HiFi Subjectivist ¦ Audio Forum ¦ NVA User Group

Since I got my Nva amplification I have started using digital more & more. I have a meridian 206 player- optical coaxial and analogue outputs.
Via analogue the output voltage must be high as the pre doesn’t have to be cranked, I know this player has had a healthy following but not sure I’d say it was the last word in music- I’d describe it as clinical / clean.
I’m not unhappy with it but never really invested time or money on digital- I don’t have a huge cd collection but wondered what a dac would add or should I try ssc mk 2.
Is cd dying as a formatt, is it worth investing in.
Cheers

I'm still keen on cd. I know there is a ram chip in them but anything that resembles a computer puts me right off.

Get the lid off that meridian and the soldering iron out.

Try one of the old cheapo Philips machines with the 1541 in. That's probably what the meridian is based off, I found that I preferred the Philips machines when I had an mcd Pro a few years ago, the meridian was abit cold.
I use a cd371 which cost about 20 quid

Cold is a good description

Trying SSP interconnects might make the sound of the CDP less brittle and edgy.

There were 4 versions of the 206 which can be recognised by the serial number:

206 CD Player 4 versions
16 bit serial no 1****
Bitstream serial no 2*****
DAC7 serial no 3*****
Delta Sigma serial no 4*****

If you are looking for a warmer and detailed sound then you could look for a used Cambridge DacMagic Plus or Musical Fidelity M1DAC and keep the 206 as a transport.

Thanks- I was looking at the musical fidelity dac, a friend has the Cambridge so I’ll ask to borrow it- cheers on the serial numbers- I’ll check

Bitstream conversion

'Bitstream'- That would account for the 'dry' sound.

As a transport the 206 will still be very worthwhile.

Fretless wrote: ↑Thu Jan 31, 2019 10:11 am 'Bitstream'- That would account for the 'dry' sound.

As a transport the 206 will still be very worthwhile.

Thanks for the replies

I would say that most of the sound of a cdp comes from the anologue output stage I.e after the dac chip. I bypassed the output stage in my cdp and was very pleasantly surprised at the outcome - still use it that way. My dac chip has enough grunt to drive the next stage but that may not be the case with the one in yours.

Seriously, getting rid of circuitry you don't need pays huge dividends musically (in my experience). Just look at the doc's philosophy of the best component being no component. It really is true in my opinion and if you like the nva way then you want the least number of filters in your equipment that you can "get away with". There are filters in what most people consider to be the signal path (isn't the signal everywhere ?) e.g low pass, high pass in amps and speakers and there are the ones in the power supply cleaning up the noise. All of them have an effect on what you hear out of the speakers. Listen to what the doc tells ya and you can't go wrong.

In the case of my cdp the anologue stage was a 7 pole bessel filter with 6 opamps, the last pair also being a buffer to the outside world and amplifying the signal by half a volt or so. The music was so artificial and contrived compared to how it sounds now without the output stage. Every step i have taken has been to reduce complexity. Changed out my active pre for a simple passive volume control - loved that one. Before converting to nva amplification boards i used Avondale boards. Experimented by firstly removing the input low pass filter - one less filter and what a result. Next removed the zobel network on the output - not as big an effect as the LPF but worth doing. Also removed the output inductor and parallel damping resistor - my amp now sounded much more like a nva i.e more music. Nothing blew up.

My dabblings with speakers was more of the same - get rid of the electrical filters that comprise a crossover, do the filtering mechanically and then sit back and be amazed.

My advice would be to go for something simple without all the bells and whistles that modern and high end stuff has (just marketing bollocks IMO). Try one of the £5 dac's from china and a linear psu (well documented on here) and so how you go.

ATB, Stu (and sorry for the essay which may have no interest to you at all )