Justin & Jerry's Hifi Blog

[Toby]

That cyrus looks like it has some big feet underneath it.

[DSJR]

Main trouble with Cyrus is that WTF love it so much...

[Ali Tait]

Perhaps because it's quite good?

[jandl100]

That cyrus looks like it has some big feet underneath it.

Ah yes, my Chinese wooden anti-resonance supports.



I'm rather fond of them - a kind Wigwamer included them when he returned some hifi kit that I had loaned him.

Very effective under some hifi equipment.
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And yes, Dave, it is a tad offputting that WTF like Cyrus kit - that quite pre-disposed me to dislike it. Luckily I have managed to overcome my prejudice and appreciate what is rather a fine sounding piece of equipment.

[Toby]

Nice feet

[jandl100]

The Cyrus CD8X was nice, but has been moved on. It was excellent but would better suit a system that was biased a bit too heavily into the bass, or for folk that like their moozik a bit on the light & breezy side. So it goes.

Needless to say there is a new kid on the block.
A bit of a shock this.
Trawling around on some web links associated with the 'Lampizator' guy whose review did a demolition job on my excellent MHZS CD88 valve-staged player (see post a page or two back - post #386, page 39) but who nonetheless gave it a 10/10 score for sound quality. Strange that. But regardless of what shenanigans go on inside, it is a great sounding player!

Anyway, where was I? ... ah, yes ... I came across his review of a CD player with the rare TDA1549 chip that sent him totally bonkers with adulation.
Here's the review http://lampizator.eu/LAMPIZATOR/REFE...lipsCD753.html
To quote his summary paragraph .... you'll have to forgive the English patois, I suspect English is not his first language! ...."THIS IS A KILLER PLAYER BY ALL MEANS AND WITHOUT THE RESERVATION "for such a cheap and ugly player.".
Cover it with a rug and play it to the audiophiles and they will say Wadia 860. Or Opera Droplet5."

Well, what to do? I had a quick look on eBay and voila! - one was on auction which I promptly snaffled. For the princely sum of £27 and 62 pence plus a tenner postage.
Ridiculous. It's this little beastie.

Yep, a cheap'n'nasty Philips CD753 bottom of the range item that most of us wouldn't even bother to sneer at!

Only got it yesterday, so full report to come. And I've not tried any large scale music on it. But on small-medium scale tunes it truly excels. Gen-u-ine no holds barred audiophile quality, folks. I've heard (and owned) multi-£k players that don't sound this good.
Excellent image focus, superb low level resolution. Such delicacy - such refinement. Such musical involvement!

Whodathawtit?

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TEN Audio do a modded valved-output-stage Marantz cdp with the magic TDA1549 chip in it. One is currently on its way Jerry-ward.

... as is an Audiolab 8200CD player.

Boxswapping is such fun!

[MartinT]

Nice find, Jerry. I'd never heard of the TDA1549 chip, sounds like it's a bit of a sleeper to me.

[Ali Tait]

Watch the prices go through the roof now!

[jandl100]

TEN Audio do a modded valved-output-stage Marantz cdp with the magic TDA1549 chip in it. One is currently on its way Jerry-ward.

... as is an Audiolab 8200CD player.

The TEN Audio modded Marantz CD48 has arrived. I tried to pop the lid so you curious folks can have a gander at the valve output stage mod, but I managed to strip a screw head. ... would have been nice to get in there and see what valve is used as well. Ah well, it'll have to wait til I can be bothered to gently drill the screw out.

Anyhoo - it sounds fab! ... which is what matters.

The Audiolab 8200CD has also landed at Jerry Towers.

Marantz cdp top left, Audiolab top right, MF A1 FBP pre bottom right, Parasound Halo A21 bottom left ....



My, what an interesting contrast.

The Audiolab wins for large scale, dynamic music. The Marantz slaughters the Audiolab for smaller scale, more intimate stuff.

Played Beethoven's string quartet Opus 59 numero 1. Performed by the Orford string quartet on Delos - from my fave set of Ludwig's quartets.

The 8200CD gave quite a close-up tonality - quite brightly lit, but with good tonal rez - easy to hear differences between violins and viola. Cello is nicely resonant but quite dry.
Imaging very good - 4 players clearly delineated in their own spaces. Perhaps a bit too much so ... didn't quite sound like a group playing in a venue - but not too far off.

Played the 1st movement, then thought I'd try the valved-Marantz in comparison.
Hmmm ... the imaging/focus is def less precise with the Marantz, and the spooky clarity of the 8200CD is reduced.
But .... Whoops!
... about 1m20s in, the cello digs in with a Rrrrroomph that was pretty much AWOL with the Audiolab. I went back to the 8200CD to check my initial impressions - yup, the effect simply wasn't there! The modded/valved Marantz has got bucketfuls more dynamic expression - makes the 8200CD sound pretty bland, tbh. Folks might recognise this kind of distinction from valve vs solidstate comparisons. I think valves excel at this sort of dynamic expression - and the Marantz has had a valve output stage added. I gave up on the Audiolab at that point and listened to the rest of the quartet on the Marantz!

I hadn't heard that effect on larger scale works or on rock-type music where the Audiolab is superb. Not really sure what is going on here - but the Marantz is much more musically communicative than the Audiolab in the string quartet.
The Audiolab isn't 'bad'. I quite happily listened to the entire 1st mvt of the string quartet. It's only on the repeat with the Marantz that I thought "Whoa - where did that come from?!". And the whole performance was more interesting, tbh. I went back to the Audiolab and confirmed the feeling.

Anyhoo - later on with Bruckner's massively stupendous 3rd symphony on the Audiolab. (Herbert Kegel captured live with the Leipzig Gewandhaus in 1986) ...
Oh, wow - boy, can the Audiolab do dynamics! Haha. Wonderful - those soaring brass fanfares, wunderbah!
The filigre delicacy of the violins en-masse in the 1st movement. Not bright, not etched, simply beautiful. Sigh ... one of those moments!
The blatt of the brass sections - once again not too bright, but nicely raspy.
The woodwinds - ah, Bruckner and his isolated woodwind solos emerging from a massive orchestral crescendo - what lovely tonal colouring, what delicacy ... Cor ...
Tympani rolls? - deep and explicit.
And the whole orchestra subtley embedded in the hall acoustic. Lovely.

Well, it was just great. Really. I didn't bother comparing with the Marantz after that - it might have been better, it would surely have been different - but who needs it?
Audiolab? - job done.

I'll be hooking my MHZS CD88 back up soon - that will be interesting.

[MartinT]

How do you find the Parasound, Jerry? It has a massive reputation in the USA. John Curl design, I think?