G'day maties, from Down unda.
Just checking on a few things, as expert advice will be much appreciated here.
The time has come to upgrade my digital playback system, which is a McIntosh SACD/CD player MCD301. Although it's certainly not on par with the rest of my gear (CJ amplification and CLX's), the big Mac has served extremely well, outlasting various other digital players I've had, including two ARC Ref series units. So, with that I'm on a quest to find something special and something worth spending on as long as it meets my personal benchmark percentage in improvement, which has to be at least 35% - 40%. Otherwise to me it's a waste of hard earned dollars and only a marginal improvement.
I firmly believe, based on the following three that I've short listed, they would be a significant upgrade with perhaps a percentage improvement of around 45% for sure. Anyway, here goes:
1. Have the opportunity of getting the P03 transport and D03 dac. The only issue is, although SOTA and best in Class at the time, these two units date back to 2007... that's pretty much vintage gear. They also use 24bit dacs. The asking price (carefully used with a recent laser unit replacement) seems like a great opportunity.
2. The K07xs - available in Aus for an unbelievable price, I was quite shocked. The latest versions with all the goodies and gadgets plus four 32bit dacs per channel.
3. The K05xs - again available in Aus, very reasonably priced and a step above the K07xs.
My questions to the experts;
1. Is it worth considering the much older P03 & D03 units?
2. What's the main difference between the K07xs & the K05xs?
3. Is the K05xs going to deliver that 35% margin of improvement over the K07xs? Or is it only an incremental improvement?
In which case, might as well go for the K07xs...
Would appreciate any suggestions based on the above, and the rationale behind your advice.
Cheers for now, and enjoy those fine tunes! Best, RJ
Just checking on a few things, as expert advice will be much appreciated here.
The time has come to upgrade my digital playback system, which is a McIntosh SACD/CD player MCD301. Although it's certainly not on par with the rest of my gear (CJ amplification and CLX's), the big Mac has served extremely well, outlasting various other digital players I've had, including two ARC Ref series units. So, with that I'm on a quest to find something special and something worth spending on as long as it meets my personal benchmark percentage in improvement, which has to be at least 35% - 40%. Otherwise to me it's a waste of hard earned dollars and only a marginal improvement.
I firmly believe, based on the following three that I've short listed, they would be a significant upgrade with perhaps a percentage improvement of around 45% for sure. Anyway, here goes:
1. Have the opportunity of getting the P03 transport and D03 dac. The only issue is, although SOTA and best in Class at the time, these two units date back to 2007... that's pretty much vintage gear. They also use 24bit dacs. The asking price (carefully used with a recent laser unit replacement) seems like a great opportunity.
2. The K07xs - available in Aus for an unbelievable price, I was quite shocked. The latest versions with all the goodies and gadgets plus four 32bit dacs per channel.
3. The K05xs - again available in Aus, very reasonably priced and a step above the K07xs.
My questions to the experts;
1. Is it worth considering the much older P03 & D03 units?
2. What's the main difference between the K07xs & the K05xs?
3. Is the K05xs going to deliver that 35% margin of improvement over the K07xs? Or is it only an incremental improvement?
In which case, might as well go for the K07xs...
Would appreciate any suggestions based on the above, and the rationale behind your advice.
Cheers for now, and enjoy those fine tunes! Best, RJ