What is new with the Memory Player?

Purchased a Memory Player and expect delivery within 2 weeks. I have previously owned the Meitner combo (non SE version) but was less than impressed. I have high expectations and if it doesn't deliver, it's going back. I have a friend with a Esoteric P70 transport and we'll compare against the MP.

It will be connected to Prism Dream DA1 DAC (relatively unknown because its not sold to consumers but is used extensively in many high end studios), balanced digital connection with the DAC serving as the master clock - BNC connection. Running active PMC IB2 speakers in a dedicated room designed by Rives.

I'll post my impressions after I've had some time with it.

I wasn't at the NY show but Enjoy The Music show report has the beehold room as best sound of the show and the memory player as the best CD he's ever heard.

"Finally we come to the "Best Sound of the Show" as far as this reviewer is concerned. George Bischoff along with several others, has developed a line of Line Array Speakers call Scaena. In addition, if that were not enough, he has also developed the best sounding CD player I've ever heard, the Nova Physics Disc Player (Read: Memory Player). He's taken CD playback through a computer to high end audio standards. It consists of a high end DVD-Rom drive which downloads the disc directly to the computers very fast RAM rather than the hard drive. Using the best parts and silver wire, he claims extremely low jitter. For $11,000 one gets a transport with hard drive and I believe 2GB of memory. The unit was digitally driving a BEHOLD 300 watt amplifier into his Scaena speakers. Sound was superb, rivaling the best analog I've heard. One can also get a unit with built-in D/A conversion for somewhat more.

Didn't have time to ask him about its ability to do HD-DVD or Dolby and DTS decoding, and even pleading on my hands and knees and using references from close friends of both of us, I couldn't get him to give me one for review purposes. Guess my name isn't up in the stratosphere of audio reviewers. He did suggest that there are reviewers out there who have paid up front for a unit for review purposes but I can't afford the entrance fee at this time. Oh Well!!"

Here's the link:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/stereophile_show_2007/gaw/page2.htm

Hi Audiooracle, as per my post above my last one, I should be receiving one as early as next week. I am not a reviewer, this is a personal purchase. They started building it last week. Just one point of correction in what you said, it's not George that is building them, it's Rod and Mark, George's partnrs.

I can't wait to get it. Let's hope it's as good as everyone says it is. Time will tell.

Scott

Audiooracle, that's great to hear indeed. Have you tried different digital cables? I'm using Audience AU24 at the moment.

What about break in time? How many hours do you have on yours?

BTW, have heard the buzz on the street about the new Bybee GG SE speaker bullets? I've spoken to a few beta testers and they are supposed to be very good.

Scott

Baranyi, unit is transpot only. Only upgrade was an increased hard drive - holds 360 CD's. I have a quality DAC to connect it to, so wasn't motivated to get their DAC.

In terms of lead times, last I heard it was a few weeks but that could change with increased demand - small operation. You should speak to them to know for sure.

I'll be sure to pass along my comments after I've had some time with it.

Deshapiro, I'm not sure what your options are WRT to taking advantage of music on a seperate hard drive. You should call them.

FYI, I haven't received my memory player yet, it has been delayed until next week or possibly the week after. Reason for the delay is a switch they want to make to a cabinet given some reported issues with the current touch screen.
I'm glad that they are being proactive about this.

Still waiting to receive mine.

As far as price is concerned, if it delivers the real goods as per the reviews, it will be worth every penny and more! I could care less about the cost of its parts, all that matters to me is the result. If it doesn't deliver, I won't hesitate in sending it back.

My system is now even more resolute by making my speakers active.

Tbg: Just getting the transport for now. My DAC will also serve as master clock.

Drubin, yes.

I will be receiving my unit (transport only version) on Friday. Wow, I can't believe the day has almost arrived :) Let's hope it lives up to its billing - a tall order from everything that I've read.

I want LIVE music in my room - is that asking too much? We'll see... :)

As promised, I will post my impressions. I am not a reviewer or associated with the company in any way.

According to Mark (the genius behind the Memory Player) there are in fact 32 bit DACs available and they do in fact use them. This is not marketing spin, it's for real according to him. If you really want to know more Alex, I would speak to him.

It doesn't really matter to me because I have the transport only version, just received yesterday. I will post my review of it early next week, after I have had some time with it.

Well I've had the memory player for a week now and finally have some time to provide you with my thoughts.

A few pieces of background first. I have the transport only version. I partner it with a Dream Prism DA-1 DAC (a pro redbook only DAC worth about $8k new – they don’t market this to audiophiles but it’s an incredible DAC). The rest of my system is Bryston and PMC (active speakers). Room is dedicated and designed by Rives Audio, heavily treated with diffusion.

My goal is “live sound”, I want to be at the venue with the artist. I am not into euphoric,/romantic sound - want it raw, real and in turn musical.

Transport I directly compared to the MP was emm labs Phillips version. I have also owned the more recent emm labs combo(SE transport with non-SE DAC) but sold it because I wasn’t happy with the newer emm transport – on Redbook it sounded very” phasy” and artificial to me, definitely not natural/normal. Of interest, I found the Emm SACD performance much better and more natural but wasn’t going to keep the combo for only SACD. I’ve also had an Esoteric P70 in my system for a brief test – an impressive unit but not enough for me to buy one.

In all cases noted above, I use a balanced and BNC digital cables – BNC is connected for so DAC can serve as master clock to slaved transport. This is also how I have hooked up the memory player.

The MP as has been noted in other reviews does not have an impressive build quality for the price. It’s nowhere close to being in the same league as Esoteric’s build quality. It also has some quirks. The way the power cord goes into the unit at the back precludes the use of a higher end cord because of a weird overhang on thee back of the unit – requires a small connector and very thin cord. I have no idea how sensitive the unit is to PC’s, let’s hope not much. Other thing that freaked me out a bit, is the amount of unit vibration, whether playing from memory or the hard drive. I know how troublesome vibration is to sound – reason I bought SRA stands for much of my equipment. Other thing is with the PC remote, it definitely takes a little while to get used to and lacks some features, like categorization of your music beyond Alphabetic. They provided a way of saving a group of music but for the life of me, I don’t know how to retrieve what I saved. The last quirky thing is with their master clock mode, I can’t simply choose it while the player is on like I have with all other transports, I have to shut the unit down, make sure the DAC is on and then boot back up. Despite all of the quirks, the unit is working without a hitch, no technical problems so far – knock wood 

Quirks aside, how does it sound? I loaded a bunch of my favorite music onto the player and let it run for few days on repeat before I sat down and gave a serious listen. I first listened to one of my favorite Neil Young tracks (down by the river) and in certain respects, it was like hearing it for the first time. It sounded far more real, musical and present to me, particularly when the guitar riffs kick in. It was so striking; I had to immediately switch back to the other transport to verify that I wasn’t hearing things. I wasn’t, this was the real deal! I went on to listen to many other pieces of music from female vocals, rock, classical, jazz and instrumental. They all sounded great.

This transport truly does take CD to the next level – better than anything I’ve heard before and this unit is not going back to Nova Physics. In a nutshell, I find that everything played through the MP is more live (in the room) and musical with sounds from across the stage being so well defined, dynamic, solid and layered. It’s as though there is more resolution, timing and decay to everything. I also notice more image depth on most things.

For me, the MP is the final piece of the puzzle, it delivers the musical engagement that I have been seeking ever since getting into this obsessive and expensive hobby. YMMV.

Snargo, I guess it really comes down to the weakest link in your audio chain, including your room. In my case, it was my transport. The MP can only shine to the extent that everything down stream allows it to, including your room set up and acoustics. As such, I would try and build a balanced system and not go too deep in any one area.

Baranyi, I live in the Toronto area, sorry about that.