Has anyone heard the SimAudio 650D?

Nothing strange about it, Mike gets only one vote when it comes to the recommended components list.

Llcan,

What were your impressions of the differences in sound between the 650 and dCS based on your experience at he dealer?

The Debussy and 650D were very close performers, with a slight edge to the 650D, being it a tad more dynamic and more engaging.

Both were very detailed with no digital glare, at least to my ears. Bass performance was quite good on both. With hi-res material the 650D excelled with fantastic sound stage. The Debussy again was very close but with a presentation somehow more distant.

Need to consider the context though:
A full Simaudio system might have favored the 650D.
The 650D served as a transport to the Debussy during this audition. Speakers were the Raidhos 1.1.

That is why I would like to know other opinions about this comparison on systems other than full Siamaudio gear.

I am also considering the dCS reputation for firmware upgrades, including the already announced capability for DSD over USB (soon to be available on the Debussy).

Thanks Llcan. If the dealer was comparing cd playback on the 650D to the digital input of the Debussy then for sure that's not "apples to apples". I've found different digital coax cables to influence the sound so the cable between the 650D and Debussy would have been a factor in your evaluation of the Debussy. Too bad you couldn't have compared them both solely as DACs with some sort of computer audio serving as your source...

Simaudio will say that the greatest sonic potential of the 650D is as a stand alone dac for a quality computer hard drive source but it's taken me a lot of trial and error to get the sound from my Sooloos MC200/Simaudio 650D combination to equal and surpass the sound of just using the 650D as a traditional CD player!

I have heard the 650D and thought it was one sweet machine. Forget about Stereophile ratings- they are meaningless. Everything gets recommended and are distinguished between different classes based on price. Trust your ears! FWIW, I also think Sim's lower priced digital gear is also tops. In the old days if something wasn't so good, Stereophile just said so. Now you have to read between the lines.