This topic is quickly becoming a distant memory. |
I heard the player at the RMAF in 2006. The demo was held in the Virtual Dynamics room. In the tests that were performed there was only one song from one CD that IMO did not sound better reproduced by the Memory Player. Of course we're talking about a large room in a hotel that had some interesting equipment that I'm not familiar with. Not to mention the Memory Player is around $10k. It was getting pumped up by Clement Perry and the house player was a Wadia 581 I believe. Take what I have to say with a grain of salt, but I'm happy with my existing digital set-up and don't see a need to spend $10k on one, no matter how good it sounds. |
The Memory Player got its public unveiling at HE 2007.
The Player was in several rooms:
Laufer Teknik was using it in an all Behold system.
Scanea loudspeakers/Nova Physics has a room.
Audio Doctor, me, was showing it. The response from the public was outstanding, we were using the DAC of the Audio Aero Prestige and comparing optical drive playing vs Memory and the Memory player was unbelievable. This is the next evolution in digital, mark my words you will be hearing a lot more about this product. The GUI is primitive and the build quality could be refined but the sound is the closest to analog I have ever heard out of digital bar none and I have been doing this professionally for 20 years.
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As Audio Oracle reports, the Memory Player ("MP") was in a number of rooms. It was in the Laufer Teknik set-up featuring Behold equipment and speakers, which I heard for thirty minutes on Friday night. Thirty minutes is totally inadequate to evaluate high-end equipment, and the system, room and music were totally unfamiliar to me. That said, the system sounded damn good (as it should have sounded given the price). I heard some overhang on male voice, but it takes work (usually a lot of work) to get speakers to perform at their best in a given room and it was the first night of the show, so this is not a criticism, merely an observation.
I did not hear the MP in Audio Oracle's room, as they were still preparing the player at that point (the MP has to be programmed as part of its installation).
By the way, Dave (a/k/a "Audio Oracle"), you had a very good set-up. Congrats. |
Purchased a Memory Player and expect delivery within 2 weeks. I have previously owned the Meitner combo (non SE version) but was less than impressed. I have high expectations and if it doesn't deliver, it's going back. I have a friend with a Esoteric P70 transport and we'll compare against the MP.
It will be connected to Prism Dream DA1 DAC (relatively unknown because its not sold to consumers but is used extensively in many high end studios), balanced digital connection with the DAC serving as the master clock - BNC connection. Running active PMC IB2 speakers in a dedicated room designed by Rives.
I'll post my impressions after I've had some time with it. |
I and my audio buddy were very disappointed with the sound in the Behold room which sounded like hifi and not like music at all. We left the room after a few minutes shaking our head in disbelieve that such expensive electronics can sound so mediocre.
No doubt the setup was poor. I heard the Memory player at a friends place and was very impressed! |
I wasn't at the NY show but Enjoy The Music show report has the beehold room as best sound of the show and the memory player as the best CD he's ever heard.
"Finally we come to the "Best Sound of the Show" as far as this reviewer is concerned. George Bischoff along with several others, has developed a line of Line Array Speakers call Scaena. In addition, if that were not enough, he has also developed the best sounding CD player I've ever heard, the Nova Physics Disc Player (Read: Memory Player). He's taken CD playback through a computer to high end audio standards. It consists of a high end DVD-Rom drive which downloads the disc directly to the computers very fast RAM rather than the hard drive. Using the best parts and silver wire, he claims extremely low jitter. For $11,000 one gets a transport with hard drive and I believe 2GB of memory. The unit was digitally driving a BEHOLD 300 watt amplifier into his Scaena speakers. Sound was superb, rivaling the best analog I've heard. One can also get a unit with built-in D/A conversion for somewhat more.
Didn't have time to ask him about its ability to do HD-DVD or Dolby and DTS decoding, and even pleading on my hands and knees and using references from close friends of both of us, I couldn't get him to give me one for review purposes. Guess my name isn't up in the stratosphere of audio reviewers. He did suggest that there are reviewers out there who have paid up front for a unit for review purposes but I can't afford the entrance fee at this time. Oh Well!!"
Here's the link:
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/stereophile_show_2007/gaw/page2.htm |
Hey Scott, here is the scoop on the Memory Player and I am sure you can get one for review, they are just right now rare as hens teeth!
Audio Doctor, as a displaying dealer got one in our showroom which was brought to the show by George himself.
All Memory Players are hand assembled by George. The proprietary software is undergoing copyright protection and until Nova Physics is completely legally protected they are very leary to have others assemble them.
So soon they will be able to mass produce them. I am in agreement with Bill Gaw as to the power of the Memory Player, we were able to directly compare Memory reading to direct optical playback and the difference was mind blowing!
The Memory Player is analog without the ticks and pops in a digital format! The quality of emotional connection along with the sound staging and naturalness of the sound makes the Memory Player a revolutionary movement in digital evolution. |
Hi Audiooracle, as per my post above my last one, I should be receiving one as early as next week. I am not a reviewer, this is a personal purchase. They started building it last week. Just one point of correction in what you said, it's not George that is building them, it's Rod and Mark, George's partnrs.
I can't wait to get it. Let's hope it's as good as everyone says it is. Time will tell.
Scott |
I'm very interested in hearing impressions of the Memory Player too,
as long as this thread doesn't dissapear like the last one did. |
Scottr, you will be amazed! I will personally gurantee it.
I was soooooo skeptical about this product, but once we got it setup in our room on Saturday and started to listen to it, it was as they say "Game Over!"
I have read all the reviews and I am many times at odds with alot of reviewers, but not this time.
A lot of reviewers are getting it right, the Shakti stuff is really good, and the acoustic system resonators are also off the hook.
I have over the years seen and heard way too many products that I thought were good but not worthy of the praise fostered by many critics.
I wonder if the main stream press will endorse a product like the Memory Player which has no advertising dollars spent, or will they continue to rally around the big spending companies whose technology is now dead.
At the show DCS was unveiling a $30k transport which I am dying to take my Memory Player against, the price differential is staggering and with a Memory Player you can have the convience of hard drive music access and I am willing to bet the Memory PLayer will kill it dead.
Like you I am equilly thrilled, to have mine, good luck and congradulations you are taking a musical step like you have not experienced before.
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"I'm very interested in hearing impressions of the Memory Player too, as long as this thread doesn't dissapear like the last one did." - Rx8man
Wonder who had the other thread removed. |
audioracle
A lot of reviewers are getting it right, the Shakti stuff is really good, and the acoustic system resonators are also off the hook
Can you please give me a bit more information about the Shakti stuff you are referring to. Thanks |
Audiooracle, that's great to hear indeed. Have you tried different digital cables? I'm using Audience AU24 at the moment.
What about break in time? How many hours do you have on yours?
BTW, have heard the buzz on the street about the new Bybee GG SE speaker bullets? I've spoken to a few beta testers and they are supposed to be very good.
Scott |
The Shakti Stones and Holograms.
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How would the Memory Player interface with hard-drive based storage? I went to the website and did a Google search, but I had some trouble figuring that out.
Thanks,
David Shapiro |
Kana813: It was me, the author of the thread, who had it shut down because (i) you had polluted it with shilling for another CD player and (ii) attempted to harass me through e-mail. |
Raquel-
"shilling" LOL!!!!
How can I shill for a product I don't sell, don't own
and don't plan to own?
The only "shilling"(Memory Player,Shakti,Acoustic System Resonators) going on in your thread and this one is
being done by Audiooracle aka the Audio Doctor.
Have a nice day. |
Scottr,
I would very much like to hear your impressions of this player. What are the lead times involved in ordering one. Have the abandoned the unit that includes the onboard dac? Bob |
Baranyi, unit is transpot only. Only upgrade was an increased hard drive - holds 360 CD's. I have a quality DAC to connect it to, so wasn't motivated to get their DAC.
In terms of lead times, last I heard it was a few weeks but that could change with increased demand - small operation. You should speak to them to know for sure.
I'll be sure to pass along my comments after I've had some time with it.
Deshapiro, I'm not sure what your options are WRT to taking advantage of music on a seperate hard drive. You should call them. |
Audio Doctor update.
After living with the Memory Player for a little while, here are my observations:
1: Sound quality is remarkable and actually mirrors many of the qualities of a really good vinyl front end.
2: GUI is very primitive.
3: Operation can be improved.
4: Build quality is okay and needs improvement.
But even with those caveats I can not recommend this thing enough! I have for the first time found digital to be as involving as a really good analog system and in some ways superior.
The absence of noise, clicks and pops and the easy of digital combined with the soundstaging of analog and an sense of musical involvement that analog gives, makes me so excited to have a Memory Player.
It is also refereshing to find that so many reviewers are right on the money. |
Audiooracle,
Thanks for your response. I have a couple of questions regrding you post starting with what is GUI? Could you elaborate on the rest of your system that you used with the Memory player? What are the better transports have you used which pale in contrast to the Memory player. Lastly, what dac or dacs did you use with the Memory Player? Bob |
A GUI is a Graphic User Interface ie the connected part of man and machine, ie Windows any version and of course the MAC!
In the case of the Memory Player designed by propeller heads for propeller heads.
In our showroom we are running the Memory Player into an Audio Aero Prestige which is in itself is a remarkable cd player.
With the Prestige's built in DAC we can switch between built in optical and external Memory drives. In every way the Memory Player bests the optical reader.
If you stop and think about the built in optical player should have no jitter as it is a direct read from the laser to the DAC vs, a long external digital cable and connection jacks, but the superiority of the Memory Player is huge and is a different world of realism and involvement. |
More sales mush from the resident's best self promoter.
Blah blah blah. |
FYI, I haven't received my memory player yet, it has been delayed until next week or possibly the week after. Reason for the delay is a switch they want to make to a cabinet given some reported issues with the current touch screen.
I'm glad that they are being proactive about this.
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I totally understand why the Reed Solomon reducing software, the hard-drive based transport, the flash memory, etc would produce a theoretically cleaner signal path. What I don't understand, at all, is the price! Why would these average-to-good build quality Memory players cost $10K.....even if the unique software value is worth $2-3k, the rest of the product is $2k at best (assuming 100% margins).
How do the dealers (audiooracle, etc.) out there create a value prop that holds up? I'd be interested to know. This hi-end cd market is fairly saturated and fairly soft. And the Memory Player has a garage-like website. It all adds up to an entry point that should be well under $10k....way under. No offense, cuz I'm excited to hear one...sounds like a great idea. |
Ted, I guess when a cheaper competitor comes along we may see whether Nova needs this price. Since the first Mac came along with a price of $1995 when they had sought to get it in under $1000 I have found business decisions curious. Had Apple asked $1000 I doubt if MicroSoft would even be around today. Perhaps if Nova Physics had come in at < $5000, or with the dac at $7500, they would have ended competition. |
I'd be interested to hear how this unit compares to the much lower priced Zero One products. Granted, the technology is a bit different, but the basic use of computer HD as a transport is the same if I understand correctly.
I heard the transport/DAC combo at RMAF where Clement Perry was promoting it. It is very good, but at $10k I think there are a lot of excellent options. |
I am interested in learning more about the Memory Player, but am having trouble finding info/navagating Nova Physic's website.
-Can custom playlists be made from stored music?
-Will the stored music be "network" accessible...can you play music in various zones (wirelessly?), from the MP's hard drive (as with Sonos, Olive, Slim Devices, etc.?)
-What about larger hard drive storage options?...I presently have over 700 cd's and would want my entire music collection to be RUR "ripped" and stored.
...and what about backing up the RUR data to an axternal hard drive?
-Do they have a dealer network or offer an in-home trial?
-From what info I could find, it seems that there is a transport only version (for use w/external DAC) and a full-blown player with internal tube DAC. What are most current owners using...if transport only, what DAC are you using?
If anyone has more insight, please share what you know. Thanks.
Scottr, can't wait to read your impressions/opinions! |
I heard it at the NYC Entertainment Show a month ago. I was so excited to hear it and figured it would be a revolutionary experience. It was not!
The player may not be the culprit but it did not produce the music even when compared to the Moscode room. I believe this was a missed opportunity to impress me and my friend who is an IT guy. He had some good observations when he looked at it so we have decided to wait for competition to catch up.
The bottom line here is that you still need to make sure of the other parts in the chain after it. It was set up with an all digital system including amplifier that looked futuristic.
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La45, I think the Memory Player was also set up in another suite at the NYC Show, but I was not there. What you heard was what I have heard before at the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and at THE Show in Vegas. The Behold people use it as the transport for their all digital system. I have several times thought this system sounds pretty good, but never have I heard the MP in an application where I might be using it.
There are two major pitfalls in the MP in my opinion. One is its not being a complete computer. You have to use a specially programed computer to control it. Second, is the expense of the unit. You could certainly use a computer with a cd reader and store cpm on its hard drive. You would not have the flash memory playback capability and you would have to somehow get out of digital to your dac, using USB1.1 or 2 or Firewire, but there are dacs now that have such inputs. |
Still waiting to receive mine.
As far as price is concerned, if it delivers the real goods as per the reviews, it will be worth every penny and more! I could care less about the cost of its parts, all that matters to me is the result. If it doesn't deliver, I won't hesitate in sending it back.
My system is now even more resolute by making my speakers active. |
Scottr, are you getting the dac included? |
Tbg: Just getting the transport for now. My DAC will also serve as master clock. |
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Been reading this thread that was pointed out to me recently by my dealer. Very interesting indeed and such wildly varied opinions about this Memory Player!
However, this company is on the right track: hdd mass music storage with the ability to reproduce analog quality without the known side effects. I applaud this company for its endevors, and although it seems that this product is still in development in several areas...no doubt its the stuff of the future!
Bravo for this invention, and when the value proposition is right, count me in as a customer! |
mtkhl57:" Bravo for this invention"
none of us are sure what's been invented yet. let us know when you find out. |
To Todd,
The Memory Player uses proprietary software and processing which extracts a pure bit perfect copy of the disc on to a hard drive, then the data is processed, then played back from solid state ram.
The only other player that does this is a $100k Sonic Solutions work station, also Exact Copy does not do this either!
Even David Chesky of Chesky Records is impressed by the Memory Player, and how good it sounds.
Also many critics are smitten with the Player and most reviewers agree that the Memory Player is a breakthrough and have purchased one.
A Toyota Prius is a car that has an engine, however, it also has an electric motor and a control system. A Prius drives like a regular car yet offers superior gas mileage.
A Memory Player is a computer with a hard drive, ram chips, proprietary software and in principle works in a similar manner than any hard drive based server.
The difference is in the details,
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Audiooracle, why don't they include a processor within like the VRS system?
I still am looking for a review where the tube output dac is included. |
I'm still looking for any review! And a proper comparison with peer players. |
Didn't Clement Perry do a review? He has been one of the biggest proponents of this player and owns one. |
To Audiooracle and all other Memory Player dealers/owners,
I don't think any of us who've been through the incredible resurgence of redbook audio quality (great new dacs and transports, hd servers, rippers, lossless audio) have an artificial bias against the Memory Player. But even folks like yourselves, when given little data and lots of hype (like the old Burwen Bobcat days) tended to assume something is amiss here. I mean, other than the proprietary software that supposedly removes poor sounding RS code issues, the remaining technology (ripping, playing back on flash, archiving) is easily obtainable via standard PC technology today, at a fraction of the $10k asking price. And usually these technology pieces have significant chatter and user experience to go along with them. The vaunted Memory Player has ,like, five owners, a few who wait on deck, and a couple of very good professional reviews which are now several months old. Period. Please don't treat us like were anything but uninformed. There's no derision here, just healthy (as in $10k) skepticism on value and long-term risk. |
He did do a rave review and did comparisons with pro equipment. I don't know what dac he used, however, as none is mentioned. He interested me in this unit as did hearing it in the Behold suites. |
The Memory Player uses proprietary software and processing which extracts a pure bit perfect copy of the disc on to a hard drive, then the data is processed, then played back from solid state ram.
The only other player that does this is a $100k Sonic Solutions work station, also Exact Copy does not do this either! I've never heard the MP, so I can't comment on its sound quality. It must sound great, because there's less jitter when you don't have to read from a spinning disk. But bit-perfect ripping, loading a song into RAM, and playing from RAM isn't novel. Exact Audio Copy (EAC) alone doesn't do this, but EAC (free) + a RAM disk (Superspeed RAM disk $35) does. Is there some other processing in the MP that differentiates it? |
Doesn't Clement use the model with the DAC in it? I saw him demo the player in the Virtual Dynamics room at RMAF last year and I don't remember a separate DAC being used. The MP was being compared to the Wadia 581 which I believe had GNSC mods. It was Rick Schultz's personal player. |
Tbg- Mr.Perry's digital system(TacT/Behold) doesn't need a DAC. |
Kana813, yes I know the Behold is digital up to the amps. It is in the Behold suite only where I have heard the MP. Unfortunately, I miss the MP in the Virtual Dynamic suite at the last RMAF.
Clio09, how did the MP compare with the moded Wadia?
Bigamp, yours is the real question. This is why I regret not hearing it with its dac at the RMAF. |
Tbg - I preferred the MP over the Wadia. The Wadia sounded a bit analytical in comparison. Somehow the MP has a way of making digital sound very smooth. I can't really put my finger on it, but it is a very enjoyable presentation. You can get lost in the music very easily.
In comparisons of the original CD recording vs. those uploaded and played back through the HD of the MP this was also evident. With the exception of one song on one CD (where we compared all tracks on that CD) the MP version was noticeably better than the original version, and it was a matter of seconds to notice the difference.
Now is it worth $10k? To a vinyl guy like me no. I'm happy with my North Star combo, but I did enjoy the listening session enough to hang out for a couple hours. |
Clio09, thanks. I wish I had noticed it in this suite. I will certainly seek it out this coming Oct., if I don't get to hear it earlier. |
