"Deleting unwanted files from the hard drive has (as of yesterday) become easy. One highlights the file, holds the enter button down for a couple seconds, and a screen comes up allowing you to delete the file. Sony documentation does not tell you this, I got this from yesterdays call to Sony tech support. Lots of smiles today. This thing is a steal at 2K."
Thank you for this insight. I am going thru the learning curve now and was wondering how to delete files. I use Windows 8 so some of your experiences are different, but in large part your comments are quite useful. Thank you. BTW, This thing is a steal at $2K. |
Brownsfan, congrats on your Modwright purchase, retirement, and the pending move. I grew up in Charlottesville, VA and also very much enjoyed hiking through the beautiful Blue Ridge mountains. I also very much celebrate your revelation about your parents and making the most of now. Alzheimer's a very, very evil disease.
Thank you for this thorough and detailed review. I think Sony has created something that will potentially free many audiophiles from the silly fiddle factor of computer audio. I have considered one, but the only downside is the absence of a digital output. If that was there, I would buy it in a heartbeat. At present, I am looking at the Auralic Aries as a non-computer transport. |
Hi Brownsfan. I was halfway responding to you, hit one key and everything disappeared. Hope this does not post twice.
I have not noticed any difference in the sound between the two drives, but do not have the same song on both drives to compare. I'm using the WD supplied 7 inch or so usb cable. One bonus of the Passport is no external power source to worry about. I have not done any merging of any sort, sorry not to be able to help you there.
I have been busy moving 4 yards of dirt and another 4 yds of mulch in between thunderstorms, so not much listening time. I'm still quite enjoying the HAP, and my wife especially likes the 'SensMe' feature.
Glad your unit continues to improve to your liking. Please keep up with the updates, they are very helpful. Now I'm looking for a pair of Harbeth P3ESR speakers for upstairs with the HAP as the source. Enjoy |
I have about 120 hours of burn in now on the ModWright modification. At this point, the upper harmonics have bloomed, ripened, whatever you prefer, to a substantial extent. I spent some significant time last weekend listening to Stravinsky. Dumbarton Oaks, Petrushka, the Rite of Spring, also Messiaen quartet for the End of Time, and Golijov Dreams and prayers of Isaac the Blind. Bassoon, contrabassoon, every possible permutation of clarinet, all sound just wonderful. Strings are also doing very nicely. Cello is pretty much to die for. Oboe and horn are just not quite there yet. I am still far short of the 400 hours necessary for the transformers to fully burn in.
I have about 400 cds loaded at this point. I've got most of my favorite recordings of my favorite works downloaded, and a few 2nd and third choices on favorite works as well. It is going to be a much easier deal now to find recordings using the tablet. No more, where are my glasses, where is the flashlight, and where did that Abbado Mahler 1 get to? Not to mention the Floristan Shostakovich trio.
Yesterday, I had a hankering for Bach's Wahrlich, wahrlich ich sage euch. It was so nice just scrolling down on the tracks listing to get the desired cantata, rather than fumbling through 54 cds trying to figure out which one had Wahrlich.
Also this week, I listened to some of the DSD freebies that came with the player. Looking at my first post, I was struck by my initial comment on these recordings--- " sound quality indeterminate." Much different this time. The Yo Yo Ma track from Appalachian journey was stunning. I will be willing to sample some dsd downloads, once something I actually want is commercially available. I don't know, maybe the Starker Bach sonatas.
Stay tuned |
ERM, any differences in sonic quality between the 2 drives? What kind of usb cable are you using? |
ERM, ditto on the downloads. However, have you figured out how to merge albums yet? I would like to have all my Mahler multi disc symphonies show up as one album. I didn't work hard on this, but it was not immediately apparent how to make this work. |
New software for both the downloader and streamer. Down loaded with no issues.
Also added a 2T WD My Passport Ultra external drive. Automatic format and it's totally transparent as to which drive the music is in. |
I have about 85 hours of music play time in so far. Last night I noticed a very nice ripening of the upper harmonics has occurred. Cellos and brass were especially lovely last night. Also, I was really struck by the depth of image last night. I had noted that as something to monitor as burn in continued, and last night while listening to Hillary Hahn's Beethoven concerto, I was again impressed by just how good the ModWright HAPZ1 is in this regard. I did notice just a bit of grain intermittently last night.
AIFF transfers continue. Occasionally, there is a minor issue, but this is something I know longer fret over. I have better luck if I do rather small transfers, say 5-6 CDs at a time. |
Burn in continues. I have about 45 hours in so far. No huge changes since the post at 20 hours. The matched pair of 6CG7 (NOS RCA clear tops) tubes came Friday. I find these tubes to be a bit more to my liking than the new production EH 6922s. Strings are sweetened and brass instruments certainly have improved due to more sophisticated upper harmonics. If there is any decrease in resolution, its not yet apparent to me. I still am not quite getting the to die for upper harmonics on woodwinds I get with my ModWright 5400, but there is still time for some improvement there with more burn in.
I guess I've got the transfers protocol down now. No problems whatsoever with the approach I described previously. |
Mitch, The ModWright mod requires use of an external PS 9.0 or PS 9.9 power supply. I am using the PS 9.0, which Dan prefers with the HAPZ1. I also have a PS 9.9 here, which I will use with my ModWright 5400. |
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Did you get the separate power supply with the tube?
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Mitch, the front panel remains stock. The top has a standard mod wright plate where the tubes stick out (by no more than 2 or 3 mm). Very little visible change really. |
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Brownsfan, when time permits, be sure to post a photo of your modded unit on your system page. We'd love to see it.
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Mitch, Right now I am importing my favorite recordings, so I am using AIFF. I do intend to use ALAC for the more infrequently played music in order to conserve HD space. I think I will try a few wavs tomorrow, since I seem to be on a roll. I'd like to do an A/B with wav and AIFF on a piece of music, now that I have figured out how to get AIFFs to transfer. The AIFFs are sounding pretty good, but there is nothing like a good A/B just to see if there is a preference. It would seem I have hit the sweet part of the learning curve. Can't wait until the tubes get here. |
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Brownsfan, what format did you settle on to import your music with?
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I've been importing music like crazy for the last couple of days (without issue), and have had the ModWright HAPZ1 playing for another 15 -20 hours. I have had some pleasant surprises on a few transfers that sound far superior to the CD. The wonderful Argerich/Kremer LvB violin sonatas, which always sounded like, well, like Deutche Grammophone always sounds, sounded very nice through the HAPZ1.
Also, I figured out how to edit album, track, and artist info, and even reassign the correct album art to the transferred album where the wrong artwork was assigned! This has been a constant nightmare for us classical guys. Basically, in the HAPZ1 remote program, you go to the album field, tap and hold the album you want to edit, and an edit menu comes up. You select edit music info, and you can type whatever you want into the title and artist fields. To change the artwork, tap and hold the artwork picture, and a google search of artwork for say, Ein Deutches Requium comes up. Just tap and hold the correct picture and it transfers to the HAPZ1.
I'm not nearly as stupid as I look. Cool! |
Mitch, no problem. As all of you who have followed this thread from the beginning are aware, I have been favorably impressed with the sonic attributes of the stock HAPZ1. I tend to fall pretty quickly into a super type A north coast laser focused impatience machine, so my perseverance through some issues with this piece is a testament to my perception of its potential. The stock unit is a gem in the rough. It will be very interesting to see what a little burn in and savvy tube selection will afford. |
Nsirkin, I'm interested in your thoughts on the noise level using the external HD. I have an unused 1.5 TB drive sitting around, which I thought I would utilize once the internal drive is full. That may be awhile, since it is now my intention to transfer the bulk of my library as ALAC files, but eventually I will get there. If noise is a problem, I will plan on using a solid state drive.
Your approach to file transfer may be a good one. I'm finding that there appear to be some flaws with the sony transfer program (at least that has been my experience), which your approach would completely obviate. This is exactly the kind of shared learning I hoped we would see in this thread. Thanks for the idea. |
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Brownsfan...good to know that your unit is back. I keep checking this forum for news of your player quite often like a kid waiting for Christmas. Thanks again for keeping us posted.
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It's baaaaack!
Week 1 of ModWright HAPZ1 burn in. ~ 20 hours burn in.
Summary:
Reduction of grain and improved depth of sound stage over stock unit perceived. Improvement in dynamics and resolution to be monitored.
Developed an album transfer strategy and supporting protocol enabling use of aiff and wav where advantageous.
Details:
I am going to be paying particular attention to grain and depth of soundstage. I've already gotten an indication that I can expect an improvement over the stock unit in these areas with only 20 hrs burn in. Dynamics also may be improved, but this may be tough to accurately discern. I bought a cryoed new production Gold Lion GZ34 rectifier for the power supply. The 6922s are the stock Sovtech tubes, which I will continue to use for a while. Dan indicated that 6GC7s can also be used, and probably fall somewhere between the 6922s and 6SN7s in character. This could be just what I'm looking for. Recall that the stock HAPZ1 suffered by comparison with my ModWright sony 5400 with respect to upper harmonics. I have a matched pair of NOS RCA clear top 6GC7s on the way from Brent Jesse. I'm hoping these tubes will give me a bit of that tube sweetness and body laking in the stock unit.
During the 3 week absence of the HAPZ1 I had some time to reflect on all of the file transfer woes I had initially. (Nice having time to think while engaged in mindless wall paper stripping) I think I have developed a protocol that will permit me to do what I want to do with respect to use of aiff files and possibly wav files.
As a reminder, I had substantial problems with wav transfers being corrupted and aiff files not transferring. Specifically, failure to keep tracks together as a single album, poor artwork recognition, etc was a common occurrence. Further, I found the even those files that were successfully transferred were subject to subsequent corruption as new albums were imported.
I think I have developed a protocol that will, with a little effort, permit me to export whichever file type I prefer to use and maintain the integrity of those transfers once successfully completed. Keep in mind that the sonic advantage of wav over alac was subtle and sporadic. I am happy to transfer the bulk of my library in ALAC (which is flawless in terms of album integrity), reserving wav (or aiff) only for special favorites where the difference is perceptible. This is not some huge concession. The ALAC files in most cases, played back using the DSD conversion engine with the stock unit were arguably superior to my ModWright Sony 5400. One would certainly expect that performance gap to increase as the modded HAPZ1 breaks in.
With respect to AIFF, I found that one must select both AIFF and AIF file types in the HAPZ1 transfer software in order to reliably transfer albums as AIFF files to the HAPZ1. The HAPZ1 transfer software allows one to exclude transferring certain file types, eg,, MP3s, movies, etc to the HAPZ1. I had deselected all file types other than ALAC, wav, flac, and AIFF in order to avoid importation of this unwanted stuff. After restoring AIF as a type to be transferred, AIFF transfer has been pretty good, if not perfect.
My current protocol is as follows. After transferring a batch of files, regardless of file type, I ensure the transfer has been properly made. For those albums transferred successfully, I purge the album from iTunes by deletion or by moving to a folder outside iTunes. This prevents any after the fact corruption of the album by an attempted reimportation. Note that this should not happen, as the HAPZ1 transfer program keeps a list of files transferred, so that once a file is transferred, it is not transferred again. The fact that reimportation (and corruption) does occur suggests something is not quite right in the HAPZ1 music transfer program. However, purging transferred albums from iTunes and clearing the transferred files list in the HAPZ1 music transfer program, obviates any opportunity for after the fact album corruption. For those files (Aiff and wav) that do not transfer properly, I simply delete the corrupted transfers from the HAPZ1, clear the transferred files list, and repeat the transfer. So far, I have not had to transfer an album more than twice to get a good copy.
I think this protocol has gotten me past some of the frustrating quirks with respect to use of the HAPZ1 for importation of a large classical music library. By the time I have 400 hours of burn in on the mod, I should have a substantial portion of my favorite music transferred. Importation of album artwork remains an area where one would like to see substantial improvement, but I think this is an issue with gracenotes, not the Sony per se. One can edit the composition, composer, artist, and specific track information easily in iTunes, and these edits are preserved in the transfer (usually!).
Stay tuned. I will try to post some thoughts on a weekly basis as the modded unit breaks in. |
Just thought to add my experience after a month or so with the HAP-Z1...
It was very slow and frustrating transferring the library of 22,000 tracks to an external 2TB WD drive. After that, it's all good. Over 23,000 tracks now and everything works smoothly. There are 1.2 TB of AIFF and 460 GB of DSF tracks. I now do not use the Sony transfer program but rather drag/drop from computer in other room.
Sound quality is the best I've heard in my setup, just sold the Auralic DAC I was using and am also selling the CAPS Zuma computer. It is liberating not to think about cables and such, removing the entire USB section seems to be a good idea to me. No concern for network, computer, etc. just hit play.
I have lots of ideas for improving the iPad app but it looks great and it is really nice to be able to edit metadata from the app. I do miss the management features of JRiver, particular customizing the remote software interface.
Who else has this and thoughts on it. I see that it was the source for several setups at recent audio shows, too. |
ERM, Thanks for the info. I tried twice to transfer AIFF files and neither of them went. When the HAPZ1 gets back, I will give it a try again, and if I still can't get it to work, I may send you a pm to dig deeper. I was generally happy with ALAC files, and the transfer on all of them was 100% flawless. ALAC was essentially identical to wav in most cases, but there were a few where the wav file was perceptibly superior. I would certainly like to try the AIFF files on those particular Cds.
The HAPZ1 mod is complete (with Bybee rail) and was burning in over the weekend. It will ship today or tomorrow. Dan reminded me that a full 400 hours is required (post shipping) to get the caps and transformers burned in, which was my experience with the MW 5400. So serious comparison of the MW HAPZ1 is weeks away. The comparative notes I took on the stock HAPZ1/MW5400 will be my guide on commenting on the before and after mod HAPZ1. I will be particularly looking for the tube magic in the upper harmonics on strings and woodwinds.
That DSD ripping service is intriguing. I have a huge number of SACDs so that is of considerable interest to me. I'd be interested in your A/B on the DSD files vs Redbook transferred and up sampled via the Sony engine. |
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Generous? I'd say you got your sacd ripped, and they also acquired a copy. :) |
Hi Uomoragno
I do not have the required PS3 nor the skills to rip them myself. Check out Audiocircle>The Hirez Circle> SACD Riping Service-Free. There are a couple of very generous fellows who can provide the ripping service for any SACD that you personally own. |
Hi Erm,
congratulations on your new purchase and im glad to hear that your aiff transfers went well. Happy day. Curious how you are rippng your sacds; are you diy with a playstation or is there a service avaliable that you are using?
thanks
Joe |
Brownsfan,
Just to let you know that I received my HAP-Z1. Hooked it up via ethernet and pressed the transfer button. Two and a half days latter, 13,795 AIFF tracks transferred without a hitch.
I'm not sure where you are as far as ALAC/AIFF/WAV as a ripping file format, but I have gone through all three and settled on AIFF. AIFF as was mentioned by Lowrider57 and others, is uncompressed same as WAV, but it supports megadata. To me they sound identical. Being CPM based, I would not use it for DSD files. HDtracks now supports AIFF as a download option and I have purchased a number of albums from them successfully in this format.
The HAP is burning in nicely, and responds well to better quality ICs and power cords.
I concur with your listening comments and I'm enjoying a very stress free listening experience. I'm having my limited SACD ripped to DSD files and should have those back in a week or so. Hope you receive your DW HAP soon. Happy listening. |
Mitch, That is still up in the air. We haven't picked out a place yet. We are looking at houses with roughly the same sq ft as our present place. An appropriate room for listening, isolatable from the dogs, will certainly be a high priority, along with proximity to the park, mountain view, and whatever else may be necessary to entice my beloved wife to say yes.
I have hedged my bets just a bit by picking up a pair of really wonderful monitors (Coincident Triumph Extreme Mk II) in case I need to move the rig to a smaller room. I've been a Maggie guy since 92. These Coincidents are the first box speaker I have heard under 16 K that I thought I could live with. |
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Brownsfan, with your upcoming move to The Smokies, will you have a similar sized listening room?
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Thanks so much Pokey. I'm entering a very exciting time of my life. I had planned on staying in Indianapolis for another 8 years or so. Over the last decade, I have watched both of my parents decline with Alzheimer's. I lost Dad about a year ago. In one of the last lucid conversations I had with him, he said to me, "I worked hard all of my life and saved all of my money. Now look at me, I can't even get out of bed." I have a few really good years left. I'm not going to repeat the mistake my parents made. Now is the time.
As for the thread, stay posted for comments on the ModWright modification. I should have it back by the end of May. Dan has already warned me that the transformers especially require a long break in, so it will probably be mid June before I have any firm conclusions. |
Brownsfan, glad to hear that things are coming together. Having your family on board and the finances to make the transition happen is a real blessing. I hope you find a home that'll work well for everyone and have that ideal location where you can just hike out the back and into wilderness. Once out you'll be able to look forward to returning come home and reclining for a nice listening session after a beautiful time out in God's country. Now that's something to be excited about!
Thanks again for writing up your experiences with the HAPZ1. |
I like Indianapolis and I am sorry that CEDIA is no longer there. |
Musicpod, Mitch provided the correct answer. That is a little dated. Indianapolis has made great strides forward for the last 3 decades. The downtown area is very nice. The orchestra is very good. There is a wonderful chamber music series. NBA, NFL, triple A baseball, cost of housing is cheap, there is a lot to like. It compares well with many midwestern cities, but it does not offer the one thing I really want now--Mountains. |
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My guess would be the 'no place' in "Indianoplace" would probably refer to the paucity of exciting, cultural or interesting things to do in Indianapolis.
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Brownsfan:
You got me. What was the reason for the place being called "Indianoplace?"
Thanks |
Amen, just using labels shows one is mentally lazy .
I try to just look for the truth of/in any given matter , my "liberal' friends think I'm "conservative " my conservative friends think I'm liberal.
A simple , or "home" truth as the Brits say, is that the USA is simply too BIG to function in any other way than what Ron Paul calls" soft fascism " .
350 million souls from Puerto Rico to past the Artic Circle , Maine to Guam is not a coherent nation, it's an empire. |
Schubert, Our thinking is not so different as it might seem. This is a case of us being at differing points on a sine wave. We are about 10 years out of phase. If I were older, and my knees couldn't take the hiking, living within walking distance of the Jacobs School of Music might be to my liking. The music available in central Indiana is the one thing I will really miss.
By the way, the first thing I look for in a great mind is a high level of comfort with diversity of thought. It is frightening the extent to which both the right and the left have instituted and enforced mandatory thought conformity. |
Great minds don't always think alike, Fan wants to move to TN
and I want to move to Bloomington, Indiana. -LOL . |
Thanks Pokey! There were a number of elements that came together nicely to make my transition to retirement utterly seamless. They most important things i think are to be financially prepared and to have a plan for productive use of time and creative energies. My wife and I lived well below our means for a long time, so that we were in a good position to take advantage of the voluntary exit package i was offered.
I loved my job and the people I worked with. I thought I would miss it, but I haven't. I was so well prepared mentally, that on April 1 my brain shut down that program and opened a new one.
Everything (so far) has come together nicely for the move to Tennessee. We have had plenty of time to do the research, and have picked out not only the area, but we are actually focused primarily on 3 neighborhoods. We still have kids in school, but they are totally on board with the move. It just seems like it is meant to be. There is absolutely nothing keeping us in Indiana. It has been a nice place to work and raise a family, but--- there is a reason why this town was referred to as Indianoplace for years. |
I love the Oppo and have only used it in a 2 channel system. I haven't tried the HDMI input but have all the other digital inputs. The only weakness was the usb, which like most other dacs, is less transparent than the other digital inputs.
I resurrected an unused firewire dac (Apogee, now discontinued) and and using a thunderbolt/firewire converter cable I am now getting great computer audio from my Mac Air. Firewire dacs are hard to find, but the Mytek, which goes for $1500.00, has gotten great reviews. I previously had aterrible experience with a usb converter from Musical Fidelity and don't recommend going that route.
I will be trying a few DSD downloads into the Oppo once I get around to downloading the drivers for the Oppo but I'm not in any hurry. Unless DSD
downloads become affordable they are pricing themselves out of the market.
My current setup sounds so good that I just don't see the need. |
I can remember when my dealer told me about this piece around Christmas time. I've followed the couple of threads here on Agon with interest.
But of more interest were the comments on retirement. Especially the one talking about 10 years to go. That's where I'm at and it is nice to read comments by Brownsfan that retirement has been great. And that he'd like to move to a more hike-friendly place. I too have thought of moving to Sedona AZ for just that (I'm in Orange County CA now). So all this talk of retirement brought me out of the shadows to comment. Congrats Brownsfan on retirement. I really do look forward to mine and hope to be in great hiking shape when I finally get there too.
And I really have enjoyed reading all your comments on the HAPZ1. It sounds like quite the killer for the $2k. -I have an Oppo 105 and really like it. Just two-channel use so far. Maybe someday I'll try computer audio with it. |
I have always been partial to the eastern mountains, although my sampling of ranges in the western US is rather meager. I have seen the Adirondacks, but never hiked there. I bonded with the Smokies at the tender young age of 4, in August 1957. The firs were still in all their glory. We have settled on eastern Tennessee (Maryville area) as our target location. 15- 20 mile drive to the park.
In all the hiking I have done in the park, I have yet to encounter the first tick. Many bear and timber rattlers, but no ticks. Hope that continues, but once I'm hiking 1500-2000 miles a year instead of 200, no doubt I will have more unwelcome encounters. |
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The Rocky Mountains get my vote. Majestic.
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Best mountains in USA are Adirondacks .
Watch out for Lyme disease, can make your life a living hell ! |
Richard, the Oppo is another machine, that in my opinion, like the HAPZ1, represents an insane value proposition. Until the HAPZ1 came along it was my intention to go the Oppo/ModWright route. I have no doubt you will not regret your decision. I would love to be able to do a serious A/B of the Modwright Oppo and the modwright HAPZ1 in my system, but that is not likely to happen. If this thread in any way helped you make your decision, then it served its purpose. The HAPZ1 is not going to be the right machine for everyone.
As for the Sony being a loss leader, I was not stating my own opinion there, just capturing comments from others. I suspect other manufacturers will emulate and improve on the HAPZ1 as time goes on.
Retirement--- it has been great. I have been extremely busy working on the house in preparation for the move. I've lost 9 lbs in the last 6 weeks and I feel terrific mentally and physically. As expected, the constant handyman drill is getting a little old, but it is associated with what is for me the ultimate prize. I'm not a flatlander. I need mountains nearly as much as I need Bach. |
Denon has released a DSD DAC that costs $500.00 I respectfully disagree with you, brownsfan, that the Sony is a loss leader. I'm not complaining that $2000
is exorbinant, because Sony should be allowed to recoup R+D costs for the software, etc, but the hard drive on offer can be had for under $100, and the Internet Radio module isn't new either (and seems to work very slow).
I have discovered that my Oppo 105 can be upgraded to take DSD so I think that i will go that route.
Enjoy retirement. You and I have similar tastes in music so I enjoy reading your posts. |
The outputs of the Z1ES is inverted. |
Tomorrow the HAPZ1 ships out to ModWright. These will be my last comments on the sonic attributes of the stock unit. As promised, I relistened to some recordings previously used in an A/B with my ModWright Sony 5400. Specifically, I again A/B'ed the two sources playing Shostakovich Babi Yar and Brahms Cello sonatas, this time reproduced through my Magnepan 3.7Rs rather than through the Coincident triumph Extreme MK IIs. The purpose was to see if my previously expressed preferences, i.e., the HAPZ1 for the Shostakovich and the MW 5400 for the Brahms, was system dependent. The bottom line is that flipping the speakers did not change my preference. The HAPZ1's superior articulation, especially bass articulation, came through with the Maggies just as it had through the Coincidents. Similarly, the MW 5400s superior handling of upper harmonics made both the cello and piano sing on the Brahms.
If I had to choose between the two sources based on sonic attributes alone, I would probably choose the HAPZ1. I think it would be the better of the two with most recordings. An easier distinction could be made based on function. If a CD player suits one's needs better, the MW 5400, at typical used prices, is an outstanding unit. For a person not locked into needing a CD player, the stock HAPZ1 could be a better choice.
Look for more once the modified HAPZ1 returns. |
One, unlike other 5"11 QB's ( Brees and Wilson) , Manziel is dumb as a Rok. Were it not for cliches I doubt he could complete a sentence.
Two, since he'll never be a pocket QB, his A&M tactics, which he'll never unlearn, will take him one place, the Cleveland Clinic.
A ticket-seller pick?
Of course I could be wrong, often am.Hope so, if they are not
playing the Vikes, Browns are my faves. |
