That sense of stable presence and purpose is just as audible on other musical genres. Play ‘Skateaway’ from Dire straits’ album Making Movies(Japanese SHM SACD Vertigo UIGY-9636) and the X1 adds an insistent drive to the repetitive drum machine pattern that opens the track, poise and attack to the chopped rhythm guitar notes. It holds each layer separate and distinct as the track builds and gains density, until the avalanche snare pattern and lead guitar explode into the soundstage at the top of the first verse. The building complexity and power is musically compelling, but not as dramatic as the way in which the D1.5/X1 tracks the musical down-shift that immediately follows. This ability to trace the changes in musical density, dynamic contrasts and tonal shifts is as impressive as it is engaging. It makes the two-box D1.5 an immensely entertaining musical all-rounder.
Choices and opportunities…
Does that mean that you HAVE to buy an X1 in order to really enjoy the D1.5? Not at all. The fundamental musical virtues are all present and correct in the one-box machine. But for customers buying that single-box disc replay solution, it’s nice to know that there’s a ready made and extremely cost effective upgrade path already mapped out.
Using the D1.5 in one, two, three, four and five box set-ups, I’ve been beguiled and impressed in equal parts. More often than not, presented with a multi-box upgrade path, once you climb the ladder, it’s somewhere between difficult and impossible to go back. That’s not the case here. Each step on the ladder is both musically significant and easily demonstrable/justifiable. But that’s the point. Each step is itself substantial, meaning that whether you go one, two or three box, the fundamental quality of the components is such that each iteration stands in its own right. Dropping from the top of the tree back down to the base model, sure you hear the difference – but such is the inherent musical integrity of the D1.5 that it stands up to the comparison. Which is perhaps the most telling observation of all. Whether you simply want a one-box disc player or the first step on the CH upgrade path, the D1.5 will meet your musical needs. In a house where the Wadax Reference system is in permanent residence, the (considerably more affordable) CH Precision one-box player has proved to be as engaging as it has been welcome. From that you’d be correct to conclude that the D1.5 get’s an awful lot of the really important things right. There’s a new one-box solution in town – and it sings!
Technical Panel
Type: CD/SACD player transport with user definable card-cage construction.
Formats Played: CD, SACD, MQA CD
Outputs (Digital): CH LINK-HD, AES/EBU (XLR), 2x S/PDIF (RCA and TosLink)
Output Formats: Native SACD (via CH Link-HD), MQA A, MQA B, RedBook CD
Outputs (Optional): Dual-mono analogue outputs on balanced XLR, RCA and BNC
SYNCH-IO clock in/out module
