Rega Brio R / Quad Vena

[Al ears]

As to what cd player to go with the Vena, something from cyrus perhaps?

https://www.henleydesigns.co.uk/CD-Box-S-p665

The Quad Artera comes with a nice matching CD player.

For a total of £2900

Aha, you noticed the slight problem......

Worth saving up for maybe..

 

[Al ears]

No idea what the Quad Vena souds like but I own a Brio-R and its the best bugdget stero amp by a country mile at the mintue in my view.

Is that different to a mile in town?

Yes, because real country miles are actually measured in 'gun shots'.

 

[drummerman]

As to what cd player to go with the Vena, something from cyrus perhaps?

https://www.henleydesigns.co.uk/CD-Box-S-p665

Ah, just looked the dimensions up ... the Vena is a bit of a porker at over 300mm wide.

Forget about cyrus then

 

[drummerman]

No idea what the Quad Vena souds like but I own a Brio-R and its the best bugdget stero amp by a country mile at the mintue in my view.

Is that different to a mile in town?

Yes, because real country miles are actually measured in 'gun shots'.

 

[chebby]

Country mile ...

1 rod (or pole or perch) = 16.5 feet or 5.5 yards (traditionally the length of pointy stick a boy needs to control a team of oxen when ploughing)

1 chain = 4 rods, or 66 feet, or 22 yards.

1 furlong = 10 chains (40 rods) = 220 yards

1 mile = 8 furlongs = 1760 yards = 5280 feet

An area of 1 furlong x 1 chain = 1 acre (traditionally an area ploughed by 1 team of oxen in one day).

Given all this and pre-decimalisation units of money (£, s, d, Guineas) and other non-metric weights & measures and a lack of calculators, it's no wonder that we were all better at mental arithmetic.

Now we only need to deal with multiples of 10s, 100s, 1000s etc. (and have calculators built into our phones).

Anyone for a long hundred of herrings?

 

[plastic penguin]

Country mile ...

1 rod (or pole or perch) = 16.5 feet or 5.5 yards (traditionally the length of pointy stick a boy needs to control a team of oxen when ploughing)

1 chain = 4 rods, or 66 feet, or 22 yards.

1 furlong = 10 chains (40 rods) = 220 yards

1 mile = 8 furlongs = 1760 yards = 5280 feet

An area of 1 furlong x 1 chain = 1 acre (traditionally an area ploughed by 1 team of oxen in one day).

Given all this and pre-decimalisation units of money (£, s, d, Guineas) and other non-metric weights & measures and a lack of calculators, it's no wonder that we were all better at mental arithmetic.

Now we only need to deal with multiples of 10s, 100s, 1000s etc. (and have calculators built into our phones).

Anyone for a long hundred of herrings?

Or if laid back to back how many Penny Blacks to a mile? Or how many Brussel Sprouts can Eamonn Holmes eat in one mouthful? *blum3*

 

[Bromiley]

Guys, discussing country miles etc. isn't exactly helping me right now. Can we get back to some suggestions for CD players that would compliment the Quad Vena's neutral sound, please? Budget would be around 400 pounds.

 

[Al ears]

Guys, discussing country miles etc. isn't exactly helping me right now. Can we get back to some suggestions for CD players that would compliment the Quad Vena's neutral sound, please? Budget would be around 400 pounds.

I'd look for a good second-hand Quad 99 CDP-2. Plenty about so choose wisely.

Failing that, and new, Cambridge CXC transport plus DACmagic 100 (2 boxes), or for a little more Pioneer PD50. Onkyo CN7050 might also be worth a look if you want the addition of a streamer.

 

[chebby]

... for CD players that would compliment the Quad Vena's neutral sound, please?

So you've decided on the Quad?

I thought you were heading towards Rega/Rega or Rega/Arcam separates.

Anyway. All the usual CDPs at this price level (£400) are going to have a similar built in DAC to the one found in the Quad Vena, so you really only need the transport section of any given CD player.

That being the case, get a decent budget priced job like the Marantz CD5005 for about £170 and connect it to the Quad's DAC instead using optical or coax (the CD5005 has both).

For what it's worth, the Cirrus Logic CS4398 DAC in the Quad Vena is shared by the Marantz SA-8005 SACD/CD player and some Astell&Kern players amongst (many) other devices.

 

[Al ears]

If the Vena day is as good as Chebby says then just buy a dedicated transport only, the CXC as I mentioned before, would be my suggestion. Even with budget CDPs there's no point in paying for electronics you are not going to use.

With a dedicated transport all the money will have gone on perfecting that. The CXC is only £300.

 

[Bromiley]

I'm edging towards the Quad but haven't completely made up my mind. The trouble is my local dealer doesn't stock the Arcam irDAC that I would use with the Brio R, so there's no way for me to know what the combination would sound like. Many people have said the Rega would be a sideways move and others have mentioned that it would be better if paired with the Arcam DAC than the Quad.

To be honest, this is driving me crazy as I don't know which route to take. I'd love something in place before Christmas so I'm going to have to make a decsion very soon.

The suggestion of something like the CXC sounds good if I went with the Quad. I'm assuming I'd notice a considerable difference in quality over my budget bluray player.

 

[Al ears]

I believe it would.

The CXC is an optimised transport and you don't get many of these around your budget. A good idea as more and more amps seem to be coming now with DACs included so no point in paying for them twice .

Sometimes if auditioning becomes problematic it's a good time to bite the bullet, buy what you feel deeply about and just sit back and enjoy the music they produce.

 

[Bromiley]

I have the Quad Vena for the weekend to test again along with the a CD player that my local store has. It's the Pro-Ject CD Box DS. I haven't seen this brand before but the dealer said it's a good CD player. I figured I'd test it for free before looking at the Cambridge CXC -- which I would have to buy online with the option of returning it.

Anyone heard the Pro-Ject CD Box DS? Is it comparable to the CXC? They are the same price in Euros.

My local dealer is also lending me some other speaker cables from Supra and QED to test with the system. I currently have the QED 79 Strand, so I'll if there is any difference.

 

[chebby]

I have the Quad Vena for the weekend to test again along with the a CD player that my local store has. It's the Pro-Ject CD Box DS.

I suggested this ...

http://www.whathifi.com/comment/939520#comment-939520

 

[Bromiley]

Yes, I remember looking at the link you posted. The dealer told me that he thinks the smaller player isn't as good as the CD Box DS.

I'm still interested in what you guys think of the CD Box DS vs Cambridge CXC. I haven't been able to find many reviews for the CD Box DS whereas the CXC gets brilliant reviews.

 

[chebby]

Yes, I remember looking at the link you posted. The dealer told me that he thinks the smaller player isn't as good as the CD Box DS.

Of course he'll say that. (He gets another £125.)

Remember you'll only be using it as a transport and you can walk away (or get the Cambridge transport). Try and and make sure that YOU run this demo when it happens. Watch out for the items that you wanted to listen to being 'sold out' on the day (with a 6 week re-order time) and only his more expensive suggestions being avalailable.)

Saying you need to go and have a think about it (and/or visit another store first) can prompt that one last forray into the stock-room 'just-in-case we missed one earlier'.

 

[Bromiley]

The demo will be at my home. The guy is lending me the amp and CD player from Thursday to Tuesday for free. No deposit needed. He's not pushy like sales people I've experienced before and doesn't have the stock at his shop. All equipment needs to be ordered. I really can't fault the service at all, so no worries there.

Of course I understand shops want to make money, but I don't get this impression from him.

Anyway, I'll test the CD Box DS and report back. My only concern is that the compnay (Pro-Ject Audio) doesn't seem to be that well known.

 

[chebby]

My only concern is that the compnay (Pro-Ject Audio) doesn't seem to be that well known.

You have got to be joking!

Here is a little piece WHF? did on Pro-Ject's 20th anniversary 4 years ago ...

http://www.whathifi.com/news/pro-ject-still-re-inventing-20-years

Probably the best known turntable manufacturer in the world right now.

 

[drummerman]

My only concern is that the compnay (Pro-Ject Audio) doesn't seem to be that well known.

You have got to be joking!

Here is a little piece WHF? did on Pro-Ject's 20th anniversary 4 years ago ...

http://www.whathifi.com/news/pro-ject-still-re-inventing-20-years

Probably the best known turntable manufacturer in the world right now.

I guess he has a point, to some extent.

Whilst the company is obviously well known for their vinyl related products, including phono stages, their other electronics have somewhat flown under the radar, even if reviews are relatively plentyful and mostly good or very good (but rarely exceptional).

They rarely feature in anyones systems on here (I don't think I have ever read of anyone owning the RS series).

So, from that point of view, re-sale values may suffer or it could even be difficult to sell full stop ... if that is important. The (small) form factor doesn't help as size perceived value for money, so important in High-End, is lacking.

My view, after having heard and seen a full blown RS top of line system is that a/ it looks gorgeous, b/ is made impeccably and most importantly c/ sounded absolutely sublime.

I'd have one anytime could I afford it (RS line)

 

[Bromiley]

OK, I stand corrected, but Drummerman makes some good points too. I'm looking forward to the weekend demo a little more now.

In the meantime, if it was your 500 Euros and you had a Quad Vena, would you buy the CD Box DS or the Cambridge CXC? I know whatever I buy has to suit my ears but I'm also interested in your views.

 

[chebby]

In the meantime, if it was your 500 Euros and you had a Quad Vena, would you buy the CD Box DS or the Cambridge CXC? I know whatever I buy has to suit my ears but I'm also interested in your views.

I bought the Vena (partly) because I don't need CD replay. I still buy lots of CDs but I rip them and stream them.

I like to keep the 'boxes'/separates to a minimum hence the Quad. One optical cable serving the digital audio output from TV, BDP & PVR. The other optical connected to an AirPort Express that is used exclusively for AirPlay between the Quad and my iPhone, iPad and Mac Mini. It also has Bluetooth for when our youngest daughter pops around and wants to play from her Samsung Android phone.

If someone put a gun to my head and forced me to get a CD player, then it would be the smallest Pro-ject 'S' series so I could just pop it in a drawer when not in use. I might try and put off my persecutor by asking to wait for Quad to produce a CD player/transport to match the Vena but I don't think it will happen.

 

[Bromiley]

Well, the Vena is in my living room to test over the weekend along with the CD Box DS. The dealer also gave me some cables to test. These are QED XT40, QED Revelation and Supra Ply 2.0. I'm curious to see if these cables will sound any different to my QED 79 Strand cable. This forum seems to be divided on whether cables actually make a difference or not.

I'll post an update with my thoughts after a nice weekend of music.

 

[Bromiley]

Quad Vena is ordered I tested the Vena again with the Pro-Ject CD box DS so I could hear the Vena with a CD player rather than my bluray player. The store where I am buying the Vena from (which is very hard to get in Germany) only stock the Pro-Ject CD Box DS in my price range.

Both sounded very good together, especially with the QED XT40 cable I also tested.

I'm still a little undecided between the Pro-Ject CD Box DS or Cambridge CXC. I had a few error problems when taking out CDs from the slot-loading drive. Both are the same price but I'm leaning towards the CXA due to the number of positive reviews I've seen. What Hi-Fi said in their review that if you already have a good DAC (which the Vena does), then the CXC is a great choice. Perhaps I'll start a new post specifically about the CXC and gather some more feedback.