symphonic line vibrato cd player

[W WALDECKER]

i came home yesterday to find that my new symphonic line cd player was on my doorstep i took it in and opened it up. it is a matte black unit with no buttons or controls except for a power switch on the back. the unit is very heavy 33 lbs i think?everything is operated by the remote control. i have not been able to do any critical listening yet but i will say this. the bass is to die for! the mids were very good and the highs were smooth without a hint of brightness on the top end. after i get a chance to listen for awhile maybe i will write a review on it.:D

[organ]

Nice! Glad you're enjoying it. Is this one of those CD players that emulate vinyl sound? Do you have pics?

Maurice

[W WALDECKER]

i am not computer savy and i dont have a digital or web cam but symphonic line has a german website you could check out. i got this player from klaus bunge who owns odyssey audio and has been the us distributor for symphonic line since they started 19 years ago. his company used to be called german acoustics and then klaus bunge and rolf gemien of symphonic line started odyssey audio. i know klaus very well and i had a conversation about cd players with him and i asked about the ah! tubed players and he said they were good for the money and i asked him about the arcam cd 73t and he would not comment so i knew he did not like it because he wont bash other peoples equipment in fact he will recommend other companys products over his if he thinks thier equipment will work better in a given system the guy is really honest! so i said to him what would you recommend for a cd player because i cant forsee myself owning a symphonic line player in the near future i said this because symphonic line is extremely expensive he paused and then said to call him the following monday so i called the next monday and he said he found a cd player for me to audition and if i wanted he would ship it to me. i asked what it was? and he said it was one of his own personal players a symphonic line vibrato to be exact and he asked what i was willing to spend and i told him and he agreed to my price lets just say i got one hell of a good deal! the player has a very good analog sound not harsh or bright in any way it sounds just as klaus described it to me. it is very detailed without anything being overemphasised .on the back of the unit it says single produced in germany. these things are handmade one at a time and retail on this model is over$ 5100 us dollars it is the most expensive piece of gear that i have ever owned if you go by retail cost but i didnt pay anywhere near that. it just makes me want to pinch myself to see if i am dreaming this player is definatly a keeper! i called klaus and told him to ship me a pair of groneberg ts premium interconnects to try with the player he said he will ship them with my pair of odyssey mono extremes that should ship from indy on next monday. p.s the dac in this one box player is very good and i dont forsee using this unit as just a transport and as much as it costs i guess not!

[organ]

Damn that's one expensive player. Good to hear that your dealer was able to help you out. You're absolutely right. Don't bother looking for a DAC and using it as a transport. You'll have to spend a lot on a DAC to beat one in a $5100 player.

I'm going to upgrade my NAD CD player eventually and I'll be going tubed with Jolida.

Maurice

[beardog03]

I have the AH! 4000 with the 7308`s and the upgraded upsampler board....

very nice player...

By far the best I have ever owned

[W WALDECKER]

i was leaning heavily towards buying the ah! 4000 with the swiss made upsampler board myself. the same company that makes the upsamplers for the ah! also makes upsamplers for high end companies like audioaero and talk electronics and for the money and the quality of parts it is tough to beat. my symphonic line vibrato is not a upsampling player so i still may get the ah!4000 in the near future. how would you describe the sound of this tubed upsampling cd player?

[beardog03]

digital clarity

tube warmness

outstanding.........
smooth and clear...

[W WALDECKER]

i really like the idea of being able to roll the tubes to compliment the characteristics of a given system without being locked in to one particular type of sound .being able to fine tune the cd player is a big plus. how dramatic was the change from stock to the 24 bit upsampler?

[redeagle38]

Hi, I would like to buy new CDP and symphonic line vibrato cd player looks very interesting. Could you tell, have you compared this CDP with other CDP in this range price (accuphase or other ) ? Was you satisfied with this one ? ALso, I have not found more information concern this one, so could you tell me, what output voltage does it have on RCA and XLR outputs ?

Best regards Milan

[SCompRacer]

how dramatic was the change from stock to the 24 bit upsampler?

A reviewer once said the sonic benefit of the upsampler in the Ah! is undeniable. I owned an Ah! once upon a time, and it came with various op amps. I removed the upsampler to try them and experienced a loss of soundstage, midrange, and detail. IMO it transformed a decent CDP into a great one.