Ed Selley
Hi-Fi Editor
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- Jun 26, 2003
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Hi there’s an Elicit mk5 review in the July 2022 edition of Hi-Fi choice which is available in digital form as from today.Good review though this one isn’t for me. Looking forward to the Elicit mk5 review.
I've owned a Marantz cd6006 and currently have a Marantz sa8005 (£1100 new) and a Denon DCD 2500 NE (£1999 new). The Denon gets far more use than the Marantz simply because it is better.Has anyone here compared a £2K CD player with say a £500 Marantz/Rotel etc? I haven't personally but am finding it hard to believe there's that much of a difference. Am I wrong?
I'm not sure there's a need if you want a budget solution get it.Has anyone here compared a £2K CD player with say a £500 Marantz/Rotel etc? I haven't personally but am finding it hard to believe there's that much of a difference. Am I wrong?
You can rip your CDs on your laptop or PC, where you possibly have a free CD drive already, then output the rip to a DAC costing a little over £100, and which is transparent to the source.
I don't see the appeal.
Thanks for the feedback.Hi there’s an Elicit mk5 review in the July 2022 edition of Hi-Fi choice which is available in digital form as from today.
Both this and the new Saturn CD player get excellent reviews without me giving the game away.
First of all those comments from a few folk above about using £20 or £100 DACs in relation to this Rega CD player are either uninformed, don't have decent hearing or have never heard good hi-fi products from specialist audio companies.
I used to own the original Rega DAC, it had great attack and timing but sold it a few years ago as overall I prefer the glorious sound of my Arcam CDS27 SACD network streamer. The Rega DAC couldn't match the bass extension nor has the enveloping soundstage the Arcam possesses.
The 'worst' DAC I own is the one built into my Arcam SA10 amplifier followed by the IFI DAC Signature (only bought because I needed a USB DAC).
Thanks to Ed for the usual detailed extensive review and I'm sure this Rega Saturn sounds fabulous. Rega certainly make great stuff and because they are still an independent company (not bought over by huge Chinese audio umbrella companies) they can and do their own thing.
Audiophile nonsense.Please could you clarify what you mean by "attack and timing", "bass extension" and "enveloping soundstage"?
What specifically in the spec sheets of the DACs you own/have owned contribute to these attributes?
Do they all work with CD transports?Audiophile nonsense.
Pretty much any dac over 100 notes is completely transparent these days. Descriptive words like attack and timing are used by those who want to justify their spending habits.
In a double blind test said people are unlikely to tell the difference between a 100£ dac and a 10k dac.
It's a hobby though, and some delve 'too deep' and start thinking spending power = knowledge.
I used to own the original Rega DAC, it had great attack and timing...
Good timing... doesn't plod along or sound lethargic. And no I was comparing in the same room with same speakers, same amplifier and the Rega DAC was better for jazz because of these qualities. Kraftwerk also sounded fantastic on it too for the same reasons.Hmm, I understand what you're saying about attack, I'm particularly sensitive to this especially with compression being a musician in the rhythm section, but timing? Isn't that more to do with the room and speakers?
Back to CD players, I must admit I've been missing my Micromega Stage 2 and have been thinking about getting another player. Trouble is I have nowhere to put it until I swap the rack out (read: totally re-arrange the front end of the lounge!). This Rega though, it's not for me, I'll stick to front loading I think.