Aqua 'La Diva' ($9k) or Gryphon 'Ethos' ($39k) versus. Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T ($3k)?
What sensible rationale is there for buying either of the two above-mentioned VERY COSTLY CD spinners (Aqua ’La Diva,’ a CD-only transport, and the Gryphon ’Ethos,’ a CD player with built-in DAC) when we can get the same pure Red-Book CD digital output from the Pro-Ject CD Box RS2 T for FAR less money?
What is a potential buyer getting for their significantly increased expenditure other than fancy packaging and possibly a boost to their egos from ownership of a prestige brand-name item? The one component (and a crucially-significant one at that) which all three of these products have in common is the new Philips-based Stream Unlimited CD Pro 8 CD player mechanism. Aside than that, what one appears to get with the two far-higher-priced components is little more than pure window-dressing, not substantive gains in performance over the CD Box RS2 T.
It is little wonder that one reviewer of the RS2 T thinks of it as nothing less than a "giant killer," in that it makes it nearly impossible for any level-headed purchaser, even one with the means to spend lavishly, to rationalize spending thousands of dollars more on these two competing products (or on others like them) when one can get the same sonic results (which from most reports are splendid) from the humble little CD Box.
Any thoughts? Do we audiophiles finally have good reason to come to our buying senses? To me, Pro-Ject Audio Systems may have struck a true winning vein with their CD Box when prospecting for gold.
The Gryphon Ethos is a complete CD player. What would be another interesting comparison is the Aqua La Diva M2 and the Accustic Arts Drive II. This is a dedicated CD transport that incorporates the CD Pro-8 drive unit and retails for 18K USD. What might it offer above and beyond the La Diva M2? Aesthetically it's very attractive and elegant. Charles |
@ghdprentice Before I decided on purchasing my Aurender N20 I exhaustively explored every avenue for ripping/streaming/storage. I auditioned Aurilic, Weiss, Lumin, Naim everything basically. I was drawn to the Aurender ACS100 initially because it has two HDDs programmable in RAID format and since I wanted back up protection I valued this feature. So I extensively compared the ACS100 against my smallish already ripped CD collection (ripped using DbPoweramp) by downloading onto the ACS100 HDD and from a USB and also freshly ripping CDs directly to the ACS100 HDD. The differences were very, very subtle but they were there in favour of the ACS. So I decided to rip my whole CD collection on the ACS100 and buy an N20. I have never subscribed to the bits is bits BS because a really resolving system will reveal many differences in digital cables etc. YMMV. |
@charles1dad: Where do you insert your Fidelizer Nikola 2 LPS unit into the chain link of your audio system, between transport and speakers, and what is it supposed to "do" or "add" to the performance of your current setup that you sense it presently may lack or could potentially use some "help" with? (I realize you haven’t yet received your Fidelizer, so I’m not asking you to comment on its performance - just on how you’re hoping it might improve the already-very-good sound quality of your system.) |
Hi, Fidelizer Nikola 2 is just a direct plug in LPS to use into the RS2T in place of the supplied wall wart. No different than if I used Pro-Ject's own optional LPS in place of their wall wart. Virtually everyone who's tried a LPS with the RS2T says the sound quality takes a step upward. I will soon find out. Charles |
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