At last... (Audiolab) - part VII
- Thread starter Joe P
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YEMV
(Your Eyes May Vary)
Indeed, but mine are crap even with specticlaculars.
Without them I can't see it from 10 inches.
Hi John,
I hope you can find a way to help me! It's probably going to be a bit long post, but if you are not interested in my recent "audio adventures", then please just skip to the last paragraphs! I decided to post it here, not use your PM, as I think it may be interesting to read for others.
I'm located in Poland and I just had a really crazy last two weeks "HiFi-wise"
Here's how it went:
1. two weeks ago I received some unexpected money and decided spend at least some of it to improve my HiFi equipment.
2. because of my current home/family situation I can't listen through my speakers much (old Monitor Audio PMC 702), so I decided to improve my headphone setup first. I already had Sennheisers HD565, which I considered good at the time, but none of my devices used for listening stereo (Copland CDA-288 + TAG McLaren AV32R + Audiolab 8000P) had a headphone socket. My Pioneer AV Receiver has headphone socket, but using it as a headphone amp didn't seem to be a good idea - not practical and poor sounding.
3. So I quickly ordered Graham Slee Solo headphone amp. I quickly received it and it sounded sooo good! It actually sounded so good that I realized that my headphones are probably limiting factor now and Solo can only show its full worth with better cans.
4. So I quickly ordered AKG K701 headphones These also arrived quicky and what a difference they made! Wow!
5. At the same time I borrowed a HK made USB-SPDIF converter from my colleague to see what difference it makes connected to my media center PC instead of my standard SPDIF-to-onboard-soundcard connection. Wow again! It sounded so much better, really close to listening to CD player, even though the converter was not capable of asynch USB transfer.
6. So I quickly ordered a Musical Fidelity V-Link II (was going to order V-Link, but V-Link II has just arrived to UK retailers at the time) from a UK based Audio Affair online shop (as it is not available in Poland yet).
7. While waiting for the MF V-Link to arrive, I started to rediscover my entire collection of CDs and AKG headphones, when... my Copland CD has died on me... It was a very old unit and I had already invested some money in repairing it in the past, so this time I decided not to repair it anymore, but to replace it.
6. So I quickly ordered a 8200CD But it turned out that the online shop that took my order had an error on their website and did not have 8200CD in stock, but 8200CDQ instead. They offered to order 8200CD from me from their source (more about it later), but I would have to wait a week longer. Instead I decided to change my order and take the 8200CDQ.
7. CDQ arrived the next day and WOW! What a wonderful sound! Initially I connected it as a CD transport only (yeah, I know...), as this is how I used my Copland recently.
8. Then I started to test other ways to use the 8200CDQ and the results of these tests turned everything upside down...
Let me explain here what TMA AV32R was doing in my stereo setup. Some 11 years ago I was building a new stereo / AV setup and managed to buy AV32R at a good price (at that time in Poland a good price meant that I still paid more for it than I would in the UK... But it was before Poland joined the EU, when prices here got more in line with UK ones). Earlier I used Audiolab 8000S amp for stereo. I bought second hand another 8000S and one 8000P cheaply and used all of them as power amps only for AV32R (8000P for L/R and 2x8000S for C/SL/SR). At this time I already had a Copland CD and a decent DVD player. This setup served me well until early 2010 when I decided to upgrade my video experience to HD and bought a Bluray player. As AV32R is not capable to decode HD audio formats, I bought a Pioneer AV Receiver for video duties (and a set of new 6.1 speakers for it) and this way TMA AV32R was "degraded" to stereo DAC/pre-amp only, as it still did much better job with music than the Pioneer. At that time I really couldn't afford a AV Receiver good enough for both music and HD movie audio tasks... So I had two separate audio sets: one for movies and one for music (although it had a AV32R in it). Then a couple of weeks ago... see point 1. above
Getting back to the CDQ tests. As this post is already very long, I will just say that careful tests and comparisons with other equipment resulted in the following:
- Graham Slee Solo was sent back to the shop for a refund. No need for it whatsoever with CDQ, which to my ears sounds much better with AKGs!!!
- AV32R was retired completely from both DAC and pre-amp duties and will be sold as soon as I find someone interested in it.
- MF V-Link II was sent back to the UK shop for a refund as soon as it arrived - it became completely redundant.
Needless to say, I LOVE the CDQ!!! But what a crazy two weeks these were...
But not everything is so rosy... Two days ago I started reading this thread (focusing mainly on yours and Dominik's posts) and realized a few things:
- I received an old CDQ from the first production batch, w/o triggers...
- I received it from a Polish online shop, but they got it from the German distribution channel. This means that I cannot register it for extended warranty and can't expect Polish distributor to help me with software and hardware upgrades...
- Luckilly my unit was upgraded in Germany to 1.1A software and V86 servo, so at least it's not using the original mainboard software, but I have faulty servo soft...
- Chances of getting it upgraded with OLED/new transformer are slim using normal service channels (if it is even possible with the first batch sample?).
9. So now I decided to send my CDQ back to where I got it from and get a new one, preferably from a Polish distribution channel (or some other way that would leave the upgrade path open for me), as I now can not live without one
And here is where hopefully you could help me, John! I spoke to the Polish distributor (Horn Distribution) and they told me that they still have a significant stock of CDQ, which they got about three months ago. So they will not order any OLED CDQ anytime soon, if ever (not sure they will decide to order it at all for the Polish market). They actually were not even able to tell me if the devices they have are equipped with triggers or not!!! I also spoke to both their sales and service departments and they were completely unaware of OLED upgrade kit's existance... This does not sound optimistic for me, as I would really like to get the latest and greatest CDQ version now. How do you think, is there any way you could help me in getting the OLED CDQ here in Poland? Or at least an OLED/transformer upgrade kit? Preferably somehow through the Horn Distribution, so that they don't have issues with servicing it later? But I probably could pay for shipping from some UK source if that would be the only choice.
Regards,
Pawel
I hope you can find a way to help me! It's probably going to be a bit long post, but if you are not interested in my recent "audio adventures", then please just skip to the last paragraphs! I decided to post it here, not use your PM, as I think it may be interesting to read for others.
I'm located in Poland and I just had a really crazy last two weeks "HiFi-wise"
Here's how it went:
1. two weeks ago I received some unexpected money and decided spend at least some of it to improve my HiFi equipment.
2. because of my current home/family situation I can't listen through my speakers much (old Monitor Audio PMC 702), so I decided to improve my headphone setup first. I already had Sennheisers HD565, which I considered good at the time, but none of my devices used for listening stereo (Copland CDA-288 + TAG McLaren AV32R + Audiolab 8000P) had a headphone socket. My Pioneer AV Receiver has headphone socket, but using it as a headphone amp didn't seem to be a good idea - not practical and poor sounding.
3. So I quickly ordered Graham Slee Solo headphone amp. I quickly received it and it sounded sooo good! It actually sounded so good that I realized that my headphones are probably limiting factor now and Solo can only show its full worth with better cans.
4. So I quickly ordered AKG K701 headphones
These also arrived quicky and what a difference they made! Wow!5. At the same time I borrowed a HK made USB-SPDIF converter from my colleague to see what difference it makes connected to my media center PC instead of my standard SPDIF-to-onboard-soundcard connection. Wow again! It sounded so much better, really close to listening to CD player, even though the converter was not capable of asynch USB transfer.
6. So I quickly ordered a Musical Fidelity V-Link II (was going to order V-Link, but V-Link II has just arrived to UK retailers at the time) from a UK based Audio Affair online shop (as it is not available in Poland yet).
7. While waiting for the MF V-Link to arrive, I started to rediscover my entire collection of CDs and AKG headphones, when... my Copland CD has died on me... It was a very old unit and I had already invested some money in repairing it in the past, so this time I decided not to repair it anymore, but to replace it.
6. So I quickly ordered a 8200CD
But it turned out that the online shop that took my order had an error on their website and did not have 8200CD in stock, but 8200CDQ instead. They offered to order 8200CD from me from their source (more about it later), but I would have to wait a week longer. Instead I decided to change my order and take the 8200CDQ.7. CDQ arrived the next day and WOW! What a wonderful sound! Initially I connected it as a CD transport only (yeah, I know...), as this is how I used my Copland recently.
8. Then I started to test other ways to use the 8200CDQ and the results of these tests turned everything upside down...
Let me explain here what TMA AV32R was doing in my stereo setup. Some 11 years ago I was building a new stereo / AV setup and managed to buy AV32R at a good price (at that time in Poland a good price meant that I still paid more for it than I would in the UK... But it was before Poland joined the EU, when prices here got more in line with UK ones). Earlier I used Audiolab 8000S amp for stereo. I bought second hand another 8000S and one 8000P cheaply and used all of them as power amps only for AV32R (8000P for L/R and 2x8000S for C/SL/SR). At this time I already had a Copland CD and a decent DVD player. This setup served me well until early 2010 when I decided to upgrade my video experience to HD and bought a Bluray player. As AV32R is not capable to decode HD audio formats, I bought a Pioneer AV Receiver for video duties (and a set of new 6.1 speakers for it) and this way TMA AV32R was "degraded" to stereo DAC/pre-amp only, as it still did much better job with music than the Pioneer. At that time I really couldn't afford a AV Receiver good enough for both music and HD movie audio tasks... So I had two separate audio sets: one for movies and one for music (although it had a AV32R in it). Then a couple of weeks ago... see point 1. above
Getting back to the CDQ tests. As this post is already very long, I will just say that careful tests and comparisons with other equipment resulted in the following:
- Graham Slee Solo was sent back to the shop for a refund. No need for it whatsoever with CDQ, which to my ears sounds much better with AKGs!!!
- AV32R was retired completely from both DAC and pre-amp duties and will be sold as soon as I find someone interested in it.
- MF V-Link II was sent back to the UK shop for a refund as soon as it arrived - it became completely redundant.
Needless to say, I LOVE the CDQ!!! But what a crazy two weeks these were...
But not everything is so rosy... Two days ago I started reading this thread (focusing mainly on yours and Dominik's posts) and realized a few things:
- I received an old CDQ from the first production batch, w/o triggers...
- I received it from a Polish online shop, but they got it from the German distribution channel. This means that I cannot register it for extended warranty and can't expect Polish distributor to help me with software and hardware upgrades...
- Luckilly my unit was upgraded in Germany to 1.1A software and V86 servo, so at least it's not using the original mainboard software, but I have faulty servo soft...
- Chances of getting it upgraded with OLED/new transformer are slim using normal service channels (if it is even possible with the first batch sample?).
9. So now I decided to send my CDQ back to where I got it from and get a new one, preferably from a Polish distribution channel (or some other way that would leave the upgrade path open for me), as I now can not live without one
And here is where hopefully you could help me, John! I spoke to the Polish distributor (Horn Distribution) and they told me that they still have a significant stock of CDQ, which they got about three months ago. So they will not order any OLED CDQ anytime soon, if ever (not sure they will decide to order it at all for the Polish market). They actually were not even able to tell me if the devices they have are equipped with triggers or not!!! I also spoke to both their sales and service departments and they were completely unaware of OLED upgrade kit's existance... This does not sound optimistic for me, as I would really like to get the latest and greatest CDQ version now. How do you think, is there any way you could help me in getting the OLED CDQ here in Poland? Or at least an OLED/transformer upgrade kit? Preferably somehow through the Horn Distribution, so that they don't have issues with servicing it later? But I probably could pay for shipping from some UK source if that would be the only choice.
Regards,
Pawel
Hi all,
I have just joined but have been reading this thread for a while.
I have an Apple Tv (1st gen), MF amp and Monopulse speakers and have been considering a Dac for a while but none seemed to have the feature set I want (remote, optical and coaxial, asynchronous USB) at reasonable prices. Enter the MDAC!
I was at Manchester on Sunday and listened to it. Obviously it's difficult to 'listen' to a particular component when it's connected to others but what I heard sounded very good indeed and I am going to place an order soon. I had a quick chat with one of the Audiolab guys there, I didn't catch his name (it wasn't John as he was getting lunch I think) but he was very friendly and helpful and shared my enthusiasm for the product!
Ultimately I'd like to sell my integrated amp and get a power amp connected to the MDAC using balanced connections. I note above the potential for a transport in the same dimensions as the MDAC - perhaps a power amp is in the pipeline too John?!
Anyhow, that's enough from me for my first post, hi to all again.
Gracey
I have just joined but have been reading this thread for a while.
I have an Apple Tv (1st gen), MF amp and Monopulse speakers and have been considering a Dac for a while but none seemed to have the feature set I want (remote, optical and coaxial, asynchronous USB) at reasonable prices. Enter the MDAC!
I was at Manchester on Sunday and listened to it. Obviously it's difficult to 'listen' to a particular component when it's connected to others but what I heard sounded very good indeed and I am going to place an order soon. I had a quick chat with one of the Audiolab guys there, I didn't catch his name (it wasn't John as he was getting lunch I think) but he was very friendly and helpful and shared my enthusiasm for the product!
Ultimately I'd like to sell my integrated amp and get a power amp connected to the MDAC using balanced connections. I note above the potential for a transport in the same dimensions as the MDAC - perhaps a power amp is in the pipeline too John?!
Anyhow, that's enough from me for my first post, hi to all again.
Gracey
JohnW
pfm member
Hi Gracey,
Welcome, Sorry missed you at the show.
First new product will be the upgrade PSU, then Power amps, then matching "transport" - we aim to have the above released within the next 6 months.
John
Thanks for your reply! I'm in Warsaw, so quite far from the Czech border, but I think I could make such trip by car if necessary
Pawel
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
Jesus, John do you never wake up and just think "i'll f_ck someone over today, just for a change!" ;-)
JohnW
pfm member
Not yet - but I feel like I'm being "F-over" when I take our car to be serviced here in CZ... I'm dreading the next service...
JohnW
pfm member
There has been a small increase already - I believe the CDQ's now selling for GBP950 - this will remain for the OLED versions.
John
Joe P
Memory Alpha incarnate | mod; Shatner number = 2
John,
OK, but it's not like every customer is going to be Cordelia Chase.*
Joe
* "It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more."
One shop owner told me he wasn't interested in carrying the CDQ because it's not expensive enough.
OK, but it's not like every customer is going to be Cordelia Chase.*
Joe
* "It's like when I go shopping. I have to have the most expensive thing. Not because it's expensive, but because it costs more."
JohnW
pfm member
Thanks for your reply! I'm in Warsaw, so quite far from the Czech border, but I think I could make such trip by car if necessary
Pawel
Hi Pawel,
OK - great, I need to collect a couple of update Kits from China, so we can meet sometime in December?
John
JohnW
pfm member
Thats what makes me sick - CDQ kills more expensive units, so to retain there profits, they dont dare stock the CDQ...There are good and bad delaers, while most dealers are genuine, some just rip-off there customers... As I say, dont get me started...
John
PhilCTTE
Senior mumbler
Cheers John . (patiently tapping fingers in anticipation on MDAC delivery)
Really looking forward to peoples findings on use of various digital sources.
I've moved away from disc spinning other than my PS3 for games and DVD's.
Been looking at alternatives to the Sonos I have would prefer a hi-res solution. It seems some sort of bespoke PC solution might be the way to go and use bitperfect/itunes. Still doing the research.
Regarding USB isolation is that built into the MDAC usb input or would we require a usb isolator as per posts a while back?.
Cheers again
Really looking forward to peoples findings on use of various digital sources.
I've moved away from disc spinning other than my PS3 for games and DVD's.
Been looking at alternatives to the Sonos I have would prefer a hi-res solution. It seems some sort of bespoke PC solution might be the way to go and use bitperfect/itunes. Still doing the research.
Regarding USB isolation is that built into the MDAC usb input or would we require a usb isolator as per posts a while back?.
Cheers again
JohnW
pfm member
Cheers John . (patiently tapping fingers in anticipation on MDAC delivery)
Really looking forward to peoples findings on use of various digital sources.
I've moved away from disc spinning other than my PS3 for games and DVD's.
Been looking at alternatives to the Sonos I have would prefer a hi-res solution. It seems some sort of bespoke PC solution might be the way to go and use bitperfect/itunes. Still doing the research.
Regarding USB isolation is that built into the MDAC usb input or would we require a usb isolator as per posts a while back?.
Cheers again
Depends upon your computer system - But, its worthwhile getting an external USB isolator.
John
Absolutely! Just let me know when we could meet there (the sooner, the better - driving through mountains in snow wouldn't be much fun...) and I'll plan a trip - it's about 7 hours drive from Warsaw. And of course let me know the cost involved and how to pay.
My email is vodnikpk(at)gmail.com, where (at) = @ of course.
Thanks again!
Now I need to actually buy a new CDQ - the one with triggers this time!!!
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