Accuphase DP-720

[tp1]

Has anyone compared a DP-720 to the DP-900/DC901 combo. I am thinking of upgrading from a DP-700 and any info about this would be greatly appreciated.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by tp1

Has anyone compared a DP-720 to the DP-900/DC901 combo. I am thinking of upgrading from a DP-700 and any info about this would be greatly appreciated.

Tell me more about your system; what other gear are you using, speakers etc.

[tp1]

Speakers - Magico S5, Preamp- Vitus-SL-010, Power amp - Gryphon Antileon Signature,
Turntable- Pioneer Exclusive P3 with Koetsu Rosewood Signature Cartridge and Benz Micro Ruby 3. And of course the Accuphase DP-700.

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by tp1

Speakers - Magico S5, Preamp- Vitus-SL-010, Power amp - Gryphon Antileon Signature,
Turntable- Pioneer Exclusive P3 with Koetsu Rosewood Signature Cartridge and Benz Micro Ruby 3. And of course the Accuphase DP-700.

You have terrific gear, and I believe you will easily be able to hear the difference. When I compared the DP-720 against the DP-900/901 combo, I found the 900's were more refined with a wonderful touch of warmth.

There is a rather large price difference as I'm sure you know; so you will have to make that decision on your own. For me, these will be my primary source and I simply wanted the best. In addition the DC901 DAC is just extraordinary with other digital devices.

[bvdiman]

Originally Posted by tp1

Speakers - Magico S5, Preamp- Vitus-SL-010, Power amp - Gryphon Antileon Signature,
Turntable- Pioneer Exclusive P3 with Koetsu Rosewood Signature Cartridge and Benz Micro Ruby 3. And of course the Accuphase DP-700.

Hi tp1, you've assembled a mighty fine and balanced system.
No experience with DP700/720, but bet you'll love their DP900/DC901 with your current set-up.
I upgraded from dCS Verdi/Elgar+/purcell/Verona stack early last year, heard/compared to few said Swiss, English sotas and after much thought, overall chose the Accuphase combo and have not looked back. They respond exceptionally well to good clean power and appropriate cabling. Carefully match PC, IC, HS-Link could raise its performance bar further up a notch or two. Keep us posted if you have the chance to listen to new DP-720 also.

*One of our friend here Toga is currently running Q7, ARC Ref40, Mephisto + Accuphase DP900/DC901.. Similar enough streak. Maybe he'll chime in some time.

[meltemi]

Originally Posted by tp1

Has anyone compared a DP-720 to the DP-900/DC901 combo. I am thinking of upgrading from a DP-700 and any info about this would be greatly appreciated.

I had the opportunity to compare all three of them at my retailer's.
The system used was Audioquest WEL Signature XLR / C-3800 / Audioquest WEL Signature XLR / 2x A-200 / Audioquest WEL Signature LS / B&W 802 Diamond.

Compared to the DP-900/DC-901 or the DP-720 the DP-700, although sounding very smooth and well balanced, gave me the impression of running with it's handbrakes on.
I missed the liveliness paired with an almost incredible relaxedness of the DP-900/DC-901 combo.
The DP-720's liveliness came close to that of the combo, but sounded slightly more strained. With respect to the relaxedness and the warmth Ivan mentioned (a true sign for absence of distortion) the DP-720 was audibly not at the same level as the combo.

But then neither is the price. If you have no chance to compare DP-900/DC-901 with DP-720 directly, you might well be 100% satisfied with the DP-720 and save yourself a considerable amount of money. And in any case it will be a significant step forward compared to the DP-700.

But for an Accuphase Reference System IMHO there is no way around the combo.

[meltemi]

Originally Posted by bvdiman

I upgraded from dCS Verdi/Elgar+/purcell/Verona stack early last year, heard/compared to few said Swiss, English sotas and after much thought, overall chose the Accuphase combo and have not looked back. They respond exceptionally well to good clean power and appropriate cabling. Carefully match PC, IC, HS-Link could raise its performance bar further up a notch or two.

I can fully understand, what you say about upgrading from dCS. I still own the professional versions of Purcell/Elgar plus (i.e. dCS 974 / dCS 954).
Compared to the DP-900/DC-901 they sound more forward and position the instruments slightly more precisely.
On the other hand, dCS also have a sound character, which seems to me slightly tiring.
I sometimes prefer dCS for monitoring my recordings, but for music listening I go with the Accuphase combo.

And I fully agree with you about appropriate cabling (HS-Link, analog XLR).

[tp1]

Thank you Ivan, bvdiman, and meltemi. That is exactly the sort of information I was after. Wow! I was not expecting that much of a difference from the DP-700 but then again, Accuphase never go backwards when they upgrade models. It looks like I will upgrade the DP-700 and will try to stretch to the combo.

Thanks again for the info!

[tp1]

One more thing I would like to know. Would it be worth keeping the DP-700 as a transport and connecting it to the DC-901 via HS link? ( I am thinking of cost savings here)

[Masterlu]

Originally Posted by tp1

One more thing I would like to know. Would it be worth keeping the DP-700 as a transport and connecting it to the DC-901 via HS link? ( I am thinking of cost savings here)

In all honesty, and candor... no IMHO.