Cool.
Linn has always been held high in terms of SQ. If you like Linn and are looking to "better" it AND you don't mind used, I would strongly suggest that you look into a Unidisk 1.1. It is supposed to fantastic on all formats. There are two for sale now on Agon. Linn still makes them, but to be affordable you would have to look used. I don't know if that is something you want to do.

mikeduke January 29, 2009 20:00

Mikeduke, yes, Esoteric and Ayre are high up on the list of components that I WANT to own. I've tried friend's DV-50 in my system once and I thought it sounded velvety smooth in both SACD and CD. I liked Unidisk on SACD, and Esoteric on CD, and eventually chose Unidisk due to the simplicity in the setup. I haven't heard Ayre yet, but I'm very interested to try it out some day.

jylee January 29, 2009 18:22

Nice addition. Glad that it gave you what you were looking for. Those speakers sure look sweet :). You seem to have a good blend of what you are looking for but have you looked at Esoteric for a universal player? I have an older DV50s and I think it sounds very nice for both. I also think they have some players that are just for music. Just a thought. Have you heard the Ayre C5xe. That is supposed to be a great player for cd's and SACD as well. Just other options. Not that NEED them :). That is a great setup as is.

mikeduke January 29, 2009 13:00

System edited: I have been pretty satisfied with the SACD performance from Linn Unidisk SC. The sound is very transparent, extended, and airy. However the redbook performance is not as good. I've tried several mch universal players, and I haven't yet found one that excels in both SACD and redbook. For me Unidisk was the best compromise between SACD and redbook while keeping the system simple and uncluttered. In pursuit of improving redbook performance I have acquired Accustic Arts DAC-1 Mk3. The redbook performance through DAC-1 using Unidisk as transport is much improved. The treble extension is most notable. The cymbal rings clearer and has more natural decay. The vocals sound more natural as well. It sounds more dynamic and less congested. I'm happy with the new DAC. So far so good.

jylee January 29, 2009 10:02

The funny thing with Unidisk SC is the multi channel is only available as variable output. For stereo output there is a separate set of fixed output. But I couldn't figure out how to make the MCH output to be fixed volume, or it's not possible. I think the voltage on Levinson amp can be changed at the factory, but it's not user serviceable. It's a very good amp. Designed to be a perfect voltage source, it will handle low impedance loads very well. No problem handling the finicky JM Labs with high impedance swing.

jylee December 23, 2008 22:08

I can see that with the level you are right now upgrade moves are much harder to do. what about when doing multichannel, is the linn variable output only applies in front channel or all channel? also, does your ML work on all voltage? I'm moving abroad (currently in the US) to a much warmer climate. while my plinius works in all voltages, running in class A will be too hot!

dizzyizzid December 23, 2008 20:25

Yes, I listen to all the silver discs via Unidisk driving Levinson directly. When playing CDs I don't know if it sounds any better than previous CD player or DAC that I've tried before. The clear advantage is in the reproduction of SACD. The sound of SACD is so clear and transparent. When I add a preamp between Unidisk and the amp, I lose some of the transparency, but gain some body and the soundstage gets bigger. It's a side way move.

jylee December 23, 2008 19:13

good to know. I'm looking at purchasing one that is unterminated. I guess I can bring it to a dealer to have it terminated in spades.

the transporter uses digital volume, so that could be one culprit (although I use the internal attenuator such that max volume is still listenable). so you listen your music CDs via unidisk and ML?

dizzyizzid December 23, 2008 12:07

Hello Dizzyizzid.

Kimber 8TC are the ones I've owned the longest. I kept trying different speaker cables from Cardas, Analysis Plus and Audioquest, but I always come back to 8TC. The sound is just crystal clear, open, and airy. I would highly recommend the PostMaster spades for the termination. I think the type and quality of the termination is responsible for 1/2 of the performance.

As you noticed I don't normally run a preamp in my system, partly because there aren't that many MCH preamps around, and partly because I like the sound without a preamp. But I can see what a quality tube preamp can do in a system. In such system bypassing preamp may not work as well.

jylee December 23, 2008 03:42

great system. I have the same focal speakers but different model.

how do you like the 8TC cables? I'm interested in the same piece but don't know if it will work in my system. Also, are you satisfied with bypassing pre-amp? I'm testing transporter slimdevices right now and didn't like the sound as much without preamp

thanks and happy holidays

dizzyizzid December 22, 2008 23:49

System edited: Made a minor change. One of my friend brought his Audioquest Sky interconnects for some A/B testing against Acoustic Zen, Nordost, and Kimber. Long story short, everyone who auditioned together were disappointed with Sky. I've then removed my Audioquest Cheetah and replaced it with Tara Labs that I already had. To my ears Tara sounds better.

jylee December 14, 2008 19:17

Nice look with the center right there. I know what you mean about resolution. I use a DVI cable from my Esoteric to my 34in sony XBR800 TV and to me, and others, the picture looks great. My player outputs 540p I think. I only sit about 8-10 feet away as well. Again, nice setup.

mikeduke September 03, 2008 12:41

System edited: updated the description and pictures for the newly added gears.

jylee September 02, 2008 21:44

Mike,

My Unidisk SC is the one without HDMI. I use component cables to Sony PDP. AFAIK neither version has advanced video processing such as upscaling or zooming. I watch occasional live concert DVDs on this system and it's just fine for that purpose. My PDP is 50" with 720 lines of native resolution, and the difference between 480i DVD source and upconverted or native HD 720p source is quite small at the viewing distance at ~10 ft away. If you have larger screen with 1080p native display then you might prefer DVD player with upscaling feature.

jylee August 26, 2008 19:14

Thanks for the reply. That is a great size room for those speakers. I am sure there is no lack of bass. In my small room, the 1027's fill the room with lots of quality bass. From top to bottom it sounds great, but I do agree that in your room, it may have been a stretch for them. Your experience with the mixing of the 800 seires is interesting.
I have read other people who were thinking about doing something similar. I have never heard the Linn player but I know the linn heritage and I have no doubt that it performs great.

mikeduke August 26, 2008 12:03

Jylee,
I'm very impressed with you're system. I have admired all the components you have at one time or another. I'm very impressed with your comments on the Linn Unidisc SC player. Especially its cd playback and analogue volume control.

My Oppo's digital volume is not so good at lower levels, as you stated. Fortunately my 40wpc tube amp in my 16'/20'x9' room lets me run it near full output most of the time.

I love Linn priducts and the SC will work for me, if I can afford it. Is yours the latest version w/ HDMI, how is the movie playback, and is there other improvements over the non-HDMI version?
Mike

mjcmt August 26, 2008 11:23

System edited: Made small changes to the system. - Acquired JM Labs CC800V center channel speaker. - Acquired Rotel RMB 1085 mch amps for center and surround. - Replaced main speaker cables from Analysis Plus speaker to Cardas Hexlink Golden. I was a little concerned with timbre matching when I chose CC800V. Electra CC1000BE would be the ideal match with the main speakers 1037BE. Overall construction for 800V series is similar, but CC800V incorporates Al/Mg tweeters and Polyglass woofers instead of the phenomenal BE tweeters and "W" sandwich woofers. When I hooked up CC800V I was pleasantly surprised. There is striking similarity in overall tonal balance. I can still discern the difference in white noise test, but when playing multi channel music I don't notice any tonal imbalance as I did with previous center speaker. I'm also very impressed with class D Rotel mch amp. It has excellent frequency extension and just lets the music flow. I would consider the sound of my system to be transparent, clear, and neutral. Rotel amp fits right in without drawing attention to itself. Finally I was able to enjoy mch mix of SACD and DVD Audio as intended. The change in the speaker cable was necessary because 1037BE has single set of speaker binding post and my previous cables were biwire. Also the new cables are shorter (5 ft vs 8 ft) as I don't need long runs. The difference in sound, if any, is minute and inconclusive so far. I thought Cardas sounds a bit more musical, easier to the ears. But at the same time I thought maybe I lost a little bit of transparency and soundstage. With Cardas the speakers don't "disappear" as they would with Analysis Plus. Then again, I haven't spent a lot of time with the new set of cables yet, and my mind could have been tricked by perceived change.

jylee August 26, 2008 05:28

Mjcmt,

I have acquired Unidisk SC mainly for its multi channel music capability. It does superbly on SACD and DVD Audio. In fact it is the best sounding SACD player that I've ever heard. It replaced Bel Canto PL-1A, and prior to that I've had Meridian, NAD and Denon universal players.

In terms of redbook CD, it's very close to the best I've heard, which are Meridian G68 and Proceed AVP2.

But the best part of Unidisk SC is, as you mentioned, the ability to bypass preamp. It incorporates volume control in analog domain, which doesn't lose resolution in lower level as digital domain volume control.

jylee August 26, 2008 05:02

Arthur,

Thanks. How do you like your McIntosh amps? One of my friend recently acquired a set of McIntosh gears, and I have to admit they sound really sweet! In fact I just came back from his home after dinner/wine and some good music. I was very impressed with his McIntosh gears from day one, and today wasn't exception.

jylee August 26, 2008 04:55

Mikeduke,

The room is 15 x 20, 10 ft ceiling, and the speakers are set up along the 15 ft wall. I used to own B&W Nautilus 804, which I found to be too small for the room. The biggest disappointment from 804 was the bass. It was lacking both the quality and extension. I considered 1027Be, 1037BE, and some DALI Helicons. I decided on 1037BE, and I'm very glad that I did. I love the extra bass extension from the mains. I never thought my speakers were too big for the room. They are great speakers, and I intend to keep them for years to come (which I can't say for some of my other components). Thanks for the kind words, and sorry about the late reply. I was out of town on vacation for last few weeks.

jylee August 26, 2008 04:49

How does the Linn Unidisc SC hold up for A/V in a 2 channel system for music and movies by todays standards?

I'm currently running the variable outputs of an Oppo 970 upconverting universal player(budget player) into a AES(Cary) tube amp for a minimalist system. The SC has older technology video with good audio and a preamp. Sound like it might fit my needs running into a tube stereo amp...but is it an upgrade.

Years ago I had a Linn audio system and loved it.

mjcmt August 13, 2008 16:35

How big is your room. I have been told that these really need a big space to shine. I don't think my room would be big enough for them. What else did you consider before you got the 1037's? Again, great speakers with a great system.

mikeduke August 13, 2008 16:12

Beautiful speakers. I can see how a 335 would be a great match. Enjoy!

Arthur

aball August 13, 2008 14:42

Very nice. Those 1037's look sweet. I have 1027's and really like them very much.

mikeduke August 13, 2008 12:41

System edited: After several months of intense auditioning and swapping of gear, I have finally reached the point where I'm pretty satisfied with the sound. The last piece of the puzzle is matching speaker and amp for the center channel. The system plays jazz and classical very well. Also handles occasional classic rock and pop music with ease.

jylee July 03, 2008 23:56