Monday 8 April 2013

Grant Fidelity Reference Tube CD-1000 CD Player

I love to poke fun at the companies out there that are toting really
expensive versions of fairly cheap technology. There just seems to be
something inherently wrong with someone telling me that a 32GB USB flash
drive is worth $200 because some high-end car company has allowed them
to emblazon it with their logo. Please. The same goes for audio
companies like Grant Fidelity that are clearly trying to convince people
that a technology that has been around for decades (might as well be
eons in the world of electronics) is worth spending thousands of dollars
on when you can get what boils down to the same gear for orders of
magnitude less. That being said, it is my duty and great honor to bring
you the latest overpriced CD player, the Grant Fidelity Reference Tube
CD-1000, a.k.a. The Impression II.
The Grant Fidelity Expression II is basically a 2009 CD player with a
1989 price tag. According to the marketing geniuses at Grant Fidelity,
the Expression II comes with the best layout you could ask for from a
high-end CD player. I didn't actually know that there was a good layout.
Anyway, they've strategically placed all of main sections of the player
(power supply to tube and solid state circuits, tube analog output, tube
headphone amp, CD drive) in the four corners of the unit. This leaves
the middle of the player which is encased in an isolated aluminum
chassis without interference from all of the other stuff inside. The
more I read about it, the more I think I want one. Damn, these guys are
good.
Along with all that, you get a slew of other goodies that only a true
audio nerd would understand like completely separated left and right
channels with 2x BB PCM1794 D/A converting IC chip and 10x OPA2604 / OPA
604 for IV converting and low pass filtering. And just in case you were
wondering if you get defeatable up-sampling with 3 optional frequencies,
you do. Who couldn't use more defeatable up-sampling?
The Grant Fidelity Reference Tube CD-1000 CD Player (Expression II) is
available for sale now for a mere $3,200. Did I mention that this thing
weighs 50-lbs? Take a surf on over to www.grantfidelity.com to check out
some more glamour shots of this and plenty of other crazy expensive gear.

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