Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Rate Thread
My new Tube CD Player, Shanling CD T2000
#375073 05/04/12 01:21 AM
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3
R
RNB127 Offline OP
newbie
OP Offline
newbie
R
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3
Allow me to uncover the true color of M80 v3,.please be patient with me
My interest to build a 2 channels system was re-ignite from my 130 wpc Yammy AVR witha pair of M80 ti. It sounds quite okay with PCM straight out from my LG DVD player.
My quest for speaker at first was targeted on Maggie 1.7, a 4 ohm panel spk. So I ordered a Emotiva XPA-2 Power Amp to pave way for the Maggie But when I hooked up the Amp to my M80 ti, the spks were just stood
up and dance. I was amazed. Meanwhile, a once of a lifetime deal popped up at Axiom factory outlet.: an all new 'A' stock M80 v3 open for bid. I won the bid with less than 2/3 of the listed price.
The v3 improvement was subtle: a bit more definition and much brighter than the ti. So, I started to look for a Tube Pre-Amp, hope to smooth out high end edges.
I do my finger shopping again, till I found Shanling CD T2000, Winner of Hi Fi Award in Aug 2011. Basically, it is not a Pre-Amp, but a CD tube player, DAC & a Pre-Amp, all in one house. By connecting Its XLR out to my XPA-2, I am able to select between HT(RCA) & 2 ch. It has to access to the back selectors of my Emo, therefore an ideal choice.
http://www.techradar.com/reviews/audio-v...r-989036/review
My audition at a dealer near Yonge & Steel was pathetic, but I come to realise my combo : XPA-2 + M80v3 is miles superior to the Demo setup: DAC , Int. Amp and spks. They are listed over three times more than my gear. I wonder why they hooked up the Shanling to an Integrated Amp. and routed to his $1500 DAC?
However, I followed my gut feeling to buy the CD T2000 for $2.5k, but not from this dealer though. I swear the "what if" words was banging my head when I powered on this CD player the first time. After all there is a 100X price difference compare to my LG player.
The difference is like: you were dancing on the floor, shaking hands with artists on stage before, and now you are up on stage with these artists and embrace them. So, does it worth the big buck? I say yes, as soon as I am still employed.
The sound stage is extended to the L/R surround spks. No wonder the reviews said it is close to SACD performance. Much more details were recovered. The lower end extended much deeper, almost matches to my SVS PC12+ Sub. High ends are smoothed out better than it was. vocal texture are improved without coloring. My M80 v3 remains a very natural spk, without distorted sweetness. The true color of details, positioning and sound stage was not heard of before and I am surprised it can go that far with my Axiom. The improvement is more pronounce than when I replaced the Yammy Amp with the XPA-2.
The XLR connection has a gain increase of some +12 dbs compare to RCA. So this is not a con for me as the review said, to have the volume stays on -40 dbs when powered on. Also, I always prefer 2 ch. CDs to multi ch SACDs for its tightness and intensity. I hope my review may enrich someone’s choices who is looking for the new sound source.


M80v3,VP180,QS8,XPA-2,XPA-3,HTR-6290,SVS PC12+,S/L CD T2000
M80ti,VP150,EV Sentry100A, HTR-6295
Re: My new Tube CD Player, Shanling CD T2000
RNB127 #375109 05/04/12 12:52 PM
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,463
Likes: 1
axiomite
Offline
axiomite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,463
Likes: 1
Congrats RNB127! Glad you are enjoying your system even more now. That Shanling is quite an eye-catching component.

Enjoy!


***********
"Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose
Re: My new Tube CD Player, Shanling CD T2000
RNB127 #375147 05/04/12 05:43 PM
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 678
aficionado
Offline
aficionado
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 678
Thanks for sharing your experience!

Re: My new Tube CD Player, Shanling CD T2000
RNB127 #375214 05/05/12 11:02 AM
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3
R
RNB127 Offline OP
newbie
OP Offline
newbie
R
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 3
Thanks St PatGuy.
It has the same look as the earlier model, CD T100 , and is already around for more than 10 years. I did my research , find out the 4 tubes 12AU7 are quite common , and there is room for upgrade. Two are working for balance & other 2 for RCA, which I don’t use.
Just wondering if I can replace only 2 tubes I use and leave the other to age ? So far , I’ve only spent not 50 hrs to burn in. A little too early to think, will look into it when time comes.

Re: My new Tube CD Player, Shanling CD T2000
RNB127 #375224 05/05/12 02:03 PM
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,463
Likes: 1
axiomite
Offline
axiomite
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 7,463
Likes: 1
Originally Posted By: RNB127
Thanks St PatGuy.
It has the same look as the earlier model, CD T100 , and is already around for more than 10 years. I did my research , find out the 4 tubes 12AU7 are quite common , and there is room for upgrade. Two are working for balance & other 2 for RCA, which I don’t use.
Just wondering if I can replace only 2 tubes I use and leave the other to age ? So far , I’ve only spent not 50 hrs to burn in. A little too early to think, will look into it when time comes.


You should be able to just replace the two 12AU7s for the output stage without changing the ones for the RCA/XLR outputs, but I can't find any information to confirm that. In any case, the tubes should last for years, and, like you found out, the 12AU7 tubes are plentiful and easy to find.


***********
"Nothin' up my sleeve. . ." --Bullwinkle J. Moose

Moderated by  alan, Amie, Andrew, axiomadmin, Brent, Debbie, Ian, Jc 

Link Copied to Clipboard

Need Help Graphic

Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics24,940
Posts442,457
Members15,616
Most Online2,082
Jan 22nd, 2020
Top Posters
Ken.C 18,044
pmbuko 16,441
SirQuack 13,840
CV 12,077
MarkSJohnson 11,458
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 402 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Newsletter Signup
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.4