I have heard the angels sing - dCS Paganini system + Arcam FMJ CD36

[HiWire]

I went to my local audio shop and had an audition of the dCS Paganini player (transport, DAC, and clock), which is about $50,000. It was hooked up to Audio Research HD220 amps and Sonus faber Elipsa speakers. I had a nice, extended listening session by myself in a properly set up room in a comfy chair.

It was a beautiful, natural sound. I really thought this combo broke through the technological limits of previous disc players. The $50,000 question is: can this be done in a less expensive way in a single box?

I played the following pieces on it:

Anna Netrebko - Sempre Libera, SACD layer

Verdi - La Traviata (E strano! E Strano! - Sempre libera),

I haven't ever heard high notes this natural and smooth on any player. The Paganini does a good job with space and the orchestral background, but really lets Anna Netrebko's soprano sing beautifully. There is an definite sense of magic in the air. It makes me wonder how my headphone system would sound hooked up to this amazing system - which would become the limiting factor?

Jascha Heifetz - Brahms/Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos, SACD layer

Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D, Op. 35

I could hear the micro details of Heifetz's bowing technique, something that I haven't heard as clearly on my home and other players. Also, a sweetness to the sound of Heifetz's playing here belies the usual dryness that I've heard in his performances. The orchestra moves very adroitly along with the soloist, whereas it seems slightly more sluggish on lesser systems.

Jane Monheit - The Very Best of Jane Monheit

Hit the Road to Dreamland

Ordinarily, Jane Monheit has a very clear, sweet voice that is laid back, but the player revealed a slight harshness in the recording that was probably an artifact of close miking. Bass performance was excellent - also, the soundstage appears to be much smaller than in the orchestral recordings. No surprise there.

Jane Monheit - The Very Best of Jane Monheit

Love Me or Leave Me

Similar performance to the track above. The harshness wasn't in this song, probably because the compilation includes this track from Monheit's Sony Classical album versus selections from her previous independent label recordings. There is a lightness and sweetness that remains here; often, lower-level players are overwhelmed by the accompanying instruments as they reach their crescendoes. The Paganini handles the ensemble properly.

Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction

Sweet Child O' Mine

This was an interesting experiment. I expected that this old recording would have sounded pretty shabby on such a high end system, but the opposite was true. There was no harshness or presence of any kind of poor recording - the guitars were placed appropriately far apart and Axl Rose's voice was perfectly pitched and musically screechy as expected. I'm most familiar with this track out of all of the test suite, and the Paganini didn't fail to disappoint. So the sound of the guitars, drums, and Axl was dead on as could be, with absolutely no unpleasant sound. We then played it again on the older dCS Elgar-based system, using a tube amp and Neeper Perfection One speakers. The guitars were more ringing, as appropriate for Marshall amps, but Axl's voice lost a bit of body and the sound didn't have as much slam as in the solid-state system.

You can hear Slash's fingers on the guitar strings in the opening part, which I've never heard before and couldn't hear again on the Arcam CD36. More on that later.

... and a few tracks from the dealer's disc, Private Investigations: The Very Best of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler. There is a really nice live track with a harp that sounds very ethereal - also, the acoustic guitar is excellent, if overly intimate in recording. I'll definitely be looking for a copy of this or other Knopfler/Dire Straits recordings in the near future.

Where to go from here? I went to another store and auditioned the Arcam CD36 again, for old time's sake. I was told the previous speakers that I disliked were Veritas - I'll make sure to avoid those in the future. It was set up on a Bryston amp and PSB Synchrony Two speakers. I played selections from The Very Best of The Platters, The Very Best of Jane Monheit, and Appetite for Destruction.

Overall, the presentation was excellent, but I noticed that there was a bit more hardness in Monheit's recording. The Platters were excellent as usual (probably a less-demanding recording), with a focus on Tony Williams' voice and a very clear bell tone at the end of Harbor Lights. Sweet Child O' Mine had excellent rhythm and speed, but the instruments were definitely jumbled together and there was less air overall in the playback. Most of the faults can be attributed to the speakers, in my opinion, since I've heard excellent sound from the Arcam CD192 on PSB Platinum bookshelf speakers in the past. Also, the Arcam setup didn't have a dedicated room, so acoustics were definitely an issue for this session. I'll make sure to fix that next time.

Next steps: I'm planning to listen to the Arcam CD36 again with more music, since I've been offered a good price on the player. I've been told that there is no replacement model planned in the near future, as Arcam's new product emphasis is on home entertainment rather than 2-channel audio. Also, I'll probably be listening to the following players next weekend - Rega Saturn, Accuphase DP-75, NAD M5, Bryston CD-1 and possibly the Moon SuperNova or a lower series player.

[aerius]

I went to my local audio shop and had an audition of the dCS Paganini player (transport, DAC, and clock), which is about $50,000. It was hooked up to Audio Research HD220 amps and Sonus faber Elipsa speakers. I had a nice, extended listening session by myself in a properly set up room in a comfy chair.

Which audio shop is this, so I can go visit them sometime?

Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction

Sweet Child O' Mine

This was an interesting experiment. I expected that this old recording would have sounded pretty shabby on such a high end system, but the opposite was true. There was no harshness or presence of any kind of poor recording - the guitars were placed appropriately far apart and Axl Rose's voice was perfectly pitched and musically screechy as expected. I'm most familiar with this track out of all of the test suite, and the Paganini didn't fail to disappoint.

I've done this at my local dealer as well on Audio Aero gear with Quad 57's and Wilson Benesch Discovery's. As you've rightly stated, it's a surprisingly good recording and the guitar tone is damn good. My dealer was like "aww man, you can't do this to Quads" and then a minute later he was like "this is pretty good" and went to crank up the volume.

Also, I'll probably be listening to the following players next weekend - Rega Saturn, Accuphase DP-75, NAD M5, Bryston CD-1 and possibly the Moon SuperNova or a lower series player.

While you're at it, check out the entire Audio Aero lineup as well as the EAR CD Player at My Kind of Music in downtown Toronto.

Anyways, thanks for the excellent impressions, and hopefully your CD player quest works out.

[HiWire]

Thanks, I'll definitely check out the Audio Aero and EAR players downtown. Too bad it's almost impossible to find Esoteric and EMM Labs gear to audition, but it's not like I can afford them, anyway.

With practice, I'm getting better at both choosing audition music and paying attention to the right details (and not forgetting to enjoy the music). If I could, I'd get a sideline job as an audio reviewer, if possible. Frankly, I'm so tired of DAC-DAC-DAC, iPod-iPod-iPod, porta-amp-porta-amp-porta-amp over at Head-Fi. I have nothing against DACs, iPods, or portable amps, but I love music more and I also like writing about it - I have a lot of doubt about the hyped gadgets that are being pushed on newbs out there.

I've heard some great players and extremely musical systems in my quest so far. I guess I've been careful enough, since I've never bought a piece of home audio gear at a stereo shop in my life. The closest I ever came was buying a cassette walkman and a portable CD player in a store, both in my teens. I'm still using that CD player as a source for my headphone system. My "speaker system" is a set of Logitech surrounds hooked up to my PC. Eventually, I'll be able to afford a decent amp and speaker set to share my music with friends and family.

[Dusty Chalk]

Those Sonus Fabers are supposed to be pretty good, too. Don't know anything about the amps, but if they are anywhere near on par with Sonus Faber and dCS, then that's a pretty high-falutin' system.

[HiWire]

... that's a pretty high-falutin' system.

Yes, I assume the system cost must be near $100,000. I'd also love to hear the Sonus Faber Amati anniversario and the Cremona M. I don't know much about the Audio Research amps, either, but they seem to be doing a decent job.

I'll probably spend more time listening to the Focal JMlab's 1037 Be speakers next time. I also listened to them with tracks from the Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits CD through the older dCS player.

The Audio Aero Prestige converts DSD to PCM, which I don't like. dCS uses a different implementation in their current Ring DAC players that preserves DSD; even the $169 Oppo players can output DSD through HDMI 1.2a. But I'll definitely give the players a listen - I prefer listening over theory.

[deepak]

Yes, I assume the system cost must be near $100,000. I'd also love to hear the Sonus Faber Amati anniversario and the Cremona M. I don't know much about the Audio Research amps, either, but they seem to be doing a decent job.

I'll probably spend more time listening to the Focal JMlab's 1037 Be speakers next time. I also listened to them with tracks from the Mark Knopfler/Dire Straits CD through the older dCS player.

The Audio Aero Prestige converts DSD to PCM, which I don't like. dCS uses a different implementation in their current Ring DAC players that preserves DSD; even the $169 Oppo players can output DSD through HDMI 1.2a. But I'll definitely give the players a listen - I prefer listening over theory.

The 1037Be is ok at playing back music, nothing much else going for it really. But it can't capture the emotion of a good performance.

[HiWire]

True, they didn't quite have the sound that I love, whatever that is. The salesman owns a pair of Utopias. The Sonus Fabers were much closer... which is why I'm interested in their thinner towers. I wasn't impressed by the PSB Synchrony Two speakers which I heard in the second store, but that's only logical considering where I came from.

[Dusty Chalk]

The Audio Aero Prestige converts DSD to PCM, which I don't like. dCS uses a different implementation in their current Ring DAC players that preserves DSD; even the $169 Oppo players can output DSD through HDMI 1.2a. But I'll definitely give the players a listen - I prefer listening over theory.

Good call -- I am of the same mind: in theory, I remain skeptical, but if listening proves the point, then theory be damned.

[spritzer]

There is a lot more experience in PCM decoding compared to DSD so PCM is a lot more advanced even though DSD is technically "better". If DSD won't die a quiet death then some real progress could made in the next 10 years.

[milkpowder]

Audio Aero thinks that their implementation of the DSD-PCM process sounds better than preserving DSD. it's hardly unique among high end players.

Don't APL Hi Fi also do DSD-PCM than some ridiculously fancy upsampling?

How much do the SF Elipsas cost? They look a lot like the Strads w/o the fancy gloss.

The 1037Be is ok at playing back music, nothing much else going for it really. But it can't capture the emotion of a good performance.

The 1027Be is also fairly underwhelming, despite its good reviews.

[deepak]

The 1027Be is also fairly underwhelming, despite its good reviews.

How would you describe the 1027Be? The 37 was just bleh, typical audiophile type sound.

[milkpowder]

Audiophile-type sound, but not quite resolving enough for me personally. Didn't quite have the magic that one other speaker around the same price range I heard had (ProAc D38). To me, JMLabs spent too much money on the looks and not enough on the sound. It looks too nice for a $5k loudspeaker The finish is immaculate. I auditioned the 1027Be simply because of the advertisement on the back cover of Stereophile and because my dad was looking for a stereo rig:D

What I really want to know is how the 1037Be stacks up to the Diva Utopia Be. My dad bought a pair of Divas around a year ago, way before the 1037Be were introduced. Did you get a chance to compare the two?

[spritzer]

Don't APL Hi Fi also do DSD-PCM than some ridiculously fancy upsampling?

Yup, every thing is converted to PCM and fed through a 211kHz/32bit upsampler and then into the array of 32bit dacs. My player should be at APL in the morning for its 32bit update.

[deepak]

Audiophile-type sound, but not quite resolving enough for me personally. Didn't quite have the magic that one other speaker around the same price range I heard had (ProAc D38). To me, JMLabs spent too much money on the looks and not enough on the sound. It looks too nice for a $5k loudspeaker The finish is immaculate. I auditioned the 1027Be simply because of the advertisement on the back cover of Stereophile and because my dad was looking for a stereo rig:D

What I really want to know is how the 1037Be stacks up to the Diva Utopia Be. My dad bought a pair of Divas around a year ago, way before the 1037Be were introduced. Looks like we didn't miss out on much...

I suppose still try and hear them. But I'm pretty picky when it comes to dropping ten large or so

They just sounded like generic audiophile speakers type A, where everything is played back in that cold lifeless manner. I remember putting on Tristania's newest CD (pretty compressed) and going, what the fruit They weren't even particularly detailed. But they sounded "ok" with generic audiophile test discs and stuff, which is what the dealer was trying to woo me with.

But I agree they look gorgeous (everything JMLabs does).

[milkpowder]

Uninspiring and just a tad lifeless is how I'd describe the 1027be. I listened for about half an hour and just thought to myself... quit wasting time and move on. Even something like the similarly priced Aerial Acoustics Model 7B sounded more involving. The sources were a Chord Blu/DAC64 and Esoteric X-03SE. Amps were a ~300W/ch Chord integrated. Maybe there was something wrong with the set up (or my ears on that particular day)? I find it quite hard to believe that an excellent speaker company such as JMLabs with its impressive sounding Utopia Be flagship lineup could make a speakers which don't at least share some of the magic. Whatever the reason, the 1027 aren't by any means repulsive or offensive-sounding. They're very smooth and have decent bass. It's a shame the 1037 isn't much of a change. I think JMLabs decided to throw in the 1037 because of the massive price gap between the 1027 and the Utopia Be range. I can't imagine the 1037 costing JMLabs a lot to develop either...

Yup, every thing is converted to PCM and fed through a 211kHz/32bit upsampler and then into the array of 32bit dacs. My player should be at APL in the morning for its 32bit update.

Wow... You're getting an APL too? My dream player is the 3.0 even though I haven't even heard it before. If its better than a X-01 Limited or EMM Labs stack, then it must be ridiculously good.

[HiWire]

I didn't hear the Utopia, it was behind the Sonus Fabers. The Elipsa was definitely impressive, though. Bold, lush, and very true to the recording, as far as I could tell.

The 1037 Be was ok, but I didn't spend a lot of time with them. I was invited into someone else's listening session, so I just heard one Mark Knopfler track on the speakers. It sounded a bit bright and "hot," but that might have been the tube amp or the recording. The Neepers are nice, but they wouldn't be able to do enough bass by themselves.

[milkpowder]

Some say Be-tweeter equipped JMLabs are bright, but that is really not the case with the Divas sitting in the living room. I think the room acoustics have a lot to do with the final sound. Is the tweeter grille of the 1037 removable? Do you remember if the grille was on or not? It makes quite a big difference on the sound.

[deepak]

Some say Be-tweeter equipped JMLabs are bright, but that is really not the case with the Divas sitting in the living room. I think the room acoustics have a lot to do with the final sound. Is the tweeter grille of the 1037 removable? Do you remember if the grille was on or not? It makes quite a big difference on the sound.

When I heard them there were no grill covers on any of the drivers, so I'm not sure if there is normally a grill cover for the tweeter or not.

I agree room acoustics have a huge impact to with the final sound. I'm definitely going golden ratio 16/26/10 for my room (getting the ceilings that height will be the hardest part, if the room is on the ground floor).

[spritzer]

Wow... You're getting an APL too? My dream player is the 3.0 even though I haven't even heard it before. If its better than a X-01 Limited or EMM Labs stack, then it must be ridiculously good.

I'm not getting a NWO but a fully upgraded 3910. It will be fine in my headphone setup but I'll get an NWO when I switch to speakers.

[spritzer]

did you get the digital inputs, spritzer?

The player was originally modded with a digital input as well as XLR and RCA outputs, both available with the flick of a switch.

[milkpowder]

I have to say the new dCS range look absolutely incredible. Does the Paganini transport also use a VRDS mech (nevermind which one:p)? It should be pretty easy to tell just by looking at "tray".

If the Puccini sounds anything like the P8i (which it should, and better)... The P8i was breathtakingly good. The only thing specific I remember about it was how insanely resolving it sounded.

[HiWire]

No, only the Scarlatti uses an Esoteric transport. I think the Paganini might use a Sony or Phillips transport. The Paganini was exceptionally resolving, but also forgiving on Guns N' Roses (a CD mastered in the very early '90s, most likely).

[spritzer]

nice. digital inputs on a CD player are really handy.

They are a necessity in todays world with all these digital sources.

[Mastergill]

The $50,000 question is: can this be done in a less expensive way in a single box?

Yeah maybe. I would check the pro dCS 955 at 3,800 GBP.

Dropping $50k for a source is just nut IMO. Beware of the overpriced audiophool source market. The $50k question is: Do you need the fancy boxes to impress your friends?

[HiWire]

No, none of my friends are audiophiles. The boxes are for my headphone use alone, since I don't have a speaker system at all. Unfortunately, I don't even have a working headphone system anymore. Something quit on me yesterday - either the amp or the source. So I'll have to get that resolved before I purchase any new sources. What a pain.