I own the AA MarkII and I love it. I run a number of digital sources (DVD, 5-disk CD player, Satellite) through it and I have no complaints.
the used price here on A'gon makes it quite worth it. When shipping, the AA has a habit of snapping a pair of lock skrews that hold the transport. The fellow who sold it to me said he would contact the distributor for me if the unit arrived with this problem. He 'double wrapped' it in two boxes, each with it's own layer of insullation and the unit arrived in perfect shape. You might bring this up with the original purchaser (assuming he is the original purchaser) that you buy it from prior to shipping as AA ships the replacements, I understand, free to the original purchaser. Since I did not have this problem I can't speak any more to it.
Good luck. You won't be sorry you bought it. the volumn control means you don't need a pre. |
I agree with UncleJeff, the audio aero capitole II may not be the king of digital any more but for under $10k I think its hard to beat. And if you like tubey, dark soundstage and bloom the choice is pretty simple! The fellow who bought mine absolutely loves it, just as I did for months before. This player you can just listen to for hours and hours and never get tired of it. Part of me really misses that little thing.
All of that being said if you can swing a little bit more the Emm labs(aka Meitner) digital is better, though it goes for about $15k for the two channel set up- and your going to pay retail or darn close to it. To my ears it is the best digital source I have ever heard. It also plays SACD's incredibly well, but it seemed as though your focus was on redbook so that in mind the Emm labs is still king. And you get SACD to play with as well. |
I had a wadia 850 and ayre cx 7 both fine units..
but I really like my current Resolution Audio Opus 21 more than either and it will be my last cdp.. |
Don't forget to look at Accuphase. A used 75v is around 5000. The only thing that I heard that betters it is the dcs 3 box unit that retails for >25,000. |
Given your self-described preferences, no doubt whatsoever: Get the Audio Aero. |
I have a Linn Ikemi and am very pleased with it's sound. I am also using Cardas Gold Refs and I find the Linn to be very warm, detailed and precise |
I agree with Theo, the Linn is a fine player, reasonably priced and has excellent build quality. It also meets your criteria. If you like the Arcam, you'll love the Ikemi. |
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How many imputs on the audio aero? Can you use it as a pre? Will it control the vol on all sources? |
I am not positive but I think it has 3 inputs- optical, coax and AES/EBU and it may have an AT&T input as well but I can't say that for certain. Yes you can use it as a peramp to control volume on the inputs. |
Thanks to everyone who responded; I'm going with the audio aero, and have found one used from an audiogon member at a fair price. Gotta love this forum!
I find it interesting, incidently, that know one commented on the Musical Fidelity Nuvista CDP, a Stereophile darling if there ever was one. By the way, anyone want to buy an Arcam Alpha 9, in great shape? |
Tireguy,
can i hook up my rca's from the dvd and sattelite? Does it have multiple rca inputs? |
streetdaddy- If you mean the analog outputs of a DVD it does not input them. The only inputs it has are digital, that being said if your sattelite has a digital cable you could do both of them, just use optical on the DVD player and Coax digital on sattelite. I don't have a TV so I do not have a clue what requirments a sttelite has :( wish I could be of more help. |
be careful--on my hd cable box, the digital output can't be downrez'd to PCM, so it will output DD 5.1 bitstreams that my Wadia 861 can't decode obviously...I bought an ART Dio for a 100 bucks to convert the analog outs to a digital stream and it works ok. satellite boxes may be different of course... |
