Plinius CD-101

[richidoo]

I posted a preliminary review of the Plinius CD-101 earlier today. After writing I listened to it a lot more. I realized that much of my criticism (lack of dynamics) was wrongly blamed on the CD player and not the unfamiliar preamp I am also trying. I realized the preamp was also dulling the other sources connected to it, so I thought it would be better to delete the post and start fresh when I get the preamp sorted.

My preliminary impression  of the CD-101 is good:  The CD player has incredible detail all across the frequency range. The tone is extremely pure and lifelike, except for the dynamics mentioned above. Metallic high frequency acoustic instruments like bells chimes, etc are very beautiful and clear, like bright white sunlight. The CDP brings effortless clarity to loud complex symphonic passages like Bartok, that are easily smeared and sound confused on my SB3. Bass power is impressive. Everything is extremely clean sounding and precise. When I get that preamp out of there I will be able to really hear the musicality of the player and comment more.

There are some build quality issues, but nothing that takes away from the musical performance.
Rich

Plinius CD-101
Review AudioEnz
Neil Gader Review - TAS

[Carlman]

Well hm, then.  I'll be bringing my preamp over to your place (hopefully later today) with some fab tubes and freshly ERS'd internals... and I think you'll be surprised at the transparency.
We should have a Plinius vs. Transporter vs. USB DAC show down!  (and more!)
Looking forward to seeing what results we can get out of that...

-C

[shrinkmore]

Sounds like an interesting show down.  Let us know.

[richidoo]

Looking forward to seeing what results we can get out of that...
-C

Me too! Thanks.
Rich

[miklorsmith]

Wow, you guys are the new Wild, Wild West!

Nice writeup, Rich.

[richidoo]

The Plinius sounded great through Carl's Mac preamp. It is a true audiophile player, with all the benefits and pitfalls of that camp. The hyper detailed resolution is good for some and highly entertaining, but might be a little much for long term listening. The shock value of ultra resolution is definitely there.

The clarity of the highs was mesmerizing. You have the feeling you are hearing "it all." The CD is scraped clean and extruded at maximum pressure through the speakers. Very forceful confident presentation. Still very musical too. Has a great sense of tempo due to the unlimited current available to drive bass notes and transients effortlessly.

The CD drawer jiggled when it was out, and made scraping noises when it moved in and out. The row of LEDs along the fron tface is the only display and is not too bad to use, but definitely geared towards hifi vanity and coolness compared to the practicality of ARC CD7's big flourescent display.

I was surprised how well the SB3 compared to the Plinius, it was 90% of it in most ways, while using a linear power supply. There was no mistaking that last 10% though when switching back and forth. Compared to Nixon USBTubeDAC was completely different. NOS mids were great and superior to the other players. Micro and macro dynamics of the USBDAC were not up to the others and the tone  of NOS might take me some getting used to, but I can definitely see the attraction (is that a pun?)

The Pinius is scheduled for audition by a real audiophile this Tuesday so I am trying to enjoy its presence while I have it. A very cool piece of gear and very exciting to play with. But I am not a hifi audiophile and didn;t like being force fed micro-details. I would not buy it for $5000. It may sound a lot more musical when paired with Plinius SS amplifier or another SS amp, because Plinius doesn't do tubes.

To me, a network player/DAC is just so much easier to use and enhances the listening experience much more even without the 10% more resolution of the high end Plinius CDP. I imagine various high end DACs would approach the Plinius performance for less money.
Rich