Wow, this thread is still going after Dgad made his move and it keeps getting better! Thanks to Dgad for asking a tough question and making a tough decision. Thanks to Ceol, Fbhifi and Rauliruegas for their extensive insights. Listeners with real knowledge and experience at this level of performance are pretty rare.
Ceol, please don't be put off by challenges from those who are merely expressing personal enthusiasms. You have opened quite a few eyes and minds on this thread, e. g., Cello's and mine.
Raul, you and I enjoy tussling on threads where the level of playback being sought or discussed is at lower levels, but on this thread I bow to your vast experience (as always) and to your uncompromising insistence on, "only the best". Like Ceol's, your posts on this thread have been authoritative and immensely educational. I'm still climbing the analog ladder and enjoying the journey. (New Triplanar VII gets mounted tomorrow, Schroeder Ref... some day!)
Cello, I'm impressed by your honest account of your friend's Meitner. Obviously I know exactly how much you love your new analog rig, justifiably of course. For you to praise the Meitner gives me renewed hope for our collection of 1000+ RBCD's, few of which have left the shelf in the last 5 years. Your Electrocompaniet certainly stuffs our little Arcam CDP, but even it can't compare with our vinyl setup, let alone yours.
Fbhifi, thanks for sharing your Meitner experiences as well. I've been thinking about them for months and you've given me even more interest. I concur with most of Rauliregas' comments on your analog rig's strengths and weaknesses. (I don't know the Dyna so I can't speak to that, but everything else Raul said echoes my experience.)
Robm321, I was able to help you out on your cartridge loading thread because I had experience. Where I lack experience, as with the sound of a Meitner, I find it more productive to read than to type. This does not mean reading uncritically or accepting all claims. Far from it. But challenging what Fbhifi heard without having heard it yourself was unhelpful and antagonistic. Rauliruegas was better positioned than you to analyze what Fbhifi heard because he's heard it himself. His analysis helped Fbhifi advance his understanding of his system. Your thoughts on the possible dead-ending of hi-rez discs by downloadable formats were insightful. That confirms the wisdom of what Ceol, FBhifi and Rauliruegas all advised, "Buy a Meitner if you want to revitalize your RBCD collection. SACD is just a bonus."
Keep the good info coming guys, thanks again.
