January 25, 2013

  • California Audio Labs Delta, Part 12

    Growing up, I thought there were only two kinds of bedsheets: the normal kind (albeit in myriad colors and patterns) or the fancy hotel kind.  When I got to college, I initially lived in the dorms. 
    While my sheets were the ubiquitous 300 thread count, I noticed that some students had flannel sheets.  Some had quilted sheets.  And others had "jersey" sheets, which were like a smoother, stretchier t-shirt.

    Okay, so the students' jersey sheets were inexpensive.  Well, now there are slicker, fancier, pricier jersey sheets.  The above jersey sheets are made of "Modal," a type of rayon.

    20 years ago, I was living at UCSC's Crown-Merrill apartments.  I walked across the parking lot, and visited my friends in the Crown dorms.  There, while sitting on someone's jersey sheets, I overheard a peculiar song.  Turns out, it was Dada's "Dizz Knee Land," with the famous chorus, "I'm going to Disneyland."  It fit right in, with all the alternative rock which was popular then. 

    The Modal jersey sheets should be washed in cold water.  They should go in the dryer on low heat.  They can wrinkle, so immediately pull them out of the dryer, and see if they need ironing.

    Anyway, while overhearing "Dizz Knee Land" in the dorms, I couldn't help but think about high-end audio.  At home, my power amp was the $1200 Muse Model One Hundred.  After that, I had no money left over.  Still, I wanted to partner the Muse amp with similarly-priced components.  I thought it'd go well with the Thiel CS1.2.  I lusted after the Conrad-Johnson PF-1 preamp.  And I really, Really, REALLY wanted the Theta DS Pro Prime.

    Even if I had gotten a DS Pro Prime, what would I have used it with?  My mediocre NAD 5000 CD player, which did have a coaxial digital output.  In my college apartment, I had the Sony CDP-520ESII.  It was basically not upgradeable.  It had a "subcode" output, on a completely useless S-video jack.

    As I sat on the apartment couch, I thought to myself, "After I get a DAC, I will want to use a dedicated CD transport."  Initially, I lusted after Audio Alchemy's original 2-chassis transport.  But it looked like a toy, and as a top-loader, required either a top shelf of lots of vertical clearance.  So then I turned my attention to the California Audio Labs Delta.

    My Sony CDP-520ES II's drawer opened and closed very quickly, almost too eagerly.  Sometimes, it closed so fast, it snatched the CD before we could place and align it (the CD) in the drawer.  The NAD 5000 opened and closed somewhat lazily, but still faster than most of today's players.  The CAL Delta's drawer opens slower but more smoothly than the Sony CDP-520ESII's.  The Delta's drawer operates faster than the NAD 5000's.  Furthermore, the Delta plays CDs silently enough, that you can use the Delta in quiet environments, such as your bedroom.  All right, all right, if "your bedroom" is a college dorm room, it isn't quiet.  If your family members or housemates snore, then your bedroom isn't quiet.  If it faces city streets or traffic, your bedroom isn't quiet.  If your neighbors are having loud sex, then your bedroom isn't quiet.

    20 years ago, when everyone had adopted the CD medium, we took the "infinite repeat" function for granted.  Whether you're going to Disneyland, or just going out for a little while, putting CD players and transports on infinite repeat helps burn-in audio systems.  Let's see you do that with a record player!