Sounds like you are having an amazing journey with TAD and congrats for your new D700! My dealer told me that the new C700 should come around the second semester, I'm looking forward listening to it too and compare to my C600
TAD Reference D700 CD/SACD player
- Thread starter kimurastanley
- Start date
Hi! I am very tempted to look for a brand new D600 from the remaining stock but I have doubts that I want to share with you:
1.- Is it a good idea to buy digital technology from 2010?
2.- If I buy a D600 in 2023, I don't know what year it was manufactured, and since what year it has been closed and unused, can that be a problem?
3.- And the last one, what would be a reasonable price?
Thank you!
D600 is far better than most super expensive 2023 DACs. It is wonderful DAC.
Very few super expensive dacs are as analog sounding as D600.
there is no problem
100% recommended
Very few super expensive dacs are as analog sounding as D600.
there is no problem
100% recommended
I concur with Amir's general principle: i would say great audio pieces are often still great a generation later. While digital is the toughest to carry forward, in my experience, great speakers (there was just a long post about the Quad 57 which is nearly 70 years old!), great amps (the old ML References from the 90s), the Rockport Sirius TT...and I think digital 'can' fall into this category within bounds.
The old Esoteric P-0 Transport (35 years old now?), the fact that people still talk about the TDA 1541 DAC chips (also 35 years old or more)...and the overriding rule that technology and design are one thing...execution and implementation are often something very different (and influential on the end result).
I have heard earlier TAD digital in Tokyo at their HQ at Pioneer Plaza. I also own the final spec of the Zanden 4-box digital (which even the legendary Audiocrack has kept despite now also have a full Wadax Reference Server and DAC).
The key often is the 'balance' of the design and its ultimate strengths and weaknesses...when the finely tuned balance of the piece of equipment is right, it can take on a timeless quality where the satisfaction is remarkable. Ultimately, time will show the piece does not have quite the level of this...or quite the level of that...in comparison with modern-day competitors...but the level of overall satisfaction can still win by a significant margin because the musical result is still better balanced.
If you love the sound of the TAD 600, it becomes the voice of your system, and you can finetune to your hearts content around it and enjoy it for years to come. Speaking from personal experience, I have done so. The Zanden digital has stood at the heart of this system since 2008, and I have never looked back. One day, I am sure I will...but 15 years later and the thought has barely crossed my mind despite hearing the latest and greatest in DCS Apex, and a few others (which are great indeed...but just dont compell me to start thinking about a major new investment to swtich).
The TAD digital we heard as I recall was excellent, resolved and articulate. We happily listened to Glenn Gould Bach Goldberg Variations (1981 performance) and enjoyed the nuance of his playing.
1 The plethora of great DACs using NOS digital chips suggests very strongly that "old" digital is often much better than "new" digital. New digital typically upsamples 16/44.1 to DSD or greater, creating a lot of ultrasonic noise, which will perturb many preamplifiers and amplifiers, resulting in unpleasant sound. I have heard the D600 in several settings over the years, first way back in 2012, lastly ten years later in 2022. On both occasions, it sounded very, very musical. In 2022, I compared it directly to the recent Accuphase DP-750, their top one box SACD player. The "old" TAD D600 easily trounced the "new" Accuphase, being much superior on all relevant criteria, including musicality and soundstaging. I like it so much, I decided to purchase the new model TAD D700, which I found superior as a DAC to the Nagra HD DAC X I was using. I have since sold the Nagra.
2 The D600 was in production until early 2022, I believe, so the remaining stock should have been manufactured recently. This is therefore not a problem.
3 The price is up to your negotiating skills, as well as a function of where you buy the unit.
TAD D600 is very Analog Sounding without any loss of detail and It is also very powerful in large complex orchestral music .
If D600 was made by USA or European countries the price tag was above $100k.
If D600 was made by USA or European countries the price tag was above $100k.
I have used both the TAD D700 & D1000TX connected to an Aurender W20 (over AES) and they both sound sublime. Prior to this I used a Merging Player+ as a streamer to both TAD DACs and as a stand alone Streamer+DAC.
The Merging Player was a serviceable source but it compared poorly to the Aurender & TAD, I wouldn't say it was even close. As a caveat I was running the Merging Player+ without the linear power supply upgrade, maybe this would have made a difference.
Fully agree with your comments. Merging Player is "purely" excellent but TAD Player is another league and the word "sublime" is well suited. The analogue feeling, the texture of the instruments, the live feeling are simply amazing. Maybe just a question of preference at the end but worth a comparison if you can...
There is a significant difference between the one box Merging Player+ and the three box Player+. Both the power supply and the clock significantly improves the SQ of the single box unit. As a standalone player, the TAD is exceptional.
what makes TAD D600 or D700 Special?
in my idea D600/D700 is super transparent, ultra dynamic and analog sounding, no DAC come close to Image height and width of D600.
what a wonderful machine ....
in my idea D600/D700 is super transparent, ultra dynamic and analog sounding, no DAC come close to Image height and width of D600.
what a wonderful machine ....
I already have the D600 at home and I am very happy! everything that is said about it is true. While I enjoy the break in, I have some questions that you can possibly answer.
In a few months I will move to a new house and I can start playing with cables.
Which would be the most sensitive or critical?
I've been searching a bit and I've seen that TAD sells an upgrade of the power supply cables, the LN0208. Have you tried it?
Oh, by the way, how many hours are the break in?
Thank you very much!
In a few months I will move to a new house and I can start playing with cables.
Which would be the most sensitive or critical?
I've been searching a bit and I've seen that TAD sells an upgrade of the power supply cables, the LN0208. Have you tried it?
Oh, by the way, how many hours are the break in?
Thank you very much!
First time I've heard of the power supply cable upgrade, it doesn't seem to be listed on their web site, I'll have to investigate. As for the break in, I would budget a minimum of 120 hours or so, still improving gradually after that.I already have the D600 at home and I am very happy! everything that is said about it is true. While I enjoy the break in, I have some questions that you can possibly answer.
In a few months I will move to a new house and I can start playing with cables.
Which would be the most sensitive or critical?
I've been searching a bit and I've seen that TAD sells an upgrade of the power supply cables, the LN0208. Have you tried it?
Oh, by the way, how many hours are the break in?
Thank you very much!
Yes, I own one, therefore I've heard one. My (and the other) posts above describe how it sounds. One of the best SACD players (DACs) extant.
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