2. digital
  3. 1186053836

PC-Audio vs. High-end CD Player-GAME OVER

Hi All,
I just auditioned the Wavelength Audio Cosecant DAC on a very nice system at the local dealer. It was run through a Hovland 200 preamp , a Plinius amp and Avalon Eidolon Diamond speakers. This is all in a very well treated, good-sounding room.
It was, in a word spectacular. Beautiful tone, excellent bass, imaging soundstaging, etc. What was really amazing was a sense of space, or ambience that was imparted. We then compared the same CD's (Diana Krall, Jennifer warnes, some jazz), on a Levinson CDP. I'm not saying that the levinson is the last word in players, but it was what he had on the shelf.While it sounded good, it was much more bright, and "constricted".
Control was through an Imac using I-tunes, and the CD's had been nurned using Apple Lossless.
I ordered my Crimson on the spot.

David
deshapiro

Showing 2 responses by mrmb

mrmb's avatar
mrmb
299 posts
 
I traded a Wadia 861 for a Wavelength Brick Silver.

Prior to obtaining a MacBook to drive the Brick, I used a very old Dell Pentium II desktop with an external hard drive. With the exception of PC fan noise, the sonics were the same as the MacBook -- superb! So, as long as one is using an external DAC, and a "silent" PC (the MacBook is), the PC doesn't have to be state of the art!

Sonics are superb, convenience is spectacular -- even better than I had imagined! In my book this is an impossible combination to beat. Of course, one has to do a lot of ripping. But over the years my son and I had ripped hundreds of discs in order to record compilations. So the software was present, and backed-up, we have duplicates of each others tunes stored at different sites.

For my purposes, the game is over.
mrmb's avatar
mrmb
299 posts
 
My primary front end is a Galibier TT.

Because I found myself listening mostly to vinyl, I thought that selling my Wadia 861 was a wise decision especially since PC Audio was in its neophyte stage, leaving "standard" digital payback hardware with good trade-in value.

I purchased a Wavelength Brick Silver, and a MacBook for essentially the re-sale value of my Wadia.

I didn't suffer sonically. I turned a transport and DAC into a portable computer and DAC. The former I can use for functions other than audio. What's not to like?

The convenience is another plus, albeit, secondary. But having instant access to my complete audio collection has been a blast! Much more fun than I could have ever imagined.

I suggest auditioning a good USB DAC system comparing it to the stand alones, and see what you think. Digital only folks may prefer this setup. But for vinyl + digital folks like me, it's a hard combination to beat, especially if one is in need of a laptop -- talk about multitasking.

BTW, I second all the positive comments regarding Wavelength and Gordon. I've never met him, only had discussions via e-mail, but he's been very helpful and his digital and other electronics -- especially SET's -- are superb.
More to discover