Introduction I was immediately impressed with the Pioneer Elite PDR-19RW as I removed it from its shipping container. This CD-R/CD-RW recorder weighs in at over 14 pounds, much more than the run of the mill CD player. In addition to its heft, indicating a serious power supply and a sturdy chassis, I enjoyed the fine aesthetics, including the well-finished face-plate framed by a likewise handsomely-finished wood side-plate. The PDR-19RW looks the part of Pioneer’s top of the line $1,200 CD recorder and evokes pride of ownership. The PDR-19RW is chock full of features that allow it to serve as a topnotch single box CD player, in addition to its obvious use as a recording device. Its recording features include synchronized copying by track or entire disc, a sampling frequency converter to allow copies from digital sources other than CD, coaxial and optical inputs, and many other indexing and editing features too numerous to list here. ...

Introduction The Onkyo DV-C600 is a six-disc CD and DVD changer. Yes, a DVD changer. This multi-featured unit is priced near the middle of its competition: $579.95. Now, if you had a similar reaction to mine, when I was told that I'd be reviewing a DVD changer, you might be thinking: why would I ever want to load six DVDs? I just want to slide a movie in and watch it beginning to end. Well, read on for the pros and cons of this machine. With DTS discs becoming more common, it's important for your player to be DTS compatible. The DV-C600 is DTS ready. (Of course, your receiver must be able to decode DTS. ) The unit also supplies you with advanced ten-bit 27 MHz video D/A conversion (which gives you four times the accuracy of conventional eight-bit, 13. 5 MHz players); gold plated component video output for use with digital TVs; gold ...

Introduction I am not your stereotypical high end audio reviewer. I am a self employed physician who's interest in high performance audio stems from a love of performing and listening to music. My current reference system consists (working backwards) the Wilson Watt Puppy system 5.1, the Mark Levinson No. 332 amplifier, the Mark Levinson No. 39 CD processor and Transparent Reference cabling. Since I am a physician and a musician (trained in classical and jazz piano) and not an electrical engineer, I will not pretend that I have a technical superiority over anyone. I will therefore concentrate my reviews on the emotional content and quality of the music playback associated with a particular system or component. The Mark Levinson No. 39 CD Processor... A new trend The integration of CD transport, digital to analog converter, and preamp has recently developed as a new trend. Wadia, Madrigal and others have recently released integrated CD/preamp products. When I first ...

Introduction The Wadia 830 compact disc player is the latest addition to the Wadia family of CD players and digital separates. At $3250 including remote, the Wadia 830 is the most affordable member of the line up and is based on many of their design achievements pioneered on the more pricey reference 860 CD player. On the 830, Wadia uses the same DAC board design and analog technology found in the 850 and 860. The DACs in the 830 are the top of the line Burr Brown 1702s. These are essentially the same as those found in the 850 and 860, however the chips in the 850 and 860 are the 1702K's, the K representing matched pair status. The other mechanical difference between the 830 and it's big brothers is it's Pioneer Stable Platter Transport. The 850 and 860 use the Teac CMK Mk.4 and Mk.3.2 respectively. The 830 features the digital volume control ...

Introduction The Wadia 860 is a $7,450 CD player and digital preamplifier housed in one complete, highly refined package. Seven inches tall by 17 inches wide by 16 inches deep, the Wadia 860 is an all-in-one, high-power front end that needs only an amplifier, loudspeakers linked with a pair of speaker and interconnect cables to make beautiful music. The Wadia 860 has an elegant and simple design throughout its chassis. The philosophy behind the 860 is to keep as much circuitry as possible out of the signal path in order to reproduce a traditional 16-bit CD (or other future sources via digital input) with the highest level of resolution and emotional impact possible. Wadia, a leader in cutting-edge digital playback since the late 1980s, uses three unique technologies in the 860 which make it truly special. The Wadia Digital Volume Control challenges the ...