mauidan Wrote: > I've never heard a $6K CDP in my system either. > > Once again, I was only interested in what experience you'd had with the > "best" transport/DAC combos out there," to arrived at your guess. > Nothing more.
I did own a $6kish system to compare to: a Pioneer Elite PDS-95 transport (retail $3k) using an MC2 cable ($300) with several upgrades/tweaks ($300) feeding a MF Tri-Vista DAC ($2400), both using Foundation Research LC-1 power conditioner AC cables ($800 ea) or Cardas Golden Reference AC cables ($450 ea). You can read my experiences and see my system at http://musicserver.blogspot.com. I also have 2 SB3's, one stock, the other modifed (digital only Bolder Mods, Bolder Deluxe PS). I thought the stock SB3 was good but no match for the combo transport/DAC. Frankly, it wasn't until I paired the modded SB3 using the Bolder ps, feeding the Tri-Vista, and only then using the expensive AC cables/conditioners, that the SB3 bested the transport/DAC. And while this combo is great, there certainly are better (and much more expensive) transport/DAC combos out there that would probably tip the scales the other way. But for most audiophiles, these setups would be beyond their price limits. Since I was not willing to invest more than $6k into a stand alone CDP or combo transport/DAC, and since the modded SB3 with tweaks and goodies sounded better than what I had, for less, than the choice was simple, even without resort to the convenience and features of a computer based system. All told, I poured (not including my existing DAC and cables) $2400 into replacing the transport with a dedicated music server. This included the computer: MAC mini, 2 external HDD's, LCD Screen & wireless mouse/keyboard ($1500 total); SB3 ($250), and bolder mods/ps ($650). The best part: the computer music server can be repurposed when eventually another unit comes along that sounds better than the current setup, plus I gain convenience and ability to repurpose on my IPOD. YMMV. -- davehg ------------------------------------------------------------------------ davehg's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2269 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=22301 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
