Piano M1

marvda1 · « **on:** 28 Mar 2010, 04:51 am »

Hello fellow Piano M1 owners. What are your thoughts on the Piano? You know mine.

http://www.stereomojo.com/Virtue%20Audio%20PianoM1%20Cd%20Player/VirtueAudioPianoCDPlayer.htm

dvenardos · « **Reply #1 on:** 28 Mar 2010, 05:05 am »

Nice review, makes one wonder about a Piano DAC...

virtue · « **Reply #2 on:** 28 Mar 2010, 06:14 am »

Smack, smack (your hand, again). Futures are off-limits but doesn't the DAC on the Piano smoke? My australian dealer just loves the sound and says that his favorite DAC uses the same chip. Semi-finished units do exist on the DIY market and cost very little I hear... Sometimes the best stuff gets overlooked. I've heard some ESS stuff that sounds **much worse** than Piano and a few that sound as good or better depending on ones tastes. It's the whole package that matters; individual components, even very exotic "hi-tech" ones, do not guarantee superior performance.

virtue · « **Reply #3 on:** 28 Mar 2010, 06:47 am »

Marvin,
Can you post some photos of Piano in your system? John who is a moderator at AC also has one but has not yet posted photos.
Seth

JohnR · « **Reply #4 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 01:37 am »

Pics?? Sure, will do that later today. It looks just like the red one in the StereoMojo review

JohnR · « **Reply #5 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 05:33 am »

Here are some pics of my Piano:

JohnR · « **Reply #6 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 06:26 am »

And one without the valve amp:

virtue · « **Reply #7 on:** 29 Mar 2010, 12:22 pm »

You are an amazing photographer. Wow these look great in your very natural setting. I just love the wood and the tubes and the aluminum... and the zebra-wood works very well. Gorgeous! That's what the "high-end" should look like!!!

JohnR · « **Reply #8 on:** 30 Mar 2010, 04:21 am »

Hey Seth - thanks! Appreciate it

The build quality is amazing, I'll be trying plain Al sides soon..! I'm very pleased with the Piano - altho it's hard for me to offer comparisons/reviews as I changed amps and speakers at the same time - and I'm still mucking about with the speakers

I'll get there...

OzarkTom · « **Reply #9 on:** 3 Apr 2010, 02:24 am »

Quote from: marvda1 on 28 Mar 2010, 04:51 am

Hello fellow Piano M1 owners. What are your thoughts on the Piano? You know mine.
http://www.stereomojo.com/Virtue%20Audio%20PianoM1%20Cd%20Player/VirtueAudioPianoCDPlayer.htm

My Piano has only been on for a couple of days now, there has to be tubes in there somewhere. The Sensation is still breaking in so I know this will only get better. My Sensation 451 only has about 20 hours on it. I could not pass up that combo deal. Thanks Seth!

JohnR · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Apr 2010, 05:12 am »

That is an awesome deal...!

Hey, I think you need to post some pictures now, let's see them

pardales · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Apr 2010, 10:23 am »

Nice review, and nice pic's!

OzarkTom · « **Reply #12 on:** 3 Apr 2010, 04:05 pm »

Pic of my Piano

OzarkTom · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Apr 2010, 03:01 pm »

Are there any downloadable manuals on the Piano?

And the sound now of the Piano after a few days? What is that phrase the younger generation is saying?

Sweet!!!!!

Cheerwino · « **Reply #14 on:** 8 Apr 2010, 01:14 am »

Here's my silver M1 Piano with smooth sides, aluminum remote and oak top. It's sitting on top of The Truth buffered preamp from Ed Schilling at The Horn Shoppe and next to a First Watt F1 piping through Horn Shoppe Model 1 speakers--sounds awesome! I have another DAC but I prefer the Piano's internal DAC to the external one. Kind of wish I could tap into it for computer audio, too. It's really an awesome CD player.

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #15 on:** 28 Jun 2010, 06:59 pm »

All,

Just wanted to share my Piano M1 experience so far:

I contacted Seth a while back when I was setting up the RWA listening room. I mainly use my Macbook as my source (feeding USB into the Isabellina dac), or play vinyl - but I knew I needed to have a CD Transport to add to the listening room for customers who bring their CDs.

So I went ahead and ordered a Virtue Piano M1 from Seth in Black, with a Walnut top (which looks very classy and closely matches my Walnut equipment rack). I love the size of this CDP, and upon opening the box, I was very impressed by how solid and well-built the Piano M1 is. It has nice mass from the solid aluminum enclosure and a hefty toroidal transformer used for the linear power supply (not a SMPS that you typically find in a CDP at this price point).

Based on looks and build quality alone, the Piano M1 is a steal - but it also proved to be an excellent transport for the Isabellina. I am getting great results using both the coax and optical output (I haven't done enough A/B'ing to determine which I prefer using).

While I do prefer the analog outputs of the Isabellina and bought the Piano to use as a CD transport, I did try the Piano's analog outputs and they are MUCH better sounding than many CD players that cost quite a bit more than the M1 -- Good tonal density, doesn't suffer from a sterile digital sound, no harshness in the top-end, and nice PRaT.

I'm really impressed with the Piano M1 - it is a silly-good value! It'll be staying here for a long time. Nice work, Seth!

Happy listening!

Vinnie

virtue · « **Reply #16 on:** 28 Jun 2010, 07:12 pm »

It's the highest honor to be in your listening room!!! Thanks for your kind words Vinnie!! You rock.

Mariusz · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 Jun 2010, 11:57 pm »

Piano M-1 CDP was quite a surprise. Mainly, because you do not expect anything special from cdp at this price range and enclosure which had to incinerate at least 1/4 of its asking price.
I will also 2nd Vinnie's experiance with this "sleeper".
In contrast tho, I have solely used it as dedicated CD player and can not say much about its capabilities as a standalone transport.
In fact, I had short but interesting conversation with Paul (itr317) about Virtue products in general and we both agreed on various points, including very positive impressions of Piano M-1 CDP.
It is a great CD player that sounds great for the money.
Build and finish is also top notch.

Mariusz

eclein · « **Reply #18 on:** 20 Aug 2010, 11:01 pm »

How is everyone enjoying Piano M1 units??

shawnbaden · « **Reply #19 on:** 20 Aug 2010, 11:34 pm »

Apologies if this has already been addressed but...

As suggested earlier in this thread, it would be killer if the Piano M1 had a digital input where it would serve as just a DAC.

Any plans in the works for such an addition?