Ok, I got all three digital (sometimes analog) wonders burned in whith over 200 hours each.
All levels were matched whith a Rat Shack meter, and the same digital coaxial cable and analog ic's were used, as well as the same modified Powervar power conditioner.
All used stock pc's.
All comparisons both digital and analog were done whith my modified Philips 963sa.
All comparisons were conducted whith Dire Straits "Brothers in Arms" cd for 2 channel digital.
All sa-cd 2 channel comparisons were done whith Joe Satrianis "Stange Beautiful Music"
All three were run full range and whith my dual subs turned off.
My results, done earlier yesterday were for digital sonics in two channel
1 Panny 45 voices, drums guitars ect are all far more transparent on the Pany 45, and to my ears, it is still the digital wonder king for 2 channel digital.
2 Kenwood 7100 was second best on the digital 2 channel side of things whith a slightly fuller midrange but lacking in transparency as compared to the 45.
JVC RX-10 has a smoother overall sound than the other two, but I did not find it as transparent as even the 7100 is whith slightly rolled off highs and slightly better perceived bass from my 45hz monitors.
On the analog side of things, things took a not so suprising turn.
1 JVC RX-10, while it was really close, to my ears, the JVC (Using 5.1 inputs) had a slight edge over the Kenwood 7100 which also has suprisingly good sounding 2 channel analog sonics.
2 Kenwood 7100
3 A distant third was the Pany 45
I later used my wife and my nephew blinfolded and the results were similar.
Digital 2 channel
1 Both picked the 45 as there choice.
2 Both picked the Kenwood second.
3 For digital 2 channel, the RX-10 finished 3rd for both although my nephew called it real close.
Analog 2 channel
1 My nephew picked the JVC RX-10, although he said it was a tough call between it and the Kenwood.
2 My wife also picked the JVC rx-10, and also had a tough time choosing between the two.
For sa-cd 2 channel
1 again, it was close whith my nephew picking the JVC for its slightly fuller sounding bass.
My wife slightly preffered the Kenwoods highs, but had a tough time choosing.
To through a wrench in the mix while they were blinfolded, I hooked up my freshly modded Sim i-5 that still needs 100's of hours to sound its best.
The bass is weak at this point in the break in, so this would tell me how close, non audiophool hearing, is to the rest of us phools
They assumed that the i-5 was one of the three digital/analog wonders labeled 1 2 3.
My nephew said that what he thought was # 2(Sim i-5) had better highs, and that the JVC had seemingly better bass. while playing a bass heavy Satriani track.
My wife just picked the i-5 as better sounding.
They both said that the 45 had by far, the greatest difference between digital and analog inputs ...on the fly.
If anyones interested, the H/T mini shootout the results
1 Panny by a fairly large margin
2 Kenwood
3 jvc
These H/T results will be posted at avs later tonight.
All of these digital wonders are a sonic bargain and while the Pany remains the king of digital imo, the JVC is the king of analog, and the Kenwood holds its own doing either.
This was all done in my room, whith my speakers ect, so I still reccomend using your own ears and room,speakers ect.
Not to mention basing the results on what you are using the digital/analog wonder for.
In my case , H/T, occasional cd use, and whith future modification to two 45's used in a bi amp 2 and 6.1 configuration, maybe nirvana.
These are good times to be an audiophool on a budget
