MC1, OB1, 1B1, ABC, Doe Ray Mi, 1,2,3.....Who the hell can keep all that straight? Why doesn't PMC use some sort of rhyme or reason when naming their speakers? Sheesh, waaaaay too much confusion.....
You are very right about personal tastes and preferences. What works for you might not turn my crank. A poster on AudioCircle suggested the ML 390s did nothing for them but that a DAC64 worked well. I intend to audition as many as I can. One dealer has both PMC and Wadia and I'll see how that marriage works. For the time being here are The players I've been considering:
I found the IB1s bass to be a bit too punchy (as if it's forced out) for my tastes, and the IB2s, which I have not heard, are supposely smoother sounding. Since you're looking at tube pres and in general, smooth sounding cdps, I'm guessing you're looking for a more refined and musical sound rather than strict accuracy. Another option to consider is to get a midprice player and use the money save to upgrade to the 7B SSTs. I think you'll obtain a better balance this way.
First thanks for responding to my question. In all honesty the IB1's/IB2's would be to much speaker for my present location where the OB1's would fit in nicely. I know if I purchase the OB1's I would likely need to upgrade again as my space increases where if I went with the IB2's I'd have a speaker for life.
As you guessed I'm after a more refined sound than one analytical. If you can suggest to me players that are mid-priced then please do.
As for amps if I had the space I would've gone with 7BSST's instead of my current 4BSST but they are still in the back of my mind.
Freakygreek, I've personally chose to work backwards by buying my ideal speakers first and then the amps. I am out of funds right now, so I have yet to upgrade my source. I am of the opinion that the "sweetspot" for digital source is at a much lower price than amps and speakers (a reason there is much less consensus on what is a better source). If you have no space for the 7Bs, you can consider the 14Bs. I think the CDPs you listed are all good and I would think that the lower priced CX7 would not be blown out of the water by the more expensive players you listed (although I have no doubt that the higher priced CDPs you listed are better). Hence I suggested thinking about spending the extra thousands on better amplification instead, because it seems to me that digital technology is getting so good these days that you can find a great value at many price points. There are also some good valued DACs out there as well. I like the Emmlabs gear but I can't afford it. But moving from a 4B to a 7B or 14B is going to be a big step up. I just think that if you're going to spend $5K-8K on a CDP, you might as well consider buying a $3K-6K CDP and spending the rest on better amplification or speakers. Good luck building your dream system.
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