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dCS Puccini Clock

I had yesterday the oportunity to hear for first time the Puccini clock.

I must admit that I was a little sceptical. The system consisted of:

Howland preamp HP-200 SE
Howland amp RADIA SE
Avalon Indra
Transparent power cleaner / station ?
I can't tell which cables

Well the effect is quite amazing and you can easily recognize it in a blind hearing. If I have to describe it I would say, you become aware of the hall / the space in which the recording has been done. The difference is very noticeable when you switch the clock off, suddenly the music sounds dryer, shorter and the space all around the whole music desapears.

I heard:
Luiz Bonfa plays and sing Bossa Nova (Verve)
Bruckner 4th by Jaap van Zweden (bad SACD & interpretation)
Bruckner 4th by Günter Wand (the last recording)
Ports of Call by Eiji Oue (Ref. Rec. bravo Prof. Johnson you are a great sound engeneer!)

One of these days I will take it home and have a test on my system ... and will make some blind hearing with my wife ;-)

I will report then about the experience.
clavil
arthursmuck
447 posts
 
Thanks Elberoth2, I'd be interested in your impressions in relation to the MBL 1531 which I know you had for some time and that I would be moving from. I am interested in whatever I get having digital in, not so much SACD. I expect the Puccini with or without U-clock to be an overall improvement over the MBL, I'm specifically curious as to how it is different/better. I plan to audition Puccini and a couple others at CES and then determine how to get my favorites to Dallas for a demo in my system. I had the Playback Designs here already and it is on my short list. Any added thoughts are always helpful.
microstrip
180 posts
 
Elberoth2, I am very curious about your opinions concerning the Puccini versus the ARC CD7. I have tried several CD players, but always returned to the CD7. Although it is not as detailed as some of the competition, it is airier and handles large orchestras in a way no other player did in my system. Also its fast transients complement very well the Sound Lab A1PX.
clavil OP
254 posts
 
Arthursmuck,

a curiosity, your loudspeakers look like the Focus Line Source LS9 ... could you tell me more about them.

thanks
arthursmuck
447 posts
 
You have e-mail Clavil!
elberoth2's avatar
elberoth2
1,219 posts
 
Arthursmuck,

Definately. ARC CD-7 was already an improvement over the MBL 1531, and Puccini is even better. Another player worth considering with the digital in is Accuphase DP-700 - it is smoother, not as detailed, but overall it is a very good CDP.

Microstrip,

I already had Puccini in my system for a week or so, now I'm gonna have it again, this time with the U-Clock.

Compared to the ARC, Puccini has much better resolution, more air and better HF extension, the harmonic structere of music is better presented, image specify is better (CD-7 is a bit out of focus in comparision), bass is better defined, miscrodynamics and transcient speed are much improved and overall - it just sounds more like live music.

I personally hated the previous dCS offerings - the 8Pi integrated was the worst of them and absolute disaster, sounding very bright and mechanical, but Puccini is a real gem.
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