[jrebman]

Hi folks,

I have a recently fully modded SB2 from Wayne, but due to a number of circumstances have not yet been able to even play it, let alone break it in for serious listening (no bybees, btw, but plan to upgrade analog to gold.)

This is my situation and why I'm asking you here with more experience with full-blown modded SB2s and 3s:  I have a chance to get a really nice pair of speakers that I've wanted for a good while now, and would probably consider the top of the range of things I could afford, but in order to make this deal happen I have to trade in my beloved Audio Aero Capitole.

I would replace it with a much less expensive (probably modded) CD/DVD player and my SB2 with gold bybees added, and then get another analog modded SB3 to replace the SB2 in my office system.

So, the questions are:

Given the right setup -- loaded SB2, hot-rod PSU, etc., do you think I'm going to miss a whole lot over the Capitole?

Do you think I'll break even, or maybe even get better sound, silly as it may sound?

Other things to consider:

1) I will still have the CD/DVD player for spinning physical CDs.

2) I'm blind and can much more easily manage my music collection and listening through a computer interface than stacks upon stacks of physical CDs, only about 20% of which I have labelled in braille?

3).  I have a very nice 1.2 Tb NAS to store my ripped CDs on, which also has hot-swappable X-RAID so damaged hard drives can simply be pulled and replaced with new ones on the fly, making data loss much less of a thing to worry about (note, I didn't say "nothing " to worry about -- I'm not stupid )

So, what do you all think?  I'm not asking you to tell me what to do, but if I recall, some of you have, or did have some pretty high-end CDPs and may now prefer your SB to it.

I'm really leaning towards taking this deal, but that will be my decision alone, but just want to check with others who may be, or have been in a similar situation.

Thanks much,

Jim

[TomS]

I have the full boat Bolder SB2, Ultimate MK II power supply, all Bybees, and Summit DC cable.  At this point my Wadia 861SE with GNSC Statement mods is boxed up for someone else to enjoy soon.  I think the Wadia is very close to your Audio Aero Capitole.

Once the Bolder was broken in, I quit having any desire to compare the Wadia transport/DAC or Bolder/Wadia DAC to the Bolder anymore.  I find it totally satisfying musically in every way.  As good as the Wadia is, I don't miss it at all.

Tom

[jrebman]

Once the Bolder was broken in, I quit having any desire to compare the Wadia transport/DAC or Bolder/Wadia DAC to the Bolder anymore.  I find it totally satisfying musically in every way.  As good as the Wadia is, I don't miss it at all.

Tom,

Thanks very much -- just the sort of thing I was looking for.  The Wadia is a damned fine player and right there with the Capitole (which was also modded) and at that level the differences are mostly a matter of sonic preferences and system synergy than anything else.

The Capitole is not the last word in extension, but has a very rich, analog sound to it, not exactly equal to, but not unlike vinyl either.

Thanks again for your impressions -- they are very helpful.

-- Jim

[sonofcolin]

Jim,

My bolder digital mod SB3/DAC and Elpac WM220-1 Bolder mod linear PS replaced a NAIM CDX/XPS. I certainly do not miss it. The money I gained from the sale has been used to improve other areas of the system and of course to buy more music

[jermmd]

Just curious, what speakers are you thinking about getting?
I agree with everyone else, you won't listen to CD's anymore once you plug the Squeezebox in. I'm using Unraid to store my music (and video, photos, etc.) and it fits my needs perfectly.

[Daygloworange]

I have Wayne's full analog mod SB 3 (no bybees though) and modded Elpac. It replaced my NAD 513 and Sony CDP (something or other, it's old, but was a high end player). My SB has about 800 hours on it. I did a side by side comparison to my NAD. The SB 3 has more low end extension, better bass control, a slightly smoother midrange, and a little clearer highs. All around, a bit better. I also had the opportunity to do a side by side comparison of my NAD to a Rega top loader CDP ( Jupiter, I believe) and our CDP's sounded so similar that telling them apart was near impossible.

Now from a practical perspective, NO comparison! The sheer versatility, practicality, random accessability and minimal hassle in use is priceless. I will never go back to any other method of playback. As far as I'm concerned, CDP's are a dinosaur since the Squeezebox.

At some point I will get the gold bybees added, get the full blown Ultimate PS and call it a day. I have no reservations about it. It's a stellar transport, and will hold it's own with anything out there I'm sure. But, just like anything else in audio, not everybody is going to agree that it's the best.

Personally, my opinion is, that if you go for the major mods, or go full mod, you won't lose any sleep over whether it was the right decision to convert to a Squeezebox from a standard CDP.

Cheers

[jrebman]

Thanks very much to all of you.  This is all just really helpful to hear, even if it is something I thought I pretty much had intuited anyway.

Joe, the speakers in question are a set of Acoustic Zen Adagios.  I had read the review in Enjoy the Music this summer when I was on vacation and that piqued my interest, but when I finally got to sit down with them in a few different rooms at RMAF, I was a believer.  Truly the nicest speaker I've heard at anywhere near their price, but there's a whole lot more speakers I haven't heard so this shouldn't be taken as criticism of anything else.  These were truly the first speakers -- at least anywhere near my potential to own -- that I just could not pull myself away from.  Ok, the Cogent field coil horns are exquisite, but they're about 15 times more expensive and would never fit in my living room.

I'll be driving these from a pair of Red Wine Signature 70s, and my sources -- all of which will have their own local volume control -- will simply pass through a switch box and then directly to the amps.  I try to keep the signal path as direct as possible and as many AC powered devices and gain stages out of the system as possible.  I haven't owned a preamp since I sold my modded Audio Note M1 a couple of years ago, and don't plan to use one again.

Anyway, this whole thing with the SB just sounds more and more appealing as I think abut it, and the thought of the Adagios driven by the Signature 70s is really, really tempting.

Thanks again, all.

-- Jim

[ctviggen]

I have both analog and digital mods from Bolder Cables.  I do not have bybees, but will get these one day.  I have a higher end (at the time) power supply. In my system, I've listened and made the following rankings (where 1 is best):

1) SB analog out
2) SB digital out to Ack Dack (2.0) DAC
3) Shengya tube CDP
4) Proceed PMDT (transport only) to Proceed AVP as DAC
5) Pioneer Elite 37A (I think this was the number -- I've sold this) as transport to Proceed AVP
6) Pioneer Elite 37A as CDP

I have yet to compare the Proceed PMDT to Ack Dack with the SB analog out.  Once I perform this comparison and if the SB analog out wins, I'll be selling my Ack Dack.  Now, I should note that I tried to use the same interconnects for these tests, and I'm sure that I did for 1-4.

[robert1325]

Cambridge audio 640C

[mcgsxr]

Nakamichi CD4, Monarchy SuperDip, Bolder Mensa ART/DIO DAC, Bolder PS for the Mensa, various cabling.

All sold off upon hearing a stock SB3.  I knew straight away what the potential could be, plus the alarming convenience.

Later invested in the fully modded SB3, with Rev 1 with Jensen caps PS for it.  I use it via the analog outs, directly into my amp.

[tdangelo]

Wadia 301 and Unison Unico CD

[sabes]

Jim: i replaced a pair of sony es 400-disc changers running through twin bel canto dac-2's with wayne's (at that time) ultimate mods for the sb2 and ps about a year ago (in fact, i went a little crazy and have 5 sb2's, 4 with significant mods, feeding music throughout my house. i also use a 1.6 tb readyNAS server for my +/- 1500 cd's- we seem to be on the same track!). The sony/bel canto sound was really quite good, and I've also listened to a number of high-end (+/- $3k) cdp's; in all cases I felt/feel that the modded sb2 is just superior sound. I listen to a fair amount of vinyl, and in my view the sb2 gets you as far towards an analog sound as digital will go. and the convenience factor is what pushes all of this over the top. to be able to idly jump from album to album, track to track, almost instantaneously...suffice it to say that i'm a bit less productive around the house...plus, since it's truly server-based, you can have different music playing in different rooms simultaneously (my wife can get the "jazz for quiet afternoons" in the tub in the mbr while i listen to government mule in my den); or for parties, you can synchronize the sb units and have the same music playing in multiple rooms! playlists on the fly, etc...truly a breakthrough product in my life. Most importantly, Wayne is one of the great resources in all of audio (i put him in the same hallowed place that vinnie rossi occupies (yes, i've got the sig 70's too!!)), and the team at slimdevices provides tremendous technical support. So i'd say you've made a great decision (definitely go for the bybees!) that will revolutionize how you're able to listen to your collection - congrats!

[ctviggen]

The synchronization is great.  I have two SBs and a computer, and I can synchronize all three and have the same music playing everywhere.

[jrebman]

Wow, and again thanks to all of you for taking time to reply.  Looks like there are a lot of really nice systems based around the modded SB's and now I'm even more confident that I won't be losing anything, but also gaining that oh so important convenience factor.

Sabes, didn't realize you had squeezeboxes in your setup -- really cool as our paths and tastes seem to be crossing more and more ever since I sold you the TBI back in September.

Looking forward to getting the Infrant running -- and I didn't buy it because they had anything to do with Slim Devices, but rather because it looked like a very capable NAS, plus quiet, small, and reliable.  I bought mine "naked" and am packing it with 4 Seagate Barracuda 400 gB 7200.10 drives.  I didn't want to run off the computer because I want it off when listening in my office, so when I had the basement renovated I had a server closet built with phone, LAN, and power in it, just for this purpose.

Ah, it's all going to be so sweet when it all comes together, but there's still a lot of work to do between here and there.

Thanks again, all -- this has been really helpful.

-- Jim

[robert1325]

good luck,      you won't regret it!     

You can even play horizontal tetris !

Sabes:  your avatar is so .. freakin good   : 

Napoleon Dynamite: Do the chickens have large talons?
Farmer: Do they have what?
Napoleon Dynamite: Large talons.
Farmer: I don't understand a word you just said.

[sabes]

Robert1325 - glad someone out there shares my sense of humor.

Don: Hey, Napoleon. What did you do last summer again?
Napoleon Dynamite: I told you! I spent it with my uncle in Alaska hunting wolverines!
Don: Did you shoot any?
Napoleon Dynamite: Yes, like 50 of 'em! They kept trying to attack my cousins, what the heck would you do in a situation like that?
Don: What kind of gun did you use?
Napoleon Dynamite: A freakin' 12-gauge, what do you think?

[jrebman]

Just to let anybody who might be interested know, looks like the deal is all but done and a pair of 4-foot tall, long legged red-heads should be showing up here very soon.

Wayne, looks like I'll be sending you another SB 3 for analog-only mods, and when that gets here, the SB2 will be headed in for gold bybees, somewhat ahead of the schedule I had discussed with you previously.  That will go in the main system upstairs and the new SB3 will go in the office system.

Somehow I knew that someday I would have more than one of these .

-- Jim