A Sad Bobcat Experience, a Mark Levinson disaster.
I not only purchased the Bobcat program [with it's Dan Hertz Dac] but also the Callisto Computer to go with it as a "plug and play" setup, and I'm still not sure how I agreed to this deal with their refusal to supply any sort of documentation, paperwork, official receipts, export documents, etc.
He is obviously a good salesman or I'm going senile, or both!
My system is a v. high quality domestic monitor setup and it reveals any deficiencies in the chain, and this "new thing" resembles some of the characteristics of the Digital editing suites with the loose base, unnatural top end extension, added detail that varies with input, etc.
It may well suit some people but we consider it to be quite unsatisfactory and are very dissapointed with the whole Mark Levinson experience.
However, it does do some of the things that ML said it would do, but unfortunately, the quality of the reproduction is not "first class", and it has been a challenge to improve it's performance.
It does actually reduce fatigue extremely well, and with my AKG's on class A h/ph amp, is very easy to listen to, even without the extra "sound selections"
As I learn more of this digital medium, I think it is problem of the Media 10 program, the USB connection method but mainly a function of the DAC.
A caution about the DAC - It is made for Mark Levinson [aka Daniel Hertz, etc ...!] by Ron Genereux of "Sonus Research and Design" and from the initial reluctance to bend the power pins to fit our mains outlets, the non-earthed poorly finished metal case, to the cheap 3mm h/ph socket with its sorry little thumbwheel vol control, etc, etc.
When the whole computer and dac was returned from NewYork [after dac repair and computer hard drive failure!], the metal cased dac still didn't have an earth connection apart from the USB 0volt plug lead idea of an earth [removable earth!!!] and with our 240v mains voltage and a regulator heatsink rattling around [loose!] in the metal case, and other things - you can see that this rather expensive item is saaaaaadly lacking is build quality.
Ron G "respectfully declined" to add a 3 wire power cord, a seperate earth connection or add the provided IEC filter/socket to the metal case! You would think that a failed product returned for repair would be a good opportunity to make it at least, electrical safe! Unfortunately, the DH DAC is tied to the USB system and the other programs offered by/from "Dick Burwen" seem to use the same method, apart from the professional application.
I hope to be quite wrong about the USB method and the MediaPlayer program and it maybe simply be that the convenience of "plug and play" outways any "possible" loss of fidelity.
I also hope to be able to add in the near future that I have found a better way to use the Burwen bobcat program, and that more of it's potential may be realised.
... jh
