Review : Monosaudio D50746 power cord, Oakcastle DVD100 mini dvd player, Prolinx RCC-1 IC
Budget Esoterica Review Magazine
June 2021 Issue
Monosaudio D50746 power cord, Oakcastle DVD100 mini dvd player, Prolinx Puresonic RCC-1 stereo interconnect
Today i will be reviewing another inexpensive dvd player and interconnect combination along with a power cord. The Oakcastle dvd player caught my eye because it was designed in Great Britain, home of rabid audiophiles and superb stereo designers. No, it does not blow away my Musical Fidelity / Sony combo , nor is it embarrassed by it. The price difference is $25 versus almost $400. When it comes to natural sound , there was not that much difference between the two. The review system consists of a modern day high quality 50 watt integrated amp used with the Kirksaeter Prisma 50 speakers on Target 20 inch stands.
The Monosaudio D50746 power cord is currently available at Amazon.com for under $30. This cable has three conductors per cable and is 13 AWG per conductor. Pure copper plugs are used on both sides. The outer covering is a black and red color mix braided expandable sleeving.
The Oakcastle mini dvd player is just that, with dimensions of less than 9 x 8 x 2 inches. It is also very lightweight at just under two pounds. Connections are HDMI, RCA component, composite and USB. This is a multi-region / region free player suitable for all regions. The Oakcastle dvd player is the smallest and least expensive dvd player i have tried, but don't let that stop you from trying it. If you find that your jazz cd's are sounding a little too harsh, then this player with the Prolinx interconnect could be your remedy.
I stumbled upon the Prolinx stereo interconnect at Amazon.com also , and two things intrigued me. Number one, the price was discounted by 80 percent from $100 and number two, the construction appeared to be very high-end. If you like thick cables with high quality connectors, then the Prolinx will impress you. This cable uses pure PCOCC, OFHCC copper conductors and triple shielding with a directional designed drain wire.
With the Oakcastle Prolinx combination sins were mostly of omission. The Musical Fidelity had a crisper sound from top to bottom and a little more extension on top. However, once my ears became acclimated to the sound of the Oakcastle , i came to appreciate the mellower sound when listening to some of my jazz cd's that can be a little too harsh sounding. This was most evident while listening to the song , "Caravan", from disc number two of the Lou Donaldson 1953-1959 the complete albums collection. Because of this, i had less listening fatigue from the Oakcastle then i did listening to the much more expensive Musical Fidelity DAC.
To check for organic sound i listened to an excellent recording by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Jazz Impressions Of Japan.
The opening track titled, "Tokyo Traffic", had a very natural sound on the Oakcastle dvd player and was not outclassed in that regard by the Musical Fidelity. The Musical Fidelity had a little more extension in the frequency extremes and more upper frequency information , but when it comes to balance and coherence, i think i liked the Oakcastle better.
Comparing female vocals also turned out to be a worthwhile endeavor. For this comparison i listened to a song sung by Abbey Lincoln titled, "Brother Can You Spare A Dime", from the Great Ladies Of Jazz Verve cd. The Musical Fidelity had a few more audiophile assets, such as rendition of space, details and resolution, but other than that the Oakcastle put on a good showing. I think the Oakcastle was a little smoother and less edgy. The saxophone seemed a little cleaner and clearer through the Musical Fidelity , but the difference was not great.
In doing a comparison such as this one would expect there to be a significant improvement by moving up to a high-end DAC such as the Musical fidelity, when comparing bass qualities. While listening to "My Sharona", by the Knack , the Musical fidelity had tauter, deeper and more detailed bass. The bass on the Oakcastle was dryer , but the mids were less harsh. Again,, the differences were not that great and i enjoyed both sources. Keep in mind that i was not able to exactly match levels of both comparisons and that might affect the perceived bass output.
I am not going to tell you that the Oakcastle dvd player is better than a $400 combo dvd player and DAC, but i will tell you that when it comes to overall sound, coherence and freedom from harshness, i liked the $25 Oakcastle better. Therefore, i can heartily recommend the Oakcastle dvd player used with the Prolinx interconnect as an excellent starter cd player that also just so happens to play movies. The Monosaudio is also a very good power cord and i think this new brand deserves a little more exploration.
June 2021 Issue
Monosaudio D50746 power cord, Oakcastle DVD100 mini dvd player, Prolinx Puresonic RCC-1 stereo interconnect
Today i will be reviewing another inexpensive dvd player and interconnect combination along with a power cord. The Oakcastle dvd player caught my eye because it was designed in Great Britain, home of rabid audiophiles and superb stereo designers. No, it does not blow away my Musical Fidelity / Sony combo , nor is it embarrassed by it. The price difference is $25 versus almost $400. When it comes to natural sound , there was not that much difference between the two. The review system consists of a modern day high quality 50 watt integrated amp used with the Kirksaeter Prisma 50 speakers on Target 20 inch stands.
The Monosaudio D50746 power cord is currently available at Amazon.com for under $30. This cable has three conductors per cable and is 13 AWG per conductor. Pure copper plugs are used on both sides. The outer covering is a black and red color mix braided expandable sleeving.
The Oakcastle mini dvd player is just that, with dimensions of less than 9 x 8 x 2 inches. It is also very lightweight at just under two pounds. Connections are HDMI, RCA component, composite and USB. This is a multi-region / region free player suitable for all regions. The Oakcastle dvd player is the smallest and least expensive dvd player i have tried, but don't let that stop you from trying it. If you find that your jazz cd's are sounding a little too harsh, then this player with the Prolinx interconnect could be your remedy.
I stumbled upon the Prolinx stereo interconnect at Amazon.com also , and two things intrigued me. Number one, the price was discounted by 80 percent from $100 and number two, the construction appeared to be very high-end. If you like thick cables with high quality connectors, then the Prolinx will impress you. This cable uses pure PCOCC, OFHCC copper conductors and triple shielding with a directional designed drain wire.
With the Oakcastle Prolinx combination sins were mostly of omission. The Musical Fidelity had a crisper sound from top to bottom and a little more extension on top. However, once my ears became acclimated to the sound of the Oakcastle , i came to appreciate the mellower sound when listening to some of my jazz cd's that can be a little too harsh sounding. This was most evident while listening to the song , "Caravan", from disc number two of the Lou Donaldson 1953-1959 the complete albums collection. Because of this, i had less listening fatigue from the Oakcastle then i did listening to the much more expensive Musical Fidelity DAC.
To check for organic sound i listened to an excellent recording by the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Jazz Impressions Of Japan.
The opening track titled, "Tokyo Traffic", had a very natural sound on the Oakcastle dvd player and was not outclassed in that regard by the Musical Fidelity. The Musical Fidelity had a little more extension in the frequency extremes and more upper frequency information , but when it comes to balance and coherence, i think i liked the Oakcastle better.
Comparing female vocals also turned out to be a worthwhile endeavor. For this comparison i listened to a song sung by Abbey Lincoln titled, "Brother Can You Spare A Dime", from the Great Ladies Of Jazz Verve cd. The Musical Fidelity had a few more audiophile assets, such as rendition of space, details and resolution, but other than that the Oakcastle put on a good showing. I think the Oakcastle was a little smoother and less edgy. The saxophone seemed a little cleaner and clearer through the Musical Fidelity , but the difference was not great.
In doing a comparison such as this one would expect there to be a significant improvement by moving up to a high-end DAC such as the Musical fidelity, when comparing bass qualities. While listening to "My Sharona", by the Knack , the Musical fidelity had tauter, deeper and more detailed bass. The bass on the Oakcastle was dryer , but the mids were less harsh. Again,, the differences were not that great and i enjoyed both sources. Keep in mind that i was not able to exactly match levels of both comparisons and that might affect the perceived bass output.
I am not going to tell you that the Oakcastle dvd player is better than a $400 combo dvd player and DAC, but i will tell you that when it comes to overall sound, coherence and freedom from harshness, i liked the $25 Oakcastle better. Therefore, i can heartily recommend the Oakcastle dvd player used with the Prolinx interconnect as an excellent starter cd player that also just so happens to play movies. The Monosaudio is also a very good power cord and i think this new brand deserves a little more exploration.
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