Yes, the Aesthetix Pandora. Analog tube VC. |
A google search for "Aesthetix Romulus" will get you right there, but here it is. It is basically a Pandora DAC with a transport. You are more likely to find a review of the Pandora than the Romulus.
http://www.aesthetix.net/saturn.php?product=digital |
Aesthetix is a boutique in California, best know for tube amplifers, mostly its preamps. They also build a DAC (the Pandora), that appears the be a very good performer, and uses it tube technology for volume control (1K option I believe). I was going to audition one but never got around to it. They also have a version of the DAC with build in disc transport (the Romulus). If you're interested I may be able to hook you up with a dealer that may be willing to get you unit for in home audition. |
Audiolabyrinth, I was in line to audition the Aesthetix Pandora in house, but got an EMM Labs DAC2X instead. I have since moved on to MSB Signature IV plus, and Arc Ref 5SE preamp. However, if you're interested I can hook you up with a dealer who might get you a Pandora for in house audition. |
The only way to get any meaningful information from an in store audition is to bring your own DAC and line it up against a few contenders. Many (some?) dealers ship components to your home for audition - some factory direct sellers also do. I would strongly suggest you consider going down that path. My personal strategy is to buy a piece I am interested in used, try it out and resell if I don't like it. While not possible for all DACs (some never show up used), for some of the contenders in the sub $2K used category this is a good used market (e.g. PS audio Perfeectwave, Bel Canto DACs and others), making this a good decision making process. |
Audiolabyrinth, you should give the Aesthetix Romulus a whirl.... |
I was in line to get an in home audition on the Aesthetix DAC, but got impatient and bought an EMM Labs DAC2X when one showed up for a great price. I have since moved on to MSB Signature Plus and added an ARC RefSE preamp for good measure, but if I was shopping in the sub 10K price bracket and wanted an integrated disc spinner, this one would be top on my list. |
I'm a little confused here. Basically - with a few exceptions - there are: (1) CD players, (2) 2 channel CD/SACD players, and (3) Universal players. It is my understanding the Ayon 2 is a CD player, as is the Romulus.
In any event, if you have some serious money to spend, and want to go the Universal players route here is what you could do. Get the spanking new MSB Universal Media Transport (UMT) plus and an MSB DAC. This transport will connect to the DAC via I2S over a piece of CAT6 wire. You'll also need one of the MSB powersupplies.
Depending on what level DAC you buy you can spend between $20,000 and $50,000 on this three piece stack. It will give you the best DAC around (according to many), play every disc on the planet, and serve as a music streamer. You can do multi channel and video as well.
While not a single component, they are thee neatly stacked chassis, and since the DAC has volume control you won't need an extra set of expensive analog cabling.
I will be auditioning an MSB UMT plus transport myself shortly - not for CDs (I ripped my entire collection), but as a network streamer for 2 channel, and a disc spinner for Multi-channel (SACD / Blu Ray). |
You can also look into the boulder 1021 |
Seems like your quite happy with your Ayon. How do you do volume control now?
If you ultimate target is to get a preamp with two additional expensive cables (power and IC), I would just burn my budget on the preamp, get "interim" cables, wait for the right IC and PC to show up used. That is what I did - got myself a (dealer trade in) ARC Ref5SE, waited to get my hands on a pair of Transparent Reference Cables at the right price and got a great deal on a Shunyata PC.
Getting the DCS integrated player is a big gamble, and you may end taking a hit in SQ. From what I gather dCS sound is the antithesis of tubey. I only heard a dCS DAC once and did not like it. |
Audiolabyrinth, I think you need to rethink your approach. Your parameters (<13K, single box, volume control, plays CDR, DVD-A) narrow the field to a very limited number of players (potentially zero). The problem is once you identified that player (a) you probably have to buy at full price, and (b) you are missing out on better options. So here is my thinking. Assuming rackspace is not an issue, it appears a single box is needed to avoid having to buy a pair of very pricey analog cables. Fair, enough. Just get a digital transport that meets your needs. Highly acclaimed PS Audio Perfect Wave transports are showing up in droves (nothing wrong with the transport, just many people moving away from spinning discs). Pick one up for $1,500 (MSRP = $4,000), and your in business. (of course you need a half decent digital cable - $500 tops). Now you have a very wide field of D/A converters with volume control to choose from, in your price bracket (you have around $10K left), and endless reviews / opinions. Also, you can now keep your eyes open for a used DAC that makes it to your shortlist.
First think to ask now is are you OK with digital VC, do you want analog VC, and if so how important is it is tube based. If you want tube, Aesthetix Pandora is a good option, and I'm sure there are others. If you want analog, you can get entry level MSB. A highly respected DACs with digital VC is Berkeley Audio design, well within your budget.
The advantage of this approach is you have many, many more options, and have access to the used market, and in my opinion you will end up with better sound for the money, simply because DACs is where the action and hence innovation is these days in high end audio. |
Not necessarily. We all have out own rationale of how we spend audio money. I personally never look at how much I spend on a piece, but at depreciation. If audiolabyrint bought his cable at a very high discount (say 40% of retail or less). His cost of ownership of the cable is very low, because he can always resell at a small loss. I do it all the times - have spend thousands on used Transparent audio cabling and always got all of my money out. However, on the latest greatest digital gear, you take big hits. So $13K in digital will be worth half in 2-3 years time. Good reason to cap the budget. |
Do you have single ended Tara labs cables running into your amps or balanced? |
I have visited the dealership in Lilburn - 45 minutes from where I live. They have Vandersteen 7s, ayre and audio research electronics. Note that the ONLY way to get any value out of such a visit is to bring your own currently used digital source component and swap them out with what they have on display. If they have any Aesthetix pieces it will probably be the Pandora, not the Romulus. If there is any way to get your hands on a Romulus for in home audition that would be a far more effective way to evaluate. I also believe that if playback of CDr is important to you, you'd be better off getting a used Perfectwave transport feeding a Pandora than getting the Romulus, but if you insist on using a $7K digital cable between the components, this would be a budget/dealbreaker. You could start out with a reasonably priced cable (used), wait for the tara labs to show up used and then swap cables. Just a thought.
I asked my question about balances/single ended, because you could get an MSB transport (UMT plus) and their entry level Analog DAC. You would connect using the I2S Pro interface with CAT6 cable. If you forgo the expensive powerbase, you can just about assemble this for $13K streetprice. The Analog DAC is however a single ended design, although it does have a XLR connection. The fully balanced platinum DAC IV will set you back a few grand more.
With the MSB Transport / DAC, you are set-up to play DSD downloads from disc (or USB stick) and SACD using native DSD between transport and DAC, something you cannot currently do and which none of the other setups you are considering would support. If you are into classical, this would be very compelling, since their is tons of content in native DSD. Non-classical - not so much. |
