Safar
New Member
Finally, 816 is at home 
Paradigms for my first Hi Fi setup ??
- Thread starter Safar
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milestoneseeker
Active Member
Awesome, which amps? Pics please.
Safar
New Member
FinallY managed to get a brand new pair @ same price offered for the demo pair.
Amp will be Nad 356 bee. Wil post the pics once I receive the amp and set it up with the French beauties
Safar
New Member
Phase 1 of Audio quest is over and now will start preparation for Phase 2.
I would need a decent source to match with NAD and Focals. Most of my music is in digital form, so a DAC is preffered over a good CDP. With NAD, I can add the DAC module to the MDC compartment @ price of approx 250 USD. But to complete the setup, a good iPad dock also might be required, which should cost in the range of 300 USD. There comes the questions, Is there a Dock in market with a good DAC builtin? Bcoz I do not want to connect laptop all the times to listen music.
I have very less collection of CDs, however it will be unfair to leave a stereo setup without a decent CDP. I will consider CD 5004 or C 515 during new year
I would need a decent source to match with NAD and Focals. Most of my music is in digital form, so a DAC is preffered over a good CDP. With NAD, I can add the DAC module to the MDC compartment @ price of approx 250 USD. But to complete the setup, a good iPad dock also might be required, which should cost in the range of 300 USD. There comes the questions, Is there a Dock in market with a good DAC builtin? Bcoz I do not want to connect laptop all the times to listen music.
I have very less collection of CDs, however it will be unfair to leave a stereo setup without a decent CDP. I will consider CD 5004 or C 515 during new year
Safar
New Member
But to complete the setup, a good iPad dock also might be required, which should cost in the range of 300 USD. There comes the questions, Is there a Dock in market with a good DAC builtin?
Found two best solutions, Pure i20 Dock for around 100 USD and Arcam drDock for 300 USD. Most likely to get an ARCAM from UK through a friend.
Arcam drDock review from the experts at whathifi.com
Found two best solutions, Pure i20 Dock for around 100 USD and Arcam drDock for 300 USD. Most likely to get an ARCAM from UK through a friend.
Arcam drDock review from the experts at whathifi.com
Jams4znik03
Active Member
Absolutely! For their (relatively) diminutive size, they produce a prodigious amount of sound (and bass). I actually like them, but liked Paradigm better. KEF's look damn good (appearence wise) in my opinion. Very chic looking
+1..i found KEF a shade low in the bass dept especially with "not so bass heavy" numbers. Monitor 7s are also doing a great job..can see the sound opening up post the 1 month burning in.. ofcourse the amp specs may also have settled down (PM6004)
Safar
New Member
As My thoughts and research progress, ideas are changing. Now, why not looking for a good CDP with USB port that support direct digital, which bypasses the consumer grade DAC of iPAD ? I see Marantz CD 6004 has this, so that I can connect IPAD to the front USB and use the DAC of CD 6004 for better quality music reproduction. Any user experiences to share / other options to consider (Yamaha CD -s700 could be, but not heard them yet) ?
milestoneseeker
Active Member
Just demo the quality of the USB implementation as often it wouldn't be as good as the core CDP implementation. I have not heard the CDP6004's USB implementation so can't comment on how good it actually sounds.
Safar
New Member
Safar
New Member
milestoneseeker
Active Member
Very nice Now time to upgrade the TV.
Now time to upgrade the TV.Safar
New Member
Very nice
32" Sony looks like red faced between the well built Focals. But since my visual quest is no where near the audio quest, an upgrade can wait . By the way, my source hunt is still on.NAD and Focal turns out to be an excellent combination, the sound stage and expression it generates even at lower volumes is very impressive. I also am quite impressed that way NAD built its amps, Very sturdy. Speakers are still opening up, all these days I was driving it through MP input. Excited to see what I will be hearing with a real source.
milestoneseeker
Active Member
So the Arcam dock wouldn't be your primary source dock? If not, I would recommend a good blu-ray player (Sony S390) + a V GOOD DAC (list is too long) Not recommending a stand alone CDP as one should have BDP capabilities in one's set-up, irrespective of one's video quest
Not recommending a stand alone CDP as one should have BDP capabilities in one's set-up, irrespective of one's video quest Safar
New Member
So the Arcam dock wouldn't be your primary source dock? If not, I would recommend a good blu-ray player (Sony S390) + a V GOOD DAC (list is too long)
Arcam dock will stay as my primary source if iTunes provides lose less file formats for the songs I purchase. Otherwise if I have to buy CDs and convert them to lose less formats to be played via the dock, then I prefer the normal CDP route instead. Your suggestion is definitely worth considering.
milestoneseeker
Active Member
So the assumption is that iTunes store will provide you with ALL of your music? I think that may be too rigid a route. And when you connect through the dock, it is the dock's DAC (does it have one?) which is used? I ask so as I have not heard of rave reviews of iPod/iPhone's DAC.
Safar
New Member
Arcam drDock has a its own DAC, which bypasses the consumer grade DAC in iPad. This one got good reviews for its HiFi grade Builtin DAC. There is also one coaxial output if further sound quality improvement is required; which I am not sure of.
Safar
New Member
It was a sudden upgrade !! Focal & NAD was doing the beautifully, but they were also clearly showing me the details and image I am missing with a bad source. By the way, Focal is not highly transparent but will make you realize the depth you are missing. I ended up with Micromega MyDAC being added to the chain along with a CCK to the iPAD (My main source). I will write my listening experience after some critical listening.
LIZARDKING
New Member
Hi! I have Paradigm Studio 10, ADP390, and SA ADP for sale and they are all in excellent condition. I did not know where to put this post so I put it here for sale!
Thank You!
Thank You!
sud98
Well-Known Member
Put it in the for sale by owner section, after putting in pictures, price and other details useful to the sale.
For excellent sound that won't break the bank, the 5 Star Award Winning Wharfedale Diamond 12.1 Bookshelf Speakers is the one to consider!
