Audionemesis DC-1 VLE

Thanks again Gregm

Which DAC did you end up getting?

The SYmphonic Line was better. Better extension and foot-tapping "speed" as well as dynamics. (But at many times the price)
The ML was the top unit, 30.5 (I think - it was a couple of yrs ago). Not surprisingly it fared much better with a ML transport than with the TEAC -- but was still wistling through the speakers.
Please note that the problem was the response balance. It was strange...

Thanks again Gregm.

How did it fare against the Symphonic Line? I have heard very good things about this CD player. It's meant to be very analogue sounding but it probably costs a lot more.

I am surprised you found the Mark Levinson strident. They have made very good digital in the past. Which model did you test?

Which DAC did you end up getting?

We just compared it to what we had in hand -- i.e. a 24/192 Burr Brown (it held its own), a Symphonic Line integrated (not an exact comparison), a NAD (which was inferior), a Benchmark (which was different -- somewhat dry by comparison).
I had a ML at home for a week but never succeeded on making it work well. The sound was very strident -- i.e. upward balanced. In the mixture the lower frequencies weren't quite there.

Thanks Gregm

What DAC's did you compare it to?

I can get one for around $1,000 but in that price range, I can also get the new PS Audio Nu Wave DAC.

I currently have an old Mark Levinson 36. I am wondering how these newer DAC's stack up against it.

I have heard it but not against the PS audio.
It is the "steroids" version of a very popular, low-price Italian dac the DC-1 (which was excellent value for money many yrs ago). I didn't know one can still find these, supposedly only few were ever made by design -- I didn't quite understand why????

It actually sounds quite nice in the sense that it is not strident but it isn't mushy soft either. Subjectively, and compared to typical cdps it sounds like the top end is tamed -- but it actually isn't. If anything it is more there than in other players and that helps the low end as well. Importantly that top end helps the dynamics which are a welcome feature in the usually bland world of cd reproduction. OTOH, the bass is not super deep, but cellos can be heard all the same!

Overall it offers a good sense of timbre and timing, and sounds correct -- i.e. phasing anomalies weren't perceptible to me (but I think the phase was inverted and it needed an inverting cables? S/thing along those lines -- or I'm confusing it with another unit...)

As compared to analogue, I can't say it sounded much like either of the TTs I used (Simon Yorke, Pro-ject) but then, none of the cd combos I've tried ever have.
To me cds sound truncated at both frequency extremes; esp so at top frequencies whereby as result, the audibility of lower frequencies suffer. The Audionemesis was one of the

Overall, the Audionemesis was a nice nice product and the sound was very enjoyable indeed -- i.e. we listened to it for hours (using the digi out from a Teac) and soon forgot to analyze the sound!
I don't know what these sell/ sold for so can't comment on the value aspect...