DCS Puccini is in the shop. What else would you buy?

[Car commander]

My Puccini is in the shop and probably will be for sometime. The transport had to go back to England. I am sure it will come back better than new but in the mean time I though I might try something else. I have had an X03 and Meridian 808.3 niether of which sounded as good as the puccini. I also would like to stick with a single box player. I might try the mbl though. Anyone heard anything they liked better than the Puccini?

[Cellindo]

The LAVRY DA2002 DAC is a really impressive machine, but not a single box unit since you need a (PC/Mac) drive.
For a one box solution the Puccini is quite hard to beat, indeed.

[JSCC]

Originally Posted by Car commander

My Puccini is in the shop and probably will be for sometime. The transport had to go back to England. I am sure it will come back better than new but in the mean time I though I might try something else. I have had an X03 and Meridian 808.3 niether of which sounded as good as the puccini. I also would like to stick with a single box player. I might try the mbl though. Anyone heard anything they liked better than the Puccini?

Hi "Car Commander",

Did you pair your Puccini with the U Clock? If so, is the performance a notch above the Puccini alone?

Please advise as I am thinking of this pair for CD/SACD playback for my second system. Thanks.

[Car commander]

The Puccini is the best CD and SACD playback I have heard. On most recordings it is difficult to tell the difference between CD and Hi res. I have a Sooloos control 15. I was going to get a U clock but will wait until my Puccini comes back and is reliable before doing so. All the reviews say the U clock results in better performance. I have not heard it yet. Atlanta does not have a DCS dealer that I am aware of.

[jfrech]

Hi i recently traded in my dcs puccini and dcs u clock for a dcs scarlatti (trans/dac/clock). The u clock is a major step, everthing has more focus, more organization, placement on stage. Not sure i can do hi end digital ever again with out a clock. I still preferred the puccini transport to hi rez via usb...

Umm don't ask about the dcs scarlatti, it is simply better, surprisingly best on the oh so important lil things...

If u want better than puccini, uclock is the first step then maybe paganini tran and dac, keeping u clock...

I would also say make your power cords, interconnects are maxxed, the puccini really responds, ditto isolation...

Best of luck

[Car commander]

I have thought about a DCS Scarlatti. We will see.

[Elberoth]

Me and jfrech both went from the Puccini to the Scarlatti. I will quote my post from another forum about the differences:

Scarlatti is much better. The first time I heard Scarlatti DAC in my system, and that was 6 months ago, I still had my Puccini. I used Puccini as a transport (clock linked to the Scarlatti DAC) and the difference was night and day. This is the kind of difference you can hear in the first 5 or 10s on a familiar recording.

Scarlatti has better resolution and clarity, it lets you hear much deeper into the recording and appreciate all those tiny spatial clues. The way the sounds decay into space is simply breathtaking.

As the same time, Scarlatti sounds more natural than Puccini, less forced, the sound is much more sophisticated and pure, which I directly attribute to much lower grain in HF.

Interestingly, I would never thought of describing Puccini as 'grainy' ! Quite the oposite in fact. In my experience, Puccini exhibits the lowest amounts of HF grain of all CDPs I have tried. And yet, Scarlatti improves on that, which I find extraordinary.

Compared to Scarlatti, Puccini sounds brighter, harder and more 2-dimensional.

If you listen to Scarlatti, make sure it has the latest software loaded (v1.2). The latest software adds the asymetric (apodising) digital filters and makes the DAC accept 24/192 files on all digital inputs.

[Car commander]

I am trying to keep some sort of lid on my stereo. You guys are not helping. :-) I have heard that the Scarlatti is the best digital playback. I have Kharma 3.2 FE. ML326S, NHB108 setup now. I bought another mietner dac to go with my sooloos control 15 and that should serve me well until I get the Puccini back. I think my system now is good enough. I may play with some of the cabling just for fun.

[iamhifi]

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Compared to Scarlatti, Puccini sounds brighter, harder and more 2-dimensional.

Can you elaborate a bit more on brighter and harder, I want it go from Accuphase DP500 to Puccini + Clock. Accuphase is not bright.
Thanks,
Angel

[jfrech]

Hi, i am sure elberoth will comment, the puccini/uclock combo ONLY sounds that way in comparison to the scarlatti, maybe a better way is to say the scarlatti is even more relaxed while maintaining its resolution and a more 3d stage. Both are special...again this is my experience from owning both...hope this helps...