SHANLING T-200A I thinks it's a no-brainer here's why !
First of all, I feel that there has never been a better time to go SACD. When a lot people (including record companies) are proclaiming this to be a ''dead'' format already, there is cause to rejoice because I for one feel that there is already a lifetime of SACD's out there for us to enjoy, and the price keep going down. I have no problem with niche markets, I still feel we come out winners in this.
I really feel that the Shanling T-200A player is an amazing buy for several reasons 1) It sounds nice. Is it the best player out there out there? of course not, but it is ''up there'' with anything in it's price class - if only for the top-notch Sony transport and the digitals inside - the same stuff found in big-tag players. 2)You get a choice of tubed or solid state outputs. I actually prefer the SS output as I have an all-tube system BUT for mellowing those hard-edge redbook cd's (and SACD's) the tube output is pure magic. 3) You get a free tubed headphone amplifier, of the quality that actually smokes a few dedicated headphone amps. 4)Great redbook cd playback. There is at least ONE publication, HI-FI News (from the UK) that thinks that upgrading from the T-100 to the T-200 (now the 200A) is worth it STRICKLY ON IT'S MERITS AS A CD PLAYER which is no small claim, as the T-100 is universally acclaimed for good redbook sound. If you go to the hifinews.co.uk site they charge you for the review. I found it ''free'' somewhere else on the Web but I would have to search for it to find it again (have not bookmarked the address). 5) Of course it's a stunner on looks, but everybody knows this - the problem is that this detracts from the real reasons for buying this player - the SOUND. 6) Finally, I think that this player is destined to become a ''classic'' and will hold up it's value for quite a long time, if only for the ground-breaking design it has - of course people will still buy it for the looks of it - and this is enough to guarantee a certain demand, but many owners know better, to put it plainly , it's just a great machine. The newer 200A has upgraded features on it, including a classier all grey-blue look for the ''feet''. Gone are the somewhat tweaky cones and disks, replaced by ''composite feet'' that apparently work better. It also has better ventilation (?) and a few upgraded parts. That last bit I got from the president of Elusive prior to buying my unit. Last but not least, something I have only been able to say to myself very rarely, those 3 rare words...''It's a keeper ''
Sorry for the long post, that thread caught my attention to say the least !
