|
|
Post by davidf on Jul 10, 2016 11:40:38 GMT
I've always wanted a top class CD player. I've always liked the Wadias since hearing one in the 90s (I forget the model). Built like a battleship, VRDS transport (which I like), and great sound quality with rock solid bass. I also heard one last year we got in for a customer which has to rank up with one of the best I've heard for a long time, along with the "well out of budget" Chord Red Reference which I heard in a fantastic sounding mega Chord system with KEF Blades.
But...
Is that necessary any more? I've been ripping CDs to my newly installed Innuos Zenith since Thursday, and had a listen to a few bits and bobs over the course of that period, and had a good listen this morning to a few tracks I'm more familiar with. Wow. I know it's using the DAC in my pre-amp, but this sounds more like a high end CD player. Solid bass, excellent projection and detail, and smooth without being dull. Until now, other than my previous Zen Mini, I've used my Oppo BDP103 Bluray player as a CD transport, which works great. But this seems to be on a whole new level. Despite my relatively budget LS50s, my system now sounds like it's a high end hi-fi system - I thought that before, but even more so now. I know these are £2,000 and is dependent on the accompanying DAC, but how much would I have had to spend on a CD player to get this quality? The answer to that could well be the likes of the £8k Wadia I heard...
|
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on Jul 10, 2016 17:37:52 GMT
My Isis is very good.
Seems to be outclassed by the TAD D600
Currently investigating .....
|
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Jul 14, 2016 14:20:36 GMT
Twice now I've heard an instrument in a track I know pretty well. One was a track from Neil Finn's Try Whistling This (a mandolin I've never heard before), and now I think I've just heard a violin in Stereophonics' Mr. Writer. The latter I'm still working on though, as it could be an electric guitar. I know that sounds odd, and dispersions could be cast for me or my system being able to tell a violin from an electric guitar, but there's other instruments and voices at the same time, so it makes it harder to tell. The first time I heard it, it sounded like a violin, but the closer I try and listen, it sounds like it could be a guitar made to sound a particular way. Sorry I haven't been on - I've been ripping like a beehutch  |
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Jul 14, 2016 14:21:15 GMT
My Isis is very good. Seems to be outclassed by the TAD D600 Currently investigating ..... Isis? |
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on Jul 14, 2016 20:59:58 GMT
Rega Isis
Like so many girls in the world at large Isis well before the one you may be thinking of
|
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Jul 15, 2016 21:20:22 GMT
The TAD stuff is rather good though. Heard them at Bristol earlier this year - I'll be spending more time in that room next year!
|
|
|
|
Post by Stratmangler on Jul 15, 2016 23:49:11 GMT
Twice now I've heard an instrument in a track I know pretty well. One was a track from Neil Finn's Try Whistling This (a mandolin I've never heard before), and now I think I've just heard a violin in Stereophonics' Mr. Writer. The latter I'm still working on though, as it could be an electric guitar. I know that sounds odd, and dispersions could be cast for me or my system being able to tell a violin from an electric guitar, but there's other instruments and voices at the same time, so it makes it harder to tell. The first time I heard it, it sounded like a violin, but the closer I try and listen, it sounds like it could be a guitar made to sound a particular way. Sorry I haven't been on - I've been ripping like a beehutch It's nice when you pick up on another thread in a song. The mandolin was on She Will Have Her Way? I remember a young man associated with Proac speakers at a show in Hammersmith - would have been around 2000, and his his enthusing about hearing a tinkly piano in a Crowded House song (I think it was "Weather With You"), and that it must have been because of the speakers they were demonstrating. I was left wondering how he'd missed it before, if that was indeed the case, because it's mixed quite upfront in the song, and to me it was blatantly obvious element. Sometimes there's no accounting for what our brains miss, or indeed add to any experiences we have. We're all on our own journeys .... |
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Jul 17, 2016 11:20:02 GMT
I'll have to listen through again now as I can't remember which track it was - I'm guessing many of their tracks use mandolins! I've heard the album God knows how many times, and on numerous systems, but I'd never heard it before - it is quite subtle, and probably easy to miss if concentrating on vocals and the other guitars in the mix.
I noticed something on Royal Blood's album this morning I've never heard either.
Sometimes it's not a case of a system reproducing things that other systems can't - it's more a case of a system brings your attention to it, as when you go back to a system you thought couldn't reproduce it, it is there. Some systems/equipment are just better at revealing dissecting music and presenting more subtle details.
EDIT: 3 occasions this morning now I've heard new stuff!
|
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Aug 24, 2016 11:43:44 GMT
I'm extremely happy with the front end of my AV/hi-fi system at the moment, so that won't be changing for quite a while. I find myself torn with two options for my next upgrade though. I've been wanting to change the power amp for a little while, and have considered the Primare A30.7 a worthwhile upgrade, and more recently, the Classe Sigma Amp5. These are £2600 and £4950 respectively.
Since the launch of the PMC TwentyFive Series, they've got me thinking. My next step speaker wise is tricky - from KEF's line up, the next step are the Reference Ones, but they're way too big for my room. I'm really liking the size of the LS50s, and I can use them all round. The TwentyFive.21 would slot in nicely, but I reckon the TwentyFive.23 are just small enough for me to accommodate (even though I've not used floorstanders for AV since my old KEF Reference Model 4.2).
But the TwoTwo range has always been intriguing. I recently got to see them in the flesh at PMC, and was surprised just how small the entry level model is. They include on board EQ, active, analogue and digital inputs, and negating the need for a power amplifier. The drawback is that they either take a digital signal, or they taken an analogue one and convert it to digital, then back to analogue again. This is unnecessary, but if the end result is still much better, I'm willing to overlook that. The benefit is the cost. Five TwoTwo.5s would be just over £8k, whereas the TwentyFive approach would be about £11,500. Obviously the TwentyFive.23s with matching centre wouldn't be quite as small, but would look generally nicer. Like the LS50s, the TwoTwo models can be used standing up or on their side, although they would need their own mains outlet (which is doable). If the active aspect is as noticeable as many claim on this forum, then it should be a deal clincher...
I'm aiming to get hold of a pair of TwoTwos some time next month, so I'll also see if I can get hold of a pair of TwentyFive.21s to try out at the same time. If the latter option works better in my room, I'll see if I can squeeze in the 23s. Where I know the TwentyFives will be a step up from the LS50s, I'm intrigued to see what the actives bring to the table, and whether the extra layer of ADC-DAC will affect things.
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Aug 24, 2016 12:10:03 GMT
What about LS50s with a good subwoofer?
|
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Aug 24, 2016 12:44:08 GMT
I'm using LS50s with a good subwoofer! |
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Aug 24, 2016 12:44:25 GMT
Or do you mean an even better one?
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Aug 24, 2016 18:51:07 GMT
Ok, so what are you missing?
|
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Aug 26, 2016 19:17:45 GMT
I think for the money, I have the best I can get for music and movies, for my space. Three pairs of LS50s and an SVS SB2000 comes to around £3,000. I know I can get better products which will sound better, but they can't really be any bigger than what I currently have. On my radar at the moment is the Bowers & Wilkins DB1 sub, and the PMCs I mentioned earlier.
I'm just intrigued as to how the active PMCs will make my system sound.
|
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Aug 26, 2016 20:39:33 GMT
Have you considered that the amplification may be the bottleneck, not the speakers? Those LS50s are dead transparent and I can't see the PMCs being better in that area, only having a lot more welly.
|
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Aug 27, 2016 8:22:27 GMT
I had considered that, yes. It has more power than I need, so power isn't an issue, so if I was to change it, it would be for quality reasons. I appreciate Rotel aren't the be all and end all, and generally they're classed as "good value" more than anything else, but they can sound great in the right system. Because it's not a large room, I want to stay away from Class A/B amps - I really don't need or want the extra heat!
I want to explore this active option with the PMC TwoTwos first, as this negates the need for a power amp.
|
|
|
|
Post by davidf on Jan 5, 2017 8:11:37 GMT
Well, it doesn't look like I'm going to get to try the active PMCs, and my LS50s have gone in order to fund a project after leaving my previous employer, so I'm back to a 3.1 system with my JR149s for the time being.
|
|
