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From: arris!rshapiro@uunet.UU.NET (Richard Shapiro)
Newsgroups: rec.audio.high-end
Subject: Re: Proceed opinions wanted
Message-ID: <6781@uwm.edu>
Date: 5 Oct 90 13:02:05 GMT
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In article <6737@uwm.edu> cbmvax!cgh!paul@uunet.UU.NET (Paul Homchick) writes:
>When comparing the Proceed and the Phillips, the Proceed sounded
>better.  When trying to describe the differene, "louder" was th best I
>could do.  After I purchased the Proceed, I got out a meter and
>measured things.  The Phillips analog output was 1.5db down in one
>channel.  The Proceed was louder.  After correcting for this, I was
>unable to consistantly tell a difference using single-blind tests.
>
>I have decided that the differences between good CD playback systems
>is very miniscule indeed, and for the difference in sound versus the
>difference in money, your money is best spent elsewhere.


Well, I listened to the Proceed cd player (not the Proceed DAC
described above, but presumably similar in sound) next to a high-end
Denon and an Adcom and the differences were very substantial,
especially in soundstage and "air". The Proceed far outclassed the
other two along this dimension. There were also significant
differences in the harshness of the highs. The Adcom was over-harsh
with some source material (female voice, in particular); the Denon was
never harsh but did seem slightly compressed on the same kind of
material.  The Proceed struck a good balance between the two.

I did this casual test in a store, but the system was close to the one
I use at home: Spica Angelus speakers (which can accentuate harsh
highs); Counterpoint amp; Audio Reseach preamp. I used a variety of
discs, but the most telling ones were the Cowboy Junkies' "Trinity
Sessions" and the Tallis Scholars performing music of William Cornysh.
Both are digital recodings

So maybe the Madrigal products are close to some of the Philips
players, but I wouldn't conclude on that basis that, in general, the
differences between cd players is miniscule. This hasn't been the case
in my listening experience.