DAC 64 + Theta Basic II v Audionet ART V2

Ah well......

A long time ago I borrowed an ART V2 for a week and thought it was rather good . However, my CD was old and the part-ex did not justify the upgrade

Since then I have become the owner of a DAC 64 (by mistake - blame e-bay, but at a very good price). I then bought a mint condition Theta Basic II to act as transport. The result is extremly good and I was happy. But then I saw an Audionet VR2 at a dealer that I have previously used at less than half price with a one year warranty. I could sell my Dac 64 + Theta transport for more than the asking price of the Audionet so I am tempted.

So my question is simple - what would yo do?

 

First, I'll state the obvious. Get a home demo of the Art V2 and compare your player directly. You might find that the DAC64 more than makes up for the what you thought was good about the Audionet last time you heard it.

Then, if you feel that the Art is a better bet, you might not know that Audionet have replaced this recently with a 2 box player. It might be possible to screw even more cash off the Art than you think as it is no linger a current model.

If you manage to do that and get the Art for a good price, when money becomes available, you can send the Art to Audiocom International in Pembroke Dock for reclocking etc. I have had the top level mods done to my Art v2 and it is the best change I have ever done. The standard player has some great strengths, but can be improved.

It is a bit scary sending your pride and joy to someone and letting them perform tried and tested options to achieve the optimum improvements, without you getting a chance to hear what is going on until it has been completed. They offer different price options so you can set a limit and they will upgrade components according to cost v benefit. Prices start about £500 and my upgrade came to just under £1,500. Costly but well worth it .

Trust them though and you will get a unique player back that is just brilliant. It needs a good burn in though, give it at least 300 hours before it really comes on song. I am just content to listen to my system now as this seems to be the final piece to the jigsaw where everything sounds just right.

 

Hi HR100MCS,

I would get a good home dem before you do anything. I use a Chord Dac64 and I have had an Art V2 cd player at home for a comparison. I prefered the Dac64 combo. The Art V2 was good but not up with DAC64. Made a nice transport though!

You may or may not come to the same conclusions when you give it ago.

As Denny has said, a player like Art V2 can be tweaked to give improvements in sound quality. It can cost money and you can't aways hear an example before hand.

SCIDB

 

I should coco

DT

Just having a dig old boy - see BG electrolytics still take an age to break in then?

 

HR, might be worth bearing in mind that the Theta transport is going to be eyewateringly expensive to service - assuming it also has to be sent back to the states for diagnostics/repair etc.

The Audionet mech might be more readily available and easier to install.

Who knows? One thing is for sure - my decision would be purely based around transport mech serviceability and costs.

DT

 

The Audionet is a very pretty player btw. very pretty!

Eye on the ball folks - transport reliability, not looks!

 

I prefer a decent transport agnostic dac (which is built to last) and disposable spinners to plug into it.

Currently using a *shock horror* lowly old cyrus on tranny duties. My previous teac VRDS didn't do the job any better, acoustically anyway. You can use most anything with a dac1 or dac64, so don't belive the hype. No need for silly service costs or down time.

 

Daming indictment of just how much damage SPDIF does to the signal - turns everything to msuh

 

Behave