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Musical Fidelity. Tube/Dac question

Apparently, the A3.5 CD player can benefit greatly from the addition of the X-Dac and X-10 Tube Buffer.
I know this is true of the X-Ray CD player because I've personally heard the very real benefits of the X-Dac and X-10 with the X-Ray.*
So, seeing as the X-10 uses the same tubes as the A5 CD player and a better DAC than the A3.5, my question is... does the A3.5 + X-10 + X-DAC add up to virtually identical performance as the A5?
I ask because I think it would be nice to have the flexibility of the individual elements, all else being equal. For example, the outboard DAC could be used with a DVD player also, rather than limited to the A5.

* Place the X-10 between source and pre-amp if you have pre and power amps. I found that placing the X-10 between pre and power gave muddy results with sounds such as plucked strings. But between source and pre, everything was wonderful and smooth with no ill-effects at all. A great little device.
wrightstuff

Showing 1 response by rar1

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rar1
1,745 posts
 
If you haven't done so already, you may wish to pick up this month's (October) Stereophile, where Sam Tellig reviews the 3.5 integrated amp & cd player, compares them to the A5 series, and incorporates some of Antony Michaelson's (MF's top guy) comments, as well. If I understood the article correctly, the answer to your question is "not quite" for amplifier power difference; component construction, and component parts reasons. I may have interpreted their comments incorrectly, so you may wish to read Sam's Space for yourself.

Regards, Rich
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