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Old 03-10-2018, 01:20 AM
Jerome W's Avatar
Jerome W Jerome W is offline
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Hello Dan and friends,

So I received the Neo260D player 2 days ago.
I am extremely pleased with the unit.
I am using it in 2 modes. As a cd drive with a WireWorld Gold Starlight 6 AES EBU cable into the AMR DP777 dac. And as a standalone cd player using the rca analog outputs to my GAT preamp.
I am impressed by the built quality. Reminds me of Mark Levinson gear. I love the huge display.

For both configurations, I get a very refined and classy sound from my CDs. The accuracy of timbres is superb. The stereo image is extremely sharp and the sense of space in the recording is awesome. The noise level is extremely low. Silences are very «*deep*». I must say that I never heard CDs sounding so good.
The internal dac of the 260 is really excellent. I could leave easily with it and be very happy. The AMR has the same level of very high resolution and refinement, but it adds a few degrees of weight, texture, and better dynamics. First I thought that I was just getting a higher spl but with most recordings it became obvious that the AMR was not actually sounding louder. It is sounding stronger. The bass especially gets better definition and slam.
I guess, but it is only a guess, that the 260 and the AMR must be very close if not identical to the big Moon 650 player. I think about this because when listening to the 260 with the AMR dac I get the feeling that I am just listening to a better 260. The overall personality of the sound does not change at all. I should check but as far as I remember for its 16/44 dac, the AMR uses like Moon Burr Brown chips. They are probably the same. ( The AMR uses 2 separate dacs, selectable, one for Red Book and one for high resolution files ).

I do not regret at all ordering the Moon with the inboard dac. If one day I want to sell it ( this would be unlikely but who knows... ), I will sell it more easily. Moreover, Moons states that using the XLR outpouts of the player will lead to a better sound. But my preamp is an unbalanced one.
This player is a real high end one, with a very revealing yet ultra refined and musical and non fatiguing sound.

I have yet to compare it to my streaming system but I seriously doubt that the little SqueezeBox with its linear PSU may be at this level. I would need a far more «*serious*» streamer like the Aurender, Lumin and so on....

Just a few words on CD transports.
When I was using the McIntosh MDA1000 dac in my main system, and this was during full 7 years, I tried quite a few high end drives and I compared them and to my Squeeze Box. The MDA is a stellar dac but it puts his hands on the signal fed and delivers always the same sound, no matter the cd drive used ( as long as it has an AES EBU output, the MDA sounds a bit better through it than through coaxial outputs ) and I had lots of trouble in making the difference between the Squeeze Box and a high end cd drive. This was also the case at Jean Marc’s place comparing the Squeeze Box to the MCD1000. So I got the wrong feeling that CD drives do not matter with a stunning DAC as the MDA.
Then came the review of Emile on various dacs and the presentation to me of the AMR DP777. I bought it and compared it very carefully to the MDA1000. Yes, no doubts for me : the AMR was a winner in terms of definition and purity.
But less forgiving than the MDA. Some files on my SqueezeBox and some CDs on the Meridian 500 transport were sounding not so «*good*» as through the MDA and listening fatigue could appear.
So here comes the Neo260D player. And no matter the CDs I am playing through it and the AMR, the sound is fantastically musical and smooth.
Conclusion : CD drive may not be important with the MDA1000 because the MDA colors the sound and looses the highest resolution to reveal the differences. But with a high resolution dac, if you still play CDs, the need for a great CD drive is obvious.

Thanks a lot Dan for pointing me towards this stunning product.








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Last edited by jdandy; 03-10-2018 at 02:51 AM. Reason: enlarge photo
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