Yeah, David, I'm thinkin' the same thing. And the tubes and Crimson aren't even run in yet. Oh, and then there's the Audioquest Diamond USB cable you just snagged; we were just using my plain-vanilla AQ Carbon USB cable.

Oh, and the computer server setup was less than optimal, too! ;) Sounded amazing for what was definitely a sub-optimal implementation.

More goodness to come! :thumbsup:

The UX-1 was a universal player. The X-01 D2 was Esoteric's previous one box flagship player.

I bet I would love it!

Beautiful set up you have created and I admire your being able to share and discuss your experiences with a few similarly interested buddies. That shared experience has to be the most fun.

Digital is sort of depressing in that it always gets a little or a lot better. Technology marches on relentlessly it appears.

Since I replaced my Sonus Faber with Shindo I haven't used digital once. In fairness I also installed a good turntable then too. There is something about the process of listening to vinyl that amplifies my listening experience. I think I have too much digital elsewhere in my life. I really should get a sacd player but somehow I just haven't yet.

You have beautiful high quality components that mirrors my new found tube and horn sensibilities. It must sound spectacularly good.

Love to hear it.

Hey TommyC-

Thanks for the info-

David

Richard-

Thanks for the compliment- The goodies are sounding better all the time, as yes it's fun to share audio w/ friends (& food & wine too !)- You'll have to pop over one of these times-

I agree w/ you on digital component tech- Interestingly w/ Gordon (Wavelength), he has the same DACs for many years (mine's from '07ish), as a base, though he upgrades them as he sees fit- He has updated the modules (easy switch yourself, no need to have Gordon do it), and now has High Speed (HS) (which does need to be done by Gordon)-

This is very unusual, and makes Wavelength 'classic' & helps it hold it's value, since you can upgrade, instead of having to constantly buy new stuff !

I still have to get the highest module + the HS upgrade, though I wanted to try it out as-is first, so we could gauge the improvements-

Also my Silver transformers that Stephen mentioned, were only done in a small one time lot (since Gordon has to make a group/lot purchase, to get an ok price)- Luckily silver was much, much cheaper then too- Replacement cost now (according to Gordon), would be 50%++ more expensive, and probably won't happen anyway, unless he got a commitment from his dealers to buy several units (he needs to build 10-15 pcs at a time of the silver trannies)-

Glad you're having a wonderful time listening to vinyl- I'm slowly getting back into it, trying to reserve LP purchases to absolute favorites- Of course I'm not always successful, and sometimes succumb to vinyl's 'siren song', and get a few extras, here and there-

Only have about 100 LPs now, & definitely will never go above 500- I used to collect, now I only care about SQ (Better Records baby !)

Trying to thin my CD/SACD collection, since there's only so much time- I have a box for rejects, as I listen to many piles of previously unheard discs- They get donated to the library, and written off, ha ha-

Cheers to "tube and horn sensibilities" !

David

Good post, David!

Regarding vinyl vs. digital, while I am and will always be an "analog guy", where vinyl is a large percentage of my listening, both the DACs and the content are getting so good now that one can have an engaging musical experience listening to digital. In listening to my latest 24/192 downloads, they're pretty spectacular.

Agreed

But I love the process of vinyl - handling and cleaning, the needle drop etc. it makes me focus on it more. And very nostalgic.

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