe.html), but the Stax and amp are the priority for now. BTW, the Stax SR-007MK2 felt a bit lacking in terms of refinement and delicacy in comparison to it's more expensive sibling.
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Post by hiredfox June 30, 2012 (13 of 28)
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Nagraboy said:
Well one day I might get one. A friend of mine has recently upgraded from a Puccini and U-Clock, to a Paganini transport/DAC but retained the U-Clock for use with the new Paganini separates. He says it's sublime! I love my Puccini though, it's enough for me. The clock may come later...
I've heard these various combo's over at Bath on several occasions; IMHO the Puccini outperforms the Paganini in timbres, musicality and positional integrity. It seemed to me that the Paganini leans too far back towards hi-fi, seemingly colder and more clinical. A clear case of more is less.
If one buys on the basis that the more it costs the better it sounds (other things being equal) then in this particular case one would be led to a wrong conclusion if their music matters foremost.
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Post by hiredfox June 30, 2012 (14 of 28)
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Polarius T said:
Ditto for me (also the best I've ever heard), and not by a small margin.
That's a shame really as there are many fine players out there that swamp the P8i.
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Post by hiredfox June 30, 2012 (15 of 28)
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classicrecordings said:
Welcome.
You have just seen how quickly threads deviate from their original post, or in your case, the original question. ;-))
BTW, nice set-up! Post some of the information on your "user details".
We were swapping experiences so where's the deviation? Tsch!
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"classicrecordings said":
Welcome.
You have just seen how quickly threads deviate from their original post, or in your case, the original question. ;-))
BTW, nice set-up! Post some of the information on your "user details".
Thx for all ur posts,i was realy suprised,mostly we hear here that sacd is dead.
I put some more information in "user details"
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Post by Nagraboy June 30, 2012 (17 of 28)
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Arnaldo said:
I've been considering an upgrade to a Stax electrostatic as well, the SR-009, which I tried with tube and hybrid amps from Woo Audio and HeadAmp. The sound produced by the pairings was mesmerizing, but the thought of dealing with the idiosyncrasies of tubes, less so. There are currently two viable solid-state options, Stax's own SRM-727II (http://www.staxusa.com/Driver/STAX-SRM-727II.html), or the made-to-order Cavalli Liquid Lightning (http://www.cavalliaudio.com/products/liquid-lightning-headphone-amp). And while the Cavalli seems promising, proper auditioning isn't practical and I'm hesitant to take a leap of faith based solely on a few positive online reviews.
I'm also on the prowl for a new source, with an eye on the new Esoteric K-05 (http://www.esoteric.jp/products/esoteric/k05/indexe.html), but the Stax and amp are the priority for now. BTW, the Stax SR-007MK2 felt a bit lacking in terms of refinement and delicacy in comparison to it's more expensive sibling.
Thanks for the links Arnaldo.
I've only very briefly heard the SR-009 at a show and although I couldn't judge the SQ because of loud music from neighbouring rooms, I preferred the build quality and construction of the Omega II. They use a springy clamp system whereas the new model has a click-tab headband like the SR-507 Lambda. I should really have an extended listen of the SR-009 in order to get a clearer picture of the claimed improvements over the Omega IIs.
One thing that interests me about the solid-state Stax energiser is that there is a feature where you can disable the Stax' volume control and use a volume control from your source or preamp further upstream. Then I could use my Puccini volume control on the Stax AND my power amplifier.
I've had some concern about using a tubed/valved energiser as I'm trying to make my setup as easy to use and live with as possible. I've asked several Stax users and they all say the valve energisers can be used quite soon after switch-on. Some even suggest after a few seconds the sound is fine. Still, on balance I'd prefer the Stax SRM-727II.
The K-05 certainly looks a good option...
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Post by jazz1 July 1, 2012 (18 of 28)
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Nagraboy said:
The K-05 certainly looks a good option...
It seems that choosing a high end SACD player is a problem, after all how much better is a 15k+ SACD player than say a Oppo 95 or even an upgraded Oppo95 or
a Sony 5400 VSE.
Last year it seemed that the Play Back design was the ultimate now we don't hear much about it, are they still in business?
Like you I would tend toward a top end Japanese player if I was spending big $.
At least you know for sure that the built quality and back up is second to none.
Comments would be appreciated.
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Post by Nagraboy July 1, 2012 (19 of 28)
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jazz1 said:
It seems that choosing a high end SACD player is a problem, after all how much better is a 15k+ SACD player than say a Oppo 95 or even an upgraded Oppo95 or
a Sony 5400 VSE.
Last year it seemed that the Play Back design was the ultimate now we don't hear much about it, are they still in business?
Like you I would tend toward a top end Japanese player if I was spending big $.
At least you know for sure that the built quality and back up is second to none.
Comments would be appreciated.
I don't tend towards a top end Japanese player actually, I prefer my British dCS players. The P8i served me well for the last year and my new dCS Puccini is even better. However, Esoteric make extremely good players too and Arnaldo is interested in their new K-05. I had considered the K-03 early last year.
I don't see it as a problem choosing a high end SACD player really. It's just a lot of money to spend, so careful consideration is required. The best players are significantly better than a mid-price universal player, it's just a question of whether the individual consumer considers it a worthwhile expenditure in the context of their own value system.
Playback Designs are still in business, but have no importer here in the UK. Their player looked very good, but for me there's no turning back after dCS.
Regarding back-up and serviceability, TEAC/Esoteric have declared that they want to be the last-man-standing regarding transport mechanism manufacture. This bodes well for their own machines future as well as the many others using their VRDS mechs - including dCS, Playback Designs and EMM Labs.
I've just moved into a smaller room which has compromised my speaker sound, but I intend to get full quality from my dCS Puccini using Stax earspeakers. So a top level player can still be good value IMO, even if you don't have room for giant Wilsons, Magicos etc.
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Post by jazz1 July 1, 2012 (20 of 28)
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Nagraboy said:
I don't tend towards a top end Japanese player actually, I prefer my British dCS players.
A year ago I went to a demo of the big Giya 1 loudspeakers, the local Giya distributor is also importing DCS and was demonstrating the speakers using the multi boxes DCS combo as well as the Continuum turntable and for some reasons the DCS sounded extremely detailed and dynamic but also cold compared to the turntable. Thus for me it was not a convincing demo for DCS.
Then last year I heard a Playback Design player used with Dartzeel amplification
and Evolution speakers and again I was not taken by the results, fantastic resolution, great dynamics but very sterile sound. Sure it would be nice to try these machine in one own system but unfortunately for me I am not able to do so thus I would be hesitant to commit big $.
The only machine I heard locally that sounded musical; was the K-03, and I must say I am impressed with the built quality.
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