Best Digital Front End Period!

47 labs flat fish w/progression dac. The best I've owned/heard.

Hi Tubegroover; I'm not sure if I have the kind of input you're looking for because I've not heard the most expensive gear, ie Levinson reference, Burmester, etc-- but I want to play. Earlier this summer, I replaced my Muse Two DAC and Sony XA7 CD player with Levinson 37 Transport and 360S DAC. Improvement in music quality/character was dramatic and certainly the best I have ever heard. It is detailed, w/o being analytic, dynamic, non-fatiguing, and musical-- I can listen to this system for hours with pleasure. This front end especially shines with well recorded music, ie on Diana Krall's jazz ballads, her voice is so rich, lush, husky, breathy, and immediate that sometimes I think I actually feel her breath on the side of my face-- needless to say that's pretty exciting. Another great CD on this system is Lucinda Williams "Car Wheels on a Gravel Road" (an HDCD recording), trks #7 and #12 are fantastic-- live, immediate, and exciting. The soundstage is wide and deep with percussion and other instruments exploding all over the place-- bass is deep, tight, and pace, rhythm, and timing are excellent. I also love Margo Timmins voice and the Cowboy Junkies through this system (if I can't have her in person). I tried Madrigal's MDC-1 AES/EBU cable with this combo and found it to be tremendously detailed (near analytical), but still relaxed; however it somewhat lacked coherency which decreased PR&T. The Cardas Lightning AES/EBU cable is what really brought this front end together. The Cardas is not quite as detailed as Madrigal's cable, but it is more coherent, with better PR&T, and is overall more musical. The rest of my system: Sonic Frontiers Line 2 pre-amp (BTW, the tubes definitely contribute to a richer, fuller sound), McCormack DNA-2DX amp, Syn. Res. Phase 2 ICs, Syn. Res. Master Couplers on all components, Syn. Res. Sig. No. 2 spkr. cables into Vand. 3Asig. speakers. Also dedicated AC and ground systems, and ASC tubes for room treatment. As of now, I feel that my system has no weaknesses, but eventually I want to try Vand. 5s in this system:). Cheers. Craig.

Thanks Craig. The purpose of this post if you haven't already guessed is that I am looking to upgrade my digital front end which by todays standards and the rest of my system is a dinosaur (JVC 1050 CD Transport; P.S. Audio Ultralink DAC, Cardas Lightning). Problem is I mostly listen to analog and digital, even with all its obvious advantages, always kind of irritated me over long term listening. I have however noticed an improvement with cabling and anti-jitter devices in the system. Now appears to be the time to really consider going all the way. I am really leaning towards a good DVD transport with an upsampling DAC unit, BUT the all in one CD units also have their proponents. Problem is sorting it all out. Unfortunately for me and a big problem is there is no dealer close by to audition these various products. I recently tried an NBS cable and THAT was a dramatic improvement in overall smoothness, really reduced that digital edge. With reference to Diana Krall, I find her voice on her recordings very well done, the instruments however sound electronic especially her piano. Maybe the digital? I thought it sounded more like the recording. Will

Tubegroover, do you actually have a budget for your new digital front end? I heard the Linn Ikemi recently and was very impressed by the performance. The improvement over the lower end Genki was NOT subtle in a moderate $7k (with the Genki, around $9k with the Ikemi) all Linn setup. The Ikemi has a very smooth, refined and neutral sound. Not overly warm, but not fatiquing either. The best I have heard at the price. I think I might have found my next digital upgrade. I decided against auditioning the Sondek CD12, for fear of putting my car and apartment up for sale. :) I also noticed many people dumping their Wadia gear on the classifieds, maybe for fear of the company's financial position. It might be a buyer's market for Wadia gear right now. There are also a following that defend the Resolution Audio CD50 and CD55 like pit bulls.

47 labs best i have heard.