Sentinel makes Cascade an appealing proposition. Cascade makes Esoteric Grandioso an appealing proposition.

1 hour ago, brodricj said:

Sentinel makes Cascade an appealing proposition. Cascade makes Esoteric Grandioso an appealing proposition.

The proposition may seem appealing but it's harming my retirement quality.

10 hours ago, brodricj said:

The DD is sitting on the top shelf.....

What improvements does the new DD model offer compared to its predecessor, Brodric? Perhaps a new outfit with an isolated power supply only? 😬

The Sentinel DD now handles all the digital processes, and the display and L + R fiber optic links to the analog converter mono DAC's. So it's quite different to the Select DD.

There are rumors that an audiophile here will soon receive a Sentinel. If the price is right, Cascade will say “I do” with the M7s.

Any possibility to demo the Cascade before committing to buy? If so it would be an opportunity to listen to Cascade and Esoteric Grandioso side by side. A new D1XSE will be much cheaper than used Cascade.

On 30/7/2025 at 1:20 PM, AccMagi7s said:

Oh man! The world’s inflation rates are soaring dramatically, far outpacing our daily blue-collar wages! It's becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the rising costs of living. An audiophile’s living that is. 

Let play analog Bro 😘

Sentinel is not shipping until the end of the year. I'd be very surprised if we see one before early next year. I'm aware of five Cascade owners who have placed orders for Sentinel in the US. They are getting 100% trade-in credit on the Sentinel upgrade. That is bound to keep used Cascade prices high.

9 hours ago, brodricj said:

Sentinel is not shipping until the end of the year. I'd be very surprised if we see one before early next year. I'm aware of five Cascade owners who have placed orders for Sentinel in the US. They are getting 100% trade-in credit on the Sentinel upgrade. That is bound to keep used Cascade prices high.

Haha! That’s a great business strategy: mark up the selling price of a new product to 2000 times the actual cost of making them and offer a 100% trade-in for its predecessor as an upgrade.

Edited August 1, 2025Aug 1 by AccMagi7s
Spelling

1 hour ago, AccMagi7s said:

Haha! That’s a great business strategy: mark up the selling price of a new product to 2000 times the actual cost of making them and offer a 100% trade-in for its processor as an upgrade.

It's not uncommon to come across some companies that are great at producing technology but not great businessmen and others that are great businessmen first...

15 minutes ago, Martykt said:

It's not uncommon to come across some companies that are great at producing technology but not great businessmen and others that are great businessmen first...

If anyone were to dissect the innards of a flagship Accuphase, they would be amazed by the extraordinary quality evident in every meticulously crafted detail and the exceptional level of assembly. The signal-to-noise ratio they achieve surpasses that of many ultra-high-end competitors. However, Accuphase falters in terms of business strategy. They don't invest in advertising or pay for endorsements from well-known reviewers. Instead, their unwavering focus is on research and development, as well as the quality and performance of their products, allowing their craftsmanship to speak for itself. This dedication often leads to a misunderstanding, as many consumers overlook their brilliance. Brands with comparable assembly quality frequently charge consumers exorbitant prices—sometimes 1,000 times higher—such as dCS, MSB, Goldmund, and others.

As consumers, we often find ourselves misled by the allure of marketing hype, unfortunately.

14 hours ago, Fidelity Sounds said:

Let play analog Bro 😘

Sorry, bro! I haven't had time to test the new phono. Running a consultancy business takes up more leisure time than I anticipated.

 

https://www.logsys.net.au

 

To all the owner builders, architects, building designers, and builders, please reach out to me if you need structural certification for your build and BA approval.😊

 

55 minutes ago, AccMagi7s said:

However, Accuphase falters in terms of business strategy.

I actually disagree with this.

 

True while they don't follow common business practices in the electronics industry like built in obsolescence for example they have built their name on exceptional levels of quality as you say with an extremely high level of respect for their customers and as a result have been a successful business for decades.

They are a testament to how other audio companies should run their business.

 

I stumbled across this interview which explains a lot about the ethos of Accuphase as a company.

 

 

38 minutes ago, Martykt said:

I actually disagree with this.

 

True while they don't follow common business practices in the electronics industry like built in obsolescence for example they have built their name on exceptional levels of quality as you say with an extremely high level of respect for their customers and as a result have been a successful business for decades.

They are a testament to how other audio companies should run their business.

 

I stumbled across this interview which explains a lot about the ethos of Accuphase as a company.

 

 

I finally watched the video!

 

Oh, and I wanted to clarify something. What I actually meant was “marketing strategy,” not “business strategy.” 

6 minutes ago, AccMagi7s said:

I finally watched the video!

 

Oh, and I wanted to clarify something. What I actually meant was “marketing strategy,” not “business strategy.” 

Quite often the best companies don't need or have a marketing strategy because their product and are that strong that they don't need to.

3 hours ago, AccMagi7s said:

However, Accuphase falters in terms of business strategy.

Well, you could say that, but they are in business for quite some time, so their strategy seems to be working.

What I do not like about their business model, is that they do not support product but instead their dealers. So you cannot get any technical info on any product if you are not the dealer. And if you move from one country to another, they want you to send it back to your old country for service, because that dealer there needs to make money.

 

Sorry , I have just repeated what others have said before me (just read it now).

Edited August 1, 2025Aug 1 by rockeater
added apology

2 minutes ago, rockeater said:

Well, you could say that, but they are in business for quite some time, so their strategy seems to be working.

What I do not like about their business model, is that they do not support product but instead their dealers. So you cannot get any technical info on any product if you are not the dealer. And if you move from one country to another, they want you to send it back to your old country for service, because that dealer there needs to make money.

 

Sorry , I have just repeated what others have said before me (just read it now).

Hey Roman! Everything’s good! I reckon this regional isolation is no stranger to all high-end audio. The idea to minimise grey imported. 

From what I understand, MSB pricing in Australia is cheaper than USA. And so is Esoteric. That goes a long way to stopping end user importing outside the distributor channel.

In light of what we've been discussing here, this video just popped up on YouTube. For what it's worth.

 

 

4 minutes ago, brodricj said:

In light of what we've been discussing here, this video just popped up on YouTube. For what it's worth.

 

 

That sounds absolutely amazing! 

As good as the TAD speakers are, M7 are quite a few levels higher up the food chain. Cascade + M7 would be hard to beat.

It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly two weeks since I neglected my incredible setup due to work commitments, following that refreshing break when I welcomed the M7s into my home. What a challenging couple of weeks it’s been! Today, I had the pleasure of watching Jay’s video, which Brodric kindly brought to my attention in this very thread. It’s become clear to me that I must set aside my work obligations, dedicated to funding this extraordinary passion, and dive back into my somewhat chaotic listening space.

Once again, the M7s have utterly captivated me! A smile returns to my face.

It’s a perplexing conundrum: do I spend money and enjoy my time, or balance my time with financial reserves? Yet, despite this dilemma, I find myself lacking the motivation to pursue upgrades once I immerse myself in the music. Perhaps it’s the sheer engagement with the sound that makes me reluctant to seek a further upgrade path. All I can say is I’m incredibly happy! Magico, you never cease to bring joy to my busy, stressful life.

Here it is, folks! Not your typical $150,000.00 MSB Cascade DAC or the jaw-dropping $95,000 Waldax Studio player. We're talking about the amazing Accuphase DC1000, paired with my very own DIY audio server!

 

Not bad at all. 

 

6 hours ago, AccMagi7s said:

I find myself lacking the motivation to pursue upgrades once I immerse myself in the music. Perhaps it’s the sheer engagement with the sound that makes me reluctant to seek a further upgrade path. 

 

Good reasons above to arrive at decision to stop further upgrades to the system.

That, and the fact that judging by the picture, you would have soon ran out of floor space 😉

6 hours ago, AccMagi7s said:

 

8 hours ago, AccMagi7s said:

Yet, despite this dilemma, I find myself lacking the motivation to pursue upgrades once I immerse myself in the music. Perhaps it’s the sheer engagement with the sound that makes me reluctant to seek a further upgrade path. All I can say is I’m incredibly happy! Magico, you never cease to bring joy to my busy, stressful life.

As they say "If it ain't broke why fix it??".

 

One of the things that quite often gets left out of the discussion when talking about DACs is not necessarily how good it is but whether a DACs particular sound signature and the things that it does right connects with you and it is pretty obvious that the Accuphase has that connection with you.

 

You don't want to fall into the trap of spending a large amount of money just because of what someone else thinks you should buy based on their own preference or a particular DAC like the MSB is the flavour of the month or gets bandied around as being the DAC to have.

What's important is that the DAC you have makes you happy and any potential upgrade should only be considered if it brings something special to the table for you and what you like.

 

I could tell you that my preference is for DCS as I tend to like colour and texture which for me can bring an instrument or singer to life for me and the DCS has that something special that I connect with but I wouldn't tell you to go out and buy a DCS because that's not necessarily what connects with you.

The Accuphase doesn't appear to have any real flaws or issues in which the M7s I'm sure would have made obvious by now and is still capable of doing something special for you so why stress?

Just listen to the music and be happy. 😊 

 

Plus when you're in the mood for something really special you have that cart and shiny new phono waiting...