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Am I behind the digital eightball?

Here's the scoop. I own the AA Prima cdp. I love the sound. When SACDS first came out, I avoided listening to them, not only because of the limitation of my Prima, but the 500 or so cds I have. Now, there are oodles of players that do both. The Ayre C-5xe review has got me thinking. Is there a digital front end that will, at the least, give me what I have with my Prima, plus SACD with equal panache. Now, better than my Prima would be nirvana. I bought my Prima new three years ago, and would love to spend, proportionately, the same $$ for a cd/sacd player. Any thoughts, recommendations? thanks in advance, warren :-)
warrenh

Showing 2 responses by puremusic

puremusic
226 posts
 
Warren,

I listened to the Ayre C-5xe in a dealer's showroom and found it to be an excellent machine (and it is much better than the Ayre C-7xe which I own in my second system). But for about the same amount of money, the APL 3910 with the new AKM DACs is sonically head and shoulders above the Ayre C-5xe. The APL 3910 plays CDs, SACDs, DVD-As, DVDs and can be ordered with the multi-channel option. Alex Peychev of APL HiFi uses the Denon 3910 chassis and DSP and replaces everything else according to his own design. The built-in hybrid attenuator allows me to connect my APL unit directly into my amps in my primary system. Check out the reviews of the APL Denon 3910 on couple of threads on Audiogon as well as on the APL HiFi website.

Best Regards,
John
puremusic
226 posts
 
Hi Warren,

(With tongue half in cheek.)...On the other hand....Although you may be safe to assume that the big corporations will not likely be big Moonie supporters, you wouldn't be so safe in assuming they won't leave you high and dry after they take your Money. Case in point: The Phillips corporation left its transport clients high and dry without any replacement parts. And this is for a transport in which a critical part has failed in a lot of the units. (If I recall correctly, the model number is 1000.) Who gets stuck supporting those clients? Surprise! It's YOUR "Might Become a Moonie" person. Alex has not given up on those clients and has gotten the bum rap because Phillips didn't have the replacement parts. It appears that a fellow audiophile (who apparently is not YOUR audiophool :-)) discovered that one of Marantz's players had an equivalent replacement part. Why did that "dependable" Phillips Corporation not inform its clients about this? Just a wild guess: They wanted those clients to buy the latest new model. They may not be Moonies, but they are into Monies....And as for your comments about Alex's upgrades: Progress is inevitable. Do you stay with Sony's original "Perfect Sound Forever" or do you move on. And if you choose to move on, do you continually replace entire components with new ones as many of the big "dependable" companies (The Monies) would like you to do, or do you just pay for the parts and labor for the upgrade as many of the modders would have you do? Each of us must make that choice based on our circumstances and preferences. Based on how you ended your last post, it appears you have not closed the door to the APL option or to other mods. If my interpretation is correct, I would suggest, that you do some more homework. And when you do, I think you will get a more balanced picture about Alex and more importantly his superb machine. Since your last post was disproportionately negative, your homework up to now may not have been a representative sample. Enjoy the journey!

Best Regards,
John
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