Legendary pair. Plays HDCD discs!
D/AC-2000 Ultra Digital/Analog Converter
C/BD-2000 Belt Drive CD Transport
I bought this pair after hearing the DAC at a friend's. This is the clearest, most transparant DAC I've ever heard under $4,000. The outputs are so hot you barely need to turn up your amplifier. The sound is so clear I constantly hear new things on even the most familiar recordings. Simply amazing.
The DAC has Pacific Microsonic's HDCD decoder built-in. There are a few dozen CD's out there recorded using HDCD which gives a 20-bit output (versus 16). If you have any HDCD discs this is the only way to unlock all of their potential. A pair of Burr-Brown converters powers the DAC. You can read about the D/AC-2000 in the Owner Manual below or search for reviews on the Internet.
The belt drive C/BD-2000 Transport is ideally matched to the DAC. It features a very heavy transport that eliminates jitter. The quality is superb. This transport is all about high-end as there is no analog output—you must use it with a DAC.
Original Owner Manuals:
- C/BD-2000 Owner Manual (57 KB)
- D/AC-2000 Owner Manual (51 KB)
Superb implementation of a DAC designed to maximize the sound of 16/44 CDs. Even at original list of $2000 this was an excellent deal - competing with DACs in the $4000 to $6000 range. I directly compared it with a competing $3500 DAC and considered the Parasound a clear winner over it. I've had a number of DACs and CD players in my system. Over the years the most consistent theme was in how they sounded so much alike, sometimes taking days to discern small, subtle differences. But when I hooked up the D/AC-2000, the effect was immediate and wonderful. Drawbacks: Great detail can make poor CDs unlistenable.
My best buy ever in an audio component. Got it 2 years ago in a Parasound clearance (Audio Advisor) for around $ 800, (vs. its list price of 2000). In short, an absolutely outstanding D/A converter, in a class of its own, and far superior to anything that I have heard before (or since). I agree that this converter achieves its design goals: to reach the maximum possible sound quality with the 16/44 medium (in fact, it is capable of 20/48). Its sound ? Transparent highs, natural midrange, very deep bass, exceptional imaging, a dynamic yet delicate, "classy" sound that sets it apart from the crowd. Not to be mated with a cheap player, however, it is very sensitive to "low quality" signals and will inmediately reveal weaknesess in the preceding component or source material. Will benefit (of course) from a good transport, one that can provide a clean, jitter free signal. In addition, build quality is excellent and it has a full complement of I/O possibilities. I feed mine thru both its AES/EBU (preferred) and S/PDIF inputs. I think it is very hard to beat at its price, (perhaps you can get one today for 500-600, a true steal) So if you see one, go for it!!
Compared to a $4000 dlr. classe, wich requires 300 hrs.of burn in to sound ok. The Ultra is a hell of a buy at $1500. Stereophile recommended component. Get one if you can find one. They are hard to find.
Internet CD Transport reviews:I've used the Parasound C/DB-2000 for the past few years and it's a great sounding transport compared to everything else I tried.
This is an excellent transport. The C/DB 2000 is a limited production transport from Parasound. It comes in two variants, one being ST (AT&T/glass) optical capable. I’ve made direct comparisons of the C/DB 2000 against CEC TL1 & TL2, Wadia 20 and the Mark Levinson No. 37 in my home setup.
Parasound belt-drive CD transport manufactured in Japan by CEC (no DAC). Stereophile Class B for years running. Widely noted for its "analog-like" sound.
