I have owned the North Star combo for about 3 months now and have to tell you how much I enjoy listening to it. I haven't been listening to sacd much since I got the North Star gear. To be fair I have a $1000 sacd player. Build quality is rock solid and is very attractive(I can only speak for the silver). What you are going to hear is loads of detail while still sounding extremely smooth. Great recordings will sound even better, but you will hear everything on bad recordings also. It is very true to the source. This will be my digital source for a very very long time. I picked up a dealer demo so I can't comment on the service but that is probably a good thing because I haven't had any glitches or problems. The only bad thing I could say is the remote is plastic and feels cheap. The remote works perfectly just not what you would hope for being paired with such beautiful components. If that is the only complaint you know that it sounds great. I also play my dvd movies and through the dac via digital out on my dvd player with awesome results. Hope you enjoy it. |
Nicksgem
Thank you for your response.I am really psyched - will probably purchase tommorrow and looking forward to a whole new listening of my collection - one the great pleasures of this passion.I have 600 CD's and just cant see changing formats at this time of audio uncertainty.
DVD - thats great news too as I have a Loewe 38" tube HDTV that I love.
Gammajo |
Gammajo
If you do decide to purchase the Northstar, please report back on your impressions. I too was going to purchase one but decided to pick up and older transport instead. The chatter is that it is a fine transport, but I had questions about service and reliability, since they are a relative newcomer. |
Jman - I will do so
Gammajo |
Jman66 Hi.
Do you mind telling us which older transport you ended up with? I ,too,have an older CD transport but recently bought the Northstar 192.My older one is the MD-1.
George |
Yioryos - do you find the NorthStar to be a delight as to sound and better than your previous? I am switching from an Nakamici Mb1 Cd player into a Aragon D2A2 Dac, to the NorthStar duo and hope it will be a signifcant upgrade. |
Yoiryos - opps, you already told me you like it on another thread |
Yioryos,
Hi, yes, I had emailed you regarding the M192 transport, which you indicated was a fine unit. I still had some hangups about the "newness" of Northstar, so I decided to stick with an older transport. I have an ML No.37 arriving today which will be paired with a Birdland Odeon-Ag DAC. Depending on how things go, I may still try the M192, but I think it may work best when paired with the M192 DAC. |
Jmann66
Great choice. The ML 37 is a great transport no doubt about it.I am pretty sure it costs more than the M-192 transport though. |
Yioryos - the ML was a bit more than the M192, and that fact does not make it "better" than the M192. The M192 should not be discounted as a fine transport.
I just felt a little easier picking a transport that has been around for a while, my own hangup. And I may yet try out the M192... |
I have upgraded from the flimsy stock i2s cable to Audio Revelation Audio Labs Prophecy Cryo-Silver Reference i2s with great results. The cable is still breaking in but I am hearing even more detail already. It seems really well built and a very good value. I have no affiliation with their company. |
Nick
Thanks for the tip.I'll probably get one too.Do you mind telling us how much was it?/where purchased from?
Cheers
George |
I bought directly from their website for the posted price. The website is www.revelationaudiolabs.com I went with the 1m version just to be safe because my rack is always being rearranged. My cable shipped to me quickly for $300. I think the 1/2m was $250. I am going to consider some of their other product offerings because I like what I have seen/heard so far. Good luck. |
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Well, I have had the NorthStar now for about two weeks. Initially I was unsure in that it did not have quite the dynamics of my previous Aragon D2A2 DAC. The NorthStar appears a bit more laid back in general and particularly in the trebbile and mid-low base regions. I started my auditons with rock. But now I am enamored - there is no digital brightness or glare and as I progressed to classical, much more subtle timber (particularly on brass) was present than my last unit, sounding much more like live music with zero fatigue at high volumes and no congestion on Hindenmith and other dense music. It is very well controlled yet instantly transmits changes in dynamics. Sound stage is a tad smaller but better defined. Build is grerat and looks sexy to me in black. All in all a very satisfying transport and DAC. |
Gammajo
Gongratulations on your new Northstar combo.Enjoy!!!
George |
Thanks George. Today everyone was out of the house and I listened to Bach T&F in Dm really loud, yet supremely musical - yes!!!! Northstar rocks! |
Congrats on the excellent digital decision. I second your comments "North Star rocks". Be sure to check out the Revelation Audio Labs i2s cable that I mentioned earlier. It has squeezed even more detail out of the North Star combo. I honestly don't really care about "hi-rez" formats with the quality of my current redbook. It is that good. Have fun listening. |
Thanks Nicksgem - I think I have the Rev cable. Is it a pinkish color? I am away from home now so cant check the cable brand I have but it was about $260 new |
Yeah it is light purple to my eyes. I really have noticed it now that mine is breaking in. Better high and low extension. I send the digital out of my dvd player to the North Star dac for incredible movie watching experience. Have fun. |
