|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
69.138.175.19
In Reply to: Looking for new CD player posted by met1 on April 10, 2007 at 13:50:29:
I have the same linestage as you and just sold my own Sony XA777ES. Currently using a cheap Sony player (NS500V) for SACDs only and bought a Raysonic CD 128 for CDs. So far (just had it 10 days or so) I am VERY impressed by the Raysonic, which was the subject of a lengthy review on 6moons. You might check it out.
Follow Ups:
Or perhaps a return policy? TIA!
While, right out of the box, the Raysonic sounds notably better than the XA777ES, it then regresses into an extended break-in period during which you will think it's beyond hope. Once past this -- which you CAN accomplish during a tgwo-week trial period but only by playng it a LOT -- it opens up and sounds fantastic. At least it did for me.
My experience was identical to Dave Pogue's. The Raysonic sounded decent right out of the box, but then got worse through the mid-point of it's break-in period - so much worse it's worrisome. But then it starts getting better... until it gets downright thrilling... and then it still gets better. Give it 100 hours. Patience is definitely rewarded.
It may change in a few days or so but we'll see! :)6moons likes the Musical Fidelity A5. I believe MSRP is $2500 and I can get it well below that at a local dealer. They reviewed that CDP with the MF A5 amp. I'd be using my Rogue tube amps. Time will tell.
The Raysonic uses asynchronous sample-rate conversion. With short-term listening, it may indeed sound fantastic. The Benchmark DAC I had fared very well in this regard. But with long-term listening, it sneaks up gradually, and I'm overcome by a HF haze, which I've since realized was a symptom of ASRC.I thought the Benchmark was about become glorious after "burn-in".... The euphoria was short-lived, sad to say.
All conclusions and opinions considered I am now in my 5th month of ownership with the Raysonic cd128. I basically have gone through most of the mentioned ups and downs, "haze" etc, etc. I am retired and proably put in 3 to 5 hours a day of listening time. I very honestly can say that the 128 now has totally settled in to real satisfaction at all times. It will let you know when you put a badly recorded disc on, that is for sure but I do not have too many of those. I have finalized the interconnects for the last month or so to solid silver core. The signal goes through a Dared tube preamp and then to a Nelson Audio 30wpc tubed amplifier. The output tubes on this amp were rolled a bit until I hit on a balanced quad set of Shuguang KT-66. That was the magic number and that is now a permanent install. Speakers are Maggy 1.6's using a 8" driver sub behind each Maggy modified to be an infinite baffle and crossed over roughly at 80 hz. They definitely melded at that point. I am totally pleased with this setup and all listners have felt likewise so far. Just give your 128 about 200 hours and some judicious tweaks and you will be happy.
Yes, I got a 2-week return policy, subject to 10% restocking fee, from Quest for Sound (dealer/distributor) because there is no Raysonic dealer in my area.
Dave and I are on the same page on this one. I also acquired a new Raysonic cd128 CDP about 4 months ago. Without wearing out all the superlatives I can only say I am more than satisfied with this unit. It pretty much realizes everything I always thought a CDP should be, appearance, mechanical and electronic. And the sound is IMHO, gorgeous. I also use a inexpensive, Samsung DVD for all my surround discs. It decodes ALL the surround formats including DVD A and the audio is definitely acceptable. So I run 3 systems in my large listening room actually. One is Theatre surround, One is Audio surround formats and then there is my love, my all tube system off the Raysonic into my 1.6 Maggys. I have a beautiful rebuilt set of Dahlquist DQ-10's which do double duty as the fronts in both the theatre format and the audio surround. Love em! All is well in listeningville in my home.
| ||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: