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Young Ramsay, might have been late 70's though.

The best implementation of PCM1704 was in the Naim CD555. Finest player I've ever heard. @georgehifi have a listen to the Pioneer PD-70AE, it uses ESS ES9026 pro Sabre DAC chips, but implemented with integrity, no hardness /edginess experienced as with many sabre dacs. I've got one with 500hrs on it. Its stopping me from investing in a Chord Hugo TT/Dave. Stereonet awarded it with an applause award....if that means anything. It can be had for under 3k new 5 year warranty. @powerav Just be very cautious when laying your money down for one of the lovely esoteric CD players of yester year. I had an Bladelius(PCM1704) for repair at a very high cost. Never ever sounded the same when I got it back. Don't want to sound negative, just my personal experience.

@Sime V2 Just inquisitive..

@Sime V2 Not sure if you've already mentioned, but does it improve or are there noticeable differences on DSD.

I guess it comes down to affordability and how much you value SQ. In your case @Chill3 best you invest in your vinyl setup as the Dynavector should add a sizeable increment fidelity wise. Better the devil you know, last thing you'd want is a hefty investment in digital that didn't come up trumps, you'll be ruing that day..etc, etc.

@Chill3 You can't expect a Blusesound circa 1k against the Yammy/Ortofon combo at 6-7k to get near it sound quality wise. As @metal beat said, get a better DAC i.e. Gieslier/Hugo 2, then musicality will be restored, not taking away anything from the Blusesound, it's a great product for the money.

Bob Jane in his Camaro, Alan Moffat in his Fast back Mustang, Norm Beechy in his Monaro and Leo Geoghan in a Mustang coupe, great days of Australian GT Sports Class racing, unforgettable memories as a youngster infatuated by motor sports growing up in the 70's. Bob was an absolute idol, but I still had a soft spot for Norm and his yellow Monaro. Sad what the Jane family morphed into.

Sound Reference in Fitzroy sell Neat but I believe they only have the tiny Iota on display. Might be worth giving them a call all the same.

+1 what s7e6e and TOPSHELF suggested. Neat's as mentioned prior. Make sure the NAIM can drive them and you'll be a happy camper.

@Ittaku I've been a long time customer at CAV and quite often have taken equipment home for audition. I'm sure they could provide you with an MScaler if you ask politely.

A3 distributed by Absolute Hi End Melbourne. TAD's at Sydney Hi Fi.

@Steam No, not meant that way, Accuphase definitely good enough. It was more of a general comment and what I've experienced when auditioning speakers over the years. It wasn't aimed at Accuphase, as I'm a fan, more of a broad comment when using different amps. Should have been more specific. cheers

@Galactic Soap I've heard the MBSE's at CAV. If Electronica is your main genre, the PMC'S will put the others to bed in an instant , as it should because it is totally full range and one of PMC's finest speakers. The impact and slam is mesmerising, end game if there is such thing. The Magico's and Tad's are different to the MBSE'S, I found them possibly more on the refinement side of things, but we're splitting hairs here. They are also more demanding on higher end electronics to get the best out of them, think Dartzeel, Karan, Vitus, MBSE's bog standard M/F or Bryston still sound great. The room dimensions are on the smaller side, this is why I'm going to recommend two down firing high end speakers which I've also heard in smaller rooms, being Avalon Indra's or Proac K6's. The imaging on the Proacs was as good as the MBSE's. Apart from the room dims', the big issue is going to come down to preferred amp/speaker matching. The choice speaker here might not necessarily sound best with your electronics, so don't rush the decision. Good Luck....Frank.

Thanks Simon, good to know. Might borrow one from CAV if possible and experiment with my current Pioneer PD-70A. Inquisitive to hear any improvemnets as I think my front end sounds very good as is. cheers.

@Sime V2 After all the combinations amongst DACs and Mscaler, what combination do you think sounds best.