Sony HAP S1. I like this unit

[raghupb]

Prem,
Sounds like Sony is a good bet if you like the sound. It has the option of adding extra storage at USB ports.
If you feel you need insurance, buy an extra HDD and rotate usage.
BTW, this has line out and speaker terminals.
Do you plan to hook this unit to Berning/Rethm combo or drive a pair of desktop speakers?
Cheers,
Raghu

 

[prem]

Hi Raghu

You are looking at the S1. That has a built in amp. I am looking at the Z1. That does not have a built in amp. It will play through the Berning Rethm combo

 

[raghupb]

Oh. I got misled by the thread title.

 

[prem]

Hi Ranjeetrain

I too am pretty sold on the Sony Z1. Am trying to figure out how to get it here. Unfortunately this model has not been released in Asia. The 230v model is available in select Europe markets and Australia. UK pricing is 2000 pounds. Europe is 2000 euros. It's cheapest in Australia. It's 3000 Australian Dollar. That's about INR 135000. In US the 110 v model is USD 2000

 

[arj]

A moment of awakening here.

High end digital is brutally revealing. A bad recording sounds worse on digital than if it were on Analogue.

Majority of the stuff being churned out today is, ummm, mediocre, Sound/Engineering quality wise. Dynamic range is non-existent, clippings will blow your ear off if you listen high SPLs. More than 2/3rd of music produced today is good enough only for DJ quality playback in a bar.

My sincere advice, for that kind of usage please don't even think high end digital. Mid-end is what will serve you the best. In fact, the less revealing the better. Even entry level digital sounds very good given good amplification and musical speakers.

Totally with you there. thats the only reason i still stick on to my Reimyo dac..prefer lower rez compared to some of the stuff out there masquerading as High rez as
the problem is there is very little content you truly like which are truly high rez. and the idea of listening to High rez of what is there just because its that rather than the music you really want to hear seems wrong

the newer folks..eg Adele etc are perhaps what might make music interesting in the future

 

[mpw]

Hi Ranjeetrain

I too am pretty sold on the Sony Z1. Am trying to figure out how to get it here. Unfortunately this model has not been released in Asia. The 230v model is available in select Europe markets and Australia. UK pricing is 2000 pounds. Europe is 2000 euros. It's cheapest in Australia. It's 3000 Australian Dollar. That's about INR 135000. In US the 110 v model is USD 2000

one of the reasons could be because of power supply tolerances in asian countries ( notable exceptions are always there ) but do check out the instruction booklet and do talk to the dealer if possible..

i was thinking about more logical reasons ( leaving aside bias ).... and this could be one ...

regards

 

[mpw]

the newer folks..eg Adele etc are perhaps what might make music interesting in the future

marching to a different drummer .... it will be interesting to see what she does for future releases.. i do like her voice but prefer her older albums compared to her newest..

 

[ranjeetrain]

Totally with you there. thats the only reason i still stick on to my Reimyo dac..prefer lower rez compared to some of the stuff out there masquerading as High rez as
the problem is there is very little content you truly like which are truly high rez. and the idea of listening to High rez of what is there just because its that rather than the music you really want to hear seems wrong

the newer folks..eg Adele etc are perhaps what might make music interesting in the future

Ah, so true. The gear is good for nothing if the content I like is Vishal Dadlani, Benny Dayal kind. I am not going to develop a taste for another genre just so that I can enjoy the spectacular recordings.

Arj, what worries me is that many albums being sold as Remastered High-res are actually reheated food. Don't wanna do names but even some respectable labels. It's getting harder and harder telling cheese apart from chalk.

Further worriesome is the trend of messing with good recording by record labels. Some people reported even Vinyl of ADELE 25 is poor. Now what? What do people do? You have USD 50k worth of gear but only maxed to the hilt numbers to play! Go figure!!

BTW, I like Adele, lack of audiophile approval notwithstanding She is one of the best among the new lot.

 

[regeHA]

Hi Ranjeetrain

I too am pretty sold on the Sony Z1. Am trying to figure out how to get it here. Unfortunately this model has not been released in Asia. The 230v model is available in select Europe markets and Australia. UK pricing is 2000 pounds. Europe is 2000 euros. It's cheapest in Australia. It's 3000 Australian Dollar. That's about INR 135000. In US the 110 v model is USD 2000

For that price there are a lot of options to consider. Better too (IMHO).

The Naim ND5 is only 200 pounds more.

Pioneer has several excellent streamers at the sub 1000 price range.

Consider even the Cambridge Audio CXN series.

Or why not go with Auralic Aries? Its pretty much unbeatable in its price range.

I know I'm not helping, but its also a good thing we are spoilt for choice. A few short years ago the only option was Sonos.

My thinking is get the Aries Mini, but if you are looking to spend more then also consider others apart from the Sony.

 

[prem]

Thanks RegeHA. Problem is have heard none of these players. So it's got be blind. The Sony comes highly recommended by both Dan Modwright and Vinnie Rossi. Further it's built like a tank. Naim is all about upgrading with power supplies. You keep adding better power supplies to keep improving the sound. I do not want to get sucked into that

The Auralic mini could be a cheap nice option. But when you add a linear power supply and a 1tb hard drive it becomes USD 1500. Sony comes built in with all of this and it's power supply looks far superior to the Aries Mini.

Further I have a friend who owns the Aries, not the mini version, though. He has good ears. He feels the Aries is very Hifi sounding. That's something I do not want. He has since switched to a Total dac server. That's expensive but in a completely different league altogether according to him

 

[square_wave]

@ Prem,

Did you friend compare the Aries model and total server with the same dac ? The Aries is just a very optimized linux computer. The resultant sound would be dictated completely by the DAC it is connected to. No ?

 

[prem]

Yes. He uses the La Scala

 

[JayaRaa]

Hi Jayaraa

I was never going to go all out. I don't think I ever mentioned that in any post

What I am trying to ascertain what will a USD 2000 all in one player give me vis a vis a more expensive two box solution

the options you started with were headed in that direction so thought you were going all out

you are wanting tweaking capabilities yet one which comes like plug and play, something difficult to achieve easily. did some reading on the sony model, which people in us are modding, but yet again that is done by somebody else with another added cost factor, so again kind of going against your tweaking by self option + added cost.

will be interesting to see what you get as end result

 

[regeHA]

@ Prem,

Did you friend compare the Aries model and total server with the same dac ? The Aries is just a very optimized linux computer. The resultant sound would be dictated completely by the DAC it is connected to. No ?

There is perceptible difference (even to the lay listener) even between the Aries and the Aries Mini... though both have same OS, interface, etc.

Likewise even with Aurender, the most compact and entry level model the N100 actually sounds better than its siblings that cost 2-3 times more. Even the W20, which actually costs 10 times more did not really demonstrate anything special over the N100. Tested with both USB and ethernet.

I suppose one could argue the price difference was actually for more storage and more output options, but that again raises the question of why no better components for higher end models.

 

[prem]

Hi jayaraa

The recommendations that poured in were high end. Some of the recommendations were from members who are aware that I normally buy only high end stuff. But it's always nice to have another perspective. It opens up your mind to other options.

And no, I am not a tweaker. It's just that my previous amp I kept tweaking it along with Viren since it was a custom made amp. I normally like plug and play stuff.

 

[square_wave]

Yes. He uses the La Scala

Ok...I just had a look at the D1 Integral. It does not have a digital out. Meaning, it cannot be used purely as a server.

d1-integral

I am assuming, we are comparing the Aries VS D1 intergral purely from a digital server perspective using the LA Scala as the common dac for both.

 

[ranjeetrain]

@ Prem,

Did you friend compare the Aries model and total server with the same dac ? The Aries is just a very optimized linux computer. The resultant sound would be dictated completely by the DAC it is connected to. No ?

What you are saying should hold true but there is a catch.

The Aries or the Mini or any other model for that matter, is a "player" device. It reads data stream from whatever source and outputs a well clocked signal. Ideally it shouldn't add subtract anything from the bits. But then again, should it? Who prevents it from modifying the "bits" as per it's interpretation of "better sound"? No one does!

If a "player" just boosts 1-1.5 db around 10k band it will sound different. Low bit rate MP3s may benefit, but perfectly mastered tracks will sound "too detailed/bright" when heard through a resolving system.

 

[prem]

Hi Squarewave

You are looking at d1 integral which has a built in dac. You need to look at d1 server

 

[square_wave]

Hi Squarewave

You are looking at d1 integral which has a built in dac. You need to look at d1 server

ah...ok. got it. thanks

4590 euros...we are taking a different league here.

 

[prem]

Yes Squarewave. It's not a fair comparison.