Pioneer Elite PDR-19RW CD Recorder

As owner of a PDR-05 CD recorder, I didn't find too many surprises in its Elite successor, with all the same features and a few more to boot. The main extra capability is that of recording rewriteable CD-Rs, called CD-RWs. These can be erased starting with the last track recorded, or by erasing the whole disc for re-use. The main other difference from the earlier model is the disappearance of the Stable Platter transport: no more putting CDs in upside down.

The PDR-19RW provides 3 recording inputs, optical and coaxial digital, and RCA analog. It includes the same sample-rate converter as the PDR-05, allowing direct recording of either 48 kHz DAT tapes or 32 kHz digital broadcasts (which, by the way, have already started in the Toronto area; there'll be more on this in our next issue). The PDR-19RW will not read or downsample 96 kHz DATs or DVD Audio discs, but will record them through its analog inputs.

Recording can be accomplished in bits (as well as in digital bits), track by track, either manually or using the Synchro mode, which automatically starts the recorder when it senses a digital source. In the latter case, you do have to be careful about extra tight Start IDs on the source CD, since these can cause clipping of the opening note on the recording. One idiosyncrasy of CD-R decks in record mode is that they will copy these IDs from CDs and DATs when copying digitally, but unlike DAT machines, they do not have the level sensing circuits that allow the creation of Start IDs when recording from the analog inputs. Therefore, if you make an anlog copy of a whole LP, you'll either have to put these in manually, or end up able to access only the start of either LP side using the Skip buttons on the recorder in playback.

Ergonomically, the PDR-19WR is very easy to figure out and ultimately operate, and CD-RWs are, except for the erase function, identical to CD-Rs, even to the point of also being finalized or fixed up after recording for play on other machines. However, there is a fly in this ointment: CD-RW discs are basically a crapshoot as far as playback compatibility with regular CD and DVD players is concerned. There are a few CD machines that won't play standard CD-Rs, and quite a few brands of DVD players that won't, but with CD-RW, It's as likely a player will not read them.

Of course, there's no problem playing them on the PDR-19RW, but if you want to make CD-RWs for the car so you can re-record them every few months, you could be out of luck. More on this below.

Speaking of ordinary playback rather than recording for a moment, this recorder uses Pioneer's own Legato Link high frequency interpolation process to mimic 88.2 or 96 kHz performance, and also "increases the dynamic range by resampling the 16 bit audio data from the disc at 24 bits", according to the manual. This Pulseflow 1-bit DAC also "maintains extremely high conversion accuracy, even when there is system clock jitter."

I did do our standard CD player tracking tests, starting with Verany disc's calibrated dropouts. These showed the PDR- 19RW to have adaptive error correction with the 400-Hz sine waves. It played the single dropouts flawlessly through track 35 (2.4mm), and after a hiccup or two, all the rest through 38 (4mm). This performance was repeated on the narrow gauge dropouts until track 42 (2mm), which caused the transport to skip ahead seeking good data. In the double dropouts it ticked lightly at the start of track 49 (2 x 2.4mm), then played through, repeating the same routine on track 50 (2 x 3mm) with some audible ticking. Sine waves are a little easier to adapt to than the 200 Hz/20 kHz signal on the CD CHECK CD, of which only the first level was played cleanly, some ticks on track 2, and loud buzzing on 3.

Our random error disc was very well handled, with no ticking or skipping for over 2 minutes, but the player locked hard, repeating a phrase, at 2:04. I thought it odd that it did not skip ahead as on the Verany disc. Perhaps this player really does have a mind of its own.

On our partially transparent CD the PDR-19RW was similar to most players, ticking loudly on track 1, less so on 2, and clean on 3 and 4. These results indicate a machine that should cope with most dropouts and dirt, but may be sensitive to manufacturing flaws, but can adapt to some disc problems. I'm also concerned about the rather poor performance on the CD CHECK disc, which tends to contradict the superb playing of the Verany tests. Why this happened, I have no idea.

In the real world, the PDR19-RW was a very good sounding player, worth its price and more on this count alone. Never mind that it also records two types of blank discs! Bass was solid and deep, the midrange focused and dynamic, and the top end very easy and sweet. This player rivals single-box CD players at well above its price.

Recording on the PDR19-RW was a simple process, and I used a Pioneer CD-RW. Source was the analog output of our portable DVD machine, the Panasonic DVD-L10 playing the superb Classic Records reissue of the Gershwin works for piano and orchestra. This constituted the highest resolution recorded source we could find outside of live music.

I copied the 1st movement of the Concerto in F onto the CD-RW, and finalized it, a process that takes about 4 minutes, as the recorder writes the final TOC of the CD. Listening to playback on the PDR19-RW I noticed that the DVD's highs had become a little more constricted, and the bass lacked the powerful drive of the 96-kHz original. But, all in all, it sounded surprisingly good, with much of the original's rhythmic drive and tonal colour. This is a very good recorder, limited mostly by its 44.1 heritage.

Having listened to the CD-RW on its creator, I embarked on a survey of which machines in the household would or could play the disc. It played perfectly on the source DVD-L10 player, but surprise (!), my PDR-05 would not even recognize it as any kind of disc. The Elite DVL-90 in the home theatre room played it nicely, but the disc just didn't want to TOC to my Sanyo portable CD player. So there we are: 50/50. Crapshoot!

I liked the gold-on-black styling of this Elite component, as well as its astonishingly good playback performance and excellent recording capabilities, and am still amazed that Pioneer can sell the PDR19-RW for only $1200. If you're looking for a great value in a CD recorder or player, don't pass this one up.

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/digital-sources/pioneer-pdr-09.html

Pioneer Elite DV-09 DVD/CD Player

If you are seeking the DVD player that combines the most features and the fewest compromises, you should probably start by looking at the DV-09. There may be more exotic models from smaller high end companies like Theta or EAD, but as likely as not, these will be repackagings of this or another top-of-the- line Japanese model.

The DV-09 weighs almost 35 pounds, with a great deal more internal damping, bracing, and shielding than any other player in my experience. In addition to dual composite and S-video outputs, it also provides component video outputs (3 RCA). There are also dual stereo analog audio outputs, and optical and coaxial PCM/Dolby Digital/DTS RCAs, with an additional straight PCM RCA coaxial out. This versatility allows direct hookup to audio and video recorders (the latter unlikely to record copy-protected video, though my Sony SLH-750 Super Beta machine copies DVDs), and direct digital connection to DAT or Mini-Disc machines.

For all its size, weight and price, the DV-09 does not contain Dolby Digital nor DTS decoding, buyers expected to have either an outboard unit, or a matching receiver like the Elite VSX-09TX. It provides all the normal operational features of DVD and more, including some unique to Pioneer, for example, their Condition memory, which allows memorization of language, subtitle, surround mode, and other characteristics for up to 30 discs; though the number of discs is too few, this feature helps one avoid repeating with every play the incredible annoyance of defeating the defaults of individual discs; Condition allows you to set the disc up the way you want it before the first play. I still don't understand what provokes some of these DVD manufacturers to program discs for Dolby Surround instead of Digital and with English subtitles on. You really do wonder, when they can't even get the no-brainers right.

Another unique feature of this Elite player is its range of picture and noise reduction adjustments. Separate adjustments are provided for brightness NR (YNR), Colour NR (CNR), and overall Video NR (VNR). In addition, Sharpness can be adjusted in both Vertical (V SHARP), and Horizontal (H SHARP) modes. C LEVEL allows varying of colour depth (or saturation), while the most useful adjustment, Y/C TIMING gives the user control of picture colour phase. This is valuable in cases where a fairly long run of S or component cable is used, for example, with a front projector. Setting the Y/C TIMING is easily done using an accurate colour bar display like the one provided on the Video Essentials DVD. I'm quite familiar with this feature, since it is a primary control on my Faroudja VP100 video enhancer (Wtr 98).

All of these adjustments are accessed using the GUI (as in messy) menu system. I'm not fond of these multi-level menu systems, especially in cases like this, where they largely obscure the screen when you're trying to make precise adjustments of picture quality. However after 5 seconds, the display reverts to just the adjustment bar you are set to, making the picture more visible. There are 3 memories for these settings, a good idea that allows setting of well defined thresholds of tolerable disc noise, colour values, and/or resolution.

In operation, I generally preferred the NR at low settings, or off altogether, since there is a definite tradeoff between NR and picture sharpness. In other words, you can have reduction or resolution, but not absolutes of both, just something in between. In this respect, it's a little like the anti-shake feature built into many camcorders. In most that I've used, the anti-shake causes a very visible degradation of picture detail, and though the effect here is more subtle, it does exist because of the extra video processing involved.

More important, when you have a DVD player that can produce such a fantastic picture, why do anything to degrade it? Looking at the charts on Video Essentials, resolution could be seen to well beyond 450 horizontal lines (it's hard to put a number to this, but the DV-09's resolution definitely approaches the 500 mark). Not only is the picture sharp and detailed, it also has superb colour values. Though my Elite DVL-90 came close in many respects when processed through the VP-100 in terms of colour and picture depth, it did not match in resolution, the DV-09 always providing more detailed images.

As a second generation DVD player, the DV-09 comes with a 96 kHz/24-bit DAC, though this fact is nowhere revealed in the owner's manual. Both AAM and I used it first as a CD player, and I did the usual tracking tests on it. On the Verany dropout disc it played fine through track 28 (.3mm), ticked once on 29 (.5mm), with regular ticks on those above, ultimately skipping ahead to seek good data. It didn't much like the narrow gauge tracks, ticking on 40 (1mm), and in the double dropouts was error-free through 45 (2 x .2mm), with one tick on 46 (2 x .5mm) and effective interpolation thereafter. Using our new Digital Error Detector (DED) I could see the corrected errors flashing on the red indicator light. The upper limit seems to be .5mm.

On the CD CHECK disc, the DV-09 played only track 1 with complete success, and ticked or made other progressively louder noises on 2, 3, 4, and 5. Beyond track 1 the error light on the DED flashed almost continuously. In our random error disc, the player also had quite a lot of trouble, though it corrected many of the smaller dropouts in the 35 seconds before it locked up. It's also interesting that some types of data loss make it skip ahead, while other larger data gaps cause it to lock up and repeat a phrase. In our partially transparent CD test, the DV-09 ticked loudly on tracks 1 and 2, but played 3 and 4 quite well while correcting errors shown on the DED.

These results show a player which, while not a great CD tracker, is capable of fully correcting errors of up to .5mm, so owners will want to keep their CDs clean and scratch-free. However, it obviously extracts all the data from the much smaller pits on a DVD disc, and I mean "obviously".

Listening to this Elite player was a very different experience from testing its tracking. I compared it, in level-matched A/B tests, with several other CD and DVD players, including the Arcam Alpha 9 (a much better disc tracker), my portable Panasonic DVD-L10, and the the Linn Classik.

In all cases the DV-09 came out on top, its sound quality pretty much equivalent to high end players in its price range, and transport/DAC combinations that cost even more. The Alpha 9 was very close, as was the astonishing little DVD-L10, but the authoritative bass and extreme midrange lucidity of the Pioneer prevailed. And that was just with CDs. With audio DVDs, its sound was amazing (as is that of the Panasonic), with greater detail and depth, solider and more extended bass, and more of everything musical there. In audio and video, it's superb.

One drawback common to some DVD players is the inability to play CD-Rs, which will concern only those who make their own CDs, or professionals who end up listening to these discs frequently. Oddly enough, the DVD-L10 portable plays CD-Rs so well that I tend to use it for making CD-R copies (and when its digital signal is passed through the Monarchy Audio DIP jitter box, the SCMS anti-copy flag created by my PDR-05 is stripped out, though not the track ID codes); I've been doing quite a lot of dubbing lately of our new jazz recordings with the Chuck Israels Quartet. We hope to have commercially pressed CDs to sell before Christmas. Watch this space for further news.

I did not have an opportunity to check out the DV09's DTS output, since the Elite VSX-09TX does not decode it (look for the receiver review in the Winter 99 issue upcoming), but did check out its component video output with the plasma display Monitor just reviewed. Using Ultralink's new Platinum Series Component Video Pro cables, the full resolution and superb colour values of the DV-09's picture were passed on to the monitor.

I wasn't all that excited about some of the ergonomic aspects of this player, specifically the GUI system that requires several button presses to achieve one function, and the fact that with some DVDs you had to press Enter to get play because the Play button would not do its thing. I've never encountered this latter peculiarity on any other player. That said, the Pioneer Elite DV-09 is still the best looking DVD player in my experience in terms of picture quality, as well as being one of the best single-box CD players available. It also plays 24-bit/96-kHz audio DVDs superbly. Too bad for me that it doesn't manage CD-Rs.

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/digital-sources/pioneer-dv-09.html

Arcam Alpha 9 CD Player

There's something special about this new top model from Arcam, and that is the DAC, which comes from their Huntingdon, England neighbour, dCS. Having spent the better part of a week this past summer listening to this company's professional ADC and DAC gear while recording the Chuck Israels Quartet, I was very curious in August to have a chance to audition the Alpha 9 with its dCS Ring digital-to-analog converter.

The professional dCS 904 ADC sells for $12,000 U.S., and will operate at sampling frequencies from 32 (?) to 192 kHz with 24-bit resolution, while the 954 digital-to-analog converter also operates at up to 192 kHz and sells for $12,000, too. Of course, you need at least one Nagra D digital recorder (2 for 192) to make or play tapes at a cool $25,000 or so. Perhaps the Alpha 9 represents better value.

The dCS Ring DAC uses initial oversampling at 64X and other digital processing to convert the incoming 16-bit/44.1-kHz CD signal to 24 bits. According to an Arcam white paper, "The most innovative part of the design is the dCS proprietary algorithm, which continuously varies the number and positions of the selected current sources from sample to sample, as though around a circle - hence the name "Ring DAC". This ensures that the inevitable slight variations in the values of the current sources are randomly distributed throughout the quantising range. This effectively turns any tolerance errors into a random white noise signal, which is far more benign than the distortion products that would otherwise have occurred. Finally, fourth-order noise shaping is used to remove the bulk of the random noise up into the high frequency spectrum above 100 kHz, where it is easily removed with analog filtering."

The Ring DAC technology is said to deliver a very low noise floor, with typical linearity to -115 dB where it becomes masked by noise. This equates to about 19-bit performance, but a discrete cost-no-object version of this DAC was said to comfortably exceed 24 bits in averaged long-term testing. The DAC is followed by Analog Devices AD792 op amps as analog output stages surrounded by "surface mount resistors and and close tolerance PPS (polystyrene sulphide) film capacitors". The Pacific Microsonics PMD 100 digital filter is used, "set to 24-bit output word length", with "HDCD gain change in the analog domain."

The transport, as has been Arcam's recent practice, is a Sony mechanism, and it performed very well in our tests. On the Verany dropout disc, it managed track 30 (.75mm) in the single dropouts, ticking above, and locking up on 35 (2.4mm). It skipped backwards on 40 (1mm) in the narrow gauge dropouts, and locked up on 41 (1.5mm). On the CD-CHECK disc, the Alpha 9 played the first 4 levels without incident, the 4th being an error of 1.125mm (see the review of this disc elsewhere in this issue). Track 5 (1.5mm) had a constant chatter of noise, with the DED's error light also flashing continually.

In our random error test, the Arcam really shone, playing the 2:38-minute track with no skipping or hiccups, something few players in our experience have managed. The DED error light flashed often, but all of these dropouts were corrected by interpolation and were inaudible as a result. The player also sounded good in the process; many players involved in constant error correction can take on a somewhat garbled sonic character, but not the Alpha 9. This player could care less about dropouts up to about 1mm, and in almost any quantity. It did, however, have some trouble on the first two tracks of our see-through CD, ticking loudly, but managed to conceal all errors on 3 and 4, though the DED red light flashed often in the process. Even on track 4, 5-to-10 errors per second could be observed, but the music sounded fine. Though it might have some trouble with poorly aluminized CDs, the Alpha 9 will play through all but the very worst scratches and dirt, and is one of the best tracking players in our experience.

It's also one of the best sounding, scoring very highly in comparison with several other single-box players, including the remarkable Pioneer Elite DV-09 DVD player and with our reference Pioneer PDR-05/Meridian 518/Monarchy M-33 digital system. There was a rightness about its sound, with articulate, tuneful bass, clean assertive mids, and a sweet, silky treble unusual from CD playback. There's a kind of sturdy, robust quality about the Alpha 9's sound that makes it seem more like live music.

I never did get around to assessing the Alpha 9's HDCD performance because I was listening to our own CDs, as well as other favourites. However, in my heretical view, HDCD is grossly overrated, the use of emphasis in recording offering as great an increase in resolution without requiring additional decoding. Owners of many HDCD discs, however, will want to listen to this player. In fact, I think anyone seeking a single-box solution for CD should audition the Arcam Alpha 9 at length.

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/digital-sources/arcam-alpha9.html

Panasonic DVD-L10 Portable DVD Player

This product caused a lot of buzz at WCES in January, and the first production samples appeared in late April, with production following in May. They are selling so fast, even at the price, that it seems everyone but yours truly is surprised. I'm surprised at something else, which I'll reveal presently.

The DVD-L10 has a 16:9 CD screen that measures 5 1/4" diagonally, and is 5"W x 2 9/16"H. It's a double clam-shell design, with the screen section flipping up first, and then the DVD/CD lid. Power switch, headphone jack, and volume control are on the left side, while S-video and mini-jack A/V in s and outs, and an optical digital out are on the rear. The transport controls are right up front on a sloping panel, and flank the LED array, while the cursor control array, Menu and Title buttons are at the left front corner on top. The DVD-L10 comes with a remote control, special adaptor cable for the unusual optical out jack, battery pack, charger, and AC power supply.

Actually, I was surprised at a couple of things, the first being the resolution of the small screen when I saw it in Vegas, and this turned into wonder when I got the review sample home and started running movies through it. I've started using the Video Essentials DVD produced by ISF guru Joe Kane for evaluating DVD players and other video equipment. Using the test patterns, I could see resolution of about 350 lines on the DVD-L10's own screen, which is quite amazing, especially when I directly compared it to my Sony Watchman, with its 4" 4:3 LCD screen. The L10 was also much brighter, as well as clearer, able to be watched in full daylight or room illumination. On our 51" monitor, the picture was not quite as sharp as some recently reviewed players, coming somewhere between 400 and 420 lines. On the Sneel & Wilcox "follow-the-bouncing- ball" test pattern, this player produced an excellent result, with very little colour moire, and good resolution on patterns up to 4.43 mHz. Its colour bar and grey-scale accuracy were remarkably good, as was colour temperature, which closely matched in hue, saturation and overall balance, our ISF calibrated Pioneer SD-5193K rear projection monitor. Surprise was turning to amazement. This isn't just a cute little TV/DVD player, it's a tool, a portable evaluation device of great accuracy. Joel Silver of ISF tells me that Joe Kane has already bought one of these, and I can understand why.

With all this detail and colour accuracy, the picture doesn't even look like what we know as an LCD grid, there being no pixelization whatsoever, with just the slightest shimmer on pans and some other motion shots. It's an amazingly detailed and lifelike picture for one so small. And, as well as recognizing anamorphic DVDs automatically, it also has a top-and-bottom crop mode that lets 4:3 pictures fill the screen that increases overall image size with pan & scan pictures and off-air TV (from my Watchman's tuner).

I'll come back to the video performance, but now to the second surprise. Some may recall the sound and fury in the U.S. audio press over a Radio Shack portable CD player a couple of years back. Well, all that was nothing compared to what's going to happen with this device when audiophiles start to hear it. The DVD-L10 contains in its compact chassis one of the new 96- kHz/24-Bit DACs that have been impressing those listening to CDs on their full-sized DVD players, such as the DVD-A310. Well, it's the same chipset here, and the same sound, and it's at least as spectacular as the picture!

I spent a whole afternoon listening and comparing this player (out of its mini-jack line outputs) with my Pioneer PDR- 05/Meridian 518/Monarchy M-33 reference digital playback system, using a pair of synchronized T&R CD's music selections. Now, I know all this music well, since I recorded most of it, and damned if this little silver thing didn't sound as good, or even better than the megabuck system! I had carefully level-matched the two using the 518 to set levels on the reference system, and as I continued to listen, the only differences I could hear seemed sometimes to favour the system in the lower frequencies, but the Panasonic in the upper octaves in terms of smoothness and detail; at midrange frequencies both seemed to have identical focus and depth of image. I later listened to a number of favourite CDs, this process continuing over several days before I returned the sample to Panasonic.

Now, I've had some pretty expensive CD players and outboard DACs wither sonically in these circumstances, so what I was hearing from the DVD-L10 was pretty special. I would rank it easily with CD players and DACs at its price point, even forgetting that it is a superb DVD player and small-screen monitor. You never would have imagined that a $2000 portable anything would turn out to be a high end audio bargain...and a high end video one to boot!

But let's get back into the realm of scientific inquiry. As with other DVD players reviewed in this issue, I subjected the L10 to the tests we normally do on CD players. With the Verany calibrated dropouts, the L10 surprised me again by playing cleanly, without a single burp through track 36 (2.5mm); it paused at the beggining of 37 (3mm) for about 10 seconds, and then proceeded to play through it with only a few ticks audible. However, it would not access 38 (4mm). I can't remember a CD player that could correct errors of this size; perhaps there's a circuit that allows it to interpolate with so simple a signal, a pure 400 Hz tone. The player also sailed through the narrow gauge dropouts, which is as it should be with a single laser assembly reading both the smaller DVD and CD pits. It also paused before playing through 43 (2.5mm). In the double dropouts, its performance was equally spectacular, with play through 49 (2 x 2.4mm) again, after a pause at the beginning.

On the Canadian CD CHECK disc the Panasonic was clean through level 2, with light ticking on 3 and more severe noise added with tracks 4 and 5. Here the signal is a combined 200 and 20 kHz signal with large dropouts printed on the CD's playing surface, these larger with each level.

In our random error test, with a variety of dropouts created by judicious magic marker and scratches, the L10 had a lot of trouble, unable to play more than 8 seconds before locking up; I have had a number of players go through that played flawlessly right through this 2-minute-plus track. In the see-through CD it also had a problem or two, though ticking was minimal on track 2, and absent on 3, with a little bit of muting in addition to the noise on the first two.

With results as anomalous as this it's harder to generalize than with normal CD players. Clearly, the DVD-L10 handles simpler program material like tones much better than music, and definitely doesn't like discs with lots of errors, or with an incompletely silvered surface (and I've been noticing that no DVD yet encountered in the 40 or so I've bought is at all translucent, whether it be single or double layer; obviously double-sided discs will not be seen through, having 2 aluminizing processes in their manufacture). Why a player that will track through calibrated test-disc dropouts as big as 2.5mm will not handle such problems on music discs is an interesting question that I can't answer. However, I noticed no dropout problems in any of our music discs in extensive listening tests.

The DVD-L10 was probably the most innovative and interesting portable audio/video product of 1998, and definitely the perfect personal entertainment travel companion. A little too personal, however, is the single headphone output; and once you've heard the sound of the tiny and tinny built-in speakers, you won't want to listen to them again. But, those quibbles aside, this is a marvellous toy.

POSCRIPT: Now that I've owned this player through the introduction of DVD Audio discs from Chesky and Classic recordings in 1999, I can add that it is an excellent player of these discs, though it has shown the occasional disinclination to play some of them, as well as dirty video DVDs. I've discovered the necessity of keeping the inner area around the centre hole especially free of fingerprints, becuse if the player doesn't read the TOC correctly it will not play the disc at all.

But when it plays an audio DVD, it does so with astonishing fidelity and resolution, better sound than I've heard from any CD players. There's simply more there to hear. Even as an audio player alone, the DVD-L10 is turning out to have been quite the bargain.

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/digital-sources/pana-dvdl10.html

Rega Planet CD Player

This could be the CD player Clark Kent would have used had there been CDs in the world of Metropolis. The Planet (Daily or otherwise) is Rega's first crack at playing the silver discs, and brings designer Roy Gandi's unique approach to it. It's a top loader, reminiscent of a Philips portable I once owned, the weighted magnetic clamp contained in the hinged lid so that it automatically seats properly (not always the case with the manual clamp on the Micromega Data) and rotates freely, its top spinning above the clear window in the lid.

The objective in producing the Planet was to make a CD player that would sound as close to the best analog sources as possible. To this end, Rega worked with Burr-Brown for three years to develop a DAC chip "designed with analog in mind", according to the company brochure. Sony produced a "unique analog post conversion filter" for the Planet, to complete the attempt to make an "un-digital" CD player. Both of these out-sourced parts are used only in the Planet.

Its styling is very individual, matching their other electronic products' black slim cases with ribbed tops on the right side. I'm not particularly fond of this dark and prickly look, but it does (quite literally) have Rega written all over it. The remote control is quite nicely set up ergonomically, the Play button green, Skip yellow, and the rest dark grey, with direct numeric selection and track programming possible.

In our tracking tests, the Planet proved to be something of a world beater, though this was not immediately evident in the Verany disc calibrated dropout tests. It tracked the single dropouts cleanly through 31 (1mm), didn't like the narrow gauge ones at all, locking up on the first, track 40 (1mm), and managed only to 46 (2 x .5mm) of the double dropouts. It seems that somewhere just below 1mm is the limit of the error correction/interpolation system.

However, that did not stop the Planet from sailing through all tracks of our wedge test of increasing block error over 5 tracks, and similarly playing our random error track without even a blip right through. If memory serves me right, no other player has ever done this, most failing to get past the 2-minute mark. The Arcam Alpha 8 was also perfect in the wedge, but jumped around in the random errors.

In the partially transparent CD, the Planet showed similar performance to all the players assessed for this issue, ticking loudly on tracks 1 and 2, but playing 3 and 4 easily. Based on these rsults, I'd expect this player to have exceptional ability to read even dirty or damaged discs without error, the unique top-loading transport design working very well. Discs with manufacturing flaws in the aluminizing process might not fare quite so well, but this Rega is right in there with the rest in this respect.

Sonically, the Planet was impressive for its price, just a little more detailed and rhythmically lively than the Arcam Alpha 8, but with bass that was less solid and authoritative than the more expensive TEAC VRDS-25. It seemed to have a slightly greater harmonic richness than the Alpha 8, which could, I suppose, be taken for a more analog sound character.

Its soundstage was a little forward of some of the other players, but freer of midrange grain than the Arcam, though lacking the listen-into quality of that of the Micromega Data/Dialog, and to a lesser degree, of the TEAC.

This is a very good player at its price point with its own unique look and style, and a sound that is closer to the best analog than most costing under $3000. In this respect, Rega has clearly met its design goals in producing the Planet.

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/digital-sources/rega-planet.htmlv

Bryston BP-25 DA Stereo Preamplifier

Occupational hazards are minor and few when it comes to reviewing audio equipment. Perhaps one of the most common occurs when a product under review is updated by the manufacturer during the review process. This scenario played out before I could finish with Bryston's BP-25 DA preamplifier, the fully loaded version of the venerable BP-20 series with its own built-in digital to analog converter. The newest and just released iteration of the BP-20 series is the BP-26, which Bryston's James Tanner assures me, differs significantly from the BP-25 only in terms of power supply. Moreover, the BP-25's DAC section, he says, hasn't changed at all. The price, however, has risen to $3195 US for the BP-26 plus another grand for the DAC for a total of $4195 US.

As much as I would have loved to spend some time with a BP-26 DA for comparison, the review of the BP-25 had to be finished regardless. I had already taken too long to get it finished! Luckily the BP-26 is an evolution of the BP-25 rather than a replacement, and, judging by every other new Bryston model we've reviewed, no doubt an improvement. With this company it's the engineering department that dictates new model releases, not the marketing department. As such I think it's relatively safe to assume that a BP-26 will sound very much like a BP-25, and very likely better. Existing BP-25 owners can apparently use the new power supply with their preamps, a $1200 US upgrade.

The BP-25 DA is a full-featured, high-end, purist preamplifier, if such a thing can be said. Versatile? Very. But there's nothing extraneous or gimmicky about it. In a preamp for a serious two channel system it's hard to ask for much more than what this one offers: Two coaxial digital inputs (switched by a toggle on the front panel), six RCA analog inputs, a pair of balanced inputs, balanced and unbalanced outputs, a tape loop, headphone jack, a rotary balance control, polarity inversion, and a chunky, machined aluminum remote control. The styling is simple, classic Bryston and available in silver or black. The power supply is an outboard unit connected by an umbilical DIN cable. You can get a phono stage built in too, but to do so you'll have to forgo the DAC option.

Let's talk about that DAC for a minute, a $1300 ($1000 US) option. The converter chip is a Crystal CS43122, a hybrid multi-bit delta-sigma device. "Before the digital data reaches the delta-sigma modulator, it is run though an 8x over-sampling process and digital interpolation filter." The DAC is also an up-sampling design. A Bryston product memo continues on the subject: "So in the BP25 DA, if a 44.1 kHz signal is present: we up-sample to 96 kHz (with the Sample Rate Converter) and then the DAC will internally 8x over-sample that signal." You're not limited to 44.1 kHz, mind you. The BP-25 DA will accept incoming sample rates between 16 and 108 kHz and bit depths up to 24.

Upsampling and oversampling are nothing new, the sonic benefits of these processes by now quite well documented (see my review of the Perpetual Techonolgies D to D and D to A converters in the Fall 01 issue). However, the BP-25 DA goes one better by taking advantage of building its DAC right into the preamp. "The most critical part of the DAC circuit in the BP20/25 Preamplifiers and B60 DA Integrated Amplifiers," the memo goes on to explain, "is that the output from the D to A is directly connected to a pair of Bryston proprietary Class A Discreet Operational Amplifiers rather than the typical IC chips employed in most other products. This makes a huge difference in resolution and dynamic headroom performance." Also making a difference is that each component of the DAC (input receiver, sample rate converter andDAC) has an independently regulated segment of the power supply (the analog and digital sections of the power supply are also strictly segregated for maximum signal purity).

This DAC is no quick and dirty add on to a regular BP-25. It's a carefully integrated, meticulously engineered component in its own right, isolated on its own independent circuit board no less. It may seem a like pricey option on an already pretty expensive piece of gear, but the cost is more than in line with competitive outboard DACs, and, as you'll read below, the sound makes it a stunning value. Having the DAC built right in also takes one interconnect cable out of the equation, further increasing the chances of a sonic improvement in your system.

The rest of the preamp embodies what you'd expect from Bryston: simple, carefully thought out (the balance control, for instance has a finer range of adjustment close to center), meticulously hand-built, and generally bulletproof. The remote is especially robust, being machined out of a solid block of aluminum. Well thrown it could very likely pass right through one my plaster walls and continue hurtling into the next room. Thankfully I was never inclined to attempt this, nor did I risk toe fracture by dropping the thing on my foot. The remote may be minimalist, featuring only volume, mute and absolute phase adjustment, but you'll be hard pressed to break the thing. Should you encounter any kind of operational mishap with the preamp or the remote, keep in mind there's always the now legendary twenty year Bryston warrantee to back you up.

When audio equipment gets out of the way

I had the pleasure of listening to the BP-25 DA for a rather extended period of time, and in two different listening rooms no less. Part of the reason the review period was so extended was that I was in the process of buying a house, and then (uggh) moving into it. Hence, the two different listening rooms. The other part of the reason was that I didn't want to send it back! The sound was addictive. The BP-25 DA sounds just like a preamp should, which is like no preamp at all. It gets out of the way better than any I've heard, delivering musical, natural, squeaky clean and just plain effortless sound. My listening notes are peppered with words like "clarity", "coherence", and "resolution".

When evaluating the Roku Soundbridge network music player (review elsewhere in this issue) the BP-25 was the perfect partner, providing quick and easy digital input switching between it and my CD player for comparisons. With products like the Roku becoming more and more common, multiple digital inputs are going to become de-rigeur in modern preamps and DACs, as they already have in receivers and surround processors. The Bryston was also transparent enough to hear everything the Roku was capable of, one of the major points of the review in the first place. Listening to Wilco's Yankee Hotel Foxtrot through the digital out of the Roku and, simultaneously, though that of my Rotel RCD-951 CD player, the Bryston revealed details I had never heard on the record before, a recording I thought I was pretty familiar with. What was even more impressive was the subtle shading, nuance, and inflection I could hear; the minute differences in presence, attack, and decay that make music sound alive and real. Spooky real. Here's a direct quote from the notes I made at that time: "Smooth, smooth, smooth and hyper detailed with phenomenal rhythm and pace. Highly involving." In a word? Musical.

Naturally I made some comparisons with my reference outboard DAC, a Musical Fidelity A3 24. The MF is also an up-sampling DAC, selectable to 96 or 192 kHz, and also uses a Delta Sigma chipset with 8x over-sampling. It also costs roughly what the DAC option on the BP-25 DA costs so it made for a pretty fair comparison. I liked the MF enough to buy it a few years back and have been enjoying great sound from it ever since. I was very interested to see how Bryston's internal DAC would stack up.

Differences between closely matched DACs can be vanishingly slight, but in this case, and perhaps this is where the BP-25 DA's direct op-amp connections pay off, they were quite audible. Ry Cooder's Mambo Sinuendo, for instance, sounded distinctly more natural and three-dimensional via the Bryston's internal DAC. Transients seemed to "pop" out of the background with a little more alacrity too. By comparison the Musical Fidelity, albeit burdened somewhat by a run of interconnect cable (Ultralink Ultima, by the way) to the preamp, sounded a little duller and more diffuse and lacked the superfine detail of the internal DAC. The presentation also lacked some of the spaciousness and air that the Bryston conveyed so readily. The sense of effortlessness and speed wasn't quite the same either, the sound "jumping" out of the speakers to a greater extent with the BP-25 DA.

This sense of speed and what perhaps is best described as general vigor carried through the comparisons with my reference preamp, the Musical Fidelity A3CR. With the Bryston there never seemed to be anything held back, almost the audio equivalent of doubling the diameter of water feed pipes in your house: more gush, and a much better shower. I'm not talking about a simple question of more volume. That's easy for any line level preamp to accomplish. It was as if the sound was under greater pressure, coming at me quicker, fuller and firmer than before. With the BP-25 DA the sound was more alive and more dynamically exciting than with the Musical Fidelity preamp. At the same time it could be intimate and super-detailed while never straying from grain-free smoothness.

Midrange neutrality was as good as I've heard from any preamp, as the eerily palpable image of Beck (from Sea Change) and other vocalists appearing between my speakers attested. The sound was startlingly open, intimate and direct. Where the Musical Fidelity preamp sounded slightly veiled but pleasantly lush, the BP-25 DA was as crisp and clean as freshly bleached sheets. Again the dynamic performance of the Bryston instilled a feeling of the music being completely uninhibited and unrestrained.

While its internal DAC connection to op-amps seemed to be giving it a leg up in the digital department, the BP-25 retained its exemplary character traits whenever I switched to vinyl as a source. The gap between it and the Musical Fidelity narrowed a bit, but it was made abundantly clear that I was hearing the differences between a very good preamp and a truly great one. Music through the Bryston just sounded more natural and alive.

It's hard to imagine that the new BP-26 could sound much better, but it's certainly likely. If you're looking for a state of the art preamp, with a state of the art DAC built right in, you need to spend some time at a Bryston dealer soon. I was sorry to see the BP-25 DA go back to the factory. Had I not just sunk all my disposable income, and a good chunk of income I have yet to earn, into the aforementioned house, I would have bought one myself. It's not cheap, but I suspect you'd have to spend far more to do any better.

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/preamps/bryston_BP-25-da-2.html

Aurum Acoustics Integris CDP CD Player and Linestage

I don’t think I ever expected to get my hands on a piece of audio equipment as fine as this. In fact, there aren’t many as good as this. When it comes to the cost of an audio component (or anything else, for that matter) I want only value for money. But that is not as easy as it sounds and, one must be cautious, a bargain isn’t necessarily value for money. There are many fine CD players that are priced lower than the Integris CDP and there are several that cost multi thousands. The CDP, though, is more than a state of the art CD player. It is also a line preamp. You can pay many thousands for a standalone preamplifier. So, in the rarefied world of High End Audio, I define the CDP as value for money. The rest is simply pure delight.

The Component: it is a single box containing a player for 16 bit, or red book, Compact Discs and a line stage pre-amplifier. It has five buffered analogue inputs, five digital inputs and three outputs, one analog, and two PCM digital. Switching among them is simple and noiseless. The transport is a silky smooth Philips 2M top-loader. Disc stability is assured with the use of a magnetic puck. Resampling is achieved with a Quantum digital processing module from Switzerland’s Anagram Technologies. This very sophisticated device is at the heart of the matter, and outputs a 24bit/192kHz signal.

The result achieved in the recovery of information from the common two channel CD is just astounding, as accurate and more detailed than any competing format. This is not the player if you are attracted to surround sound for music playback. This is not the player if you plan to line your walls with SACDs. This IS the player if you have a collection of Compact Discs and want to enjoy them more than you ever imagined.

The Integris CDP is a sterling example of the many advantages that, with care and good design, can be realized by putting things in one box. Having indulged in several years of outboard DACs and jitter boxes (remember Audio Alchemy?), I came to that conclusion long ago.

It’s not worth the inconvenience or the money spent on additional interconnects and power supplies and cords. The shorter and less cluttered the signal path the better. Having the preamp included is more than icing on the cake. It is accurate and very, very quiet. Having it coupled with the CD player in the one unit is the essence of flexibility and convenience. With the multiplicity of inputs and outputs it will accommodate all your stuff.

For example, LP playback from a phono section through an Integris line input works beautifully. Sound is wide-ranging and dynamic and the noise floor is considerably reduced. Should a phono section become available for the CDP you would see me first in line.

One of the Integris CDP’s lasting virtues is that, with its modular design, it can be upgraded or have additional features added as they become available in the years to come. A more detailed description of the CDP can be found on Aurum’s web site.

The main functions of the Integris are controlled from the buttons on the machine itself. The supplied, quite remarkable, Harmony remote does everything, including adjusting absolute phase. It is programmed by downloading information from your computer.

The Set-Up: Easy, take it out of the box, make the connections and play. For best results you should use an isolation platform or accessory cones to support it. One of the most interesting things about the CDP is the way it reveals the differences between associated equipment and accessories. When it comes to connections, I had the chance to do some experimenting and I ended up with the Cardas Golden Reference power cord and Cardas Neutral Reference interconnects. I would like to try the more upscale Golden Reference ICs. If experimenting with interconnects and power cords appeals, then a competent dealer will (or certainly should) let you experiment from the stock of loaners until you have what you like. More than ever I realize when it comes to cables etc., there is no right answer but, BUT, you will hear differences.

My System: I am running the CDP directly into a pair of bridged Bryston 3BST amplifiers. My Brystons are connected to Wattgate wall outlets with WireWorld Electra III power cords. My speakers are the lovely PSB Stratus Gold i and the Speaker cable is Kimber Select 3033.

The Sound: Well, what do you expect when you drive a Lamborghini? You expect something that is beyond the ordinary and very special. So it is with the Integris CDP. The conventional wisdom with top-flight equipment is to say it neither adds nor subtracts. That is nonsensical when it comes to CD reproduction with the CDP. It simply does things to the bits that are magical. It transforms. I have had time to listen to a wide variety of material and everything sounds right. The sound stage is wide and deep, maintaining its proper dimensions all the way back. The imaging is rock solid, the trumpets stay in the trumpet section no matter how loudly they play or the tympani stay way in the back regardless of the amount of air they excite. The CDP’s ability to resolve the quiet stuff, low level information, which is where much of the sound experience gets its life, is one of its most remarkable features, and the music emerges from such quietness that it appears, unbounded, from its own unique world.

One of the jazz recordings I like, and like to listen to for system evaluation is John Scofield and Joe Lovano's Blue Note recording What We Do. With the CDP the sound is focused and beautifully staged. Bill Stewart’s drumming is hyperactive and he uses the whole kit. His cymbals sound sharp and steely or delicately filigreed. Snare and tom toms resonate or explode. They are all properly in place behind Scofield, who is slightly left and Levano's tenor, which is slightly right of centre. Scofield can get so many colours from his guitar. Changes take place in the flash of a second. Mind you, as much as I like it, this is not a perfect or purist recording and the CDP reveals all. For purist I go to AM’s The Bellingham Sessions, featuring Chuck Israels. Oh, boy, pure as the driven snow. It’s all there. You hear everything. Image stability is crucial when listening, especially to string quartets. Again, the CDP locates each player believably and at the same time they play together in their given space. You sense the musicians reacting to each other.

At the other end of the scale, the Integris conveys the thrilling power of a full symphony orchestra. Herbert Blomstedt’s San Francisco discs of the symphonies of Carl Neilson on Decca/London are a wonder. Recorded in Davies Hall in the late 80s, their power is, well, thrilling. In the 4th and 5th noble, great music is dressed in compelling sound. You can hear mallets strike, drums resonate and sounds bounce off the walls, and that’s just the percussion.

I could go on, for example, the Mahler 3rd Symphony in the early 60s recording by Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic in the Sony 20bit reissue but let me say, overall, the frequency response is more even than I’ve ever heard it in my room. Bass is solid, clean and full of life. (I had to get used to the loss of mid-bass distortion). The midrange and high end deliver space, air, transparency and detail, detail, detail. All this with a sense of freedom that is continually engaging, helping you discover or rediscover no matter how familiar the recordings.

The Bottom Line: My time with the Integris CDP began with a quest to find a CD player that would satisfy me as much as the experience of listening to LPs. This component does that and much more (including making the LPs sound better). You will be surprised how many beautifully recorded CDs you have in your collection. Just yesterday I dug out a Hyperion disc from 1988 (Tony Faulkner, engineer) of music by John Stanley. I have always admired it but this time I couldn’t believe my ears. New digital recordings are stunning and historic reissues sound remarkably good upsampled.

Finally, everything I hear with the Integris CDP happens in the context of a complete lack of dreaded digital edge. You thought CDs automatically came with digital sound; not so, and the CDP proves it in a very elegant way. Obviously this is a very special, very high-end piece of business.

May I describe it as invaluable?

http://www.audio-ideas.com/reviews/digital-sources/aurum-cdp.html