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Is Exemplar the answer?

I'm looking for the best red book source I can find at around $5000 or under. I came very close to buying an Esoteric DV50, but reconsidered after hearing about John Tucker's Exemplar Audio mod of the Denon 2900. Have you heard this player, and how would you compare it to the best red book sources you have heard. It's fine to have a player that will play every format known to man, and having a universal player is a nice bonus, but my cd collection is almost all red book, and I want to get the most from the titles I currently have.

Thanks
84audio
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tbg
5,263 posts
 
At VSAC I heard all three plus the outstanding Allen Wright unit. Conditions were deplorable. I already had the Exemplar in its first version. I bought an Allen Wright unit shortly afterwards. All of this is a moving target as moders are not stuck in place. But the latest Exemplar is so superior to many other exceptional units I have heard, that I doubt if Alex's, Dan's, or Allen's unit can outperform it. Sorry, smilin, but it is no more an "unwarranted claims" for me to make it at this time than for you to do so later.
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bbeezley
13 posts
 
Thanks - just knowing the websites and names are a help. I'm in South Denver area - if anyone would be enough of a sport to contact me about a possible mod-to-stock Denon comparo someday that would be cool.
pragmatism
11 posts
 
Hi guys,
My instinct is to stay out of this, certainly on the merits. I have had Dan mod a Sony SCD 9000 in the past and he too did a wonderful job. I have owned nothing from Alex or from Allen Wright. I don't like to make comparisons in my reviews unless I have all the products in house and under conditions that allows each to perform to its best.
I don't worry about the Best or Better. I wonder about how good the component sounds in my system.
More than that, I write my reviews with one purpose primarily in mind and that is to provide useful and illuminating information that is helpful to potential consumers and fair to manufacturers and designers.

In the Spring I will be reviewing the Exemplar Horns. Now that's something I look forward to!

Have fun and try not to take it so seriously that you lose sight of the potential for joy in all this.

Cheers, and keep reading 6moons. We're working pretty hard and having a hell of a good time -- even if my 'beat' is the usually unobtainable in tube electronics and turntables.

I don't know that the Exemplar is the best, but I do know it made me feel good about the possibilities of digital at reasonable cost.

What I would like to know is whether my particularly positive experience with DVD-A is common or unusual

Jules

Jules
pardales
652 posts
 
My experience with my Exemplar Denon, in my system, is very similar to the 6 moons review. SACD is outstanding. Redbook is nearly, if not, as good as SACD. and DVD-A is also outstanding.

My long hunt for digital I can live with is over. Good Luck,
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