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What gives? CD’s, Solid State?

I have recently acquired Rega’s upper-end equipment (Saturn, R-7 speakers, Cursa Pre and Exon Monblocks) and am NOT that impressed with the overall listening experience when playing CDs.

Some years back I had Conrad Johnson Pre and Power and listened to vinyl. How sweet, full and warm that sounded. I realize that was tube equipment and now I’m with solid state, but still…

So, I’m trying to trouble shoot here – Is it the CD medium (I wish I had a turntable to do an A-B comparison) or is it the solid state components that sound a bit edgy, dry and less than full bodied? Would my listening experience improve much if I acquired Rega’s P7 or P9 TT and used that as my source?

Thanks,
Randy
rbschauman
chashmal
605 posts
 
You are obviously a tube guy trapped in a solid state body.
mooglie
101 posts
 
I agree with the others here that state you need some tubes in the mix. Some nice warm cables may also help.

I run a tube rectified Modwright preamp in my otherwise SS system. It certainly helped to inject some warmth, body, and sweetness (once I found my preferred tubes); while retaining excellent resolution. And, I'm running CD with a SS DAC.

I wouldn’t call my system lush, by any means. But, I’ve got enough of that tube sweetness to make for a highly engaging, yet un-fatiguing presentation.
chashmal
605 posts
 
Mooglie makes a good point. I might think a tubed preamp could be tried.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,616 posts
 
You just might want to try a tube DAC. I'm breaking in a Music Hall DC 25.2 and it blows my Consonance CD-120 Linear into the weeds. I leave in on the lowest,
'locked' setting as the 96 and 192 settings seem a bit etched or too finely honed for my tastes and have just rolled a Matsushita tube (NOS from the '70s) and the bass is now all I can ask for. Plus it tightened up the rest of the range some and the sibilance is lessened. All in one day and I'm impressed.
It might be just what the doctor ordered.
Its not vinyl but what is?
jult52
155 posts
 
Mapman - ""I'm starting to believe that first impressions about audio equipment are quite close to the final opinion." I think that's debatable at best. Peoples impressions change over time with familiarity and so does the sound of new equipment.

I agree with you conceptually, of course, but in practice the question is a matter of degrees. Break-in and increased familiarity are marginal increases; the initial impression sets the baseline. If you hate a piece of equipment on first hearing, things aren't going to get enough better to make one enthusiastic.
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