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The Nova Physics Group Memory Player
Second Thoughts...
I will be the first to admit that I have a
limited experience with the tidal wave of new
digital playback devices. Based on what I have
heard from the likes of Gryphon, Linn, Bel
Canto, Krell, Wadia, and Reimyo, the
collective of creative minds fueling the high
end are chewing up the pavement in the
advancement of the art.
Then as if from thin air comes the brainchild
of Mark Porizilli
George Bischoff and Rod Handley, aptly named
the Memory player. Here we have a device that
takes a completely new approach to bringing
better sound from 16/44.1 standard Red Book.
Nova Physics Group's website as well as
Clement covers the techno side of things
pretty thoroughly so I will not be redundant.
As for my sonic impressions after purchasing a
unit, here's my story.
When Clement spilled the beans on the soon to
be completed MP, I was
very interested, if not a bit cautious due to
the PC based operating
system. I just do not like computers. Never
have. And
yes, the MP operates by either the
touch-screen or by
PC notebook. When the very amiable and
thankfully patient George
Bischoff dropped by to set the MP up and give
me a tutorial on its
ins and outs, I tried like hell to disguise
the glazed over blank
stare one acquires when confronted by new
technology. Being only
partially successful with my masquerade,
Bischoff forged on and after
a surprisingly short time, I was memory
playing! Seriously, it is not
as daunting as it may first appear. I equate
the steps involved to
the steps of hunting for your favorite disc,
pulling it from its
case, giving it a good wipe before dropping it
in a CD tray and heading back
to your seat. The only real difference is that
with the Memory
player, I only have to get up once!
Once the music starts, there is no question,
wait, there a are
questions, like “How the heck…..What the….can
this be really doing
what it sounds like it’s doing?” In a time
when I am using components
that have me really excited, the MP, within
the period of fifteen
minutes, ascended to the top of the heap. This
is not the type of
improvement that can be summed up by the
mental ping-pong'ing of
whether the component at hand is, for
instance, warmer and richer, or
is it more open and detailed. The MP is
fundamentally different, no
make that better, no make that much better in
that there is not one
area of performance that I can compare to
anything put forth by a CD
player that I have personally heard or owned.
This may sound like an over statement, and
that may sound like an understatement, but it
is not. There is so
much more information put forth and the
elimination of so much glare
and transient distortion that further
comparison became totally
unnecessary. The elimination of the mechanical
aspect of the playback
peels back the curtain and reveals the true
flaw, the fatal flaw of
today's transport based system. Floating them
on air, bouncing them
on springs, piercing the metal coat with
spikes or gumming up the
bottoms with sticky rubber pucks, just to name
a few ways of
stabilizing the transport, is much like a
young boy whistling in the
dark to keep his fear at bay. He is, as we
have been, kidding
ourselves by hoping these means were the
answer. They may have helped
a little, but in the end, nothing but total
elimination of the moving
parts within the transport could drive us that
final mile. Yes, The
MP is better than I could ever have imagined,
even after the
accolades give here from both Clement and
myself, until you hear it, you may find it
hard to believe as well.
Greg Petan
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