March 20, 2012

  • Adcom GCD-700, Part 9

    Not many people know about Boz Scaggs' Fade Into Light, which was in play 15 years ago.  I learned about it two ways.  One, when it came out, I was living in San Francisco.  Since Scaggs ran and co-owned the Slims' nightclub in S.F.'s SOMA, the local media followed him.  Two, I had the Hokubei Mainichi newspaper route in Japantown.  I would stop off at the Kinokuniya Bookstore, and read about Scaggs, who apparently had a following in Japan.  In 1997, I had to get Fade Into Light as an expensive import CD from Japan.

    Still not cheap, in 2005, a Dual Disc was made available, here in the U.S.  The DVD side includes 3 songs, performed at S.F.'s American Music Hall.  As for the music on Fade Into Light itself, Scaggs became more jazzy, introspective, and mature.

    15 years ago, XLO's Signature series interconnects were cannibalizing the other lines, especially the original Reference Types 1 and 2.  So XLO thought it was time to work on a so-called Reference 2 lineup.  As we all know, that Ref 2 lineup was a sonic disappointment and commercial failure.  I did sell some of my original Reference interconnects, but I only did that, in order to upgrade to the Signature series.  Fortunately, I didn't sell all of my original Type 1 interconnects.  All these years, other audiophiles had borrowed mine.  I finally got them back, so I could stick them on the audiodharma Cable Cooker.  You can see one such pair in the photo above.

    The original XLO Ref Type 1 sounded great on some of the Adcom tuners, preamps, and power amps I used, owned, or borrowed.  On the GCD-700, it still sounds very good.  First of all, the question is, "Do instruments sound like themselves?"  With the Ref Type 1, the answer is "yes."  Second, compared to the Ultra 1, the Ref Type 1 yields better-sculpted images.  There's more "fill" within the image outlines.  Still, something's not quite maxed out.  The soundstage is a little bit scrunched up or congested.  You may desire more space between the images.  While the music's motion and action are relatively quick, they are, in ultimate terms, just a touch behind the leaders.  However, said leaders cost much more (sometimes significantly more) than the Ref Type 1.

    I guess it's like going to a small park or playground.  It may have just one play structure.  It leaves children wanting more space to roam, more structures to climb, more features on those structures to check out.      But it's better than no park at all, better than being forced to play in high-crime, dangerous, toxic wastelands.  On the Adcom GCD-700, the Ref Type 1 provides the biggest bang for the buck.  So if you can't afford the exorbitant ticket prices of those large parks or big league interconnects, seek out the original XLO Ref Type 1, and you will be very comfortable and happy in your little, clean, and safe playground