Review: Lector Digidrive TL-II
For several years I’ve been more than pleased with my Sony Modwright 9000ES with Level III mods, but no separate power supply or tubes. Everything I brought in to challenge this workhorse failed in one way or another to measure up except for a Meridian 800. But being that I am a modest Audiophile the 800 was well and truly out of my price range at the time. Oh well, I remained just as pleased and really never thought twice about making a change.
One day the 9000 developed a well-known problem. The drawer wouldn’t open and close unless the machine was turned on and I was willing to wait hours for it to become functional. I found that I had to leave the 9000 on 24/7. I got a little nervous, thinking, this could be the beginning of the end.
So I pulled out a brand new Musical Fidelity TriVista 21 DAC that was wasting away in my attic and mated it to my Oppo DVD player. I let the dac burn-in for a couple of weeks, and hoped that the combination would be close enough to the Modwright to enjoy myself. My plan was then to ferret out some repairs and make do in the interim.
My fiancé and I couldn’t resist doing a little A/B testing though before the 9000 was sent back to Sony for a fix. It wasn’t close and I suspected as much. The MF/Oppo combo was tinny in the upper reaches. Notes being truncated on the rise and the decay. The bass was lightweight and unconvincing. The mid-range hung in there with the Modwright. Voices were articulate, rich without being blurred, and quite useful overall. Jazz combos did particularly well with the MF/Oppo. Rock music just didn’t possess the accurate dynamic structure, and its weightiness was thrown off like so many pounds in a YMCA workout room. Alas, Rock n’ Roll would've died if I had stuck with the MF/Oppo combo.
Then I fell into it...
Sometimes we just get lucky, and a few of us have at one of our favorite 2-channel watering holes--Audiogon. I picked up a brand new Lector Digidrive TL-II for a ridiculous price. Out went the Oppo (literally, gave it away to my kid) and in went the Lector.
Now, I’m not prone to hyperbole. Okay, when Arsenal work their magic on the pitch I can get totally gassed, but generally I try to take the middle path. If you check the archives for my review on my current speakers (SP Tech Continuums) you’ll see that while I love ‘em I realize they have flaws, that I’ve owned other speakers that were better at some things, etc. In other words I think I can trust myself to be mostly honest with myself when it comes to audio.
So when the thought crossed my mind “oh my god, my whole system’s been transformed” I ran out and grabbed whoever I could to confirm my eureka moment. First my fiancé. Right away she noticed a balance that was lacking in the Modwright. Despite being loaded up with Bybee filters there really was the presence of digital artifacts I wasn’t aware of before. There was an improvement in the clarity of voices and the placement of instruments in space. Timbres were more natural, although pianos didn’t always sound like pianos. There was an ever so slight bloom present. As if the Lector was letting the TriVista tubes emerge from a deep slumber. It wasn’t overbearing; it wasn’t “tubiness”. It was more additional tonal richness. I thought it was believable and natural. My better half thought it was welcomed, but wasn’t entirely sure the Lector wasn’t allowing the TriVista to fudge a little.
My other audiophile buddies who are very familiar with my system definitely thought that the Lector/TriVista combo beat out the Modwright. The consensus was that “listenability” was greatly improved. And this I know for sure to be true. Everyone just stays longer, listens more deeply, and enjoys themselves so much more. I had always dreamed of having friends over for long listening sessions, and with the inclusion of the Lector that was exactly what was happening. I even had to start thinking of excuses to get visitors outta the house on a few occasions--that had never happened before!
I know this analogy has been done to death, but another friend told me that my system had gone from white wine to red wine, nuance, depth, balance had been restored. Oh yeah, and I could rock out. So could the 9000, but it was a tick behind in pace. The 9000 still just bested the MF/Lector in slam. Overall bass was probably a wash.
Suffice it to say I am one happy man. In the end I suppose the Lector really has a lot more to say about the importance of the transport, and point out how poorly the Oppo was performing in my system or how it wasn’t an authentic match for the TriVista. The Sony remains an awesome machine, no way I’m getting rid of it. But it has been relegated to the second system, which is now greatly improved--talk about a win-win situation.
It feels strange to say, but the Lector made a bigger difference in my system than any purchase I’ve ever made. Maybe it was just a matter of getting rid of the final sub-performing piece, maybe a lot of other things. I'll think about it later unless someone out there has a suggestion. For now, I am just enjoying music more than I ever have before, and that’s good enough for me. Peace.
