Sometimes you discover something with hi-fi that literally takes your breath away – in effect, what you hear becomes a landmark experience that stays with you forever. One such instance for me was when I got my first ‘proper’ hi-fi system in 1982: an Ariston RD11S turntable with a Linn Basik LV V tonearm and Denon DL103 cartridge/ Nakamichi BX-150E tape deck/Sondex S230 amplifier/Lentek MC Step-up transformer, and a pair of Mission 700s speakers, with everything wired together using V.D.H cable and plonked on Apollo stands. With having had before numerous music centres and midi systems that were no great sonic shakes to say the least, the sound of the Ariston playing my Japan, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet records (yes I had a deeply sad taste in music) was shockingly good – it spawned a massive music buying session with all my (non-hi-fi) mates gob-smacked at just how good music could sound; the experience was probably responsible for me becoming the hi-fi geek I am today
Well after all those years I’ve just had another such experience, with the arrival of the superb Sony R-1/DAS-1 transport and DAC. I had originally bought this to form part of a ‘classic’ hi-fi system over and above my main system, but after listening to it, it was obvious that it was far too good for that, therefore I have sold my Micromega and the Sony is now my chosen CD source. Maybe the same will happen to the LP12, and it will end up making way for the Sonata? We shall see…
Anyway, so just how good is the Sony?
First of all, in terms of build quality, it is a typical ‘cost no object’ hi-end Japanese CD player that really only the big boys such as Sony, Denon, Marantz, JVC, et al, are capable of building; this sort of stuff rarely leaves their own shores – if it does, it’s normally a miracle if it’s seen in here the UK. Both the R-1 transport and the DAS-1 DAC are massively constructed and feature solid wood side cheeks, and an extremely solid casing, which I am sure must contribute to their excellent sound quality. Their combined weight is a massive 32kg! Just how heavy they were became immediately apparent as I lifted them up onto my Phase 17 Mana supports!! The R-1 is the slickest and quickest CD transport I have ever had the pleasure of using – it reads discs almost instantly, and the drawer slips in and out as smoothly as one would imagine the average male appendage ifintroduced tothe gatewayof Billy Piper’s lovetunnel .The drawer mechanism and function buttons have the feel of quality one experiences when using the operating controls inside a Mercedes, and the remote control, although somewhat ‘bling’ in true yuppie 1980s tradition, is nothing other than an exercise in suave sophistication – a thing of beauty which any fashionable upmarket ‘boys toy’ manufacturer would be proud of. But it’s not until you slip a disc inside the gorgeous transport that things really start to get interesting…
Playing ‘The Snows They Melt The Soonest’ from Cara Dillon’s excellent ‘After The Morning’ album, the Sony succeeded to wring every last drop of emotion from her sweet and sultry voice, so much so that it not only sent a shiver down your spine but somehow gave the impression that she was present in the room singing just for me, such was the clarity of her voice and the realistic intonation and phrasing of her words – every intake of breath was revealed with a deftness of touch that was quite frankly beguiling. The Sony can do this because it presents music against the quietist of backdrops, allowing musical information and presentational nuances to be showcased in all their subtlety or intensity – detail appears suddenly from nowhere catching you unawares, which is startling but certainly very entertaining. It is its amazing ability with detail retrieval that is undoubtedly the Sony’s greatest asset, - if you want to hear exactly what’s on a disc it does so in the most forensic, tonally neutral, but highly addictive musical fashion, although it is in no way just a one trick pony.
Playing ‘World Wide Suicide’ from Pearl Jam’s new album revealed the Sony’s ability to kick ass with rock music. Grungy guitar riffs and visceral drum beats thundered into the room with the propulsive intensity of a live performance – this track is not for the faint hearted and through the Sony it was a turbo-charged and explosive experience. The production and recording quality on this album is not the greatest, but the Sony’s glass-clear midrange and detailed sweet-sounding upper registers kept the music sounding crisp and clean with no tendency for distortion to ruin the musical experience. However it is the quality of the Sony’s bass that is really special. If rock or dance music is to be fully appreciated, and indeed rendered realistically, bass frequencies must remain tight, tuneful, and above all be extended and reproduced with scale and authority. The Sony does all this – and then some. Like all top-notch components, particularly loudspeakers, the Sony reproduces bass only when it is present on the recording and then delivers it in such a way that it rattles your chest cavity – there is no false superimposed ‘bloom’ etched onto every recording, masquerading for bass; consequently this can give the impression of tonal leanness, but it is in fact nothing other than accuracy.
The R-1/DAS-1 combo is very ‘analogue’ sounding and consequently low on listener fatigue. I have found through experience that this is a trait of hi-end multi-bit players (such as the Marantz CD7), and the Sony continues this tradition. I think that multi-bit players of this calibre have much to offer; it’s just a pity that the Philips bitstream revolution of the 1980s convinced everyone this was the way to go and that it was superior to the multi-bit approach largely used at the time. I suspect that was far from the case! But just as with VHS and Betamax with VCRs, quality lost out to the vulgar needs of commercialism.
To conclude, this Sony is very special. I have heard many hi-end and hugely expensive CD players in my time including DCS, Krell, Mark Levinson,Wadia, Zanden, Metronome Technologie, not to mention Naim’s top CD players including the CDS2/XPS2 I lived with for 5 years. Whilst some of those players have valuable attributes and perhaps outperform the Sony in one aspect or the other, none in my opinion have its effortless musicality and beguiling sense of ‘rightness’ with all genres of music. The Sony has an uncanny ability to lay bare the ‘soul’ and structure of music and to present it in a fashion that is not only believable but also highly enjoyable and entertaining. The problem is these players as rare as a hard-on in a nunnery, so if you see one for sale, grab it quickly. In my opinion it’s as good as any CD player today around the £10k mark – yes that good, but the scary news is that it can be modified and improved by the implementation of current technology, particularly in the DAC section. Thus modified, in my opinion it’ll be as good as anything available anywhere. Naim CD 555 owners and the like will cry into their beer. Ah, it feels like 1982 all over again… :dude:
Well after all those years I’ve just had another such experience, with the arrival of the superb Sony R-1/DAS-1 transport and DAC. I had originally bought this to form part of a ‘classic’ hi-fi system over and above my main system, but after listening to it, it was obvious that it was far too good for that, therefore I have sold my Micromega and the Sony is now my chosen CD source. Maybe the same will happen to the LP12, and it will end up making way for the Sonata? We shall see…
Anyway, so just how good is the Sony?
First of all, in terms of build quality, it is a typical ‘cost no object’ hi-end Japanese CD player that really only the big boys such as Sony, Denon, Marantz, JVC, et al, are capable of building; this sort of stuff rarely leaves their own shores – if it does, it’s normally a miracle if it’s seen in here the UK. Both the R-1 transport and the DAS-1 DAC are massively constructed and feature solid wood side cheeks, and an extremely solid casing, which I am sure must contribute to their excellent sound quality. Their combined weight is a massive 32kg! Just how heavy they were became immediately apparent as I lifted them up onto my Phase 17 Mana supports!! The R-1 is the slickest and quickest CD transport I have ever had the pleasure of using – it reads discs almost instantly, and the drawer slips in and out as smoothly as one would imagine the average male appendage ifintroduced tothe gatewayof Billy Piper’s lovetunnel .The drawer mechanism and function buttons have the feel of quality one experiences when using the operating controls inside a Mercedes, and the remote control, although somewhat ‘bling’ in true yuppie 1980s tradition, is nothing other than an exercise in suave sophistication – a thing of beauty which any fashionable upmarket ‘boys toy’ manufacturer would be proud of. But it’s not until you slip a disc inside the gorgeous transport that things really start to get interesting…
Playing ‘The Snows They Melt The Soonest’ from Cara Dillon’s excellent ‘After The Morning’ album, the Sony succeeded to wring every last drop of emotion from her sweet and sultry voice, so much so that it not only sent a shiver down your spine but somehow gave the impression that she was present in the room singing just for me, such was the clarity of her voice and the realistic intonation and phrasing of her words – every intake of breath was revealed with a deftness of touch that was quite frankly beguiling. The Sony can do this because it presents music against the quietist of backdrops, allowing musical information and presentational nuances to be showcased in all their subtlety or intensity – detail appears suddenly from nowhere catching you unawares, which is startling but certainly very entertaining. It is its amazing ability with detail retrieval that is undoubtedly the Sony’s greatest asset, - if you want to hear exactly what’s on a disc it does so in the most forensic, tonally neutral, but highly addictive musical fashion, although it is in no way just a one trick pony.
Playing ‘World Wide Suicide’ from Pearl Jam’s new album revealed the Sony’s ability to kick ass with rock music. Grungy guitar riffs and visceral drum beats thundered into the room with the propulsive intensity of a live performance – this track is not for the faint hearted and through the Sony it was a turbo-charged and explosive experience. The production and recording quality on this album is not the greatest, but the Sony’s glass-clear midrange and detailed sweet-sounding upper registers kept the music sounding crisp and clean with no tendency for distortion to ruin the musical experience. However it is the quality of the Sony’s bass that is really special. If rock or dance music is to be fully appreciated, and indeed rendered realistically, bass frequencies must remain tight, tuneful, and above all be extended and reproduced with scale and authority. The Sony does all this – and then some. Like all top-notch components, particularly loudspeakers, the Sony reproduces bass only when it is present on the recording and then delivers it in such a way that it rattles your chest cavity – there is no false superimposed ‘bloom’ etched onto every recording, masquerading for bass; consequently this can give the impression of tonal leanness, but it is in fact nothing other than accuracy.
The R-1/DAS-1 combo is very ‘analogue’ sounding and consequently low on listener fatigue. I have found through experience that this is a trait of hi-end multi-bit players (such as the Marantz CD7), and the Sony continues this tradition. I think that multi-bit players of this calibre have much to offer; it’s just a pity that the Philips bitstream revolution of the 1980s convinced everyone this was the way to go and that it was superior to the multi-bit approach largely used at the time. I suspect that was far from the case! But just as with VHS and Betamax with VCRs, quality lost out to the vulgar needs of commercialism.
To conclude, this Sony is very special. I have heard many hi-end and hugely expensive CD players in my time including DCS, Krell, Mark Levinson,Wadia, Zanden, Metronome Technologie, not to mention Naim’s top CD players including the CDS2/XPS2 I lived with for 5 years. Whilst some of those players have valuable attributes and perhaps outperform the Sony in one aspect or the other, none in my opinion have its effortless musicality and beguiling sense of ‘rightness’ with all genres of music. The Sony has an uncanny ability to lay bare the ‘soul’ and structure of music and to present it in a fashion that is not only believable but also highly enjoyable and entertaining. The problem is these players as rare as a hard-on in a nunnery, so if you see one for sale, grab it quickly. In my opinion it’s as good as any CD player today around the £10k mark – yes that good, but the scary news is that it can be modified and improved by the implementation of current technology, particularly in the DAC section. Thus modified, in my opinion it’ll be as good as anything available anywhere. Naim CD 555 owners and the like will cry into their beer. Ah, it feels like 1982 all over again… :dude:
Its the only one i have seen that looks like it would actually improve the sound by the way its constructed. I have said before that i will try things before dismissing them. The green pen i laughed at (just because i've around 1500 cd's.)
