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Re: What the?

Dave wrote:

“That was an awesome post, I was thinking ...finally, a reply from somebody who gets it. And I was in total agreement as you made a case for not compromising on anything less than SOTA CD and SACD playback.”

Thank you for the kind words. I guess the post needed a bit more editing and specific declarations as my point was not so much “not compromising on anything less than SOTA” as a vote against the trend to view post-CD/LP high resolution formats as something that flew out of Pandora’s box to be wished out of existence.

Dave continues:
“But then I got to the punch line: a universal player? You're kidding, right? Even the Esoteric, which is probably the best sounding stock universal player, will need mods to compete with SOTA CD and SACD sources. The Marantz and Linn are in another (lower) league - barely acceptable for a system like mine, but entirely out of place in a system like yellowwwwducky's.“

Ok, I’m busted. Guilty as charged of stepping onto the slippery slope of making specific recommendations. The certainty of Dave’s opinions leads me to guess he has much more direct experience with the players in question so I will refrain from making recommendations in favor of pointing out candidates like the Ayre C-5 Universal player seen above. One of the reasons I went into that discussion of licensing is that single issue sharply limits the number of candidates. That is too bad as it limits those working on answering the questions of what it really takes to achieve great CD/SACD playback. I believe the jury is still out on the question of if a universal player can be built which achieves the top rank. Even if no one has yet done it that does not mean the next one down the pike may not succeed. From my engineer’s point of view I can see no reason it cannot be done. From my audiophile’s point of view I wonder if with the limited number of companies allowed to work on the problem if one will rise to the challenge, throw enough resources at it, and not screw up that one vital detail!

Concluding Dave wrote:
“I know that if I had yellowwwwducky's amp and speakers and $25k to spend on a front end, I wouldn't settle for anything less than the best digital reproduction, period. A stock universal player in his system would be like serving Swanson Hungry Man at an official state dinner.”

Of course a big part of the fun of treating ourselves to these toys is we inject into the selection process our unique blend of requirements. It seems styling is high on yellowwwwducky's list. Not a bit surprising given the home I would expect a rig with this price tag to live and that his Levinson No 39 has some of the best industrial design in all of high end audio. And what’s the fun if it’s so ugly you have to hide it in a closet?!? Now yellowwwwducky stated the dCS styling does not make the cut. Among “the best digital reproduction, period” candidates which include SACD capability that leaves the Meitner. Should it’s styling be found wanting I will suggest one possibility for yellowwwwducky is to keep a bunch of that $25k in the market growing while ‘settling’ for a top rank $4k to $8k player from the likes of Accuphase, Ayre, Marantz, Linn, Denon, or Esoteric. Opinions vary as to the suitability of these in yellowwwwducky's system. And of course yellowwwwducky has some decisions to make as to complexity, styling, and when to jump in whole hog vs. waiting for a technology to mature.

happy listening

Norman Tracy


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