I agree with most of what has been said here. If the Pioneer DV 525 sounded best then your system must be otherwise quite veiled and even muddy, because the DV 525 is quite bright. Some of this perhaps from the transport, which is very dynamic, but mainly from the DAC which is excruciating in a very revealing system. The good news is that your system sounds as if it could get WAY better! Try a Plinius 8150 against your Classe - preferably while feeding the Bel Canto from the Pioneer DV 525 - and you may be amazed.
Am I deaf?
I've got three CD outfits here on loan from my dealer. A Linn Ikemi, a Bel Canto DAC 1 running off a Pioneer 525 DVD player and a Classe CDP. They all sound almost EXACTLY the same. After hours of switching cables, power cords and anything else I could think of, I did form a slight preference. And that was for the Pioneer DVD running straight into my amp! This freaked me out so much that I subjected my wife to the same test. She also preferred the DVD player. What in the hell is going here? Associated Equipment: Classe CAP 100 integrated amp, Sennheiser HD600 headphones, Von Schewikert VR3 speakers, Cardas and Kimber cables.
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- 20 posts total
- 20 posts total