Mytek Liberty 2 DAC $1495
Covid 19 has impacted every audio company the last couple of years. Nobody has been disrupted more than Mytek. They have been out of the popular Liberty DAC for well over a year -and Liberty 2 is here- at long last!
Liberty 2 steps in as THE best choice as a great cut above DAC- that compares to some of the most expensive on the market. In addition to sounding better on CD and hi-res streaming content, Liberty 2 supports full MQA decoding. If you like Tidal (I do!) you’re gonna love Liberty 2.
Liberty 2 is a great choice to run with a wide variety of preamps and integrateds that have no DACS, OLD DACs or mundane DACs. With Liberty 2, you’re right in the space race with state of the art digital performance for only 15 bills.
Most outboard DACs are simply repackaged versions of what is built in your receiver or integrated. Not so for Liberty 2 which is a significantly higher echelon performer. Specifically, Liberty 2 depicts leading edge transient response more adeptly to your system. Think of the alacrity purveyed by a virtuoso guitar player or pianist- like the sparks off Dorothy’s slippers!
A great guitarist like Milos Karadaglic not only plays the right notes, but can fire off percussive dynamic fireworks better than lesser players. Let’s hear how Milos can accent specific plucks to bring out a Spanish cadence more authentically. Let’s hear the incredible Yuja Wang awe us with Dukas’ “Sorcerer’s Apprentice.” Liberty 2 will allow you to appreciate the world class skill & dexterity of these musicians. They have command over their instruments that even quality touring pros do not. Let’s drink it all in- right down to the last drop!
Liberty 2 uses ESS’s latest 9038 chipset with its new, dedicated linear power supply, clock generator and discrete line stage. It decodes full bore MQA which makes it a slam dunk decision.
Inputs include 2 Coax, 1 OPT, USB2, & XLR.
Outputs are RCA and XLR.
Liberty 2 also can serve as a fine headphone amp with 1/4” jack.
NAD C700 Streaming Integrated Amp $1500: 80×2
NAD’s C700 is killin’ it out there as among the best electronics’ values our biz has seen. I wrote about the basics in the Nov 2021 newsletter. What I want to brag up here, since we’ve sold a pile by now, is the resolution. The features are wonderful- actually class leading. You can stream Tidal and other music services through the on board Bluesound platform that works like a champ. But beyond that, I want you to appreciate how spaciously C700 can portray music.
C700 isn’t just a cute integrated for running tiny speakers in your office or bedroom. The 80×2 amp on board C700 is something special. The amplifier is NAD’s proprietary PowerDrive UcD design. They don’t just buy a Hypex module off the shelf and plug it in- as the other guys do.
Traditional amplifier technology has an array of output transistors that are mismatched. Imagine looking through glasses that are out of focus. C700’s amplifier section is computer controlled to the degree that it is difficult to even MEASURE distortion. The musical benefit of this is that your “glasses” are precisely focused. And yet, there is no grain or bite to the sound. It is well delineated and has a broad soundstage.
The PowerDrive module provides a second high current rail of performance so C700 can excel into low impedances and sound smooth, not gritty.
C700 has a delightfully open and relaxed character. It is built like a tank within a chunk of aluminum and has a lovely 5” screen readout. C700 is a not just an easy choice when running modest shelf style speakers. It can drive extremely revealing speakers like the family of Amphions. It is also a perspicacious choice with among the best speaker values in our biz, the Wharfedale Lintons and Denton 85s.
Of course C700 doesn’t outperform or hit as hard as its bigger sibling power amp, C298. But short of spending in that league and buying separates, C700 is a flat out bargain. And… C700 has a preamp output, so you can muscle up even further if you decide you need to- without trading up.
NAD C700. It’s almost… the perfect hub for anyone’s music system!
Ortofon Bronze $440
One of the best MM cart values in our biz has been out of stock since June 2021. That’s EIGHT MONTHS! We just got a batch in. First come, first served. Dave’s Fave!
Vocalion: State Of The Art Gramophone 1923
In 1923 a Vocalion gramophone was considered state of the art. You can see Compton Mackenzie here with his personal unit. Looks a bit like a tuba. There was only one recording of a full symphony then, LVB’s #5 from 1913.
Mackenzie started his own label when electronic recording became possible in 1926, called NGS (National Gramophone Society). The race was on to produce and sell great records and audio systems. We’ve come some distance in a hundred years…