It's tough to compare unless you do it in your own system that you know very well, and needs to be very resolving. And even then there is the "magic matching" of certain brands and others that do not ... match.
I heard the Dcs Puccini in a Spectral/MIT/Avalon system, and I was not impressed at all, yes it sounded good, but not spectacular at all. It seemd to me all a bit too clean, too cold, too controlled and too veiled. But the room also was not top...
Recently I heard an all Soulution chain incl the CDP 740 on Magico V3's and cabled by PAD's. The room was awful and killed the highs and over emphasized the lows. But there was magic, easily the most musical sound of the whole show. I came home and listened to some of the same songs on my own system ... and smiled ! |
Ted, agree on you with the Puccini, the Soulution really can sound like one of the best though... |
Nolitan, no you can't, that's a two box player ... we're talking one box here. Nothwithstanding that, the Accuphase cannot do ALL music well anyway, such as rock, metal like the Dcs and Soulution can, even their top combo. I've tried.
Expanding the above would be with ie APL NOW 3.0GO, maybe the Spectral or the BOW and ofcourse (and I'm biased in this) the Playback Designs MPS-5!
Funny that no big name company would feature in the absolute best one box list ... that's because some of the best audiophile geniouses of the world are self employed or small companies. |
Kops, in what areas did you feel the Puccini improved (I'm supposing it does...) over our Emm? |
I took my MPS-5 to a world-wide renowned dealer/sound engineer, been in the music/equipment biz 30+ years, someone who knows everyone on this planet in the biz. My friend was comparing the Meridian 808i with the Puccini and clock. The Meridian won convincingly, more natural, more real, more balanced, no edginess that the Puccini displayed along with overemphasis on HF detail. So my friend took the Meridian home. We compared both with the Playback Designs MPS-5, and to everyones surprise it beat both the Meridian and the Puccini clearly. The MPS-5 seemed to take the best of Meridian and DCS and then took it a big step further. One comment was, this makes my analog rig obsolete! Here, nobody had heard about the Playback, who makes it, how much does it cost, where can I get one etc etc.
Didn't get a chance to compare to Paganini or Scarlatti, but then your talking 3-5X the price. Thank you Andreas/Jonathan for bringing such a fantastic product on the market, clearly among the very best that exists today, but price wise extremely competitive! |
Interesting Cleop, the long-time Meridian dealer here said they could be upgraded...
Comparing can be a tricky thing, isolating only exactly one component with another. Don't you think? You have the 808.2? May I ask what system you run this with? |
Mert, this wasn't even a planned comparison. The dealer asked for it when I mentioned I had it in the car (the plan was to try it in my friends system). When we did try it against the Meridian and the DCS, it surprised all that listened ... but it was a group consensus, not just my opinion. Including a recording engineer 30 years in the biz of worldwide renown. The associated equipment was high-end enough for the comparison (about 80K Euro retail). You should get the clock though if you haven't already, without the clock the difference was even more substantial.
Don't get me wrong, the Puccini is a fine player, the MPS-5 is better. And yes, those who know me, my sound reference remains the GPA Monaco turntable. |
Bvdiman, to answer your question, no not at this time. However they do make a MPD-5 (just the DAC), the DAC is that good. The box looks the same. $15K retail, ex shipping & insurance & duties. DAC price I don't know.
Web: playbackdesigns.com |
Playback DAC MPD-5 retails for $11K |
Mert, it sounds better with ALL well recorded 16/44.1 material ... much more analogue sounding. With 24/96 DVD-A Meridian even excels further. I was at CES and none of the rooms using DCS were among the best sounding IMHO, maybe that's a coincidence, bc the Scarlatti is among the best digital front end.
Ironic because I think the Magico M5 room was declared best sound of the show and they used a server based source with the Modwright Transporter if I remember well. Oh well, maybe we're all paying too much for digital :-)
What was your question again? |
Ray Kimbers room really bowled me over, with the four TAD's and his Isomike recordings... |
Mert, the 808.2 Sig Ref took my 24/96 Chesky DVD Audio recordings like a pro, just like that, and for sure that sounded MUCH better than CD. Sometimes I guess manufacturers specs don't reveal all, don't ask me why. DVDA is dead though as a format.
Now look who's calling the kettle black, you've changed gear more than I have! Like you say, I don't mess much with components. But I have a good set of ears and I enjoy comparing. And my music library is expanding by 25+ titles a week ... which is what its all about. |
Mert, I stand corrected, the Meridian we auditioned was the old 808 not the 808.2 which, as you correctly stated, does not play DVD-A! There is a way to upgrade the 808 to .2 but I'm not sure about the DVD-A capability. I think Meridian dropped it.
I'm not sure there is a standard definition of an audiophile per se. In my book someone who loves music and is willing to go to some lengths to maximize the listening experience can be called an audiophile in my book. Anyway, this hobby needs to be fun, some take it much too serious...
You were a DJ? Cool, that means you are at least a music lover, the whole gear thing is secondary! |
Clavil, I didn't visit that room, but I know the Puccini and the Thiel's sound ... don't get me wrong the sound in these rooms were very, very good, and some have certain outstanding qualities, just overall not THE BEST to my ears. |
Cleop, thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences. I agree with you on the sound of the Meridian vs EMM/DCS. The PD/DZ pre run very well on normal IC too, I had my PD connected with the Evolution Acoustics SE interconnects before the 50 Ohm BNC Zeel cable and the sound quality can hardly be told apart, if at all. I haven't heard the DZ pre and power amps connected through SE interconnects (my old Valhalla's) for a long time, but I remember that the sound was still extremely impressive. Have fun with the 808.21i as it is a great component! I'm tinkering with the 24/192 high-rez downloads into my PD next, that should be fun. |
There are several websites out there:
referencerecordings.com
acousense.com
ultraaudio.com
2L.musiconline.no
just to name few, high-rez downloadable content is rapidly growing. I tried using Mac too, didn't work. You're better off with a asio4all driver on an XP based computer for now.
Good luck! |
