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After 2.5 years of faithful service, I recently sold my beloved Wadia 27ix for the sake of trying something new.I was using my 27ix with an Altis CDT-3 transport & DCS Purcell Upsampler.
The Purcell is sold too, though I still have the Altis, which I can sell if I go with a 1-box CDP.Any Wadia owners out there move to other gear ?
There are some great deals on DCS gear at Audiogon which seem hard to ignore.
The Audio Aero Capitole MK2 has my eye/ear too.
What about the latest Sim Audio Eclipse ?I also intend to get a uni-player in a few months too, but my immediate focus is finding the next step in Redbook playback.
I would prefer to run without a pre-amp, though I do have a Placette passive at my disposal which I easily preferred over my ML380S.
Follow Ups:
Upfront, let me say I am the distributor of EMM Labs products. That being said, I have owned the 27ix/270 combo as well as the Elgar/Purcell combo (also Delius) and have moved on since, due to the advances in digital.Here is a list of some products that I think are superior, some I sell, some I do not:
Audio Aero Capitole
Audiomeca Mephisto II
Audio Note DAC 3.1x Balanced
EMM Labs DAC 6 or CDD 2
Zanden Model 5000 MK II
John,Have you compared the Emm DACs to a fully upgraded Bidat on redbook CDs?? I'd be very curious to know how the Bidat compares to Ed's new models.
Thanks,
Joe
If you were to ask Ed that question, he would laugh. The Bidat & Idat were very special products and certainly two that truly outlasted most of the products of their day, but Ed has moved forward in a BIG way with his new products.
In all honesty, I think the Altis transport was the weak link. I doubt you have heard the Purcel/27ix to their full potential.
I was never complaining about my front-end, only that I wanted to try something new because of audio boredom..I don't think the Altis is a slouch.
It is based on the Philips CMD-12 Pro Industrial tranport used by many if the top-end manufacturers. Inside it is actually very sparse -> very clean looking power supply section, power to the tranport transprot, digital output board.I have it tweaked with 3 Bybee devices internally, it sits on double inverted Symposium Roller blocks, then on a Symposium Ultra platform, fed with Virtual Dynamics Nite power cord, into Shunyata Hydra PLC with Shunyata Pyton power cord. I also use the Virtual Dynamcis Nite digital cable. Heck, I think a Sony Discman or Rat-shack player surrounded by all these tweaks would sound great :-)
I would describe the Altis as a very "clean" sounding transport, with very low noisefloor, and probably "boring" sounding ( neutral ).
I also have a Micromega Premium DVD2 which is a more juicy sounding transport but more background noise.
The EAD Ultradisc 2000 ( Pioneer stable platter ) is also pretty good, but not as quite as the Altis.
I find the Pioneer DV-09 to be very dark sounding.One thing I find about any gear -> if you have it tweaked to the max you can easily hear its character when you change out to another component.
*I was never complaining about my front-end, only that I wanted to try something new because of audio boredom..*Perhaps, that's what was wrong with your previous front end. ;-)
Frankly, I don't get people who wants to change just sake of
changing stuff esp. when you were unhappy with what you had.Replacing a source component is like starting from scratch.
Ah, I still have fond memories of my old Micromega Trio transport, the mk I with CDM3 and Mk II with CDM9 Pro, still my fave. I don't know what the DVD2 uses but doubt it's CDM9 Pro.Wish Micromega will go back to producing top-loading redbook-only transport with top-quality, up-to-date execution. The Trio transport could not be beaten in its day IMO...
They "kind of" have a website ( lots of broken links & construction ) and have SACD product as well.
Wait for the new Wadia 921 mono DACS available any moment.
It will incorporate twice the processing power of a 27 pr.
channel and will be upgradable to handle SACD and DVD-Audio.
....it's good for your hobby interests and may be enlightening.
Interesting you were using a DCS Purcell upsampler with that Wadia 27ix DAC... Did you think it improved upon the Wadia? I only ask this because the Wadia did use a "time-resolute" algorithm, and while I have a disdain for upsamplers, the Purcell may have the best filter algorithm of any upsampler made. (It would be the only upsampler I would try.) On the other hand, I thought later Wadia products had analog stages that sounded like ruthless solid-state... The reason why I say this is I think you may have jumped the gun in selling the Purcell.I did own the original Wadia 27, but I preferred the Prism DA-1 to it. I thought the 27 was more-resolute, but not listenable long-term. I then got the Prism DA-2 DAC, which like the 27 has a "time-resolute" algorithm. I'd personally put this DAC up against anything out there, aside from maybe a Wadia 9. (The Wadia 9 is *still* the best Redbook DAC I've ever heard.)
I've never heard the DCS personally, but the fact the Purcell provides a near-unanimous improvement to the Elgar DAC suggests to me the Elgar might be overrated. (A really good DAC should not be improved-upon substantially by *any* upsampler.) So if you liked the Purcell, the Elgar *without* the Purcell may be somewhat of a "letdown."
In fact, I am not sure if some of the other DACs you mention have "time resolute" algorithms, but you might even be disappointed with the other prospects, because in my opinion, the Wadia 27ix and the DCS Purcell already set the bar *extremely* high.
It may very well be I may not find a "great" improvement over my previous rig, but more of a horizontal change. After a few years with the same gear, we can get restless and want to start playing again. If it ain't broke, let's try to fix it anyway :-)I have never heard the DCS combo in a familiar environment and it is on my personal wish-list to hear DCS 24/192 at home. The release of DCS's DSD & Firewire has heavily driven down prices on the "classic" DCS stuff.
FYI:
I went CDP & DAC shopping about 1.5 years ago and had at home the Cary 306/200, Chord DAC-64, Apogee PSX-1000, MSB Platinum Plus. Wiht ALL of these DACs, I preferred feeding the with the Purcell, so yes, there definitely is some magic to DCS's algorithm. Plus its noise-shaping options let you tailor the sound too.Also, 2 weeks ago I bought a used Monarhcy DIP Upsampler to convert Toslink to Coax for my DVD player only. As a trial, I added it before the 27ix which yielded a noticable improvement too, in terms of treble detail, dynamics and bass articulation. This makes sense as in the S'Phile review of the 27ix, it has a slightly rolled off top-end, but when fed 24/96 data, it measured perfectly flat up top.
I saw a Wadia 9 on Audiogon auction last week and was tempted to get in on the bidding, but I passed on it.
I am also a long-time EAD fan and have always wanted to try the EAD DSP-9000 Pro MK3 which uses the BB PCM-63K DACs. But I "believe" in the benefits of upsampling and am not sure if that EAD could accept a higher input other than 16/44 ... maybe 20/48 is possible.
... lots of choices out there.
"This makes sense as in the S'Phile review of the 27ix, it has a slightly rolled off top-end, but when fed 24/96 data, it measured perfectly flat up top."If that's the case, the DCS Purcell has a more-classic "sinc" type of filter, which yields a flatter response. Although not as "time resolute" as the Wadia. Although I personally prefer a "time resolute" filter, not everybody prefers it. And it seems like the Purcell is one of those rare digital pieces that has gotten near-unanimous acclaim.
I recently bought a dCS Delius, which I am now feeding with a CEC TL2X transport (the Cary I was using didn't make a harmonious match with the dCS). The sound is everything I want from digital; relaxed, involving, and truly musical. I considered picking up a Purcell, too, but I am so happy with the performance of the dCS DAC alone I have decided to forgo upsampling and tread water for a bit, before the next "upgrade" (probably speakers for me). :)I have never heard a Wadia 27, but I do feel the dCS/CEC combo is better than my friend's Wadia 850... Not sure how much of the Wadia family sound the 27 and 850 share, but the dCS has a lighter touch while being more detailed and rich at the same time. Great gear, and as you note, great prices now that the DSD dCS stuff it out!
I have resently demoed a DCS Delius with and Accuphase CDP as a transport but I felt that the speaker in the demo did not suit my test. They where the JM Labs Utopia Byrilium (£10k ones) and found that they where bass light and too forward in presentation for me (I use Shahinian Obelisks).And therfore could not evaluate the Delius fully against my home rig of Meridian 598/568.2. I might try a home demoe later but I was wonder about your comment on matching a transport to the Delius, have you found that the Delius is transport sensitive or that it needs a decent transport to get the best out of it, and do you think that the Meridian 598 would be upto the job?
I'm sorry, I haven't heard any near-current Meridian pieces, so I can't comment on the 598's ability as a transport.But... I liked the Meridian Digital stuff years ago, and wrote Meridian after I bought the dCS for their recommendations. They suggested the 598 would make a wonderful transport, as well as their CDPs. So you might well have a good pairing there.
As for transport sensitivity... I can say for certain that the Delius is utterly transparent; if the transport ahead of it has a "sound" it will come through loud and clear. The Cary I used initially was a pretty terrible transport for the Delius... All of it's strengths came through, but so did it's negatives (in a big way). The Delius seemed to magnify everything that was bad about the Cary. So yes, I would say it is "sensitive" to transports, or more accurately, it truly is tranparent and the transport's "sound" comes through very clearly.
I have found transport happiness with a CEC TL2X; very smooth and removed the nasty digititis that the Cary (and a few others I tried) seemed to convey.
Bring home the Delius! I think you'll love it, I know I do :)
Thanks for the reply, I hope that the 598 will be a good transport and I think I will give the Delius a go. Though I think it might be a while, because my house need a new bioler kitchen and bathroom but I'd rather have a new DAC, so hungry cold and dirty it is from now on lol.
What's another night or 20 of Ramen noodles and no heat for some hifi?? ;)I'd love to know what you think after you bring it home. I did an A/B with my vinyl rig tonight; Rega P3/Elys playing a new 45 of Relaxin' vs CEC/Delius playing the K2 Relaxin'... Not the best vinyl rig, by far, but very nice to listen to as it's sins are more of omission. It has always lacked a little on the high end compared to good CDPs, but usually 16/44 can come nowhere near the relaxed warm presentation of analog. But the CEC/Delius absolutely trounces it in every way, while keeping the relaxed analog sound.
I'm happy now.
I tend to think the Meridian would be a good combo for the dCS. From my experience, the dCS gear doesn't do well with edgy, bright transports (you know, the "hifi" sound). By all accounts the Meridians are smooth and maybe a shade dark, probably more along the lines of my CEC. I think it will be a good match...
Does the Delius have a volume control for the analog outs?
... and balance, too. You could use it direct to amp..
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