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Modwright Transporter VS Opera Droplet 5.0 CDP.

I have heard the Droplet 5.0 and like it very much. It is now is available with a coaxial digital input designed to go with a new 24/96 streaming product from the same company called the Digital Box 1.0. With these two products linked you end up with a streaming solution not unlike what the MWT offers.

The main similarities are between them as I see it are - 24/96 streaming, tube based output, true balanced connections, and price.

I am interested in hearing from anyone who has heard both the Droplet 5.0 (with or without a streaming device attached) and also heard the MWT. My only interest is to know which sounds better as both systems are almost identical in what they offer. Thanks for any help.
chillinimrod
chillinimrod OP
11 posts
 
Ok, Thanks for the recommendations. Back to the question... I would love to hear more about your experience with the MWT and the Droplet. These are the machines I am interested in.
trelja
3,215 posts
 
Thank you for the heads up, Grant! Sorry for the late response, I took a short summer vacation...

My honest opinion of Consonance is that majority of the components sound at least pretty good. However, there are some specific products/lines that have some issues in terms of reliability, which I would steer clear of, the current Droplet 5.0 with Philips CD transport/laser assembly NOT being one of them. In fact, that particular model, in my experience, is the most reliable CD player Consonance has produced, the original Reference 2.2 MKI (with Philips transport and volume knob on the rear panel) being up there as well. For the most part, the Consonance tube amplifiers are also both good sounding and reliable.

For the record, based on my friend Paul Folbrecht's advice, I picked up an Audio Note CD (an older CD2.1x) player, and it is easily the best digital I've ever had in my system. The sense of being alive won me over in a big way. One day in the future, I'll pick up one of the aforementioned Audio Note DACs as well, and move the player to my second system.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Thanks for clearing up the specifics, Trelja. Good to know for the OP that the Droplet 5.0 remains a viable option.
trelja
3,215 posts
 
By the way, if this thread http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/amp/messages/14/147594.html resonates with you, you might be interested in contacting me offline regarding the aforementioned products I represented.
chillinimrod OP
11 posts
 
Thanks to all who contributed. I have just finished a trial of the Droplet and will be sending it back. Initially it proved to be quite impressive but in a relatively short period of time became tiring and irritating. I think it is the upsampling implementation that lets it down; too digital and brittle for my liking. Nothing for it but to try and get my hands on a transporter and give it a go.
Of interest to me was how poorly the Droplet with a 24/192 upsampling DAC performed against a non-upsampling, 1 x oversampling 16 bit Audio Note DAC.
It really isn't the size of the dog in a fight but the size of the fight in the dog. I live and learn.
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