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Bitzie first impressions |
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Fatmangolf ![]() Moderator Group ![]() ![]() Joined: 23 Dec 2009 Location: Middlesbrough Status: Offline Points: 8629 |
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The Bitzie plus Lautus USB cable is great value. It turns a computer into a top notch hi-fi source!
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Jon
Open mind and ears whilst owning GSP Genera, Accession M, Accession MC, Elevator EXP, Solo ULDE, Proprius amps, Cusat50 cables, Lautus digital cable, Spatia cables and links, and a Majestic DAC. |
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morris_minor ![]() Moderator Group ![]() ![]() Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Location: Surrey Status: Offline Points: 5910 |
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My last proper session with the Bitzie:
I unplugged the Proprius amps from the AV processor, and with the iPad as source (streaming from the Squeezebox server - no computer near enough for a direct connection) plugged the amps direct into the Bitzie with CuSat50s. Speakers are PMC GB1i floorstanders connected with Spatia cables & links - so it was a minimalist GSP only system (aside from source and speakers, and I don't think these are on Graham's development road map (yet??)). Music ranged from Bach organ, unaccompanied choral, jazz (Dexter Gordon - Tanya from One Flight Up), Dire Straights (Telegraph Road), and Holst's Planets (Zubin Mehta/LAPO, Decca LP rip). [Edit - that's Dire Straits, of course ![]() My usual source is a Slim Devices (Squeezebox) Transporter with it's own "audiophile" DAC and output stage, and also the Transporter into the (Audiolab) AV processor's 192/24 DAC. (I tend to alternate between analogue and digital out from the Transporter - can't really tell the difference as the DACs are so well matched!). I won't bore you with all my listening notes for every piece, but the scale and authority of the presentation from the Bitzie was mightily impressive. Delicate and transparent when required, dynamic and hard-hitting when required. The low toms in Telegraph Road had a body and resonance that was definitely in the same ball-park as the bigger DACs. Likewise bass from The Planets (Saturn especially), and the various Bach organ pieces. The organ music was notable too for it's low level detail - the mechanical noises of pipe organs, the noise of the blowers, the decay of notes in the big acoustic; these were all really well defined. Mid-range was lucid and treble was just right - no digital glare, but you got what the recording gave you. The choral music (by Eric Whiteacre - Stephen Layton/Polyphony on Hyperion) was just as sublime on the Bitzie as via the other DACs. And lastly - the first note of "Tanya" is a woody, fortissimo, double bass in "unison" with a drum hit. The first time I could separate out the characters of both instruments was when I put the Dutch NOS DAC in my study system. That the Bitzie pulled off the same trick is, for me, testament to it's quality. I have three good DACs in the house - two in equipment costing around 3-4 times more than the Bitzie, and a DAC over twice it's price. Never was the Bitzie outclassed. Once or twice I could discern a touch more body, or air, and sometimes marginally better dynamics - but I think Graham has designed a truly remarkable piece of kit here which operates in many scenarios. Use it with a mobile source out and about, and when home it will slot neatly in to a "full size" system, giving a suitably "full-sized" sound. As a USB to S/PDIF converter it works transparently. As a headphone amp from a USB source it gives the Solo UL a good run for its money. I think the Lautus USB cable should be a regular part of the package, though, as it allows the Bitzie to perform to it's full potential. If you don't use a "good" USB cable it'll be like a V8 firing on 4 cylinders. All in all this is another product Graham and his team should be very proud of. At the price it is an absolute steal! Edited by morris_minor - 04 Mar 2013 at 5:18pm |
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Bob
Majestic DAC/pre-amp Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50 2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links |
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mitch65 ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: 02 Feb 2013 Location: East Sussex Status: Offline Points: 553 |
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I use Telegraph Road as a system tester myself, I find it ticks most of the boxes for me..........and i just happen to like it
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Greg
Rega Planer 3 Gram Amp 2 Audiolab 8000A Auralic Aries Mini Russell K 50 |
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morris_minor ![]() Moderator Group ![]() ![]() Joined: 27 Mar 2012 Location: Surrey Status: Offline Points: 5910 |
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Yes, Telegraph Road's got it all (well sort of) - quiet noodling and thunderous climaxes . . .
Plus it's a bit nostalgic for me as I saw DS at the Hammersmith Odeon (as it was) on their "Live in '85 (and a bit in '86)" tour . . . (feeling my age now ![]() Really like MK's guitar playing. Sultans of Swing prompted my to buy my first pop album since Sgt Pepper in '67 - had many years in the classical wilderness
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Bob
Majestic DAC/pre-amp Accession MC/Enigma, Accession MM, Reflex M, Elevator EXP, Era Gold V Solo ULDE, Novo, Lautus USB and digital, Libran balanced, CuSat50 2 x Proprius + Spatia/Spatia Links |
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mitch65 ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: 02 Feb 2013 Location: East Sussex Status: Offline Points: 553 |
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Hammersmith Odeon? saw Mike Oldfield there in '82 and OMD in '83 so you're not the only one feeling their age ![]() |
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Greg
Rega Planer 3 Gram Amp 2 Audiolab 8000A Auralic Aries Mini Russell K 50 |
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Graham Slee ![]() Admin Group ![]() ![]() Retired Joined: 11 Jan 2008 Location: South Yorkshire Status: Offline Points: 16110 |
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Stop it! I saw Black Sabbath at Sheffield City Hall in 1972 so that should mean I'm a corpse by comparison... ![]() |
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That none should be able to buy or sell without a smartphone and the knowledge in how to use apps
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ICL1P ![]() Senior Member ![]() ![]() Joined: 04 Aug 2012 Location: Faringdon, Oxon Status: Offline Points: 2324 |
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Ifor
===== Reflex M & ACCESSION M, CuSat50, Majestic DAC, a Proprius pair. |
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