This past weekend I had the pleasure of visiting my good friend Nuck at his bachelor pad. The array of McIntosh was truly impressive, the 402 is a massive behomoth of an amp. We started the listening with Van Halen, turned up really loud! The music actually seemed to be coming from behind the Gallos, and the bass was tight and musical, very much unlike the mono-note boom of the subs I'm used to hearing. I was impressed with the quality of the sub speakers too - to me they look like the same ones used in JL subs. The Mac system plays at rock concert levels, but still clear and controlled. I feel sorry for his neighbours actually.
Nick's Media Center was fun to play around with too - scrolling through Nuck's massive music collection via the user interface is a fun way to explore someone's music collection. We found stuff on there that Nuck didn't even know he had. The MC is defintely something I would consider buying.
We were listening to the MC via the Bryston DAC at first, and I brought along my new CA DACMagic just for fun to compare against it. Does the Bryston sound better? Of course it does, for 4x the price I would hope so. The little CA DAC does sound suprisingly good, though. I have had issues at home with it dropping the signal, but at Nucks it performed flawlessly.
Now for the really important part: The ribs. Hands down the best ribs I have ever tasted. I left Nucks place wanting to buy not only a Media Center, a Bryston DAC, but also a smoker.
Oh yeah, Nuck's mom even gave me a tree to plant in my backyard. Thanks mom!
Thank you Dave. My little shack always feels better with a good friend over to visit!
The CA DAC is a very good value. For being balanced, and the connectivity (and no drop-outs), I have already recommended the unit to a friend to listen to! Just don't try a dvd signal on USB! haha
Thank you for the kind words,David, and for taking the time away from family to visit.
Awesome David!! When your ready there will be an MC for "Buddy Price" for you. Many upgrades for final spec since the "Nuck machine". Can probably see about a price on a DAC too. Did we do that already?
Glad you had a good time. The Cambridge DAC is a nice sounding unit. Just don't run surround sound through it as it pukes. Makes a few peeping noises then freezes up. lol. It wont pass through any DD or DTS signal. Neither will the Bryston though. How is the DACMagic stacking up against the Jolida CDP?
Can't wait to get up to Nucks for some ribs, upgrade his MC, and most importantly drink with a buddy and listen to that new setup of his.
Not to harp, but the BDA-1 is a FULL CHASSIS unit, with lots of playground for adding anything more...like a phono...linestage...analogue card...power supplies...
The Big Green Egg is on my Christmas list. Weight for the large is about 140lb and it is ALL ceramic. Dial in your own temp for direct / indirect or smoker duties.
Nuck:: Must use real wood / charcoal. Must be flexible: Smoker / Direct / Indirect cooking. Must be able to do 1 Turkey of around 20lb., same as my Weber. Must be able to hold standing rib rack. No Gas grills allowed on my property. I'm a griller from way back. I've owned as many as 6 Hibachi's at once, including a table topper which used 2 charcoal briquettes and would hold 1 small burger or a hotdog, cut in half. The small one was just a bit larger than a can of soup.......