4 CDP's

[anm]

great looking setup. Seems to have come a long way since we first saw it.

 

[ajay124]

great looking set up. Seems to have come a long way since we first saw it.

Yes, it has. I am not a serial up-grader and there are very few changes I can visualise in the system, in the future. Perhaps an Accuphase E450 may replace the Bryston pre-power, if I ever come across a lightly used and affordable unit. But I am very happy with the Bryston's, so there is no hurry. I am willing to wait for a year or two.

prem
Apart from an Accuphase I have not seriously considered any other amp for a potential upgrade, but I will check out the Luxman's.

 

[Dr.Bass]

Congratulations Ajay.
Western Classical on an Esoteric CDP is something. I am yet to hear any other CDP do that thing so well. The only other player which superior is Vinyl. Unfortunately the difference between CDP (even Esoteric) and a good Vinyl is huge. Once you hear it you will have tough time not adding a Vinyl setup + collection, so better stay away and be happy

 

[cricfansd]

@Ajay: Saw your question about Waterlily Accoustics. I almost have their entire collection other than Indian Architexture as it is out of stock for very long time. The recording is truly great for most titles. I don't buy from their online site as a CA resident it is not allowed. But I have found some great deals from musicdirect website, though no luck with the above mentioned title so far.

 

[ajay124]

Congratulations Ajay.
Western Classical on an Esoteric CDP is something. I am yet to hear any other CDP do that thing so well. The only other player which superior is Vinyl. Unfortunately the difference between CDP (even Esoteric) and a good Vinyl is huge. Once you hear it you will have tough time not adding a Vinyl setup + collection, so better stay away and be happy

Thank You Dr. Bass. Congratulations for having sold your excellent equipment. I am sure the buyers are going to be very happy. And I look forward to reading about your new system. I am certain you will not be able to remain 'idle' very long

The major reason for not entering into vinyl territory is that out of the 400+ western classical albums I have, possibly 350 would not be available on vinyl.

Also the 'look' is very essential for me. I prefer a clean, minimalist, harmonious look. Esoteric SA 10 and Bryston 4B SST have a similar size and colour. The pre amp is less high, but blends nicely with the rest of the system. The audio rack has the same piano black finish as the Vienna Acoustics. The glossy black highlights the extruded aluminium of the source and amplifiers. Even the SB Touch and the WD HDD is glossy black! No cables visible except the speaker cables.

Adding more hardware and software would add more clutter to the room. I would not buy any hardware whose colour and dimensions did not match those of the rest of the components. These are aesthetic reasons rather than audiophile reasons. If Esoteric SA10 had been the wrong colour or size, then I would have looked for some other CDP

 

[ajay124]

Early morning. Listening to Raga Malkauns performed by Bismillah Khan. Pure and full of peace and beauty. Yesterday morning I had played Raga Mian Ki Malhar performed by Bhimsen Joshi. Perhaps hindustani classical sounds better on the Esoteric than any other genre. Amazingly clean, real and intimate.

The cd player has two digital filters. According to the manual the 'Wide' setting provides a slow roll off characteristic and a smooth immersive sound. The 'Narrow' setting has a sharp roll off characteristic providing a deep and well defined sound. After a brief audition of both, my wife and I agreed that 'Wide' was better. The 'Normal' mode outputs sound processed through a DSD processor. The 'Direct' mode outputs signal without running it through the processor. Every CD we played during our first audition sounded better with the 'Direct' mode. I doubt if I will ever use the DSD processor. Which justifies my decision to buy a minimalist model of Esoteric with no extra bells and whistles. The 'Dimmer' option dims the display in three stages down to zero. I used to do it with the CD 192 and I do the same with the SA10. Completely turn of the display for a cleaner, quiter sound. The playback area offers the option of two channel and multi channel sound for SACD and I set it to two channel sound. Till now SACD playback has given mixed results. One SACD box set of Beethoven's symphonies at best sounds as good as well recorded red book CD. But I have a couple of Shostokovich CD's performed by Valery Gergiev and London Symphony Orchestra which have truly electrifying sound.

 

[jls001]

@ajay:
Water Lily CDs are available in Rhythm House. I picked up all 6 available titles last Sun. Please note these are CDs, not SACDs. They do not have the SACD versions in stock but perhaps can be ordered from them. Rhythm House imports them directly from Water Lily.

Also in stock were a huge bunch of Naxos western classical records, besides the usual EMIs.
Joshua

 

[ajay124]

Joshua

I did check out the Water Lily CD's with Rhythm House. I was tempted to order the Imrat Khan. I desisted because since getting my new CDP, I have placed orders for close to 10K with Amazon UK. So much for my resolution to stop spending money on HI FI and music for the time being :sad:

On the HI FI end it is definitely a full stop. My cup of bliss is full. I can live with this set up forever. On the music front I have again built up a big wishlist, with more CD's being added everytime I open Amazon UK/US.

I suppose your eagle must have landed by now. So when do we get to hear about it

How did you find the Water Lily CD's packaging and recording? It should be very good as the pricing is a little on the higher side.

 

[ajay124]

@ajay124,
Pleasure reading your posts about the Esoteric. Enjoy the reference to single malt even more:beer: I am more of an Islay malt enthusiast - Lagavulin rocks my boat so does Laphroaig. Been enjoying Caol Ila lately as well as some 12 yr old Bowmore. Njoy - I think music (classic jazz in my case) and single malt complement each other as well as a Reisling and mahi-mahi(at least to my palate). If it comes to red I prefer a good Chianti Classico like the Ruffino Chianti Classico 2005 that I used to buy by the case at Costco for $25 a bottle.
Cheers,
Sid

sidvee

Since single malts have crept into our CDP thread, I thought I would copy/paste some stuff I had earlier posted in an interesting thread in the General Lounge.

More about the Islay Malts:

Amateur Islay enthusiasts (from low exposure regions like India) freely use words like peaty,smoky,phenolic,medicinal. We form half baked notions about single malts but have little background knowledge about the terms we use. So I searched for some basic information on the internet

Peat is decomposed vegetal matter found in the bogs and moors of Scotland. It has high water content because it grows in wetlands. And a high carbon content because decomposition occurs in the absence of oxygen, trapping the CO2 inside. Before being used as fuel Peat needs to be dried. It is then used for firing the stills and drying the malted barley. This traditional process is still being followed in the Islay region. Ardbeg, Lagavulin, Laphroaig are the most 'traditional' distilleries. Using peat in the malting process is what gives Islay pure malts their distinct 'smoky' flavour. Smoke from the burning peat releases phenolic compounds which changes the aromatic profile of the whisky. Phenolic content would depend on the amount of peat burnt, the duration of the firing and the water content of the barley. The measure of Phenolic content is PPM - Parts Per Million.

Most distilleries in the Highland and Speyside region use modern 'industrial' methods for firing the stills and malting the barley. 'Non-peated' Speyside malts have a PPM of less than 5. Heavily peated Laphroaig, Ardbeg, Lagavulin have a PPM of over 30. PPM also depends upon the number of years the whisky has been matured. Incidentally 'phenols' are medically listed as 'poisons'. The percentage of phenols in Islay's is very small. I, for one, will not desist because of the 'poison' scare! They say that consuming in large quantities can produce a hangover. I seldom consume more than a couple of drinks, but on the rare occasion when I have 'partied', it is always blended whiskies which have produced a hangover. Never a single malt.

Islay single malts:

Ardbeg
Lagavulin
Bruichladdich
Bunnahabhain
Laphroaig
Bowmore
Cao Ila
Port Ellen
Kilhoman

Some of these pure malts are available in Indian shops. Prices would range from 2500-4000 for a 750 ml bottle, depending on the varying tax structure of different states. But in duty free shops, a 1000 ml bottle may cost between 40-60 dollars. I am not sure about current prices as I have not bought anything recently.

 

[arj]

i somehow cold not get the Single malt taste that well I really have a problem with Laohroig. Cardhu is the one i actually preferred (although it is speyside and not islay)
Among Islay Oban and Ardberg are nice.

But if it comes to it, I prefer a Dewars or a Jack Daniels anyday

 

[sidvee]

Islay pure malts their distinct 'smoky' flavour.

Absolutely my reason that I love Islay malts.

Islay single malts:

Ardbeg
Lagavulin
Bruichladdich
Bunnahabhain
Laphroaig
Bowmore
Cao Ila
Port Ellen
Kilhoman

My favorites:licklips: are Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Bowmore and Caol ila in that order.

Some of these pure malts are available in Indian shops. Prices would range from 2500-4000 for a 750 ml bottle, depending on the varying tax structure of different states. But in duty free shops, a 1000 ml bottle may cost between 40-60 dollars. I am not sure about current prices as I have not bought anything recently.

You guys up north are spoilt, here in Hyderabad all I have managed to find are Glenlivet and Glenfiddich in single malts and the ubiquitous Black label & Chivas in blended betwen 3500 to 4000. The state of wines is even more deplorable. I am missing the Chianti Classico as well as a good chilled Reisling - only find them at 5 stars here at rip off pricing. So my source is duty free pretty much.
All this talk is making me thirsty - but alas it is only tea time. Can't wait for happy hourhyeah:
Cheers,
Sid

 

[Dr.Bass]

I have couple of Water lily acoustics CD. They are okay. Nothing great. Chhanda Dhara is much superior. There are other rare labels that I have heard at Siva's place which are even better.

 

[jls001]

Joshua

I did check out the Water Lily CD's with Rhythm House. I was tempted to order the Imrat Khan. I desisted because since getting my new CDP, I have placed orders for close to 10K with Amazon UK. So much for my resolution to stop spending money on HI FI and music for the time being :sad:

On the HI FI end it is definitely a full stop. My cup of bliss is full. I can live with this set up forever. On the music front I have again built up a big wishlist, with more CD's being added everytime I open Amazon UK/US.

I suppose your eagle must have landed by now. So when do we get to hear about it

How did you find the Water Lily CD's packaging and recording? It should be very good as the pricing is a little on the higher side.

Imrat Khan was the one I didn't pick up. I can handle those fusiony stuff but pure Hindustani or Karnatic is well beyond my current comprehension and appreciation.

Well, as to living forever with the current setup, I would like to speak to you one year from now

Of the Water Lily titles I picked up, I've only opened and listened to Kambhara - Music in Native Tongues. I am underwhelmed by this album, both for the music and the sonics. I have 4 more to go. The other title I opened was A Meeting By The River which I had listened before (and continue to like a lot). But, my current favs are Zakir Hussain's Making Music (EMC) and Tabula Rasa (Water Lily).

No, my eagle has taken a detour. Asked a colleague who's going to Bengaluru on holiday to pick it up for me. ETA - 22 Aug, 1700 IST.
Joshua

 

[ajay124]

Joshua

I am not into fusion music, therefore I only considered the Imrat Khan CD.

During the 80's/90's, I bought albums by John Mclaughlin, Weather Report, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, Jean Luc Ponty, Keith Jarret, Michel Petrucciani, Jean Michel Jarre, Depche Mode, Tangerine Dream. But I did not keep any of this music for long.

There were two Chhanda Dhara CD's at Rhythm House. Bought one of them today.

Rainy Season Ragas-Live Rhythm House | Buy Online Music CD

Also bought a Sony Nad 2 CD set of Bismillah Khan.

Shaan-e-Shehnai Rhythm House | Buy Online Music CD

There is still one two CD set of Chhanda Dhara available if anyone is interested. I did not buy it because it is assorted music featuring various artists.

Festival Of Indian Music-Romantic Ragas Rhythm House | Buy Online Music CD

 

[ajay124]

Joshua

No, my eagle has taken a detour. Asked a colleague who's going to Bengaluru on holiday to pick it up for me. ETA - 22 Aug, 1700 IST.


I am sure the eagle must have landed by now! Awaiting your impressions

 

[jls001]

I am sure the eagle must have landed by now! Awaiting your impressions

Hi Ajay,
It came, but reached partially broken. Which was why I have been so silent about it. At the outset, I will promptly say that the damage is not because of my friend who carried it. It's more to do with the design of the CD mechanism which is rather flimsy for such a costly CD player.

Long story short: doesn't work (yet) as a CD player but the Audioaero Capitole Reference SE has replaced my Audio Research LS2B preamp, and I have also gained a very fine DAC. For now, the Marantz CD6003 is CD transport. The coax output of this CD player goes into coax digital input of the Audioaero, where it is promptly oversampled to 24 bit 192 kHz.

Below are the grissly details
The CD tray is a single piece of aluminium, machined from a billet of aluminium. At the four corners, there are four long screws which hold the CD mechanism to the bottom plate of the cabinet. The tray is dampened by spiral springs as well as foam.

There are four hole on the bottom plate where these screws go in, and when seen from the bottom, they are flush with the bottom surface. Instead of rivetting or screwing down these four long screws, they are soldered to the bottom plate of the cabinet. Each screw is soldered from two sides, remaining sides being unsoldered.

So by design, the heavy, one piece CD mechanism will not be able to withstand larger shocks. And that's what it did - come off due to the shock of transport.

I tried soldering the tray into position but after spending a number of days trying to restore it I realised the tray needs to be screwed down securely. So out come the four long screws, took them to a machining guy, drilled holes on the flat bottoms where it rests on the bottom plate, tapped threads for fitting screws, and now they are securely screwed to the bottom plate.

I need to make the CD mechanism work.

 

[anm]

that's very sad indeed. Losing confidence on shipping!

 

[arj]

So Sorry to hear :sad: . Most Audio componenets are also designed for transportation..cant understand how these guys did not understand this

 

[ajay124]

Joshua

I am really sad to hear about the damage to the CDP. Knowing how much you were looking forward to it, this is really a terrible mishap. I hope you are able to fix it and getting it working soon. Perhaps you can get in touch with the manufacturer and import a new CD tray.

 

[Dr.Bass]

This incident actually shook me bad enough that I may not be able rely on long distance shipping for any CDP. A gem of an equipment broke down simply because of couple of bad shocks during the transit. Where do we go ?