View Full Version : Going Backwards : Teac VRDS-9/Chevron Audio Paradox 8pi dac
Peter Stockwell
24-09-2010, 17:29
It all started with a Beresford TC7510 mk3/6 and an airport express. The airport express died, so I bought a squeezebox, but the Beresford didn't bring much to the Squeezebox. So I bought a Teddy Pardo TeddySB3PS(touch ready though).
That was prety good, but still sounded digital, so I bought Lite Dac-ah, which for the money is excellent (but only for CD resolution material). That got me bitten by the NOS Dac bug.
My CD player rig is CDX(Audiocom modified)/XPS, since getteing the Chevron Paradox (NOS Dac) I've been looking for a suitable transport. I think I have it in the Teac. So I haven't done the comparison yet, but I've got the CD/DAC rig spinning now and it sounds very nice. For squillions less than the naim kit!
(The G2000HDs are in the mail :D)
Hi Peter,
An interesting tale! It serves to confirm what I've been saying for years in that new technology isn't necessarily better than the best of the old stuff (and mostly isn't) when it comes to CD... ;)
When you say "NOS" DAC, do you mean non-oversampling or one that uses a 'NOS' (i.e. vintage) chipset, like TDA 1541s?
What you should do now is get Mark to 'breathe' on the Teac (and possibly also the Chevron) and then you'll really hear what the combo is capable of!
Hey, with the money you make when you sell the Naim kit, you can upgrade your Techie with a nice Paul Hynes SR5 PSU, a Mike New bearing, and possibly the new platter! :eyebrows:
Oh, and wait till you hear what the G2000HDs do.... You'll soak your scanties! :lol:
Marco.
Sadly, the CDX/XPS was never anything like the last word in digital reproduction, sounding punchy (XPS) but monochromatic with little subtlety.
I wish you well with your new setup..... :)
Peter Stockwell
24-09-2010, 18:37
Sadly, the CDX/XPS was never anything like the last word in digital reproduction, sounding punchy (XPS) but monochromatic with little subtlety.
I wish you well with your new setup..... :)
Audiocom goes a long way to add sublety, I always liked the CDX, even better with XPS, but maybe I'm just deef!
Apologies, did Audiocom breathe on the CDX for you?
I'm referring to what we demonstrated and sold in the shop and, compared to the lovely CDS2/XPS, there was absolutely no contest, the latter having a scale and bass "power" as well as a delicacy and lightness of touch almost unheard of in lesser players.
Rare Bird
24-09-2010, 18:53
Anyone tried the Valab TDA1543 NOS DAC?
Dave,
Apologies, did Audiocom breathe on the CDX for you?
Earlier Peter wrote:
My CD player rig is CDX(Audiocom modified)/XPS...
It's not only yer lugs that are useless these days! :lol:
;)
Marco.
Hi Peter,
Did you miss this, mate:
When you say "NOS" DAC, do you mean non-oversampling or one that uses a 'NOS' (i.e. vintage) chipset, like TDA 1541s?
:)
Marco.
Peter Stockwell
24-09-2010, 20:07
NOS generally is taken to mean Non OverSampling, when referring to dacs. The chevron uses the cheap as chips TD1543, paralleled 8 times.
I always took NOS to mean New Old Stock and that's how it's used for toobs ;)
Teac/Dac has an endearing stately quality to it, probably lacks resolution in absolute terms.
Dave,
It's not only yer lugs that are useless these days! :lol:
;)
Marco.
You're nearer the truth than you could possibly imagine :(
Rare Bird
24-09-2010, 20:21
:lolsign:
Peter
Glad to read that the VRDS9 is doing the biz.
I once spoke with Mark at Audiocom about modding the output stage. There is not an awful amount of room in there, but a figure of around £300 was given.
Peter.
You should ask Colin what he can do with your transport;)
If I may ask, Andy, Colin who?
Marco.
Colin Yallop from Chevron Audio.
Ah, thanks..... :)
Marco.
Peter Stockwell
27-09-2010, 07:29
Spent a weekend messing around with various combinations. The Audiocommed CDX, with Standard XPS, still rules!
The other combos are listenable. In fact, on first hearing, you wonder just what the differences are. Ultimately, it comes down to what holds your attention, musically. I have to say it's the CDX/XPS that wins that one.
I'm having some trouble getting the DAC (Paradox) to lock to the coax SPDIF from the VRDS-9, so I tried the standard analogue outputs, and they weren't too bad, certainly listenable.
I'd like to have a CD player and Streaming solution, that have identical sound and are as good as the CDX/XPS. I'd be able to reduce box count a little! (someone will say, why don't I just buy a supernait ...)
Colin says that the VRDS-9 is OK, but needs work to be very good, I asked him what he meant, we'll see what he has to say.
Peter.
A bit of a coincidence but I am awaiting delivery of a Teac P500 transport.
I have spoken to Colin about it and he reckons they can be a very decent transport with the usual modifications ie clock upgrade & power supply/spdif improvements.
Only downside is there are no lasers easily available.
Peter Stockwell
28-09-2010, 12:49
Funny, I had a P500 for a couple of days, but it didn't work :(
Do you mean broken or a poor match ?
Peter Stockwell
29-09-2010, 14:24
Do you mean broken or a poor match ?
Broken, the disk loading mechansism needed adjusting. I sent it back to the seller, who later told me it was a simple repair,and was going to resell.
Well the P-500 arrived today, the wife is not to pleased with another big ugly box but it sounds superb with the Paradox dac, a really organic and musical combo with no digital nasties.
I am going to take it to Chevron Audio next week to get the clock and spdif upgrades done that Colin has recommended.
Peter Stockwell
08-11-2010, 10:08
I reoganised my rack, completely took out the CDX/XPS and put the Paradox 8i on the Hutter with the rest of the gear. I'm really pleased with the VRDS9/Paradox combo. It's very natural, and doesn't do anything spectacular. It takes a long time to realise what a great job it does, in bringing very natural presentation to music. It doesn't highlight or flatter.
I have a small problem with the VRDS9 where it skips on the first tracks on a CD, which I'll get around to fixing when I get the clock and PS updates that Colin (at Chevron Audio proposed).
I'm almost done with audiofoolery, I think ;)
Peter
I got my P-500 back from Colin last week, it sounds really sublime I agree with your findings. Mine was skipping occasionally towards the end of certain cds but Colin has cleaned and tweaked the laser so hopefully it will last a while.
Hi Peter,
I reoganised my rack, completely took out the CDX/XPS and put the Paradox 8i on the Hutter with the rest of the gear. I'm really pleased with the VRDS9/Paradox combo. It's very natural, and doesn't do anything spectacular. It takes a long time to realise what a great job it does, in bringing very natural presentation to music. It doesn't highlight or flatter.
I have a small problem with the VRDS9 where it skips on the first tracks on a CD, which I'll get around to fixing when I get the clock and PS updates that Colin (at Chevron Audio proposed).
I'm almost done with audiofoolery, I think ;)
Thanks for the update - interesting.......
So just to clarify, are you saying that the VRDS 9/Paradox combo is now superior to your 'Audiocommed' CDX with Standard XPS?
Have you compared both in a level playing field? :)
As an aside, since you guys seem to know Colin rather well, could one of you invite him to join AoS? He will be given a free trade account and the opportunity to promote his products and services to our 3000+ membership.
Obviously I rate Mark Bartlett's work (from Audiocom) very highly indeed, but competition is good, and there can never be too many talented guys here! :cool:
Marco.
Hi Marco
I was talking to Colin last week about the various HiFi related forums and to be honest he does not seem all that keen on them but I will drop him an email with your offer.
Hi Andy,
I'm not surprised that he's not "all that keen" on them, given the shenanigans that goes on elsewhere sometimes..... :rolleyes:
However, AoS is different and rather more constructive and friendly, so perhaps you could send Colin a link and let him have a look round first? :cool:
Marco.
I have emailed Colin with your invitation.
Cheers, Andy. Let me know what he thinks :)
He might just not be a forum kind of guy, and that's cool, but at least if he can see that AoS is a bit different from the rest.
Marco.
Peter Stockwell
09-11-2010, 09:59
So just to clarify, are you saying that the VRDS 9/Paradox combo is now superior to your 'Audiocommed' CDX with Standard XPS?
Have you compared both in a level playing field? :)
In absolute terms, I'm not sure that it's better. It's different. I think that the CDX/XPS gets bass textures just a touch clearer (subtle rolls on a bass drum, show clearer, for example, it's a touch muddled via the VRDS/Paradox). I believe that the paradox 8i's potential is not fully realised by either the squeezebox SB3 or the VRDS9.
I am using streamed audio more than any other source, and I have to pretty much force myself to listen to a CD, although I find I'm readier to do it with the Teac than with the Naim.
It's even harder to bring myself to play an LP and I haven't bought an LP for at least 2 years. I listened to an LP for 20 mins last night.
The Teac/Paradox takes up less shelf space, and reduces cable clutter, (ok that's arguable), I have a digital cable from Teac or Squeezebox, then two audio cables from the dac to preamp. So I'm using 3 inputs on the 282. A remote control preamp better than a 282, with it's own power supply would be nice.
I want simpler, I want musical enjoyment, I don't think I want to pursue getting the last micro detail out of the system anymore.
I might just be getting a life ;)
Hey, Peter, that's absolutely cool, and a happy place for your head to be. Long may that remain the case, so enjoy the music :cool:
Do mention AoS to Colin next time you speak to him - cheers!
Marco.
Peter Stockwell
12-02-2011, 11:57
Took me a long time to get back to this because I had some mechanical issues with the VRDS9. They've now been fixed. I've already sold my Naim Hiline, you can guess what's beeing sold next :)
The VRDS9 with the Chevron audio Paradox is just more "organic" than even the audiocom modified CDX. I've been a naim fan for 10 years, but little by little the naim is going from from my system. It's got to be like salt or sugar, you get used to both, you want more and more. You reduce either, the taste is bizarre for a while, but the tastes are more natural. You go back to the previous levels of salt and sugar, and you say, yikes!, that's way to salty and/or sugary.
I played the CDX/XPS combo a few times over the last couple of months whilst waiting for the VRDS9 to be fixed, and whilst I recognized it's virtures, such as great rthythmic coherance and fine instrumental detail, the naim combo just doesn't quite let you have the time to listen to the music. It's difficult to explain what I mean.
I just got an apple TV too, that's going to bring some changes :)
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