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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
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,830 posts
 

The Meitner MA3 is also a bit dark and romantic. I think the upgrade will make it more transparent, give it some slam on the low end, etc,
 

i didn’t find the MA3 dark per say. Relaxed yes. May be polite. 
The ma3i addresses all the concerns as I stated earlier. But the original is no slouch. 

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,830 posts
 

Awesome album @newton_john thanks for the new music!

It’s a 1976 recording that’s in high resolution, remastered and “cleaned up”. Exactly the type of recording that would show its best qualities on original LP. The remastering kills a lot of albums in experience. 

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

@audphile1 

It is dark compared to my analogue front end which is pretty transparent. As I said, a bad album sounds really bad on analogue, but a good album makes it all worthwhile. I choose good albums now that I know what I'm doing. In the past, I didn't know the difference.

Mcontrol is stopping mid track and dropping to the next track. You say that is Qobuz. I assume you've solved it with your upgrade? What happens if I move over to Tidal. Would it fix the problem?

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
7,830 posts
 

No the qobuz issue is really on their end 

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/qobuz-still-messed-up

can you list the tracks that gave you problems?

 

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

I was playing Simon Rattle conducting Firebird. It jumped from the middle of the first and second track. I always look for hi rez recordings. If Qobuz is working on it maybe it will be resolved soon? Otherwise I guess I have to go to Tidal. Thank you for your help. BTW, Qobuz skipped tracks when I was using Moon Mind2, an excellent interface. Not so often, though. Qobuz did not skip at all when I played Diana Krall last night. I don't think it skipped when I played a hi rez Cassandra Wilson track either. 

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