Digital seems to be like the coronavirus, it mutates pretty rapidly compared to, say, records.
Every year it's the latest and greatest, all else is obsolete, chuck it in the dumpster and move up.
Today a recent Rega Saturn (new laser and drive unit) showed up today and the sound is really impressive.
Detail, warmth, soundstage, dynamics, the whole 9 yards. I really couldn't ask for anything more.
This got me moving gear around and I wound up with the Saturn in the 3.7 system and an old hHB 830 BurnIt Plus cd burner with an old Pacific Valve DAC 62 with current production JJ tubes hooked up to a WooAudio 6 headphone amp for my desktop system.
The Rega, though the Woo, was just spectacular.
The old hHB/Pacific Valve combo was may 90% of the Jupiter.
Even more surprising, the hHB's headphone jack was maybe 90% of what the Pacific Valve/Woo combo was.
Lost a little bass and depth but picked up a little detail, too. It was nothing you couldn't live with.
An older Harmon Kardon unit didn't fare quite so well, either as a transport or by itself, though the Woo or through the unit's headphone jack. It gave vocals a decidedly rounded off, fake analog sound - see, it's just like vinyl! (No, it's not...)
I have two Oppos here, a 103 and a 980(?) that I'll put to the test.
I have a pretty good idea of how they'll stack up but I'm always willing to be proved wrong.
