VERY ,Very long ramble...
I am STILL constantly suprised by some stuff I hear. I have (many times) thought I owned stuff that sounded really great. Then, with time, I listen to something new that blows away all my preconceptions of what upper mid-fi can sound like.
I remember when I bought a Rotel CD transport, with an Adcom 700 DA converter. Years later I bought a Sony SCD777ES and compared the Rotel via Adcom and the Sony (digital out) via the Adcom 700. The Sony blew the Rotel so far out of the water, I was embarrassed to offer the Rotel for sale! (Curiously, the Sony SCD777ES analogue out sounded about the same as the Sony-as-transport via the Adcom 700DA.)
So clearly the Rotel was superceeded, whereas the Adcom was still up to current standards. (AT THAT TIME)
Then I had an Audio Research SP-10 preamp, I bought an Audio Research SP-15 and was impressed with the far better sound of the SP-15. The SP-10 has a 'Following" and is reguarded as a 'classic' where not as much praise is lavished on the SP-15. To my ears the Sp-15 was a quantum jump ahead of the SP-10. So some 'audiophiles' will scream HERITIC! at me. I use my ears.
Another wake up call came recently, when I auditioned some speakers and amp. They made my current system sound like a pile of old horse dung. I am going to buy the new speakers and amp, but until I do.. I am listening to my old "music in a box" (once glorious sounding but now junk) and waiting for Nirvana (new stuff) to arrive soon.
So what I am telling you is YES, stuff gets buried in the dust by new, and sometimes cheaper stuff. And NO, sometimes folks are so attached to what they think they know, that they refuse to hear what is there.
So, as always you have to hear it for yourself.
Also, be aware, old CD transports are find themselves in the dumpster because they do not have laser assy's available. So think about that when buying classic Cd players. I know Sony has no Laser parts for the SCD777ES, not does Audio Research have any for the CD1 CD2 CD3 players they sold. As many of the used high end CD player buyers are discovering.. the stuff is obsolete, partly because of progress, partly because the parts are no longer available to fix them.
So, advice is always to be taken with a grain of salt, you might be suprised how great the Sony sounds, or, you might not. It is your hearing. But yes it could be true.
I am STILL constantly suprised by some stuff I hear. I have (many times) thought I owned stuff that sounded really great. Then, with time, I listen to something new that blows away all my preconceptions of what upper mid-fi can sound like.
I remember when I bought a Rotel CD transport, with an Adcom 700 DA converter. Years later I bought a Sony SCD777ES and compared the Rotel via Adcom and the Sony (digital out) via the Adcom 700. The Sony blew the Rotel so far out of the water, I was embarrassed to offer the Rotel for sale! (Curiously, the Sony SCD777ES analogue out sounded about the same as the Sony-as-transport via the Adcom 700DA.)
So clearly the Rotel was superceeded, whereas the Adcom was still up to current standards. (AT THAT TIME)
Then I had an Audio Research SP-10 preamp, I bought an Audio Research SP-15 and was impressed with the far better sound of the SP-15. The SP-10 has a 'Following" and is reguarded as a 'classic' where not as much praise is lavished on the SP-15. To my ears the Sp-15 was a quantum jump ahead of the SP-10. So some 'audiophiles' will scream HERITIC! at me. I use my ears.
Another wake up call came recently, when I auditioned some speakers and amp. They made my current system sound like a pile of old horse dung. I am going to buy the new speakers and amp, but until I do.. I am listening to my old "music in a box" (once glorious sounding but now junk) and waiting for Nirvana (new stuff) to arrive soon.
So what I am telling you is YES, stuff gets buried in the dust by new, and sometimes cheaper stuff. And NO, sometimes folks are so attached to what they think they know, that they refuse to hear what is there.
So, as always you have to hear it for yourself.
Also, be aware, old CD transports are find themselves in the dumpster because they do not have laser assy's available. So think about that when buying classic Cd players. I know Sony has no Laser parts for the SCD777ES, not does Audio Research have any for the CD1 CD2 CD3 players they sold. As many of the used high end CD player buyers are discovering.. the stuff is obsolete, partly because of progress, partly because the parts are no longer available to fix them.
So, advice is always to be taken with a grain of salt, you might be suprised how great the Sony sounds, or, you might not. It is your hearing. But yes it could be true.