Conference cookie::notes$archive:cd_v1

        Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!  Were they serious, Bob, or
        just showing a demo and blowing smoke?  Maybe I'll stop waiting
        for ARC to come out with a player (at double the price, no
        doubt) if this thing is real and good.  Time to call my dealer
        and get him to order a demo unit!
        
        Dave

        They appeared dead serious enough that another company was also
        using as an input on their system. I wish I had picked up some of
        the literature on it. Maybe Mark got some. He stayed for the whole
        show, I was there Sunday only. 

    Well, I'm back from the show and did get lit on the California Audio
    Labs CD player.
    
    Almost every CD player in use at the High-end rooms were modified
    Magnavox 2040s or 2041s.  They included the Sonographe
    (conrad-johnson), Audioquest, American Audio, Distech, PS, Musical
    Concepts, Melos, Cambridge Audio, Meridian, and I think Convergent
    Technologies (can't remember off-hand).
    
    I got to compare the PS with the Distech and Musical Concepts. 
    The Musical Concepts sounded the best, with the PS second (though
    the Distech was softer and easier to listen to).  I had a look inside
    both the PS and the Distech.  The Distech is a real rip-off at $1200
    with only $30 of extra parts put inside a $169 Magnavox 2040.
    
    The tube unit was reputed to sound better than the PS, but we didn't
    get around to comparing it with Musical Concepts' machine (though
    I tried).
    
    There was another player at the show.  The M.A.N. speaker folks
    had a modified Kenwood player they claimed beat the tubed player,
    but logistics were tough to compare it with the Musical Concepts'
    also.  Their machine wasn't really an available product either.
    
    The California Audio people were a little protective of their machine.
    They didn't have the covers off (fortunately tubes need air-flow
    though!) and would not allow close pictures.  The parts looked decent
    and I think they had 6 6DJ8 tubes inside.

    Well, at least the California Audio CD player is EMP-proof (or did
    they use a nasty harsh-on-the-ears semiconductor laser instead of a 
    nice warm-sounding right-thinking gas laser?). 
    	
    Did they build their D/A converters out of tubes too?
                                           
    

    Hmmm... I think we may have found a use for an AN/FSQ-7.... maybe
    the computer museum should get in on this...
    
    							...tek

        This weekend I found a CAL Tempest dealer in the Chicago area, and
        got the chance to listen to the Tempest for a couple hours. My
        reference player was a Musical Concepts modified Magnavox 2041.
        Previously, my wife and I had compared the MC to other high end
        players; MC had bested the new 16 bit NAK OMS-7A, but was not
        quite as good as the 14 bit PS player, contrary to Marks earlier
        comments. The MC was closer to the NAK than the PS in performance. 

        Well, if the PS was close, the Tempest was no contest! Dave, if
        you have been driving all your ARC gear with your D-5, you will
        LOVE the Tempest. While my wife had to listen for several minutes
        to identify the differences between the MC and the PS units, the
        differences were almost instantly obvious with the Tempest. 

        It was also my first chance to seriously listen to ARC
        electronics; the Tempest was connected to an SP-11, and a D-115,
        and driving ProAC EBS monitors. Cables appeared to be all MIT. The
        only fault we heard in the system was a bit of tube noise on the
        quiet passages of the CDs. 

        Now Dave, don't rush out yet to buy one of these beasts. For the
        Winter CES, CAL is supposed to have a new player, based on the new
        16 bit Magnavox 650, which should take things aother leap forward.
        My guess is that it should only add a small increment on the
        price, probably around $2000 total. 

        Anyone in the Chicago area, that wants to contribute to excess Con
        Ed profits can check this system out at Rosine Audio, 4525 Oakton,
        in Skokie. The store is brand new, having just moved out of Mr.
        Rosine's home. They have some nice equipment, and a helpful staff. 

        Well, its a year later, and the CES is going again. This year
        almost every high end exhibitor with a CD player has the Tempest!
        I'd estimate it was the single most widely used component at the
        high end show. Unfortunately, CALs room was closed the day I went,
        so I didn't get to see or hear the new (cheaper) Aria.
        
        BTW, last years big CD player, the PS Audio, was nowhere to be
        seen, even at PS! 

    Hmm, you know there's room in the Sony CDP-C70 for a small HeNe
    laser, maybe I should give it a try.  If you can make NAND or NOR
    gates from tubes, it should be a piece of cake to implement the
    ECC....  :+)
    
    Willie