A friend owns the Lector 7, a 2-box CD player. I have visited him several times. I have been told that the .6 CD player shares many of the attributes of the 7. As a consequence of my search for a CD player and my favorable impression of the Lector 7, I decided to review the .6 mk2. Although the mk2 version represented an “upgrade” of the original .6, I was unprepared for the presentation I experienced. I believe the original player had a 20 bit chip, while the current version uses a 24 bit chip. The distributor of Lector products, Brian Ackerman of Aaudio Imports, contrasted the difference between the original and mk2 as one being somewhat euphonic, the other accurate. The player is priced at $2190.00 and offers the following features: 1) Film foil output caps manufactured by Lector. 2) 2 Burr Brown PCM 1704 DAC chips 3) A simple toroidal power supply 4) No op amps 5) Short length of .999999996 ofc stranded copper from pcb out to panel/RCA 6) Transport manufactured by Lector based upon Phillips/Sharp design 7) All parts manufactured by Lector 8) tube buffer stage using 2 12AT7Listening Sessions
The manufacturer provides 2 Chelmer 12AT7 tubes. I substituted several pairs of NOS tubes, including Mullard, Amperex and RCA. I selected the RCA grey plate, vintage 1960's, as it seemed to present the most linear frequency response. My preferences lean toward harpsichord and piano music from the baroque and renaissance periods. It would come as no surprise that I would select a Scarlatti sonata, XVII, K119, performed by Sophie Yates, harpsichord, from Chandos 0635. The clarity and focus enabled one to appreciate the expert musicianship of the artist. Following the attack of the keyboard, a short decay was observed. However, there was greater emphasis upon the percussive quality, relative to the body of the instrument, suggestive of a dip in the lower midrange.
Steely Dan, AJA, MCAD 37124, could be the subject of a term paper in the field of sociology. My favorite track on this disc is “Deacon Blues”. Donald Fagen's voice evinced his characteristic lisp and treble harmonics were never exaggerated. During a tenor sax solo, the upper register, upper mid/lower treble had a slight peak. However, the minor deviation from neutrality did not interfere with the enjoyment of the music. Holly Cole Trio, DON'T SMOKE IN BED, is often used as a test disk for evaluating stereo systems. Track one, “I Can See Clearly Now”, presents an ensemble of voice, bass and piano. The articulation of the bass was very controlled and yet there was a natural balance between the sound of the strings and the wood body. The voice is close-miked and the sibilance that one expects was not softened. It is not a pleasant experience to listen to this overemphasis of the letter “s”. While not minimized, it would seem that there was no exaggeration of this phenomenon.
A depiction of Paris in music, “Gaite Parisienne”, JVCXRCD 0224, track 1 is a good example of the scale of a symphony orchestra. The strings were positioned behind and at the edge of the left speaker, while the snare drum could be heard in the background, at the rear of the orchestra. The sound of the string ensemble exhibited no edge. The triangle, although positioned in front of the wood block, did not exhibit the separation I have experienced from other CD players. Moreover, the sound of the triangle was deficient in texture and weight compared to what I hear when listening to my reference CD player. Another test of spectral balance is track 3 from the CD TWO OF A KIND, Music Heritage Society 5162443. At the beginning of this track, “Sandstorm”, a cymbal is struck several times. The sound of the cymbal is timbrally incorrect. The density or thickness does not provide the aural cues of brass. Rather, what is portrayed is a metal thinner than brass. Although one would identify the instrument heard as a cymbal, the resulting timbre is different from what one would expect when listening to a typical brass cymbal. Shortly thereafter, Earl Klugh is heard playing acoustic guitar. The nylon strings sounded a bit steely and the wood body was understated, indicative of a dip in the lower midrange and possibly a peak in the upper midrange/lower treble.
Conclusion
My listening sessions revealed a component capable of resolving and not obscuring musical and non-musical details present on a recording. There was no warmth or other euphonic coloration. There were observed discrepancies from flat frequency response in areas I have noted before, often typical of current-production tube products, namely a dip in the lower midrange and a slight elevation in the upper midrange/lower treble. I would say that the aforementioned errors are typical of current tube designs and some of the 24/192 chips, especially the Burr Brown. It is possible that selecting a non-upsampling 16 bit chip instead of the Burr Brown 24/192 chip might lessen the extent of deviations from neutrality. Thus, the Lector is a tube player without the sound of tubes, having the aforementioned strengths and weaknesses of modern tube circuitry and 24/192 DAC chips. During my listening sessions I could hear inaccuracies in timbre, but they did not prevent me from enjoying the music. Since no component is perfect, a potential purchaser should decide if observed flaws are, or are not, objectionable, prior to purchase.
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