Bada....come to papa

[Norm Apter]

Well, after waffling over the choice of a new CDP for my 2 channel for several months, I finally decided on one and pulled the trigger...Yep, just ordered a new Bada HD-22SE from Pacific Valve. Technically, they are out of stock right now but told me they expect a shipment in this week so hopefully it will be on its way by the end of the week. This will be replacing my Marantz CD-5001.

This will also be my intro to tubes (actually just one tube -- I upgraded to the GE 5670), so I hope it plays nice with my Parasound SS gear.

Actually, all the way up to these last couple of weeks I was leaning toward the Jolida JD100 or Rotel 1072. I'm sure those two are fantastic sounding players (based on what I've read here), but...call it an impulsive move...I just have a good feeling about this Bada and went for it (well, that and the fact that folks here have had good things to say about it and Affordable Audio has a nice little write up on this one). Maybe I'll regret it...who knows? But the only way to find out is to give it a shot. After going through a phase of upgrading my ICs, I'm now excited about a change on the front end.

Norm

[danz1906]

Congrats.....Nice CD player:D

[Ricardo]

You won't regret it. The Bada can walk side by side with the Jolida.

[pearsall001]

Superb player...congrats & enjoy!!!

[daboyz]

I was just going to PM to see what was up. Congrats on the purchase and I think you'll be pleased. Mine will go before the RAS in about two weeks. I'm really itching to let them get their ears on it.

[Early B.]

The Bada is a bad mutha, brotha. Good choice. It'll outperform a stock Jolida.

[Ern Dog]

Congrats! You're in for a real treat.

I've had my Bada for 3 months now and couldn't be happier, well that's not totally true. I don't like that there is no random track feature. Oh well. It more than makes up with it's high resolution. It made my NAD C-542 sound veiled and flat in comparison, but I never knew that until the Bada bing.

[BottomFeeder]

Great, Norm! I hope you'll give us a write up. I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on the Bada as well.

Did they give you any kind of a deal?

& What made you want to upgrade to another tube & how much did that cost?

[Norm Apter]

Great, Norm! I hope you'll give us a write up. I'm getting close to pulling the trigger on the Bada as well.

Did they give you any kind of a deal?

& What made you want to upgrade to another tube & how much did that cost?

No, unfortunately they would not cut me any kind of deal. I asked about throwing in the upgraded tube ($10) and installation (they charge $15 for installation) for free, but the CS rep on the other end wouldn't even go that far. (Another member here, though, told me that they did do this for him, so if you order from Pacific Valve, you should at least try). Who knows...maybe its the luck of the draw?

As for upgrading the tube, I first noticed that they strongly suggested getting a GE 5670 in the video demo on their website. In the Affordable Audio write up (Nov. 2006, BTW) the reviewer also remarked that he switched out the stock (Chinese) tube for the GE 5670 with greatly improved results. This move (switching to the GE 5670) was also backed up by two other members here at CP (both of whom have already contributed to this thread and may wish to comment further...or maybe not). So, I ordered the GE 5670 ($10) along with the player and still put in a request for free installation...we'll see if they're willing to do so.

Maybe there are other good tubes to consider -- again if Bada owners want to chime in, feel free -- but the GE is the only one I've read about.

The player has been out of stock for roughly 3 weeks. I was ready to purchase two weeks ago, but when I e-mailed Pacific Valve at that time they told me to check back in 10 days (i.e. last Friday). So, I checked back on Friday and they said hopefully these would be shipping this week, and noted that if I wanted to get to the top of the wait queue, I should just complete the transaction as if I were buying it and they would charge me only when it ships. If you'd like, I can let you know when it ships to me (According to the website they are still out of stock).

Norm

[Mike Reeter]

Good call Norm...I'm sure you will be in for a pleasant surprise.

[janmike]

Congrats Norm. It will be interesting to hear what you think of the player. Enjoy.

[george daniel]

Congrats Norm,,I'm anxious to hear your impression

[Early B.]

As for upgrading the tube, I first noticed that they strongly suggested getting a GE 5670 in the video demo on their website. In the Affordable Audio write up (Nov. 2006, BTW) the reviewer also remarked that he switched out the stock (Chinese) tube for the GE 5670 with greatly improved results. This move (switching to the GE 5670) was also backed up by two other members here at CP (both of whom have already contributed to this thread and may wish to comment further...or maybe not). So, I ordered the GE 5670 ($10) along with the player and still put in a request for free installation...we'll see if they're willing to do so.

Maybe there are other good tubes to consider -- again if Bada owners want to chime in, feel free -- but the GE is the only one I've read about.


Yeah, the GE5670 tube is the one you want. Ten bucks for the tube is not unreasonable, but don't pay $15 for installation. Do it yourself. It's as easy as changing a light bulb. You just need one of those star type screwdrivers to remove the top plate.

[phipiper10]

I've used the GE5670 with good results, it was an improvement over the stock. It was the first tube change I ever made....oooh the memories.

I used the Bendix 6385 for quite a while. This tube is Euphoric with a sparkling top end and plenty of space/air. I really enjoyed it for awhile but it was almost unnatural. You probably couldn't find one and if you did it wouldn't be cheap. I took a chance and bought a batch from a guy in Japan for not too much. I had them tested only to find most weren't good.

I now use Ericcson 396A Gold Pin I got from Brent Jesse. It sounds great not as sparkly and airy as the Bendix yet maintains some of those attributes just not as accentuated. It's clear and balanced top to bottom. I think of it as more natural but still toobey.

Good luck! enjoy!

[phipiper10]

Ha, I forgot, ask Brad I sold him one of those Bendix tubes...the readings were good but he never was able to get it to work for him.

[Early B.]

Ha, I forgot, ask Brad I sold him one of those Bendix tubes...the readings were good but he never was able to get it to work for him.

Yeah, the Bendix sounded glorious. But for some reason, it got too hot after a while and the player shut down. I hated to part with it.

I love to compare the 22SE with mine, which is an earlier version. It's a different design. The SE has fewer caps and a different transport mechanism.

[Norm Apter]

I now use Ericcson 396A Gold Pin I got from Brent Jesse. It sounds great not as sparkly and airy as the Bendix yet maintains some of those attributes just not as accentuated. It's clear and balanced top to bottom. I think of it as more natural but still toobey.

Is the Ericson 396A widely available? Can you find them on Ebay? If not, where might be a good place to look? As I mentioned, I already purchased the GE for now, but down the road it would be fun to do a comparison.

I just got word that my player will not ship for 1-2 weeks. Patience is a virtue, but I'm really anxious to throw this in the mix. The propects of this player, along with word (in another thread here) that the entire Beatles catalog is being digitally remastered and will be available in early September has me wondering just how good they will sound compared to what I'm used to with the current setup.

[phipiper10]

I don't believe the Ericsson Gold Pins are readily available but you could try the WE 396A for a pretty inexpensive alternative to the 5670. Those are frequently found on ebay. Just to change a couple of tubes and do it cheaply.

FYI -
Tube Section of Brent Jessee's site.

http://www.audiotubes.com/audtube.htm#aud%20list

He apparently has no more of those Gold pin Ericssons. What does the gold pin do for the sound???? No idea and maybe nothing in comparison to the Nickel pins.

[daboyz]

I can't believe they're charging you. I guess I rode them pretty good about the price for a week so they probably got tired of me and just gave them to me. I cannot comment on the difference in tubes since I've never heard the stock.

[Ern Dog]

Mine came with the stock ones and they were dissapointing. There was a big improvement when I rolled in the GE's. Haven't tried any others yet. I'm content for now.

[Norm Apter]

I can't believe they're charging you. I guess I rode them pretty good about the price for a week so they probably got tired of me and just gave them to me.

Yeah, I know. You know, I even mentioned you. Well, of course not you by name, but I said "my friend" got this kind of deal, so how about giving it to me? I also sent several e-mails...however, I think the key difference now is that they are out of stock so I'm kind of in the weaker position...I'm more desperate to get my hands on this thing than they are to unload it so I don't have much in the way of bargaining power (i.e. holding out).

Let us know what the RAS (Rockford Audio Society?) thinks when you debut it in front of them. That might take place before mine actually arrives.

[BottomFeeder]

There's a link for this cdp on Audiogon which allows one to "make an offer." I wonder if this might help or hurt an attempt to get a better deal?

Thoughts?

[daboyz]

Once you click on it it says that the price is firm.:( I believe there was an option for split shipping though. I was local pick up so that may have helped me.

[BottomFeeder]

Thanks for letting me know. Interesting that they'd say "Make an offer" then say the "price is firm."

Nice.

[Ricardo]

The "Make an offer" is an Audiogon standard; you can't choose not to have it.

[BottomFeeder]

Oh! Thanks!

I'm very much an Audiogon rookie.

[Norm Apter]

The Bada HD22SE arrived today...I've only had a chance to listen to it for about an hour or so...mighty impressed. More on that later...but here are a few shots of it with the Parasound Halo gear...don't worry; I usually don't stack components like this. I just wanted to bring the rig out to the living room for a better (initial) listening experience.


http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/huang0513/IMG_0697.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/huang0513/IMG_0694.jpg

http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e157/huang0513/IMG_0692.jpg

[fossy]

nice looking gear ya have there.Bet it sounds very good. Enjoy. I want a tube CDP when I grow up......

[Early B.]

Cool. Looking forward to your review.

[Norm Apter]

Cool. Looking forward to your review.

Certainly. I still need to do a few things before I can do any critical listening, I think.

a) In the owner's manual they suggest at least 50 hours of playing time for CDP burn in.

b) I ordered the GE 5670 which came with it, but Pac. Valve did not install it for me...was hoping they would. I actually don't have a star wrench on hand so I will have to make a trip to the hardware store (I guess) to pick one up. Dave (daboyz) noted strangely that to him and the others at the RAS gathering, the tube output (with the GE 5670 in there) and the SS output sounded identical...hmmm. Up to now (just a few hours), I have only used the SS output (as the stock Chinese tube is still in there). Once I achieve burn in, I'll be interested in comparing SS vs. stock Chinese tube and then SS vs. the GE 5670.

c) A new pair of ICs arrived the day before. I had just about broken in a pair of M-3s that I bought off A-gon through 6 weeks of use. But there was a mixup...I sent those back to the owner and the S-3s arrived on Thursday (day before CDP) and they have less than 20 hrs. on them according to the owner. I'm using them for the CDP to PRE connection so its back to the drawing board with burn in.

In an effort to further complicate matters, do you (EarlyB) or any other Bada owners have any experience with upgrading PCs with this unit?

[Early B.]

In an effort to further complicate matters, do you (EarlyB) or any other Bada owners have any experience with upgrading PCs with this unit?

I automatically upgrade all of the power cords on my gear. I use this one on my Bada: http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?powrcabl&1243715483&/Iego-L70530--Power-cable--cust

[VR3]

I see you use MIT cables -- get MIT power cables.

Excellent drop in noise floor in my system. I highly recommend them!

[phipiper10]

I use Signals MagicPower Digital Reference (below) on my pre and the Bada and their magic power for the amp.

http://signalcable.com/digitalpowerHC.html

Also I found the tube output the best almost immediately. A bit livelier.

Enjoy!

[madmax]

Manly men replace their own tubes. :)

Here is a good video on the CD player.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l52szqMwKdE
madmax

[daboyz]

Norm - The unit should already have had the burn-in done. That's why it takes a couple extra days to get it from them. When I purchased mine I was ready to pick it up that day but was told that they inspect and burn it in so I couldn't get it for three days.

Funny,my tube was installed.

[Norm Apter]

I have no problem handling this chore on my own, however, it would have been nice if the Owner's Manual listed the correct size star wrench needed for removing the top cover.

I went to ACE hardware yesterday and there were a number of slightly different-sized star wrenches that all looked just about right. (At 27 lbs, I didn't want to lug the whole damn CDP there) so I made a guess and one return trip later I now have the right one. So I successfully got the cover off and changed the tube. I feel like a real man now.:)

I noticed quite a big difference with the new tube (GE 5670) in...so I'm not quite sure what to make of this tube output vs. ss output issue. The GE 5670 sounded noticeably better over both the stock Chinese tube and SS output (with the Chinese tube), but I haven't gone back to listen to ss output with the GE 5670 in there yet.

As for the burn in, I received two contradictory messages. I received a single-page document from them which stated (just as you did, Dave) that the unit has been tested and burned in. But the owners manual that Pac Valve prepared and included stated, "We suggest at least a 50-hour break-in period before seriously listening to the Bada HD-22." Perhaps the key here is Bada HD-22 (as opposed to Bada HD-22SE), suggesting that this is an old owner's manual and they now burn in their units whereas they used to not do so. Anyway, I e-mailed them to see what was up. Still waiting for a reply.

Well, anyway I am really enjoying what I'm hearing. The one word or phrase that comes to mind is musical depth. In spite of the long wait, I'm very happy with my decision so far....

Norm