Hi John:

Yes, I have used the CD3 as a transport and it is quite good. However, I think the synergy between its transport and digital sections is what makes this unit so special -- especially at its price point. I'm not sure I'd buy it exclusively as a transport, however, since you DO still pay for its DAC and not using it seems such a waste.

Hi David:

It probably means you need to replace the knob, given the unit's age, but you should certainly try cleaning the potentiometer with a good solvent first, on the "it can't hurt and it would be nice if it worked" principle.

Whether or not most home-audio equipment truly benefits from balanced connection is a topic still hotly debated by audiophiles -- and like most questions that start arguments, neither side has a monopoly on the truth. The best answer is, "It depends."

First, let's examine how a balanced signal works. A balanced output stage drives two lines concurrently, one positive and one negative. The audio signal therefore exists as the voltage difference between those two wires. The two halves of the signal create an envelope that rides the wires to the balanced input stage. The audio signal exists as the difference between the two lines -- there is no reference to ground, which is not needed to transmit the signal. In fact, ground is carried by a third wire unrelated to the two halves of the signal. The audio signal exists as the difference between the positive and negative lines (hence the phrase differentially balanced).

An unbalanced line transmits the audio signal between a single wire and ground. Ground is the return path; without it, the circuit will not work. A balanced (or differential) input stage extracts the difference between the two input lines. This advantage to this is its ability to reject noise. Common-mode rejection refers to a balanced line's ability to eliminate induced noise, which (theoretically, at least) is present in equal amounts on each wire. This noise can be EMI (electromagnetic interference), RFI (radio frequency interference), noisy ground references, or some combination of all of them. Assuming that each leg of the signal has equivalent impedance, the balanced input stage should only amplify the difference between the lines, while rejecting everything the two legs have in common.

There are two different approaches to obtaining that balanced signal. One -- used by companies such as Audio Research, Ayre, Krell, Mark Levinson, and yes, Balanced Audio Technology -- is to create the circuit with two legs, positive and negative, and maintain it as balanced from input to output. This, of course, uses precisely twice as many circuit elements and is complex and expensive. The other approach -- and this is one widely used in pro audio (and by NAD, as well) -- is to use balun transformers at the input and output stages of components to convert a single-ended signal to balanced for transmission over cables and back again upon input to the next component. (Balun is engineering shorthand for balance/unbalanced.)

In most home situations, this second type of differentially balanced signal transmission doesn't have all that much effect on the sound, so you might as well run the gear in regular single-ended mode and not subject the signal to all those balanced/unbalanced conversions. The single-ended path is actually simpler and more direct.

Unless, that is, you have a problem with RFI or EMI, in which case, the benefit of a silent background outweighs other considerations.

In the case of true differential circuits, the sonic differences between balanced and single-ended are not usually subtle, and I recommend balanced-line transmission unreservedly.

Hi Greg:

That's quite a dilemma you have there. I have a little sympathy for your dealer -- after all, I used to sell hi-fi and I know how hard it is to sell an opened box for full price -- but I don't think he has really thought very hard about the ultimatum he's delivering to you.

Of course, I don't know whether he's somebody you've dealt with for a long time or if he's just trying to get two boxes out of his store. But if he's had a long-term relationship with you, he sure doesn't seem to put much value in the relationship, if he's offering you a take it or leave it on two products you've never heard. Is he really saying that, if you buy the MF products and don't like 'em, he won't work with you at all? That's cold.

If that's really the story, buy the Nu-Vista CD player and let him keep his sealed box of the integrated. I'm sure the integrated is great, but I've never heard it and you know you like your Plinius (gosh, they're good) I suspect the Nu-Vista integrated would be at least as good as the Plinius, but that's a guess and who wants to guess at that price? If the dealer was really confident in it, he would offer to let you compare it to your Plinius and take his chances.

But don't hesitate on the CD player. It's really one of the best I've ever heard -- competitive with megabuck multi-chassis units.

Hi Roman and Travis:

I'm jumping the line with this response, mostly because you guys have so nicely illustrated how impossible it is to please everyone, but also because Roman's letter suggests I may not have explained my purpose very well.

I believe that experiencing music is one of the most glorious gifts given to humankind -- and I also believe that the quality of the equipment that you employ to create that experience can profoundly affect the quality of that experience. And that's all I know for certain. Beyond that, I have my own thoughts, tempered by years of experience, and I have a collection of beliefs and prejudices, all of which I acknowledge as my own and do not confuse with universal truths.

I don't believe that listening to music should make you crazy -- or even make you feel bad. Timothy Freeseha wrote me saying that he enjoyed his Denon-based system. This is a valid opinion for him to hold, even if Roman happens to find it unlikely. It's called preference, and no one has to justify or defend his or her preference.

What am I supposed to do? Do I tell Mr. Freeseha he's wrong to enjoy his Denon amplifier? That would be condescending and, even worse, rude. It would also imply that my opinion, in some way, had greater validity than Mr. Freeseha's. It doesn't, for the record. The whole point of this hobby, believe it or not, is to enjoy the music -- it's not a competition to acquire the "best" hi-fi (whatever that would be).

I expressed my admiration for Denon based on years of selling high-end and mass-market hi-fi. I praised its build quality because it is high -- Denon uses quality parts and builds solid, hard-to-destroy components. As to its sound quality, Roman may find it lacking in finesse or the reproduction of inner voices, but I have run and participated in many comparisons between Denon and similarly and higher-priced components, and my experience has been that Denon acquits itself well against the competition -- including against some highly praised entry-level separates.

Since my retail and consumer experience has been that Denon is well-built and sounds better than most of its similarly priced competition -- and further, since I've heard Denon integrateds and receivers sound better than some well-respected separates, how could I say anything other than what I said?

The biggest problem confronting the high-end audio industry as I see it isn't the high cost of entry -- there's a lot of great-sounding affordable gear available. It's not home theater -- people are still passionate about listening to music. The biggest problem confronting the growth of audio is audiophiles who act as though you have to be one of the elect to be a "real" audiophile.

Mr. Freeseha enjoys listening to music and hears differences between components (as evidenced by his desire to upgrade his speakers). Why not welcome him into the fold -- why post a "no Denons allowed" sign on the clubhouse? Is it any wonder "normal" people think audiophiles are strange?

I maintain that the love of music knows no boundaries. Why should the brotherhood of music lovers erect these false borders? There's a famous book about golf, If You Play Golf, Then You're My Friend, and it seems to be true. Get golfers together and they yak happily about handicaps, golf-ball designs, great courses they've played on -- it never fails. Get two audiophiles together and they'll draw a line down the middle of the room and send all the tube users to the other side -- or maybe it's the CD listeners.

I hate that and I refuse to play that game. When people ask me what I think of their systems, my first question is, "How do you like it?" Nothing else matters.

I'd like to make one other point. The thing about preference is you have to accept the other person's preference -- you can't argue with it. Nor should you impute disreputable motives to someone because of his preferences. That's just not cricket. Especially, Roman, since you agree with me 99.9% of the time. That's an unbelievable batting average, one never even approached by any ballplayer. So, if I do disagree with you .1% of the time, perhaps I'm not really in Denon's pocket, maybe I just struck out. Or maybe, no matter what I think, Denon's just not for you. I'm comfortable with that -- why aren't you?

You might be asking yourself why even bother to review this stuff, if it's all preference. For one thing, it's not all preference. Some things, such as build quality and reliability, differ greatly from one component to another. And different price points require different assessments. An inexpensive and not terribly convincing vinyl veneer that might be appropriate on $200-per-pair loudspeakers would be horribly out of place on $12,000 loudspeakers. I try to deliver that information when I review products. I also try to remember what a component is designed to do and judge it on how well it succeeds at that, so I have no problem giving a positive review to an HTIB that retails for $1000 and has high THD, whereas I would certainly cock an eyebrow at a $10,000 processor with the same specs.

And finally, I try to recount what it is like to live with the gear I review. I hope that means you can get at least one fact from everything I write that you couldn't have guessed just knowing the manufacturer's reputation. Above all, I try to remain somewhat sane about it and I really do try to not drive my readers crazy with the audiophile disease.

Hi Jack:

I can't imagine the Ascents will overtax the Accuphase. It's a bit of a beast. When you ask if electrostatic speakers are generally as reliable and robust as dynamics, that's a question that requires some qualification. They aren't, necessarily -- but MartinLogans are. The company has spent most of its life making 'stats that retain the sonic advantages of electrostatic speakers while eliminating their traditional shortcomings. By and large, the MartinLogans are less challenging to drive than most 'stats and easier to place within a room (that curvilinear source, you know).

The company even gets the little details right -- their custom tightening lugs on their binding posts are a joy to use and their owner's manuals are among the most informative and fun to read in the industry -- they even include recommended recordings.

Hi Kevin:

When you live with a component, sometimes you can grow so used to it you forget how special it is. I was starting to suspect that had happened with my Linn Classik, so I loaned it to my friend Janice, so she'd have music in her studio. Janice's significant other is my audio buddy Ruben, so she's used to a Linn LP-12/all-C-J /ProAc Response One S system at home. First, Janice called me, saying I'd spoiled her for mid-fi forever and then Ruben commented that he'd noticed their CD collection growing smaller as Janice took disc after disc in to work. So I guess I was initially correct about how good the Classik was.

In fact, Ruben speculates that, if the Classik were available when he first got into audio, he might never have become an audiophile!

T'ain't nothing wrong with your amplifier. Denon's integrateds are better than most audiophiles realize -- not all multinational audio companies are the same. Denon has been an audio company ever since 1910, when it was founded as Nippon Columbia. (Off topic, I once heard a recording of Nippon Columbia's first recording of a Japanese orchestra playing Western music -- I think it was Mahler -- and a very bizarre historical document that was, too!)