Micromega Stage 5 and Stage 3 compared...

[a.palfreyman]

Must admit I'd like to get hold of a Delta 70.2. I put (4) new transformers in my Drive 3 when the original became unbearably noisy. I also have a DAC board from a Stage 1 which I bought for spares.

 

[Dowser]

Good!
Micromega was actually the first French company to sell their own players in 1984-85. I’d like to find a CD-F1 top-loader one day.
I’ve just compared it to my VRDS T1 + ESS Sabre DAC. The Stage is really good. The ESS is too recessed for my taste, too ‘analogue’.
Some say the non bs Duo was better, much like Arcam 70.2 vs 70.3.
The 70.2 has the Crown chip too. Philips stopped selecting their chips with Bitstream.
It also appears that the Chinese love selling fake S1 and S2 1541’s.

Not heard a Duo BS or BS 2, so cannot comment - I just tend to prefer TDA1541 based DACs, with the Stage 3 being an exception. My stash of S1s came from Studer's spares department here in CH...they had 4 or 6 (can't remember) S1s and 4 normal 1541As left - I bought them all for the rather nice same price per item

 

[Dowser]

Must admit I'd like to get hold of a Delta 70.2. I put (4) new transformers in my Drive 3 when the original became unbearably noisy. I also have a DAC board from a Stage 1 which I bought for spares.

70.2 on my watch list too.

 

[a.palfreyman]

No chance then.....

 

[Dowser]

Haha - I cast my net in different places I suspect - my Duo came from Italy, my Croft Mega Micro from Greece And the Swiss marketplace barely uses eBay.

 

[a.palfreyman]

Phew.