players

Wm and Lawrie,

Without wishing to hijack this thread what then are the good and bad aspects of the Capitole's sound and how about the Prima DAC which is the same DAC (I think) ?

Jeff

 

Badchamp,

Don't misunderstand me - I am not saying that the AA Capitole is good or bad in certain areas. On every occassion that I have heard the Capitole, it has been in unfamiliar systems so it is difficult for me to comment on it's good and bad points as I have heard it in great sounding systems (one of these systems used a modified Capitole) and also the VTL/Joseph Audio system where it sounded good but I expected better for the price, considering that the speakers alone cost USD 20,000 (IIRC). However, this last demo (Capitole/VTL/Joseh Audio) was at a hifi show so who knows, the system may have sounded different in a home setting. For me to get a true measure of the Capitole's sound, I would have to get it home for a few days but I haven't done that yet and certainly not for the GBP 5,600 that the new distributor is charging for the player and there are no second-hand examples around here.

The Prima MkII DAC (despite the name) is exactly the same DAC section as in the Capitole - not many people realise that so it is not selling as well as it should. Again, the local distributor is charging GBP 3,200 (again this DAC is much cheaper in the UK) for a product that was made in neighbouring France. Two French dealers that I spoke to and Audio Aero themsleves said that the DAC is not transport sensitive (but they say that for all DACs don't they ) as it reclocks any data that it receives. Therefore, in theory, it should sound the same as the Capitole but will it? There has been only one official review of the Prima DAC in a Frech magazine so not too much is known about it but this month, it will be reviewed at www.sixmoons.com I'm not saying that we should believe all we read in the review but it should give more insight into a DAC that it seems, has largely been kept in the dark since it was introduced.

I believe that WM has extensively listened to the Capitole so might be able to shed better light on it's sonic qualities.



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

i think buying cdplayer from one comany like meridian that is older in digital player design is more logical and for example buying speaker from dyns is more logical to buying it from one company like krell because i think master companies will be better than slaves.
one company like NAD don't spend money for designing cdplayer because another company like meridian designed it in past and slave companies will not be best when master companies are in market.

 

Jeff,

The AA, is one smooth sounding anaolgue preformer, sweet and open, superb mid range tonal balance (Tube pre section), 32 bit upsampling 192khz stuff, very inoffensive, toatlly unfatiging and analogue sounding.
For me its not as involving as I would like, bass while good, just leaves me the feeling of some what lacking in presence and cohesiveness.
Top end is open and digital free.
All in all a class package, just not for me.
Have heard the Prima, being overdosed on a wadia 270 transport, that seemed to help matters no end.
Definately worth an audition. Wm

 

Amir
I'd be fascinated to hear what kind of profile hifi as a hobby/phenomenon has in Iran - how does it fit and how is it perceived in a culture which would seem to be far less consumerist/materialist than those that most of the members of this forum belong to?

 

Thanks Lawrie (first paragraph noted) and Tone.

Amir, the floors all yours again

 

First I agree with Lawrie that a choice of a hifi component is mostly a question of personal taste. And it's very true that many of the owners of the listed CD-players are very satisfied with them. Therefore my words were not there for criticizing these players.

If I didn't mention any of the CD-players which I would consider / buy, it was because I'm convinced that they wouldn't anyway be considered: so why the point.

But if you are interested in knowing which players I would certainly concern to listen to, here they are:
- Audiomeca Mephisto II (unfortunately a s***y site at the moment)
- Metronome T1-i Signature
or
- Metronome CD3 Signature
I'm not sure about the price of the CD3 though.
I firmly believe that if you want to spend up to £3.5K - 4K for a CD player you should not forget to listen to these.

 

47 Labs Shigaraki transport and DAC. Four boxes rather than one, it's true, but they're only little.

Having spent a few weeks with it now, and deliberately not posted anything much about it until I'd got used to it, I can honestly say it's the only CD player I've ever owned that I feel completely happy with. Sod oversampling and filtering, simple's where it's at.

-- Ian

 

Glad to hear you are happy Ian. How does it compare with the Mitchell? Still think most CD players sound similar? I'm desperate to find a CD spinner that can give me what my TT does in terms of musical enjoyment.

 

Yep, I still think on the whole CD players sound pretty similar. Except the ones that are deliberately engineered to sound different, which this clearly is.

I'll still take the turntable, but the 47 Labs stuff sounds more like real instruments than most CD players I can think of. If you're bored with the usual choices (ever so smooth versus rough as a badger's arse) and want something that has some of the balls of live music, it's worth exploring. Until it blows up, my CD player auditioning days are over, and you can hold me to that.

-- Ian

 

The 47 Labs solution is interesting, however, you are paying $1500 (in the case of the DAC) for a CS8412 digitial input receiver, a Philips TDA1543 DAC chip and a passive IV output stage, less than a dozen components in total and the basis of 101 DIY DACs that cost about £50 to make.

Rather than spend that kind of money to find out what it sounds like I decided to try a cheaper alternative . It even has an acrylic case (non-metallic, just like the ceramic of the 47 Labs DAC). Will let you know what it sounds like when I get it.

Got it out of interest and also as a stand in for the DAC64 in case I decide to get some PSU mods done to it

Michael.

 

On the VFM front when it comes to componentry, no argument, but that's true of most audio equipment. No argument with DIY cloning either, although the one you've bought is one ugly mofo.

Be interesting to do an A/B comparison with the 47 Labs stuff.

-- Ian

 

How can you say that? It's got a blue LED after all . Can't wait to get it now. God knows how long it will take to be shipped from Hong Kong though.

As it's so small and portable it'll be easy for me to bring it to London with me so we can definitely sort out an A/B session some time. I'll bring my Pink Floyd CDs aswell

Michael.

 

Yes, the minimalist approach and minimal components used in the 47 Labs would make one question why they cost so much but at least they play music and sound good. Perhaps there is something to be said after all, for having the most minimal of components in the signal path in order to get natural and musical sound reproduction. The high-end is littered with too many over-priced hifi components that are bristling with all the latest technology & bits but just don't play any music.

Speaking of 47 labs and sounding very good, last Saturday I heard the latest 47 Lab monitor speakers, the Model 4722 "Lens" at a friend's house. One word I would use to describe the sound is "beguiling". The speakers measure only 160mm (w) x 195mm (d) x 260mm (h) yet they are probably the best small speakers I have heard in terms of clarity and naturalness (is that a word?) As the publicity brochure says, it sounds like the original Quad 57 but in a small and affordable package! I've never heard the Quad 57 but I have heard the Model 4722 and they are superb. The rest of the system was Quad CDP (including preamp) & Meridian power amp - the speakers were very close to the rear (front) wall and the bass was impressive for such small speakers. Cables were Siltech - the speaker cables were a special Siltech flat-cable version designed for electrostatics. Do I want a pair - you bet especially if I go ahead with the creation of a second system in the bedroom based around a tube amp. See more details here and go listen for yourselves but do leave the wallet at home, just in case : http://www.sakurasystems.com/news.html



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

I heard the Lens speakers at Heathrow. Terrific little things (and I do mean little, even smaller than LS3/5as I think).

-- Ian

 

Just to add another couple to the fray...
There's the Bow Technolgies Wizard, and Advantage S1.
Both very musical indeed (they're made in the same factory after all, as is the NAD silverline!), hewn from solid stuff and easily available in Germany.
I haven't heard many cdps that are more lifelike and believable - as opposed to hifi-sounding!

 

Lawrie, are you saying that you would trade your Signums for the Lenses?!?!

surely not...

jack

 

Ah, Jack!

Now that's a very good question but the answer is no. The Signum's are staying where they are (for now) but I am contemplating putting a bedroom system together and the Lens speakers seem to fit the bill given their dinky size & big sound hence my reference to small speakers with "small" being the operative word. As Sideshowbob stated, the speakers are so tiny that at first glance, you will dismiss them as I did but the sound that came out of them certainly made me smile. In my 9m x 6.5m listening room, I think the Lens speakers will probably struggle a bit but in my bedroom, they will shine like the stars that they truly are. The only thing that I don't like about them is that they have no grilles (like so many modern speakers) and having a little one who is about to start running around the house means that grilles on speakers are a must. Maybe, I will throw a couple of blankets over them when not in use but what if I forget?

Why do you ask, are you tempted to have a listen?


Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

...on the Krell saga, Krell have come back to me and stated that production of the SACD Standard has been temprarily held up due to transport supply problems from Philips but that the model is definitely not discontinued. They're also looking into a fix for the transport noise to be supplied via the distributor - will post what happens there..

 

Yup, don't forget the Bow ZZeight, does HDCD as well 4 dacs, I2S bus, and stunning build.