stuartk

Responses from stuartk

Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
mooglie:Did you approach Nick Gowan ? 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
georgehifi; I was actually intimating that, as my system is relatively inexpensive, my concern about using an inexpensive transport might strike some as odd. The only two audiophile friends I have own much, much, more costly systems, so that's all... 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
soix: I found a short stereophile description of the two devices:" There is now an Off-Ramp 5 asynchronous USB converter ($1299), which now has HDMI in addition to S/PDIF and i2S output"  and:" the Synchro-Mesh reclocker ($599), which dejitters ... 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
uberwaltz: True Sound carries and services the CEC units, so if I was to buy one, at least I'd have someone relatively close by, in case anything went wrong. That changes the equation in CEC's favor, somewhat. . garrard: thanks for gear list. soix... 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
mooglie: perhaps I should clarify that I have no real complaints re: sound. My main aim is to increase longevity of my capacity for spinning cds without degrading the system's present sound.  I have no desire to burn discs or stream at this point ... 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
mooglie: also, the Jolida was modded, so it definitely sounds better than the stock version.  
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
mooglie:I believe I borrowed my friend's digital cable-- it was a Zu, but I don't recall which one. I'm using  Blue Jeans bnc at present. I should also mention I'm using an Empirical Audio reclocker, which (hopefully) is eliminating whatever jitte... 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
Mooglie: thanks for providing your sonic impressions of the Atoll. They are apparently available from a store in San Francisco by special order but even if they were in stock, I happen to know that particular store will not allow an  in-home demo.... 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
Mooglie67-- many thanks for your helpful/informative response !Your list of considerations/priorities is very much in synch with mine. Can you give me any idea how the Atoll has affected your system, sound-wise ? I'm very pleased with my Aqua DAC ... 
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
Thanks, twoleftears-- I've read a review of the NuPrime but wasn't aware of the Primare. Will check it out.  
Suggest Transports that can be Demo'd at home
Yes-- I'm aware of the Cambridge and it may sound strange for someone with a 25K system to worry about a product being too inexpensive, but I do worry about that. Any opinions on using readily available/easily demo'd CDP's as transports, such as R... 
Please suggest bookshelf with best bass response under $4000 pr.
Late follow up. . . I bought an Aqua La Voce DAC, coupled with Empirical Audio Synchro-Mesh re-clocker and coax cable, which made me realize there's nothing wrong with my speakers!  The system, as it was configured before, simply wasn't doing just... 
Still looking for a DAC I can demo at home. . .
To wrap up, I ended up buying Aqua La Voce. Together with Empirical Audio's coax cable and Synchro-mesh re-clocker, this has brought major improvement to my system-- a very worthwhile upgrade. It's very possible the Empirical gear would've correct... 
DACs and bass response?
PS: I can report that the "dark" tonality I noticed in the system was solely due to the cheap Best Buy cable linking transport and re-clocker. As soon as I replaced it with a Blue Jeans coax, a veil lifted and the music immediately became noticeab... 
DACs and bass response?
Shadorne: Thanks! This was my first standalone DAC, so I had no previous experience to rely upon-- only what I read online or heard for myself. I frankly didn't know what such a component might contribute to my system.There are certainly more DACs...