Review: Sony SCD-1 Audiocom-UK upgrade

Thank-you Drubin. It felt good to be back with something constructive to add. This site is so well run, and has so many amazing members I have not felt I had much more to offer. I still look in alot, but my health has kept me from posting much. Just now I have some real energy and so I'm working on a review of my newest addition to my system. The Aesthetix Calypso pre-amp. I'll be posting it soon God willing.

Jadem6,
I've just read your entire post and have to comment on this passage;

"As far as my system, the SCD-1 is fed through a Great Northern Sound “Passive Audio Signal Isolator” to an Aesthetix Calypso pre-amp using NOS Mullard 10M gold pin 12AX7 tubes and NOS Russian Type 3, 6922 tubes. I then have two Plinius SA-102 amplifiers bi-amped vertically. Meaning one amp drives the bass and the second amp the mid-range and tweeters. Both amps are played in class A. The speakers remain Dunlavy IV-A. All of the interconnects and speaker wires are Nordost Valhalla. Power cables include Nordost Valhalla, David Elrod and NBS Statement. I use two dedicated circuits, one for the amps and one to a Shunyata Research Hydra power conditioner with an Anaconda power cord. Both Circuits use Wattgate 381 outlets. My system sits on a 4” sandstone slab that rests on Aurios Pro isolators. The Mana (SCD-1) and Apollo racks are spiked to the slab. Each unit sits on a shelf “sandwich” comprised of 3/8” Aluminum shelves resting on upturned spikes from the rack. I then use a sheet of anti-static bubble wrap with a Neuance shelf supported by the bubble rap. The Hydra uses EAR feet that support it on the Neuance shelf. The SCD-1 and both anps are supported by three Orchard Bay titanium cones (no longer available) and Aurios Pro isolators. The Pre-amp sit of a “string” suspension product (name unknown) that in turn sits on a Neuance shelf “sandwich” The Dunlavy IVa speakers sit on #3 black Diamond racing pucks and cones that then sit on Aurios Pros. Both the base and midrange/tweeter binding posts use Walker Audio High Definition Links II."
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-Unfortunately the magazines, audio web sites and "up graders for profit groups" have gotten to you. Your system has great bones, to bad with all that great equipment you were still not happy with its organic sound making you seek silly over-priced extras. Just goes to show you...more money doesn't necessarily lead you to better sound...One has to think before we spend! We need to end this vicious cycle to help others from falling into these marketing ploys. Why do you think hi-end is dieing?

My point...What's the cost of your entire system?

Not a sermoned, just something to think about from an audiophile that has gone thru it all and back....

Except that in the case of this particular audiophile (Jadem6), the "silly, overpriced extras" were chosen after diligent, careful evaluation. At least that has been his approach in the past.

A bit harsh, daytrader.

Drubin,

Sorry you took it as harsh, not meant so.

As I said his core is well done, the extras("silly/overpriced") is subjective. I enjoyed Jadem6's enthusiasm! It's the wolves in sheep's clothing I have problems with!

Mr. Daytrader

I appreciate your concern for my spending habits, but coming from a person who ….

Stop, take two deep breaths….

I appreciate your concern for my spending habits, and I assume you only make your comments with the best of intensions. I do wish you could be constructive by sharing some fact or experience rather than coming in and simply dismissing my personal experiences and commenting as if I were naive and ill informed. I tried to gleam some insight into who you are, and what type of sharing you have made here at Audiogon, but you only have been involved in one other thread, so I have a real hard time knowing what your intentions are. What exactly are you concerned about? Is it the cost of isolation and vibration control? Are you saying vibration is hype and not to be considered when setting up a system? Is it power cords and cabling? If so please turn and walk away now, I will not go down that road ever again. Is it the Walker links, or the bubble wrap that concerns you? Is it the home made acoustic treatments? I simply can not tell from your comments.

As per the cost of my system, well you figure that out, it really has no bearing on the discussion. As for the cost of “overpriced hype” it adds up to less than 5%, and actually less than that; most of it was bought used or discounted. If you feel 2.5% is a waste, fine I’ll give you that, it’s your opinion and your entitled.

Now in an attempt to make this at least somewhat of a constructive discussion, I assure you each tweak I have made has been carefully evaluated. Each time an addition was made, the quality of the sound was altered in some way. Often times to the worse. I could name ten times the products I settled with, that caused some degradation to the sound quality. Mass loading products for example for the most part had ill effects on the pace and tempo along with bloating and smearing of the bass. So many cone products I tried had very significant sonic signatures. BDR cones for example are highly regarded and heavily used, but on my components the added warmth and tempo change was unacceptable. Air batters, inner tubes, sand boxes, the shelving products are endless, and in my experience again the sonic signature was unacceptable. As I say, power cords and cabling is off the table, if you really care to learn anything from Audiogon, or myself, than I suggest you do a search on these topics. I have spent more than enough time expressing my experiences. Heck, we shut down this entire site over that topic some years back. The cables I have are the ones I chose from three years of testing almost every cable on the market. The fact they are expensive was not a consideration, only the musical quality of my system is considered.

I had a local audiophile over one night that I met through Audiogon. He made the same comments you have regarding all the tweaks. He too felt they were too much, in that he too had used some of them on his system. So I agreed to spend two hours removing all the tweaks and using just Neuance shelves on the existing racks. We did leave the sandstone base on Aurios to eliminate the need to dismantle the entire system. We also took the speakers off the BDR and Aurios products and reassembled the big square platform base as is standard for the Dunlavy speakers. (I had removed the platform footer when I began using the Aurios) The result was striking! The system was lifeless and the tempo was lost. It was not musical, the bass definition was gone, the entire system sounded horrible (in comparison to what I have been listening to) and the audiophile went home with a new understanding of why we use these products you claim are destroying the audiophile market. The only reason for your comments is because you do not understand where and how to use the product correctly. This FACT is evident from your ignorant comments above.

One more thing, the only reason I share my experiences, and to such detail is to help educate through explaining how and what I’ve learned. Comments like yours are simply that, comments. You have no credibility and you have no foundation from which to stand. If you care to actually be helpful than please do.