A few weeks ago I posted to the effect that, yep, happy with what I have. Then the Linn Mimik I have started to sound a little 'veiled' at times, a little unsure of its' footing on other occasions. Part of this is down to bad recordings, no question. On the other hand, maybe I needed to have a look and see what else was out there that could give me a bit of a step up.
So, some of you might've seen a few posts from me of late asking all manner of things; new player, new DAC, change this, what about that, etc.
In the end, I went to a dealer in Edinburgh (having been round the country via a few dealers websites!) who has an impressive range of used stock as well as acting as the city's (possibly Scotland's only) outlet for high end brands like EAR Yoshino and Leema Acoustics.
He came back with a handful of used gear to choose from; the original Exposure 2010 (a Thaiman fave), the Rega Jupiter & Io transport and DAC combo, the Midiman Flying Cow DAC which is a professional DAC used in studios and the Audio Analogue Paganini which I'm trialling currently.
After MUCH reading, enquiring, research, I went in yesterday and picked up the Audio Analogue Paganini. This is an Italian company, not to be confused with Audio Innovations from a few years back and a fairly recent one at that, coming into being only in 1995. The write-up for the player was intriguing; smooth top end, very detailed mid-band, good bass. Very analogue sounding said another. No-one mentioned warmth, but I don't normally go for smooth, yet the "detailed" description got to me in the end.
Hooked it up to the system yesterday and left it running overnight; the initially sharp sound has calmed to leave a sound that really is impressive. VERY detailed; not night and day from the Linn Mimik, but with a better control in the bass, a more articulate presentation which has a lot to do with subtlety and it deals better with complex pieces. A very neutral presentation, so good if you like transparency. Build quality is second to none; heavy steel construction with a brushed aluminium faceplate. In addition, it's an upsampling player (24 bit internal DAC, 96Khz upsampling rate).
Originally cost around £950, I picked it up for £375 (I pay the guy next week if we decide to stick with it) and at the moment it's looking like I probably will stick with it. I might give the Exposure a trial run just to try a second player out, but I'd seriously recommend anyone looking for a £1000 player on the used market to consider this if they see a Paganini.
Am I happy? Y - well, maybe I could think about a pre-power amp combo, or some new speakers....there's plenty more to get out of this CD player yet I think!
(OK, I am for now!)