CLX odyssey begins.... now!

[BobF]

What do you think of the AMR? I'm seriously thinking about the 777...

What mods were done to your player exactly?

Thanks.

Hello,
Maybe I can help on this as far as the player as Necrosuit is just starting to break his in and has a way to go.
The Mod is proprietary and you would have to speak to the owner of Avatar Acoustics in the U.S. to maybe garner some info on that.
I have had numerous players in the last 3 years( actually sice they came out) and if you want a list please PM me.
I have not heard the 777 but it is in the same family so I would assume that some of the family traits are there,again a dealer would be better fit to answer that question.
Regardless this player has made me not want to go back to a TT( oh boy I will get killed on this). Very smooth with detail and all the attributes that are enjoyable in music.
Wait until he breaks it in and puts the Bendix 6900 tubes in. He may feel the same, who knows as we all like different sound.

Hope this is of some help.

Best Regards,
Bob

 

[User211]

Thanks Bob and Necrosuit. The specs of the players look very similar. I love the looks and the flexibility to tailor the sound via the digital options and the tube rolling front. Plus the USB input is mandatory as far as I am concerned these days.

One to pursue further. I do need a replacement player.

 

[BobF]

Thanks Bob and Necrosuit. The specs of the players look very similar. I love the looks and the flexibility to tailor the sound via the digital options and the tube rolling front. Plus the USB input is mandatory as far as I am concerned these days.

One to pursue further. I do need a replacement player.

Your quite welcome Justin.

I forgot to mention that the midrange is probaly one of it's strongest attributes.
Tube rolling can make nice changes but have found that AMR has done their homework on the tubes they use. I just think the Bendix open up the bandwidth somemore but they are not cheap. Don't recall what tubes go in the 777.

Best,
Bob

 

[David Matz]

What do you think of the AMR? I'm seriously thinking about the 777...

What mods were done to your player exactly?

Thanks.

I heard the 777 and the 77 at Brian Walsh's house. The AMR is a vinyl lover's cd player. Both models sound very smooth. The 77 and the 777 both have the same sonic signature, but the 77 has a lot more musical information.

Personally, I would not trade my Ayre c5 mp for the 777 or 77, as I am used to the brighter, more detailed, more nuanced presentation that Ayre has, and I am using these terms in a positive sense, as something that real live music has - to my ears. In comparison, the AMR players just sound too smooth (due to tubes???) for my taste.

Ultimately, my goal is to find a player that brings out the virtues of digital sound, without engineering the cd player to sound like a turntable, which is what AMR designers seems to have done. Others, of course, will LOVE the AMR player for these exact reasons.

As always, it is best to listen for oneself.

 

[BobF]

I heard the 777 and the 77 at Brian Walsh's house. The AMR is a vinyl lover's cd player. Both models sound very smooth. The 77 and the 777 both have the same sonic signature, but the 77 has a lot more musical information.

Personally, I would not trade my Ayre c5 mp for the 777 or 77, as I am used to the brighter, more detailed, more nuanced presentation that Ayre has, and I am using these terms in a positive sense, as something that real live music has - to my ears. In comparison, the AMR players just sound too smooth (due to tubes???) for my taste.

Ultimately, my goal is to find a player that brings out the virtues of digital sound, without engineering the cd player to sound like a turntable, which is what AMR designers seems to have done. Others, of course, will LOVE the AMR player for these exact reasons.

As always, it is best to listen for oneself.

Hi David,
I believe your last sentence says it best. Everyone likes a different sound.Funny part though is that I don't find this player to be too smooth to the point details etc are lost. Tube rolling can change the sound quite a bit to what a person may like. I used to own the Ayre and it is a very nice player as well

Best,
Bob

 

[User211]

Yup - the 777 will take quite a variety of tube types. I wouldn't like to nail down it's sonic sig for that reason, as I know changing tubes will change its personality quite a bit.

So I agree with what Bob is saying. You can't really nail the machine down because it is "changeable". That's why it appeals. That said I haven't heard one - but I know if I did, I still wouldn't be sure for that reason.

I'm sure the 77 is the better machine. That said it costs a lot of money. The 777 doesn't - well at least in comparison. I think it might be worth a play with...

 

[David Matz]

Hi David,
I believe your last sentence says it best. Everyone likes a different sound.Funny part though is that I don't find this player to be too smooth to the point details etc are lost. Tube rolling can change the sound quite a bit to what a person may like. I used to own the Ayre and it is a very nice player as well

Best,
Bob

Bob,

It is very possible that if I did not live with the Ayre for so long, I could have grown to like another flavor. Fortunately though, there are many manufacturers to create many variations of products to satisfy different tastes. One can choose the comfort and elegance of a Jaguar or the road feel of a BMW. Neither is a bad choice at that level of performance.

 

[David Matz]

Yup - the 777 will take quite a variety of tube types. I wouldn't like to nail down it's sonic sig for that reason, as I know changing tubes will change its personality quite a bit.

So I agree with what Bob is saying. You can't really nail the machine down because it is "changeable". That's why it appeals. That said I haven't heard one - but I know if I did, I still wouldn't be sure for that reason.

I'm sure the 77 is the better machine. That said it costs a lot of money. The 777 doesn't - well at least in comparison. I think it might be worth a play with...

Justin,

Have you heard the Playback Designs? They just came out with a less expensive model. I know a lot of vinyl lovers that love Playback Designs. Even Michael Fremer bought himself the review sample. Personally, though, I am not into vinyl. But what I like about the player is that it plays to the strengths of digital instead of trying to "cover them up".

 

[User211]

David - no - but I'll look into it. A quick website trawl reveals interesting machines. What I like is the MPS-3 can swallow:

USB for PCM up to 24 / 384kHz
USB for DSD up to 6.1MHz

That's pretty cool. I use a laptop as a source quite a bit. The AMR won't take hi-res input without a "down sample".

 

[David Matz]

Yup - the 777 will take quite a variety of tube types. I wouldn't like to nail down it's sonic sig for that reason, as I know changing tubes will change its personality quite a bit.

So I agree with what Bob is saying. You can't really nail the machine down because it is "changeable". That's why it appeals.

Justin, you may be much more experienced in tube rolling than I am. However, my limited experienced the changes were "slight" rather than "stark". It was kind of like putting a little bit more salt on your food, rather than adding the salt the first time. I have never heard more than a 10% difference, at most. But, as they say, YMMV. And it is a hobbyist thing.

 

[Necrosuit]

Ultimately, my goal is to find a player that brings out the virtues of digital sound, without engineering the cd player to sound like a turntable, which is what AMR designers seems to have done. Others, of course, will LOVE the AMR player for these exact reasons.

As always, it is best to listen for oneself.

Exactly. I am Vinyl junkie and this player gives me that taste of warmer vinyl sound, why I purchased it. Something to consider for sure.

 

[User211]

Justin, you may be much more experienced in tube rolling than I am. However, my limited experienced the changes were "slight" rather than "stark". It was kind of like putting a little bit more salt on your food, rather than adding the salt the first time. I have never heard more than a 10% difference, at most. But, as they say, YMMV. And it is a hobbyist thing.

A 10% difference in a digital source these days is quite a bit, I think. Mind you, how does one quantify a 10% difference subjectively? Hm...

Actually, given the 44.1KHz captures the signal perfectly according to digital theory, and given that high sample rates chiefly offer only better rejection of digital anti-aliased hash as it is pushed further up the frequency spectrum, then sensible downsampling should surely be able to strip the aliased components using a digital filter fairly easily? Therefore, the AMR shouldn't suffer a disadvantage with downsampled high res input provided by a laptop.

Is that last paragraph correct, anyone? Just guessing from what I have read.

BTW: I do find quite bizarre changes occuring with tube rolling. From sometimes really odd imaging, to odd bass handling, to "I don't believe that's a tube in there, it sounds so natural an accurate to my ears", to "I can't hear the difference". Pretty mad game really. But fun, nonetheless.

 

[BobF]

A 10% difference in a digital source these days is quite a bit, I think. Mind you, how does one quantify a 10% difference subjectively? Hm...

Actually, given the 44.1KHz captures the signal perfectly according to digital theory, and given that high sample rates chiefly offer only better rejection of digital anti-aliased hash as it is pushed further up the frequency spectrum, then sensible downsampling should surely be able to strip the aliased components using a digital filter fairly easily? Therefore, the AMR shouldn't suffer a disadvantage with downsampled high res input provided by a laptop.

Is that last paragraph correct, anyone? Just guessing from what I have read.

BTW: I do find quite bizarre changes occuring with tube rolling. From sometimes really odd imaging, to odd bass handling, to "I don't believe that's a tube in there, it sounds so natural an accurate to my ears", to "I can't hear the difference". Pretty mad game really. But fun, nonetheless.

Hi Justin,
I like your last line "But fun,nonetheless"

There are many very good players out there from Raysonic,Bluenote Stibbert-2 and,Ayre,Ayon which I have had the pleasure to own in the last 4 years.

What madness

We all settle in to what we like in the end,I think?

This is a lot of fun discussing audio with all the different members and getting their take on what they like also. I think we all learn from that.

I just have to have some kind of tubes in my system somewhere as I have been the all SS and all tube route and settled on a combination of both.

Best Regards,
Bob

 

[Bernard]

There are many very good players out there from Raysonic,Bluenote Stibbert-2 and,Ayre,Ayon which I have had the pleasure to own in the last 4 years.

What madness

And then there is Todd, who says (implies? I don't want to put words into his mouth) that in this day and age you should not buy a CDP, but instead buy a music server and a good DAC.

 

[David Matz]

And then there is Todd, who says (implies? I don't want to put words into his mouth) that in this day and age you should not buy a CDP, but instead buy a music server and a good DAC.

In my experience, Bernard, if you can afford the transport, buy it.

 

[Bernard]

In my experience, Bernard, if you can afford the transport, buy it.

The server Todd likes is the Olive 04HD, which sells for $2,500, and his preferred DAC, the WFS DAC-2, sells for $1,500. The total of $4,000 (which I can't afford) is considerably less than you would pay for a high-end CDP. I'd like to see/hear a shoot-out (bake-off to Justin) between the Olive/WFS and a high-end CDP, putting aside the convenience factor of the server.

 

[Necrosuit]

I would be interested in this. I have been looking at the Olive 6, I also have the Sonos system that is attached to a HP ML110 2TB server but i have found that I enjoy the CDP better. It seems more realistic to me, I have been a touring drummer for years and my CDP(s) at my house always sounded better to me, The drums in particular just seem more real, not that the Sonos and server dont, but I prefer the CDP.
Im curious to hear the olive though.

 

[User211]

Just woke up this AM. I'd ignore that techie bit about downsampling. I think it's wrong. Must have been tired!

 

[tsv_1]

And then there is Todd, who says (implies? I don't want to put words into his mouth) that in this day and age you should not buy a CDP, but instead buy a music server and a good DAC.

I think my view on digital sources these days (as with so many other things in life) is a sort of hybrid or compromise. While moving to a server was nothing short of a revelation wrt ease of access and genuinely incredible sound, I have not fully abandoned the archaic That is to say, a single disc player either in the form of a digital transport or a stand-alone CDP. In fact, I just added an Oppo BDP-93 (as a transport) to my two channel setup for SACD playback.

Having said that, I've owned a boatload of different CDPs over the years and there is no doubt in my mind that 16/44.1 can sound phenominal. I've not heard Necro's AMR but I have no doubt it's a stellar performer.

Of course this whole discussion is nothing but a hollow dream for me as I await delivery of my amps from ModWright... like solitary confinement, but the sentence should be commuted soon.

Cheers

 

[projectormovielover]

Your setup tsv1 makes me think that who ever said "the best things in life are free " was sniffing glue