I am not sure if I misinterpreted something posted above. But if I did then maybe others did as well.
For the record: My Romulus plays CD-Rs (16/44.1) very well. I am spinning a homemade compilation disk as I type. |
Audiolabyrinth,
I have always been enamored of Krell amps. The Krell products I have owned in the past are the junior integrated amps, the 300i and its progeny the 400. The reason why I never upgraded to the bigger amps is that they are pure Class A, which means putting out a lot of heat and at the same time emptying my wallet for the monthly electricity bill even at idle, which could otherwise go towards buying more music.
I have not heard the Cipher but the Evo model before it sounded gorgeous in the showroom. The Stereophile review of the Cipher awarded it Class A as you already know.
You can just get the Cipher with the stock Krell CAST cables. The CAST connection with a used Krell KCT preamp(also very well received by the pros) may just be the ticket to audio nirvana. Well, it's either that or sonic hell but I very much doubt it could ever be the latter.
Cheers!
|
I need to ammend my previous post. My Romulus is new to me. I just found some CD-Rs I have that will not play. Some I have play and some do not. They are different brands of CD-Rs made on different computers. So it remains somewhat of a crap shoot.
I can say that the CD-Rs that play sound very good. |
@ Don_s, Hi, I really Had my hopes for the Romulus, Its a fine machine, however, it does not up-sample my stock red book cds to 24/192 format, and I have cdrs that were recorded by folks that I know with state of the art computer systems with costly sound cards, my cdrs are my best software I own!, I love the tube compliment the Romulus has, I just do not dig the transport or the dacs!, you have a awsome player, congrats!, unfortunally, I cannot use it, Aesthetix did say they were working on another player to be introduced, cheers. |
@ jon2020, Hi, We use to own a Krell 300I, that was on our second system, We loved it!, To us, Its the best intergrated amp for the money you can buy on the used market period!, We have never listened to a 400 intergrated, we plan to buy another one for a second system again, we had to sale ours to help pay for the Taralabs zero gold I/C,,, unless you say the 400 is substanially better? |
Audiolabyrinth,
You should concentrate your resources on the main system first. The 400 is better but I think the 300i is good enough for a second system. I still have fond memories of it. It was my first Krell amp and it was awesome, being detailed but warm at the same time.
|
Jon2020, I agree, my first Krell was the fpb 200, I miss that amp, to much current for a second system, I hate getting in the attic and running more electrical lines!, the 300I or 400 will grace our home once again!, we are going to keep working on this system now, in the spring or summer, we will have another 300I or 400 intergrated Krell by then, I already have the cables for it, the Taralabs the one i/c and speaker cables, these cables will make it sing big time!, we used these cables on it before, turned the 300I into a different animal for the better, cheers. |
Well, I may have great news here, my buddy just tubed rolled his Ayon 2s to spectacular effect!, we both was going to sale our players!, He claimed no more forward sound! huge difference in sound for the better in every way he says!, He put 1972, or 1976, or 1980 nos p-DR 6h30 tubes in it, he will e-mail the exact year!, thats alot more affordable than buying a new player, well see, I may still buy another player and keep the Ayon 2s with these so called super tubes!, cheers to all. |
I am currious is to why no one has mentioned a player, that of all things was dicussed on a amp thread!, The EAR acute 3 player, whats every ones impressions of this player for direct to amps, the reviews are thru the roof!, cheers. |
"08-18-13: Audiolabyrinth
I am currious is to why no one has mentioned a player, that of all things was dicussed on a amp thread!, The EAR acute 3 player, whats every ones impressions of this player for direct to amps, the reviews are thru the roof!, cheers."
I can give you 2 reasons. 1. I don't read audio reviews. 2. I forgot it has a volume control.
Now that you know about it, I say definitely listen to it. He's an excellent designer that's talented in many areas. If you end up liking it, I can recommend a dealer that will probably give you a very good deal on one. Also, you may want to check out the 25th anniversary SACD of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon. Its dual layer, so even if you don't have an SACD player, you can still listen to the CD layer. Tim P did the remaster on that one. It has a very unique sound and listening to it may give you some insight as to how he thinks as a designer. |
@ ZD542, Thankyou, you are very cool!, I have a good recording of the dark side of the moon, remastered, I will look into this one you have presented, what do you know of EAR electronics?, I just started a thread of this player, due out within the next day or so, waite a minute, LOL!, I just caught onto what you said, Tim P is the designer of what I am looking at for digital, you said he remastered this 25th anniversary Pink Floyd cd, I am not slow!, Lol!, I just learned today who he is!, I thought the name was familiar!, man!, thats awsome, this designer also remasters digital recordings!, thats excitement to me!, I really believe this player would be better than the Aesthtix romulus player, by a long shot, what do you think? |
I am breaking in an esoteric k03direct to 2 sanders magtech amps and the sound is pretty spectacularafter 200 hours. |
Regarding the earlier questions and comments about Wadia - I just had my 121 repaired by them, so they are definitely not completely defunct. It took me a few calls to reach the right person. I got bounced to someone in San Francisco, and then finally someone in Minnesota. They were really nice and fixed by unit for free, no questions asked, even though it was a little past the warranty expiration period. The repair was done in Minnesota.
(BTW, are there any good speakers made in Minnesota? My office system is a Wadia DAC and Bel Canto amp. Would be funny to complete the Minnesota system! |
I'd have to say Meridian 808v5 has most impressed me. It is a truly audiophile cdp, is beautifully designed and built & has an array of analogue and digital inputs. I know one audiophile in another forum I belong to who is mega impressed with it. |
@ Cerrot, Hi, Does you K-03 have a forward presatation at all?, cheers. |
@ Melbguy1, Hi, Does this digital unit have a volume control to be use direct to an amplifier?, thankyou and cheers. |
@ Zd542, Hi, Can you come over to the thread, Does eanyone know about the EAR acute 3 thread?, Jafant and me wants to know your dealer hook up, Thankyou Zd542. |
Im still breaking it in but would not say slightly forward, though, when I had some nice magic going with some female vocal music, I did feel the body of the singer developing just infront of the soundstage, in a curved 3-d impression. Mind blowing experience, actually. |
Mateored, High Emotion Audio loudspeakers are Minnesota made, as are Magnaplanar.
I don't see that anyone has mentioned this but the issue of volume control in the digital world is one that is fraught with difficulties. The problem is that most players/DACs put out way too much voltage and so has to be knocked down in order to not overload the amp like crazy!
This often means that with digital volume controls the level will be set rather low, which can rob the signal of resolution. If a passive analog control is used, you often get loss of bass and impact as you run the volume control down from full, which you need to do because most digital products have too much output (4-6 volts is typical and most amps need 1-2 volts for **full** output).
Built-in analog controls work the best, IMO, if they are properly designed and used- they should never be in series with the output of the unit for example- instead they should drive the output buffer of the unit.
The Wadias used to have a set of switches that would lower their output, and so allow them to use the upper ranges of their volume control, which offered better resolution.
I point this out because frequently the only way to get around this problem is with an active line stage that has an analog control capable of giving you good control of the signal without coloration. Right now this is one of the bigger problems faced in the digital world. It seems to come from the fact that the Digital to Analog conversion produces a fairly high output, combined with the fact that most digital designers don't seem to understand how much voltage that amplifiers need. Both are very solvable issues, but poorly understood.
Back to your regular programming... |
@ Atmasphere, Hi, I am not being direspectful here, please forgive me, your theory of your post for volts to amps is completly wrong!, how do I know, Krell told me, and an audio engineer here on the gon that owns his own audio company, an example of what I am saying is, My Krell FPB 700cx amp has input of 3.6 volts, guess what that means?, krell said it takes at least that to drive the amp, the amp will take up to 18 volts to input before overload!, most active pre-amps that are made are 8 to 21 volts from their out put to an amps input,, what I am saying, a digital intergrated player whether its digital volume or analog,, you can use from 2.5 volts to 18 volts in the case of my Krell 700cx, Krell them selfs told me to switch my volts out put of my digital player from 2.5 volts to 5 volts to be able to drive my amp better, cheers. |
|
@Atmasphere
Thanks for the tips on the Minnesota speakers.
The Wadia 121 has adjustable voltage. Can be set for 1v, 2v or 4v. |
@ Cerrot, Hi, Please tell me more!, this player I believe I need to lean more to auditioning!, No Tubes!, However, I cannot stand a forward sound, your description of presatation, really souds good to me, vocals are suppose to be in front of the sound! please keep me posted with your experiences with this player, and thankyou very much for your reply, cheers. |
@ Nutreez69, can you elaborate more on this memory 64u player? |
There is really nothing more to say. You just need to hear it. It is a very nice sounding unit, very dynamic, quiet, highly resolving, should come with a coal miners lamp as it digs every little detail out of the CD's. |
@ Cerrot, Thats funny, I like your since of humor! |
If eanyone may chime in, I would apreciate the cander. |
