PDA

View Full Version : I've gone all digital!


technobear
13-03-2011, 13:26
Time for an update from TB Towers :)

http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/images/Hifi50.jpg

http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/images/Hifi51.jpg

http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/images/Hifi53.jpg

http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/images/Hifi52.jpg

http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/images/Hifi54.jpg

Lots more info here: http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/hifi/index.htm http://www.technobear.btinternet.co.uk/emoticons/cafepc.gif
Marco
13-03-2011, 14:05
Nice system, Chris - and even more importantly in some respects, a nice room :)

I'm a big fan of Zu speakers, as I love their very open and expressive way of music making.

I wish you many hours of happy listening! :cool:

Marco.
Ashmore
13-03-2011, 15:41
Saw you were selling off some SB stuff a few weeks ago, wondered what you were up to.

Got to approve of a bit of Lightbulb Sun (Last Chance to Evacuate Earth... and all that - though I preferred Stupid Dream overall).
Tim
13-03-2011, 16:03
Got to approve of a bit of Lightbulb Sun (Last Chance to Evacuate Earth... and all that - though I preferred Stupid Dream overall).
Just what I thought being a big PT fan myself :)
Nice room too - be interested to hear what you think of the 8200CDQ, as that's on my list of things to trial - I am looking to do something very similar to you, CDQ into a power amp and a lot of file based audio too.

Love the Lava lamp too....
John
13-03-2011, 16:17
It was nice meeting you at Scalford and hearing your system
Jonboy
13-03-2011, 17:16
i really enjoyed your Speakers too, we talking about them on the way home and not that expensive in the scheme of things, definately good bang for buck
technobear
13-03-2011, 17:26
Saw you were selling off some SB stuff a few weeks ago, wondered what you were up to.

Got to approve of a bit of Lightbulb Sun (Last Chance to Evacuate Earth... and all that - though I preferred Stupid Dream overall).

I owned the Transporter for 4 years. It was and still is a cracking bit of kit. I recommend it highly.

The Beresford Caiman was the icing on the cake as it were and the Transporter is the best source I know for feeding one.

I wanted to try something different and was attracted to the CDQ by the thread on Pink Fish - as were many others. I like the idea of asynchronous USB. Thus far experience suggests that it is a large step forward over adaptive USB.

I wanted to retain the ability to play CDs when friends bring them over. I found that the Arcam DV135 + Caiman was not awfully good when compared to the Transporter + Caiman.

The Audiolab 8200CDQ is a superb CD player. CDs sound almost indistinguishable from USB streamed FLACs. This is a major advance in CD players at this price point.

Many people at Scalford commented on how analogue it sounded.

Given that the CDQ also includes a very good class A analogue pre-amp and headphone amp, it is solid value for money. I'm very happy with it.

The Bel Canto eVo200.2 is a revelation. Before I got it, I said that I didn't really expect it to sound much different from the Croft.

<grmph><grunt><glug><hic><burp>

Yes, folks, the sounds of me eating my words :lolsign:

The Bel Canto does sound different. For a start it weighs easily twice what the Croft weighs and a large part of that is due to the huge transformer (at least I assume it's one - I haven't looked inside - it might be two).

The Bel Canto musters much greater weight and authority in the bass than the Croft is able to muster. The Bel Canto also has crystalline imaging. If a pin dropped, you could reach over and pick it up. The stage is larger and deeper and the room acoustics better defined than the Croft. Midrange is very open and clear and the background noticably quieter. Treble is sweet and clean and unfatiguing.

The Bel Canto makes great recordings sound amazing. It is not even slightly flattering to poor ones. They sound rough. Now the Croft certainly doesn't put a rosy glow on things. It is very transparent and detailed and also very fast but it does seem to be a little kinder to poor CDs. Could be a synergy thing.

Thing is, I would never have identified any of these things as lacking in the Croft. It is a very good amp and I have enjoyed it enormously over the last three years. I'm not in any hurry to decide whether to move it on and will probably put it back in the system in a week or so to see how it stacks up.