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Does anyone have a digital system that is as involving as their analogue front end?

I have a good analogue front end. Not stratuspherically good but good enough for this comparison. VPI Prime Signature 21 turntable, Pass Labs XP-25 pono preamp, Pass Labs XP-30 preamp and Hovland Radia amp. It has a lovely, very involving sound. On the right recording, I just drop everythng and am drawn in to listen.

My streamer, on the other hand, is decent but not spectacular. It is better than my CD player, but it is not jaw-dropping like my analogue front-end. My question is this: does anyone have a high-end, tier-one streamer (dCS Bartok Apex, Lumin X2, or something like them) that can rival a good analogue system?

audio-b-dog
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audio-b-dog OP
883 posts
 

@audphile1 

Would you be tempted to buy a Meitner MA4 if it were as much better as the MA3i is than the MA3. Let's say it was $15,000-$18,000. All of this will be never ending, as we both know.

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audphile1
8,125 posts
 

Nope. While I could easily identify what I would like to improve upon with MA3, I’m struggling to do this for MA3i. Any gains would be marginal and in my system I would probably have to go up to DV2i to hear meaningful changes. Which is not happening. 
So I’m totally cool, at least for now, with my MA3i. It’s coming up on its 1 year anniversary and that’s not easily accomplished by a lot of components. I’m planning to try a new Matrix Audio network isolation device soon and validate if it takes the performance up a notch. But that’s going to be a while. I need to replenish the $ that went towards a new phono stage that I just got. 

audio-b-dog's avatar
audio-b-dog OP
883 posts
 

@audphile1 

Which phono stage did you get?

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audphile1
8,125 posts
 

@audio-b-dog Whest Audio PS.30RDT Special Edition. 
I traded in my Whest Two.2 + $

 

newton_john's avatar
newton_john
590 posts
 

@audphile1 

Just put a newly acquired copy of Jan Hammer’s Oh Yeah on the turntable after a couple of hours with my wife. There’s no comparison, I’m afraid. Streaming is great, but it still has some way to go to catch up with that. Came back to tell you and see your post saying much the same thing.

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