[goldlizsts]

At the risk of being accused of dealer-bias, I'll go with:

a) Dodson DA-218 DAC paired with a Weiss Jason transport.  Weiss Medea DAC is a very close second, followed by the Nova Physics Memory Player.

b) There are so many in this price range, it's hard to put one at the top.  Am a big fan of the Cayin CDT-17A, Ayre CX-7, Nain CD-5...

(disclaimer: Am a dealer for Dodson and Cayin)...

Those are fine pieces, Mr. PhilNYC.  One of these days I will check yours out since you're a dealer (when I'm up to it; it's not even next to impossible at your next fine Rave.  It's ridiculously time-wasting to try to critically judge a piece of equipment with toooooo many around).  I have been using for a long while Meridien 508.24, which I think has been my best (don't think I will spend $10K upward for the top of the heap).  Only one word - "musical."  I recently got a Sony 9000 (top  of its line, exact model # I don't care to remember), SACD player, so I thought I've had both formats covered.  It only plays redbook CDs well in my opinion.  There's somehow something strange with SACDs played from it.  It took me 300 hours before I started to like it.  I don't believe it will ever approach the "musicality" of the Meridien.  There's something magical in the "mids" of the Meridien that I have not heard from others.  Because of its age, however, it is short in transparency somewhat.  But, that's a tradeoff factor I think.  Meridien really know how to make musical stuff.  I wonder how their digital speakers sound, if they're as good as the decks.

[TONEPUB]

Has anyone compared the Rega Saturn to these top drawer options?

Sure have....

Review coming on the TONE Audio website very soon....

[Whitese]

I have heard many many of them thru the years, nothing has been able to uproot the Parasound CDP-2000 Ultra from my system.  Great chasis isolation (made by CEC) and individual PS for the transport section. 

I now have a Sony SCD-777es with 1400.00 worth the Kern mods and I am not that convinced its better....I do like it for the SACD though.

[denjo]

Altmann and SB3 powered by separate Paul Hynes PSUs.
Relaxed, analog-sounding.

[Philistine]

Now that I have been listening (almost non stop) for the last month,
and I still LOVE my Meridian 808, the Naim 555 so far is the most
natural sounding digital I have ever heard.

It's a few clicks more realistic than my Meridian, but it's 18k more!

It goes from being "that's really great sound for digital" to "that sounds
as good as the record"  Pretty amazing.

Jeff,
This may be slightly off topic and if so please move it to another thread, I'll also wash my mouth out with soap in advance for eluding to an alternative publication.
I haven't re-read the articles recently but I recall that a US based reviewer, in fact a colleague of yours who appeared on the front page of an earlier ToneAudio, reviewed and loved the Naim 555 and then took a Musical Fidelity player that cost significantly less and, by the use of a Tara Labs interconnect, found that the gap between the two players had been bridged.  The conclusion I had from this was the MF player plus IC was a less expensive option than buying the Naim and still gave a similar performance.  This also may work with other CDP's, not just the MF.   

Extrapolating from this my question relates to the Meridian, which looks gorgeous by the way, have you tried to play with any IC's  and have any comments on their impact?

I find this thread interesting as many audiophiles have given up with CD as a medium and exploring other digital storage mediums, while  others have gone back to vinyl - all driven by dissatisfaction of sound quality from CD's.  It's ironic that as we get to the end of the CD lifecycle that manufacturers and modders are now starting to understand what they need to do to make a great sound.         

[JLM]

Jeff (TonePub),

Great!

I hope the review makes recommendations for what quality of system the Saturn would be appropriate with. 

Knowing how a piece stacks up against the competition is vital; naturally every audiophile would put different priorities into source, amp, or speakers; but there's lots of value in not over spending or living without "after the fact" consumer doubts/remorse.

For instance a reviewer has recommended the Rega Apollo for a $3,000 - 5,000 system and the Saturn for a $8,000 - 10,000 system.  But another reviewer, because the sound quality of the Saturn is so good, has recommended consumers bias their budgets more towards this wonderful source.  My system fits into the first catagory, but supposedly the components are overacheivers.  OTOH I hate over investing in digital sources with the rapid advancements being made.  Do I sound confused and confluted?   

[TONEPUB]

Extrapolating from this my question relates to the Meridian, which looks gorgeous by the way, have you tried to play with any IC's  and have any comments on their impact?

I find this thread interesting as many audiophiles have given up with CD as a medium and exploring other digital storage mediums, while  others have gone back to vinyl - all driven by dissatisfaction of sound quality from CD's.  It's ironic that as we get to the end of the CD lifecycle that manufacturers and modders are now starting to understand what they need to do to make a great sound.         

While we have experimented with a number of different IC's, none have made a "jaw dropping" change in the basic character of any component to the extent that I have read about in other magazines.

Which leads to why we haven't reviewed the Tara IC for 15k or the Nordost cable for the same price.  It's a double edged sword  If I listen to it and say it is the most amazing thing I've ever heard, all of my readers think I've lost my mind.  If I review it and say that it's no big deal, both the mfr and the ten people in the audience say that I can't hear or my reference system is junk.  See where this is going?

I don't even want to open up a can of worms with MF, as I've gotten to know him a bit over the last year.

That being said, Ill stick by my thoughts on the Naim for now.  I've been listening to it non stop and really enjoy it.  I've heard the 50K metronome a bit as well as a few others in that price range.  We have the 2 box Esoteric on the way, so I am anxious to hear that as well.

We can argue this point till the cows come home, but there is only so much technology that can be packed into a 1 meter pair of interconnects.  I am borrowing the Tara and the Nordost cable from a few of my wealthy friends that own them just so I can have the experience.

Much of what gives the Naim it's sound quality is the careful attention to detail in machining all of the transport parts, careful assembly, the massiveness of the transport, meticulous attention to vibration control and a very massive power supply.  I hate to say it, but I just don't feel that a pair of interconnects is going to make up for all that.

I've also taken a poll of another group of wealthy and knowledgeable audiophiles whos ears and musical tastes I trust (and somewhat mirror mine) and the three players that keep coming up on their list for offering up the most musical (ie. non digital) experience are the Naim, the Esoteric and the Zanden.

While my reference system is not the last word in hifi, it is pretty good and very resolving.  Even though the Meridian 808, which is a fantastic player is better (again, for me better is more musical, non digital, dynamic, resoving, tonally correct, etc.) than most that I have tested, I don't have a problem listening to something like the Naim and being very excited about it.

A reference component is just that.   Some things will obviously be above the mark and others will be below.

In the end, it is up to our readers to decide if a particular component we review is worth their time to investigate.

It is particularly hard to suggest components at this level because of the expense and the potential for dissapointment.  Again, like the expensive cable, if you listen to the 555 and come away non plussed, you will think I don't know what I am talking about.

But I assure you that if you sat down on my couch and listened to both, you would be able to hear a very distinct jump in musicality between the Meridian and the Naim.  At that point you would decide:

A.  That's amazing, I need one
B.  The Meridian is still DAMN good, I could be happy with that
C.  I can't afford either player, this is crazy.

I can't vouch for MF's data or conclusions.  I can only tell you about my experience and hope that you are intrigued enough to investigate for yourself.  You shouldn't buy a 33 thousand dollar ANYTHING just because I say so.

I've been agonizing if I should sell my car so that I can buy the Naim, it's that good.  My other agony is that while the player is that good to me, do I have enough CD's worthy of it?  Until I get the phone call to send it back, I'm listening to as many discs as I can!!

I could live happily ever after with the Meridian, but this one is hard to ignore!

[TONEPUB]

Jeff (TonePub),

OTOH I hate over investing in digital sources with the rapid advancements being made.  Do I sound confused and confluted?   

I understand the confusion... You are not alone.  This is the kind of stuff that keeps me up at midnight!

In the event that you don't have access to a Rega dealer that would let you take both players home for the weekend, so you could listen in your room, on your system and decide if the Saturn is worth jumping off the cliff for, it boils down to a few things:

How much resolution does your current system posess and is the Apollo good enough?

DAC's are making a big comeback.  you could hedge your bet, buy the Apollo now and get
a big bucks DAC later.

How much digital do you listen to?  If you have a big collection and digital is important to you
you may want to spring for the better player.  There is a pretty big jump between the two.

How much will spending an extra 1500 on a player compromise your cash flow for buying
more music over the next two years and is that worth it to you?

On a strictly purist sense, I am definitely of the school that says get the best sources
you can possibly afford, because then you can hear whatever other changes you make
that much easier.  I feel that if you don't have the resolution coming from the source
all the tweeks in the world will only do so much.

Does that help?

[Philistine]

Jeff,
Thanks for a comprehensive response (my initial post confused MF the man with Musical Fidelity - MF in my post refers to the manufacturer, it was confusing because he compared the Musical Fidelity CDP/Tara Labs against the 555). 

My original digital source was a 'highly rated' Sony XA777ES, which resulted in a switch from 2ch to HT as I spent all my time listening to harshness and not music (I stopped buying CD's) - guess I'm just highly sensitive to all the technical stuff such as jitter etc..
I had the 'poor mans' Esoteric DV50S on demo at the same time as I had Dan's Modwright 999ES, the Esoteric was very well made and removed all the digital harshness.  I ultimately settled with the Modwright - more 'organic' than the Esoteric, nevertheless I would have been happy to live with the Esoteric.  So look forward to reading your two box Esoteric review.

So my vote for best digital playback/CDP I've heard goes to Modwright 999ES - It changed me back into a music lover and net CD buyer again. Which ultimately is what it's all about.  Dan makes great gear and has a good musical ear.
 

[TONEPUB]

Dan's modded Son's are an excellent value and they do play SACD, which
is great!

[Onlythat]

I've never heard a digital front-end priced stratospherically so no comment on that one.

Up to about 6 grand, the best I've heard is probably either the Lector CDP 7T Mk. 3 i currently own or the Audio Note CDT 2 transport with the DAC 2.1x signature combo. 

(I've owned a CDX2 and a CDS2 and had an Exemplar 2900 in house for a time too-- none of which floated my yacht for long).

Best lower priced player I've heard is the Consonance CD 120 linear. Superb player and a scary value. I could live with it in place of my Lector if I had to.

I would love to see at some point if hearing a Reimyo player would rock my world.

Hu

[studley]

Has anyone compared the Rega Saturn to these top drawer options?

Sure have....

Review coming on the TONE Audio website very soon....

Its supposed to be pretty special with a bespoke transport and that read error correction stuff (which sounds quite a bit like the Memory Player technology).

Anybody heard the AMR CDP that Srajan raved about?

[Affordable$$Audio]

Best digital playback, easy, the modified Jolida JD100 that I bought from Jeff Dorgay himself.  Second, the modded Onix XCD-5.  I don't consider units I've only heard in stores, just too hard to give a fair assessment of what is making the sound so spectacular.

[In The Groove]

Benchmark DACs sound very good and they are still reasonably priced.

[NealH]

Best digital that I have listened to is the dcs Elgar and Purcel combo.  Probably the second best is a modified Jolida JD-100.  It was just so fun to listen to.  I also like the MF Trivista dac quite a bit.  

[TONEPUB]

Benchmark DACs sound very good and they are still reasonably priced.

Hmmmm.

Seems like you told me that there were way better converters on the Steve Hoffman
forum Lee.  Time to get your stories straight.

[vinyl anachronist]

Plus, his profile here says he lives in Florida, but we know he lives in suburban Atlanta. Can't get that straight, either.

[TONEPUB]

But let's get back to more fun things like digital playback.

Enjoying what everyone is listening to!  A very wide range indeed...