plug and play. it works and makes it all sound better.

none. well, flimsy cord, but it works just fine.

This is the first time i've been moved to write a review for a piece of equipment.

My setup: Musical FidelityA3.2cr Amp, Adcom CD92 CD Player, B&W CDM-9 speakers - modestly high-end interconnects and cables.

I put on a Lyle Lovett Cd - great vocals and acoustic instruments everywhere. listened to a couple of tracks then plugged this thing in and listened to them again.

Well, i had to do this twice. I had to do it twice because the difference between life with and life without the x 10-d was amazing.

the music now has more depth, warmth, roundness - it just sounds better. a lot better.

unless you own at $2000+ cd player, buy one now.

Light, clear sound, very defined bass HDCD-support

None

This DAC I had bought second hand is absolutely marvellous! I use it with a Rega Planet and an additional X-10 D and X-PSU, the sound is incredible. I am very happy with this unit, but recently I got an X-24K as a present, so it has to go...

Similar Products Used:

X-24K X-PSU X-10 D

two analogue outputs, hdcd capability, tough as nails build quality (extruded aluminium cylinder).

one co-axial input, one optical. would've preferred two co-ax, one opt like the soundstream.

I compared my existing DAC, a Soundstream DAC-1 designed by Krell to this DAC and the results were identical, so I'm keeping the X-DAC and selling the DAC-1. It is a very good DAC and will improve the sound of most CD Players costing less than £350. A snip if you can get one second hand.

Similar Products Used:

Soundstream DAC-1

Having recently upgraded my amps to Meridian pre and power (502 & 557), I was a bit short changed to go the full hog and get the Meridian 508.20 CD player I always wanted. My existing CD player was a gracefully ageing Marantz CD42 - I 'borrowed' the X-DAC from the local hi-fi store (OK, I had to leave a cheque with them!) and hooked it into the Marantz's digital output. First impressions were a sound which was significantly 'smoother' on all my CDs with more 'space' around each instrument. At one stage, my wife wandered into the room whilst I was listening to music and commented that the sound was different. When she sat down and listened more seriously, she admitted that she could hear things within the music which were not immediately apparent before. In general, I would say that the X-DAC provides less fatiguing listening (especially with earlier CDs which I rarely played because of them sounding 'glassy' with just the Marantz player on its own. The X-DAC does make a difference with HDCD discs, which do sound more 'ambient' than without the X-DAC being present. To sum up, I feel the money has been well-spent. I still like the Meridian 508.20 and will upgrade when funds permit, but the X-DAC has proved itself a fine performer, allowing me to play far more CDs than I used to because of its smooth sound and extra resolving power.

I've had the rare opportunity to hear the X-DAC with the Sony XA7ES as transport vs the Sony XA7ES alone. Amp was a Densen and Castle speakers.
When they switched from the 7ES to the XDAC, the sound became harsh and gritty and the soundstage collapsed. It was very obvious. The X-DAC is really about the same standard as the Marantz 63 KI-S (with the HDCD bonus), and as reported, its lab measurements are quite poor. It is a fair purchase, but does not stand head and shoulders over the competition as some class-leading products do.

I recently purchased a pair of Hales Revelation 3 speakers. Associated with a pair of B&K M200 Sonata amps, a Luxman CL-35 pre, and Transparent Musicwave interconnects and speaker cable, my 10 year old Sony 507ES cd player was exposed as the weak link in the system. Not willing to part with the big dollars right now for a quality player I opted for the X-DAC and a 30 day trial from Audio Advisor. I also bought Kimber Cable DC-60 coaxial cable. Right out of the box, I was impressed. I heard details in recordings I'm familiar with that hadn't been there before. The Hales throw a very deep soundstage and with the X-DAC I also now get very good separation or air around the instruments. This isn't the best by any means. It isn't in a league with the Sonic Frontiers SFCD-1, for example.But it also isn't $4K either. For those of you with an older but reliable cd player looking for an inexpensive upgrade that returns a lot of sound for the money, this is a great buy.

First of all, I was trying to create a dedicated page for the new Musical Fidelity X-RAY 24/96 Reference CD Player and I seem to have a problem doing so, not to mention writing a review under its own page. My review is actually a question.
My question is does or do anyone have any experience listening to this CD Player? Or does anyone even own it? If so, please indicate such. Because I am very much interested in purchasing this player. I think that it looks hot, I want to know if it sounds as hot as it looks?

Thanks,

Mystery Audiophile.

In looks, I would love to give it a ten, but I will go by your evaluations and experiences before actually purchasing one, so for now I will have to settle for five speakers in the looks department only.

I originally bought this DAC to compliment my trusty Cambridge Audio CD-4.The difference was immediate, although my system wasn't very transparent at the time. The voices were more clear, the instruments had more 'air' around them, everything was more believable. In fact, I was so impressed, that I went out and bought the extra power supply (X-PSU) as well as their mini-preamp X-PRE and the X-A50s power amp monoblocs.

I now have a SONY CDP-X3000ES (the good-looking one), which is significantly better than the Cambridge Audio, different league in fact. I still prefer the sound through the X-DAC, although the difference is a lot less dramatic. Still, when paired to cheap CD players, the X-DAC can work miracles.

Excelent choice, I never looked back. They have now discontinued the X-DAC, selling the X24K for the same price. I suspect it might be better still, although it does not have the HDCD decoder (no big loss, IMHO)

Five stars, no contest.

In response to the enquiry about the X-Ray CD player: I bought one in UK recently and yes, it looks the dog's bollocks and sounds it too. I listen to all types, from classical to jazz and rock. The X-Ray takes all in its stride with exceptional clarity and conviction. Build and finish are excellent as well. Only one complaint: the remote's design is dumb, with controls at lower end rather than usual top, thus making it awkward to press when in palm. But this is tripping over toothpicks

I bought an X-DAC a little over a year or so ago, and then later added the X-PSU which is a separate power supply in the same size extruded case as the X-DAC. This DAC combo is currently hanging off the digital output of my latest CD Deck, a Rega Planet (6 months old already). My digital cable is an Illuminations D-75 and the analog audio interconnect is Cardas 300B Microtwin. My preamp is a Classe Audio driving bi-amped PAs connected to Sonus Faber Concerto loudspeakers via 2 runs of Kimber (push-pull 6550C PA on tweeters, and push-pull MOSFET PA on woofers).
The X-DAC was itself improved by the addition of the X-PSU in the area of bass performance and soundstage width. The Rega Planet was improved by the X-DAC/X-PSU in the smoothness and presence of the mid-highs/highs and in the image height, but particularly by the addition of HDCD capability:

I own over 30 HDCD CDs, more than today's entire universe of Classic and Chesky 24/96 DVD Audio Disks. There are over one thousand HDCD CDs out there (just check http://www.hdcd.com/), with many more being added each month. In my opinion the HDCD improvement is very worthwhile, adding both better imaging and harmonic texture. Most importantly, HDCD is a reality while the DVD audio medium is still in a state of flux. Today there is a great a risk of being burnt by an investment in the DVD audio medium. I'm waiting to see what happens before I invest in the DVD audio medium, but in the meanwhile I'll be enjoying CD/HDCD on my Rega Planet/X-DAC/X-PSU. When I do finally take the plunge into DVD audio, I fully expect to keep my current CD/HDCD setup just as it is, to continue to enjoy my CD/HDCD library - just as I kept my LP setup to enjoy my LP library.

Kind Regards, Chris

http://www.wb2vvv.com