Transport for Scott Nixon Chibi Saru (pre-assembled Dackit)?

mshan · « **on:** 27 Jan 2005, 03:08 am »

What CD players or transports have others found to be particularly synergistic with the Scott Nixon Chibi Saru (preassembled Dackit)?

I have a Scott Nixon Chibi Saru with the 3XDC power supply and a Stereovox HDXV digital cable on the way.

MttBsh · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Jan 2005, 03:19 am »

mshan: I use a Sony DVP S7700 with an HDVX digital cable to a Scott Nixon Tubedac+ with great results. The S7700 can be found used on Audiogon for about $250.00. Feed the Tubedac into a tripath based amp like the inexpensive Clari-T and paired with some efficient speakers you will find audio nirvana.

Dmason · « **Reply #2 on:** 27 Jan 2005, 03:39 am »

I also have a Sony DVP 7700, which I modified only slightly and added an aftermarket clock which came from the UK, and it has been wonderful, a real workhorse for a long time now. It sounded damn good stock.

I have read that a modded toshiba SD3950 makes a fantastic tranport. I think Vinnie Rossi figured that one out. If his solution is 1/10 as good as his Tripath amp recipes, you have some good alternatives for not much dough that will, as Mtt says, lay the keys of the Kingdom at your feet.

mshan · « **Reply #3 on:** 27 Jan 2005, 03:39 am »

Any idea how an original Rega Planet CD player would work as a transport for the Chibi Saru?

More generally, does the Chibi Saru tend to take on the character of the transport / CD player it is paired with, or do all high quality transports seem to sound the same with the Chibi Saru?

gary · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 Jan 2005, 03:54 am »

I'm curious about this too, but I'd like to have something that's battery-powered. I'm getting a Clari-T from Vinnie, and he's also putting a Scott Nixon Dac (not the tubed one) into one of his enclosures for me, it'll also be powered by a SLA battery so I need a battery-powered transport to make me completely free of a/c. Anybody have any suggestions?

Gary

JLM · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 Jan 2005, 11:05 am »

At least one guy (who I respect, but is a total speaker guy) runs a walkman CD player through a stock SI to feed Lowther based floorstanders.

$40 source + $30 amp + $2000 speakers !!

Has anyone here tried it?

tianguis · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Jan 2005, 05:52 pm »

JLM:
I've been using a very similar system: modded T-Amp (run off SLA), modded Tosh 3960 and Lowther ML TL's. I've also tried it with both an original cassette Walkman and a CD Walkman. Totally DC systems sound pretty good!

Regards,
Larry Welsh

Dmason · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Jan 2005, 06:06 pm »

I should have mentioned that I have been using a battery powered Nixon DACkit for going on two years, and it sounds just great. Liquid, fat, immediate, all that stuff, and goes hand in glove with the batTery amp. I don't think things get a whole lot better for Redbook, in fact. YMMV. Scott said this iteration was about his favorite DAC design in all his years of building stuff. Less parts than the 47 Lab 4715, and supposedly equal or better overall sound, subject to interpretation, and opinion, of course. The 47 Lab unit is thought of as "Class B" by the Stereophools. John Atkinson, whose ears I do trust, liked it ALOT, calling it "more musical" than other, higher minded designs he had heard.

I didn't detect a great difference when using different transports, but I don't consider myself one to vivisect the music. I think a USB based bit perfect datastream might change its sound, but I personally would start with the Sony portable IF it has an SPDIF output. In my very limited purvue, I think the best battery powered transport would in fact be a notebook computer with an outboard soundcard. Then a battery DAC and ClariT hooked up to the Biggest Horns, or open baffle rig you can fit into your house.

Transport mechanisms have been pretty well thought out at this point, I would imagine. I'll wager the Sony is a good bet for an experiment. Then find out if it can be re-clocked maybe.

Jay S · « **Reply #8 on:** 28 Jan 2005, 01:18 am »

Has anyone compared the Chibi Saru with the TubeDac? The Chibi Saru is really an unbeatable price and the idea to pair it with an SLA battery is terrific.

JLM · « **Reply #9 on:** 28 Jan 2005, 02:39 am »

Jay,

I don't recall where around here, but reportedly the battery Chibi Saru sounds better than the Tube DAC.

General ?:

How sensitive is the S7700 to AC. Conversely, how easy/hard is it add AC conditioning?

Jay S · « **Reply #10 on:** 28 Jan 2005, 03:59 am »

Thanks. The Chibi Saru + SLA may just be the ticket for a musical tv room system hooked up to a dvd player and JVC digital receiver.

Dmason · « **Reply #11 on:** 28 Jan 2005, 04:21 am »

Jeff,

The DVP-7700 I have was plugged into the wall, into a Monster Power 3500, and......into a "borrowed" medical equipment re-generator, serving up clean, perfect AC. It actually didnt sound all that different between the three. I would have to say it is fairly insensitive to AC. When the regenerator went back, it wasnt missed by the Sony, although it was sorely missed by the Carver ZR1000 Tripath 250 watt amp. That was the big illustration of just how important clean power etc is with digital amps, but I was free-basing electricity to feed a highly efficient amplifier, a nutzo situation. Now I have batteries and no need for power conditioning.

Maybe this is one of the reasons they are or were popular as transports. Mine has never sneezed, and I know Matt's has worked well for him for going on two years.

MttBsh · « **Reply #12 on:** 28 Jan 2005, 06:32 am »

Amen Dmason! The tweaks I performed on my 7700 were to install an IEC including new, better quality/gauge wire to the power supply, allowing me to use an after market power cord, which made a positive difference. I also dampened the inside lid & sides with Dynamat and put some ERS cloth in strategic spots to reduce RFI. Good results for very little extra cost. The 7700 is solid as can be, has a separate laser for CDs, and like Dan's, mine has never let me down. You can read all kinds of posts about this player as a transport, different tweaks people have made, etc. in this forum.

Matt

Dmason · « **Reply #13 on:** 28 Jan 2005, 07:22 pm »

Another alternative I no nothing about but I trust is the toshiba 3950, when modded to clean up some circuitry, makes a whole lot of high end sense according to several posts I have read in the past on AA, but more importantly, our own Wizard Emeritus, Vinnie Rossi, I think was the guy who figured it all out in the first place, and turns out this is what he is using with his ClariT/non-OS DAC/Triangle wide ranger + tweeter outfit. If I were shooting for something new, I would talk to him, because the Tosh new is alot less dough than the aged Sony, used, well used, at this point in time.

In fact, based on my experiences of late, if I were in for a new transport, I would be relying on Vinnie's expertise to make it happen.