@wig I'm also very interested in your findings, as I am considering this transport as well, to replace my Musical Fidelity M1 and my April Music Stello CDT100. |
Just unboxed and set my CDT-2 up .......
So far it's destroyed my previous transport (Musical Fidelity M1 CDT). More of everything, and it just puts everything together much better. Images are denser. The picture is more coherent
This is with less than a couple hours on it. |
@snopro
Thanks for your insight. After doing more research, as of right now I'll be going with the Terminator. It seems to fit the bill for what I'm looking for, versus what I can actually buy. Had I the money, I'd be looking at a Aries Cerat Kassandra, MSB Select II, or TotalDac Twelve.....but the Terminator seems awesome, and I'm loving being able to use I2s. Though I could save up longer and get an Aqua Acoustics Formula......I think I'll be happy with the Terminator.
Thanks again. |
@david_ten
Yeah, I did some research and saw what dac you were referring to. It isn't balanced and therefore won't work for me, but I'm still on the lookout to see if there's a dac I'd rather have besides the Terminator. |
@snopro
I've also heard the Aqua, but not in my system. The system I heard it in is great, but I couldn't say exactly how much of that is the Aqua, though I imagine it is a sizable amount.
At this point, the Terminator is my choice, but since it will be after the holiday when I'm able to pull the trigger, I'm on the lookout for something that may be better for me. I'm really looking for as much transparency, information retrieval, and neutrality, that I can get for my money. |
I ordered mine through Mike Powell and didn't have to pay any additional fees that I'm aware of. It was delivered by DHL. |
@mboldda1
He's about 3 hours away fro me now, but who knows. |
At this point, one of the few transports I'd take over my CDT-2 MK2, would be the CEC TL0x. Or the Kalista transport.
I wish my current DAC had an HDMI I2S input, so I could hear the transport at its best. |
@garrardI
I have only used the transport with my modified MHDT Labs Pagoda. |
@in_shore
What are you thoughts on the Rockna vs the Terminator?
I considered the Terminator as my next dac, but now I'm thinking that maybe the Rockna will be the one. Longer to save the money and justify the price, but it seems like a very long term dac. |
I also love mine and see no reason to switch it out for anything else. It just sounds right.
I had an April Music CDT100 that sounded great, but was weighted downwards. I also have a Musical Fidelity that sounds very very good, and doesn't do anything wrong, but it lacks the overall life and resolution of the Jay's Audio.
I'm looking around at dacs to see what would be a great paring for it.
I wish more dacs had the HDMI i2s output, as I have to be able to utilize the transport tot he fullest. I'm thinking about a Rockna Wavedream (expensive) and still haven't completely ruled out the Terminator (better price, but I don't love that it's voiced to be warm and lush, as opposed to simply being as transparent as possible). |
@david_ten
I imagine it is fairly transparent. However the designers have said they voiced it to be lush. Most reviews also say it is in the warm side.
I'm sure it isn't syrupy warm or lush, but I'm trying to avoid as much voicing as possible, and listen to what in the disc as much as possible. Or at least as much as my limited funds can get me.
I'm still not opposed to the Terminator, but if I can get more transparency and information retrieval, while not sounding bright or slow, I'll be happier.
I really wish someone was in Austin and had a Terminator, so I could hear it for myself. |
@toddrhodes
I'm currently running my CDT2 into a modified MHDT Labd Balanced Pagoda, and I think it sounds outstanding. However I feel as though there is more musical information to be had, as well as me wanting to get tubes out of my source.
The MHDT is good enough that I don't feel as though it is choking my system, but I do feel as though it may be a bottleneck, as every other component is pretty neutral.
The Rockna seems to be the best bet for relatively sane dollars. If the Terminator wasn't voiced downwards, I'm sure it would be my choice. I'm also interested in reading opinions on the Jay's Audio DAC. If they can make their DAC as amazing as their transport......then maybe that's the one for me. Who knows. |
While all equipment has a voice, I am not sure that all of it is voiced to sound a specific way. Yes, most is, but many also want to simply let as much information through as possible, while not sounding amusical. Price, experience, knowledge, materials used, etc. dictate how much of a voice a component has.
I think that components like the Rockna, MSB Select DAC II, Aqua Formula, etc., try to be as transparent as possible, while the Terminator tries to impose a specific sound on the signal it receives. All components have a sound, but some are more overt than others. The Terminator seems to have a more overt sound, which almost everyone seems to love. I am just not sure if I will, as I want as little of a component's sound as possible, and as much of the sound of the music as I can get. Even if that means it sounds really bad.
I believe a component can be extremely detailed while still being very colored. I want the detail, with very little color.
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@david_ten
Alvin, from Vinshine Audio has said this "FPGA coding on Terminator is tuned to produce lush, dynamic and musical sound." And just enjoy every single review has said the exact same thing. You can have whatever problem with the statements you think I'm making that you like. But they aren't statements I'm making. They are opinions I'm repeating. You have your opinions on what you hear, and they are just as valid as everyone else's. When you hear the words lush and warm, repeatedly about a product, you tend to think it might be lush and warm.
The 6Moons review did not say they were voiced similarly. He said this " and reseating a pair of XLR cables and the digital link. In no time and with no uncertainty, this showed how the Terminator was lusher in the midband; and had more general gravitas as though each of its steps left a slightly deeper imprint in wet sand. This moved color depth, tone body and dynamic impact into the foreground. In fact, this very much sounded like I imagine a combo of the Formula's power supply and resistor ladder would behave with the La Scala MkII's tube-buffered outputs;". If anything, he seems to be saying that it it voiced similarly to the La Scala, as opposed to the Formula.
I've heard the Formula. It is not lush or warm, and I've not read it often as being characterized as such.
I think you've misunderstood some things I've said. When I talked about something sounding bad, I was referring to recordings. As in, I want what's on the disc, even if it sounds bad.
I imagine you have some dog in the fight that is clouding your judgement, and leading you to believe that because I don't want a warm or lush DAC, that I'm saying the Terminator is somehow bad. I've not said this at all. In fact I've repeatedly said I've considered purchasing it. But the fact remains that the DAC is lush in the eyes of many that have heard it, and the guy that distributes it. So I'm not sure why you're arguing with me about this, as though I'm just making things up. I'm not.
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What is going on? I know that in the review he was comparing the Formula with the Terminator. However you stated that in the review he says they were voiced similarly......which he didn't. Even in the portion you just quoted, he says they're not only not voiced differently, but voiced at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Aqua on the transparent end, the Terminator on the full bodied end. This is not in contradiction to anything I've said that reviewers have said. I'm not sure why you're framing it as such.
Again, I think you've confused things I've said.
Resolution is not the same as transparency. I have no doubt that the Terminator is extremely resolving. Almost everyone has said as much. However, if it's voiced to be lush, then it is embuing everything that passes through the DAC, with that lushness. Which takes away from transparency. Yes, nothing is completely transparent (my Tortuga preamp might be). I know this. But that's not the same as being purposely additive. Which the Terminator is. And that's not necessarily a bad thing if you aren't looking for extreme transparency. But I'm not looking for musical. I'm looking for something to pass along information untouched. That's just not what the Terminator does.
I've read very few reviews that don't paint the Terminator as being an amazing DAC. In the next few months I might own one if I conclude that the Rockna is to far above my budget (it kinda is). I'm really wanting to spend much less than $16k. But at the same time, I don't want to be looking at DACs for a long time either.
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@david_ten
If I were financially in the position to buy it today, I would. Though I want a black one. I'm also really wanting to hear some reports on the quality of the Jay's Audio dac. Even though the price point is lowish, if we take into account the price of the CDT2 versus its performance.....I think the Jay's dac could be a giant killer. At least I'm hoping it is. |
