March 28, 2012

  • Adcom GCD-700, Part 15

    Oh hell yeah!  When ex-Shalamar singer Jody Watley went solo 25 years ago, she was an instantaneous smash.  The image.  The swagger.  The "hasta la vista, baby."  The colors.  The punchy sound.  How could you not like Jody Watley?  Heck, she even sounded great on vinyl.  But really, when her debut came out, everyone wanted it not on vinyl or cassette, but on CD. 

    Although "Looking For A New Love" is better-known for the "hasta la vista, baby" line, its intro was the inspiration for the X-Files' theme.  "Some Kind Of Lover" isn't heard much nowadays, but it was a hard-hitting dance track.  What makes "Don't You Want Me" so kick-ass?  It prominently features Tony Thompson [Chic, Madonna, Power Station] on drums.  "Learn To Say No" is a duet with George Michael [perhaps they had met during Band-Aid]. 

    But my favorite is "Most Of All."  In the spring 1988 semester, I had Latin in the morning.  Right after that, Dr. Nogara had either homeroom or freshman Spanish.  Kristin was in that class.  I was gathering my stuff, ready to hop to my next class.  Kristin sat on an adjacent desk.  Without any provocation, she then started singing Watley's "Most Of All."  In the song, Watley's boyfriend dumps or betrays her.  She should move on, but something about the guy keeps her interested.  When Kristin was singing it, it was as if she were singing it to me.  And I was like, "Damn, I wish I were good enough, to have had someone like Kristin in the first place!"

    In 1987, did I know about digital separates and digital cables?  Oh hell no.  But shortly thereafter, I learned about DAT, which could record digitally from a CD player with digital out.

    Hey!  I didn't know that Audio Advisor sold XLO.  This ad was taken from the April 1992 Stereophile.  Audio Advisor may not have advertised or sold other XLO product, but they did list the $150 XLO Reference Type 4.  20 years ago, when I feverishly read Stereophile, my housemate Doug had Jody Watley on CD.  Thus, I didn't have to bring my copy from San Francisco

    Going into the Cambridge Audio 840C, dCS Puccini, or Wadia 781i, the Adcom GCD-700 likes the XLO Reference Type 4.  Through the 840C, those drums are not as "POP, SNAP, CRACK" as with the MIT Digital Reference, but there's still good edge and sharpness, which greatly aid PRAT.  Especially with the Puccini, there is a layered sense of soundstage depth.  This gives the music breathing room, frees it from being like papers on the wall [my housemates and I liked to pin papers up on the walls.  And Dave liked to pin up panties of the girls he made love to].  Through the 781i, there's actually a wealth of detail, and it's presented in graceful fashion.

    Maybe it was my friend Sol who thought that CD changers were "sexual."  If not Sol, then someone blurted out, "Wow!  That's like a woman riding one guy, getting titty-fucked by another, and sucking a third guy off."

    Okay, that's kind of a disgusting thought, but the good news is that, while one CD is playing, you can change the other four!  Simply open the drawer, and use the "skip" button.

    "Zzz," says the Aldabra tortoise, "I may live to 160, but I ain't got all day."

    I'm not going to write a formal review of the Adcom GCD-700 on Audio Asylum.  In its absence, let me write a summary here.

    Negatives:

    • 2.5V fixed output is too high
    • changing discs does make a loud, clunky noise
    • display cannot be dimmed or turned off
    • no elapsed disc time function
    • no IEC jack
    • only available in black
    • RCAs too close to each other

    Positives: 

    • loads and changes discs faster than many single-disc players
    • makes an excellent "jukebox" transport
    • power consumption is a mere 15W
    • runs cool
    • remote works well