Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

Ayre C-5xe universal disc player

Wes Phillips Jul 24, 2005 First Published: Jul 24, 2005

You'd think I'd be used to Charlie">http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/610">Charlie Hansen by now. After all, I've been speaking to Ayre Acoustics' renaissance man for a decade, having first encountered him when I was trying to arrange the review of Ayre's 100Wpc V-3 power amplifier that was published in the August">http://www.stereophile.com/amplificationreviews/412">August 1996 Stereophile (Vol.19 No.8). I thought the V-3 was impressive.

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

Linn Unidisk SC universal disc player

Art Dudley Jun 12, 2005 First Published: Jun 12, 2005

Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people.—an old SLA slogan

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

McCormack Audio UDP-1 universal disc player

Kalman Rubinson Jan 18, 2005 First Published: Jan 18, 2005

The modification of disc players is a hot topic on the various audio newsgroups, where the discussion includes do-it-yourself options and the recommendations of commercial modifiers. These range from tweak guys to such serious engineering firms as EMM Labs and everything in between. Not surprisingly, the objects of these endeavors are usually players made by one of the electronic behemoths: Sony, Philips, Technics, Toshiba, etc. In fact, it was just such a discussion that precipitated John Atkinson's purchase of and recent">http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/904simaudio/index1.html… comments on a stock Toshiba 3950 player, a popular target of modifiers.

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews Digital Processor Reviews

dCS Verdi La Scala CD/SACD transport & Delius D/A converter

Art Dudley Jan 18, 2005 First Published: Jan 18, 2005

Giuseppe Verdi gave the world more than two dozen operas, some good sacred music, and one string quartet. He also provided the young Arturo Toscanini with one of his first big breaks—conducting the singing of "Va pensiero" at his burial procession—and gave the flagship consumer product from England's dCS Ltd. its name. That the latter two gestures were posthumous and unwitting does nothing to diminish their poetry.

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

Sony SCD-C333ES SACD/CD player

Jonathan Scull Oct 10, 2004 First Published: Apr 01, 2001

John Atkinson flapped his bushy eyebrows at me and smiled slyly. "Hey, J-10, why don't you do the Sony SCD-C333ES SACD carousel player for April?" Usually, when JA gets that look on his face, I seek shelter. The phone bripped suddenly in my office, but I knew it was too late. "Oooo-kay..." I smiled back, thinking of Stereophile's recent covers and the hubbub, bub, thick as it comes, that they'd produced. (See "Letters" in the February and March issues.)

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

California Audio Labs CL-20 DVD-V/CD player

Kalman Rubinson Aug 08, 2004 First Published: Jan 01, 1998

Recently, we've seen the digital "horsepower" race accelerate with the arrival of digital sources and devices with 24-bit and 96kHz sampling capability. Much of this has been spurred by the 24/96 labels emblazoned on the newer DVD players—and, within the purer confines of the audio community, by high-end DACs with this same ability. Indeed, it's possible that the dCS">http://www.stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/259">dCS Elgar DAC, near and dear to John Atkinson's heart and a perennial Class A selection in Stereophile's "Recommended Components," performs so well with standard 16-bit/44.1kHz sources because its wider digital bandwidth permits greater linearity within the more restricted range of regular CDs.

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

Sony SCD-XA9000ES SACD player

John Atkinson Dec 21, 2003 First Published: Dec 01, 2003

Sony's first flagship Super Audio CD player was the two-channel SCD-1, reviewed">http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?180">reviewed by Jonathan Scull in November 1999. (The $5000 SCD-1 had balanced outputs; the cosmetically different but otherwise identical $3500 SCD-777ES had unbalanced outputs and was reviewed">http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?346">reviewed by Chip Stern in April 2001.) Sony's second-generation flagship player, the $3000 SCD-XA777ES, was reviewed">http://www.stereophile.com/showarchives.cgi?491">reviewed by Kalman Rubinson in January 2002, and added multichannel capability with channel-level adjustment and bass management. Sony's third-generation flagship is the SCD-XA9000ES, also priced at $3000, which adds time-delay adjustment for its multichannel analog outputs and is presented in a smart new styling that Sony calls "Silver Cascade." The disc drawer and the most frequently used controls are on the angled top half of the brushed-aluminum front panel; in the lower half are the display, the headphone jack and its volume control, and the multifunction control knob.

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

Krell SACD Standard multichannel SACD player

Michael Fremer Dec 21, 2003 First Published: Dec 01, 2003

With the exception of dCS and Accuphase, you don't see anyone jumping on the bandwagon of $15,000-plus SACD players—and for good reason. Despite enthusiasm for the format within the relatively small audiophile community, high-resolution audio isn't exactly making waves on the front pages—or even the back pages—of the mainstream news media. And while ABKCO Records has sold millions of Rolling Stones hybrid SACD/CDs, and Sony is looking to repeat that phenomenon with the recent Dylan hybrids, what's being sold in both cases are CDs, not SACDs. The higher-resolution layer is simply going along for the ride.

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

Linn Unidisk 1.1 universal disc player

Kalman Rubinson Dec 21, 2003 First Published: Dec 01, 2003

The manufacture and marketing of so-called "universal" digital disc players should have been a no-brainer right from the start. I recall the first demo of SACD I attended, when both SACD and DVD-Audio were little more than promises and contentions. That prototype Philips player consisted of several cubic feet of hardware controlled by a computer, even though mockups of more marketable SACD players were arrayed around the room. After the demo, I asked one of the Philips engineers if it were possible to make a player that could handle CD, SACD, and DVD-A. His reply: "Sure, if they let me do it."

Hi-Rez Disc Player/Transport Reviews

Esoteric DV-50 universal player

Paul Bolin Aug 24, 2003 First Published: Aug 24, 2003

Ever since the introduction of high-resolution digital formats, audiophiles have been waiting for the smoke from the format wars to settle. What would the winning software be? DVD-Audio? DVD-Video? SACD? 24 bits at 96kHz or 192kHz? As new formats struggled to establish themselves, upconverting technology became commonplace for the playback of the familiar 16-bit/44.1kHz "Red Book" CD format. What to do? Invest large amounts of cash in a system that played "Red Book" (maybe with upconverting, but if so, by how much?) and one other format, and hope that you've bet right? And what about movies on them new-fangled DVDs, Tex?