[b]Shanling SCD-T200C[/b] I've had this player for nearly three weeks now and finally think I'm beginning to get to grips with it. Its not like any other player I've heard and I've found it difficult to characterize. But basically, I like it! I am using it with my Lavardin IT amplifier and Quad 988 electrostatics. For interconnects I have been using Van den Hul the First and Second, the Second is slightly more precise sounding but the First a tiny bit warmer. Music has mainly been classical - big stuff by Brahms,Bruckner, Mahler etc, and chamber music by Brahms, Brahms, Brahms and Dvorak. oh and Shostakovich's Viola Sonata op147. Occasional forays into 'popular' music from Radiohead, Portishead, Beth Gibbon and PJ Harvey, and Burt Bacharach - I can't believe how good some of the 1960's recordings are, 1962 The Look of Love puts Dusty Springfield in the room. The machine itself looks like something from the forbidden planet... glowing valves and Blue LEDs. The acrylic disc platter cover is lit from within with a blue LED which I'm not sure is the best match for glowing orange valves. Blue LEDs next to the display indicate whether its playing CD or SACD. The display itself presents the absolute minimum of information, just track number and elapsed or remaining time per track. It has 4 brightness settings but cannot be turned off completely. The display is so small that you cannot read it anyway from more than a few feet away, unless you have eagle eyes. The remote control is heavy and solidly made from aluminium, and controls all functions and could control a matching amplifier. It also has controls for the variable output on the CD player. The player can be run straight into a power amp using this feature and the volume control applies to both sets of RCA outputs and the headphone output. Other reviews of the player have made much of the alleged high standard of build quality... not sure I can agree totally. I had to loosen one of the players feet before it sat straight on the rack. It looks a million dollars from a short distance away, but close up the panel gaps in various places would attract comment in a car magazine. In use, the open transport mechanism means that there can be a bit of noise from the player, especially so if playing a marked or scratched disc. Two pairs of valves drive the valve output stage and the built-in headphone output. The solid state outputs actually sound better IMO than the valve driven ones, which are a bit brittle and hard sounding. The built in headphone stage is superb. No need for a dedicated headphone amp. Overall the sound is big, warm, highly detailed and very involving. It is completely free from any digital leading edge, very smooth, I suppose some would say analogue sounding. But at the same time there is no lack of attack. The sound field is projected in the plane of the loudspeakers, neither forward nor recessed. Imaging is very good but not as much front to back depth as the Meridian G07 and G08 players I tried. It does not push the soundstage forward onto the listener - a trait I found could occur with the DAC64. Listening to big orchestral music, the soundstage is evenly presented left to right, with individual voices clearly identifiable and in a definable space. It does not 'seem' have as much bass weight and slam as either of the Meridian G series players, so orchestral works initially do not seem to have so much slam and impact. This leads to an impression that it has quite a light sound. After getting used to the sound what comes over is the naturalness of the presentation - nothing is forced or highlighted. While listening to a good recording of chamber music (vioin & piano or simiar) the piano is presented with full richness and depth, with lots of impact. The sound has lots of vibrancy and decay...listening to anything with cymbals, gongs, piano, choir is a joy. With SACD, everything just gets even better... the sense of ambience and acoustic space is superb. Unlike my previous Sony player, there is a clear advantage with SACD with no softness or lack of dynamics which beset the Sony. To compare with other players, the Meridian G series players had more bass weight and slam, and the G08 had more detail and three-dimensional imaging. The Chord DAC64 provides more upfront thrills, superb excitement and presence but can be too relentless. The Shanling seems to manage to compromise between these other players that I have auditioned. Its best features are the unforced naturalness of the presentation, the big left to right soundstage and the fact that it it doesn't make any discs I've tried so far unlistenable, which could occur with some recording on the G08 and DAC64. (I have never understood why some mag reviews point out that such and such a component will ruthlessly expose bad recordings, and seem to say this is a good thing!) Add to these the volume control, excellent headphone output and above all the superb SACD replay, and its a great machine, even at its UK price. You can get a grey import for something less than half of that! In conclusion, I think I have found the player I am going to be happy with for a while.... If a Chord DAC64 or a Meridian G08 were to be offered somewhere at a very good price I might just be tempted but probably not.
