RMAF 2008 - Your impressions,...

Step,

I have a Lector T3 and can live with it and it does have some exellent qualities about it.

The PD was my favorite CDP I heard at the show.

But they all pale when comparied to even a simple TT setup.
The Garrard TT smoked them all. When you consider the money one would spend on a Garrard 301 TT, TA and cart it would be less money or the same as one of these phoney sounding CDP would cost.

Garrard TT $4000.00
TA $2000.00
Cart $4000.00
RC $400.00

Big ass CDP $10,000.00/$15,000.00 EMM,Esoteric.

Dcstep, there has been an ongoing argument about digital versus vinyl for at least twenty years. while I certainly would agree about the best of vinyl reproduction being better than the best of digital reproduction, I find there has been a very great improvement in digital in the last several years. I suspect, however, that there is little agreement as to which companies now represent the best digital and even whether the best digital is to be found in CDPlayers or in music servers. I personally am a recent convert to digital off hard drives. There is also the question of sacds versus redbook. Here I still favor sacds, although I find there is a tradeoff between greater dynamics on redbook formats such as XRCD and a great sense of realism in the soundstage of sacds.

I also recent heard a demonstration of mono records at the RMAF that resulted in my buying a mono cartridge and mono versions of some classics that were originally available in both mono and stereo. I already have about 200 mono recordings, somewhere. Yet another format to have access to.

Finally, the Tape Project pulls me back to having tapes as a source. Here I will not give in. Tapes are the best but are just too much of a pain.

I suspect that very soon we have access to many recordings in 24/96 or even 24/192 are higher and that this may further improve digital.

When I first entered audio, ones choices were fm or vinyl. It was years before I heard a quality tape recording. I rejoice in my choices although storage and equipment are an issue.

A lot has happened in 20-years Tbg. Digital is finally maturing, with upsampling strategies and hard drive server-based systems. I haven't done hard drive yet, but I will within the next year or so. Playback Designs will soon have a separate DAC and ADC. I expect to use the ADC to convert my D2D LPs to digital and move my high rez digital to a server with terabytes of storage. The next generation of HDs will likely close the gap.

I've got CD, SACD, DVD-A and analog and find that they're finally converging in quality.

Dave

Dave, I just can't believe that the only cd players worth their weight are ones that cost $10,000+ and that there are only three that make the grade. If your ears say so then, that's ok by me. I just know, to my ears there a plenty of much much cheaper cd players that sound excellent, the Arcam T192 for Instance.
I would love to hear your player if only to drool over a cd player that is for me unobtainable.

I have heard one of the UK's most respected hi-fi reviewers personal system on more than one occasion and I must say it brought tears to a glass eye.

Gawdbless,

Out of curiosity - What were the components in this system?