Nice to see people are still using and upgrading these monsters. When I checked it out the sheer mass and size + the ( dual mono) power supply convinced me. Pairs great with their Nuvista m3 Id love to see what you do with it in the future and how it compares to those other dacs you mentioned. Consider yourself subscribed!
Hi Maud, if you have any upgrade kits for musical fidelity tri vista products please let me know. Great comparison. If the tri vista dac had a usb port i would have purchased a used one many moons ago. I have the amp only now
Thanks. Currently, the only Musical Fidelity upgrade kits I have are for the Tri-Vista 21 (maudifi.co.uk/product-category/hifi-tuning-upgrades/musical-fidelity/tri-vista-21-dac). I'm thinking of other stages/kits to follow this. Re USB input on the Tri-Vista 21, it's possible, but TBH I think it could be a pain to implement well as retrofit, so I'm not sure it's worth doing. I drive mine from my streamer through S/PDIF with great results. You can always use an USB to S/PDIF converter. I think there are some based on the Amanero USB interface that may be worth a try. Should be perfectly possible to upgrade the amplifiers as well, but engineering drawings are not readily available. So, I'd need a model here to devise any upgrades. HTH, Scott
I have a jays audio cdt3 mk2. It’s had a new laser but has started not playing some discs. The discs are mint and play on other transports. Any idea what could cause this? Thanks
I found this DAC for sale in Denver on Craigslist for $650 US. I didn't know anything about it but was intrigued. I did a search & came across your channel. I appreciate your comments about DACs in general & also watched your upgrade videos on it. I am not the kind of skilled person who could do all the upgrades you mentioned. Also, not sure how to find someone who could do it or if it would be worth it cost wise for upgrade parts &/or labor. I do have question based on you comments. Do you think it is worth buying this used one & use with the "cheap" parts you refer to are in the manufacture's build? I don't know if the seller had it upgraded at all, but could ask. Thanks!
Hi Peter, thanks for getting in touch. In summary the standard Tri-Vista 21 is good, despite the low cost capacitors used inside. It's just that it is capable of sooooooo much more by using quality components. $650 is a reasonable price and in the same ballbark as I paid. As long as you don't need a USB input. It's S/PDIF only. There isn't much info on it around. I couldn't find any of the original reviews, but there are comments about its capabilities. From www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/1204mf/index.html, "It got a Class A recommendation from Stereophile." For comparison: skyfiaudio.com/products/musical-fidelity-tri-vista-21-multistandard-96-192khz-24-bit-tubed-dac Re upgrades. I'm primarily upgrading mine for personal use, but I will almost certainly offer an upgrade kit(s) for the Tri-Vista 21 in the future. My upgrade kits come with the selected components and manual/guides, where appropriate. You get all the information and parts required, so such upgrades can be performed by an electronic technician, or a competent electronic DIYer. Basically, the time consuming research, engineering and listening tests with a range of quality components has been done for you. Hope that helps.
I have an old Burson dac, separate power supplies for analogue and digital compared to the original chord Hugo, I prefer the Burson for the same reason that you mentioned about the trivista
Hi Scott, interesting comparison. I’m also into home modification and a fan of Musical Fidelity to boot. My A3.2 CD player has many upgrades, including recapping with Elna Silmic II caps, fitting RC snubbers on the rectifier and replacement of the stock opamps with Burson Audio V6 Vivid discreet component types. The last was a revelation. Next up is to check if the voltage regs can be swapped for discreet component items also. There isn’t a component anywhere in my two systems that hasn’t had some sort of modification, including the speakers, both pairs having had crossover and cabinet damping upgrades. I look forward to watching some more of your upgrade videos and good luck with your adventure.
Thanks Mark. Elna Silmics are good in some places, but I think I heard they were to be dropped by Elna. I'm also looking at the discrete op-amp and regulator options so that will be coming up. All the best
@@maudifi My only hint Silmic IIs were being dropped came from the HiFi Collective site. On the other hand, Mouser has plenty in stock. Can’t imagine they’ll leave us without something new to replace them.
The Tri-Vista 21 has a maximum of 108kHz on its input IIRC. That baffled me to begin with trying to push 24/192 into it without success. Is your transport upsampling before the S/PDIF output? I found this for you ... "The transport normally outputs the CD data in its native 44.1kHz format. But it also has an upsampling mode that can be enabled via a toggle switch on the rear. When enabled, the transport outputs 176.4kHz" HTH.
I’ve since bought a Jays Audio DAC2 signature and recently also an Audio Music DAC/1, so the compatibility issue doesn’t exist anymore. I think the jays cdt3 upsampled too high for the try vista. There is no switch on the cdt3. I can use the Tri vista with an Audiolab 6000cdt that I also have. Thanks for trying to help 👍🏽
Hi Maudifi. Thank you for this last video. I fully agree with your conclusions about the "Hi-Rez". No question, a subtle gain is noticeable, but only very few titles available and beyond 24/96 heavy files / high streaming rate. Moreover, the quality of the recording + mixing is definitively much more decisive. A good 16/44 will always sound (much) better than a bad 24/192 or so. About DACs. Personally I have been using the model "Audio gd R28" for more than 2 years with happiness: R2R DAC with FPGA, cost in France about 1400 €. OK it comes from China but it is a beautiful well designed material and Audio gd reputed for its high or even very high end material (a Chinese "PS Audio" ?). After breaking in the sound is rich, deep, but not analytical. You can "hear the silences" if you understand what I mean. Now I have no elements of comparison "with your" DACs. Note: in a previous comment I had put a link to the Audiophonics platform which sells them in France, but obviously because of that my comment was deleted by You-Tube. Beh ...
Hi Ronnie Barker look a like Great video pal I could listen to you a day. If i was you I'd recommend replacing all your voltage regulators with sparks labs What opamps have replaced Would you do a video on the inside of your trivista dac I have the x v 3 I have done some mods gonna run it off 3 separate power supplies with super regs
Hi Jonas, thanks for your feedback. A few other steps first, but VRegs coming later. Great minds, the SparkOS Labs are on my list to try out. They may even make it into the Tri-Vista before other things. I want to try both their regs and discrete op-amps. The first video (ua-cam.com/video/zTPjFzyd8jo/v-deo.html) has a bit on the inside, but there is more in the pipeline. I think the next video will cover the op-amps (4562 for I/V and 2134 for output). Good luck with your X-Dac V3 mods. I'm sure that'll be great. It looks very similar to the Tri-Vista before the valve output stage.
In my opinion, yes. The Tri-Vista is more involving. It is a pretty close run thing though, and others will have their own preference. If you're more into detail, then Hugo. If you want more body and emotion from your music, then Tri-Vista. After full modification, including getting rid of the nasty capacitors in the signal path (some nice polypropylenes ready and waiting), I think there will be a larger gap.
Thank you for your question. No, I didn't. In this case, having lived with and worked on the Tri-Vista DAC for some time, I can tell its character immediately, so a blind comparison would be ineffectual. Could I be biased because I am more familiar with it? No, I don't think so, not to any great extent. I listen to all sorts of kit and I try to discover the differences and benefits of all items. This helps direct how an upgrade will progress and to learn what is possible. I have on occasion done blind tests for others for a bit of fun or to see if they hear the same differences as me, but this is more of a back-up exercise. I think blind tests requiring an almost instant preference are overrated. They have their place, in a limited way, but they introduce their own pressures and regardless of environment can lead to false impressions, poor decisions and sometimes expensive mistakes. In my opinion, living with kit for a longer period of time, where possible, and doing comparisons throughout, you will learn and uncover more than you ever will from a blind test. Just my thoughts based on my experience.
I have try Chord Qutest For 7 days With Luxman P1u And Focal Utopia , The sound Is too complanate. It seems chords are cheaper in China, I only need RMB7000 Can By One Second Hand
Hi maudifi. You have an interesting channel. However your sterile approach and passive non inspiring surroundings are a huge downer. Your views proove that. You have to change ... Just a tip.
Nice to see people are still using and upgrading these monsters. When I checked it out the sheer mass and size + the ( dual mono) power supply convinced me. Pairs great with their Nuvista m3
Id love to see what you do with it in the future and how it compares to those other dacs you mentioned.
Consider yourself subscribed!
Thanks for getting in touch. Yes, it is a hefty beast. Lots more to come on the Tri-Vista 21.
I love my Tri-Vista 21 Dac I have it paired with the MF Nu-Vista M3 Integrated and they make magic together. Great video, Thanks for sharing 👍
Blue lights a bonus
Thanks. I learned alot about this subject that I never knew.
Glad it was helpful!
Hi Maud, if you have any upgrade kits for musical fidelity tri vista products please let me know. Great comparison. If the tri vista dac had a usb port i would have purchased a used one many moons ago. I have the amp only now
Thanks. Currently, the only Musical Fidelity upgrade kits I have are for the Tri-Vista 21 (maudifi.co.uk/product-category/hifi-tuning-upgrades/musical-fidelity/tri-vista-21-dac). I'm thinking of other stages/kits to follow this.
Re USB input on the Tri-Vista 21, it's possible, but TBH I think it could be a pain to implement well as retrofit, so I'm not sure it's worth doing. I drive mine from my streamer through S/PDIF with great results. You can always use an USB to S/PDIF converter. I think there are some based on the Amanero USB interface that may be worth a try.
Should be perfectly possible to upgrade the amplifiers as well, but engineering drawings are not readily available. So, I'd need a model here to devise any upgrades.
HTH,
Scott
I have exact trivista. I purchased it new many years ago. Where can one get it upgraded? I’m in California. Brilliant presentation, sir.
I have a jays audio cdt3 mk2. It’s had a new laser but has started not playing some discs. The discs are mint and play on other transports. Any idea what could cause this? Thanks
I'm afraid I'm no expert on CD mechanisms, but I would suspect a setup / adjustment problem with the laser. Sorry I couldn't help.
I found this DAC for sale in Denver on Craigslist for $650 US. I didn't know anything about it but was intrigued. I did a search & came across your channel. I appreciate your comments about DACs in general & also watched your upgrade videos on it. I am not the kind of skilled person who could do all the upgrades you mentioned. Also, not sure how to find someone who could do it or if it would be worth it cost wise for upgrade parts &/or labor. I do have question based on you comments. Do you think it is worth buying this used one & use with the "cheap" parts you refer to are in the manufacture's build? I don't know if the seller had it upgraded at all, but could ask. Thanks!
Hi Peter, thanks for getting in touch. In summary the standard Tri-Vista 21 is good, despite the low cost capacitors used inside. It's just that it is capable of sooooooo much more by using quality components. $650 is a reasonable price and in the same ballbark as I paid. As long as you don't need a USB input. It's S/PDIF only.
There isn't much info on it around. I couldn't find any of the original reviews, but there are comments about its capabilities. From www.stereophile.com/digitalprocessors/1204mf/index.html, "It got a Class A recommendation from Stereophile." For comparison: skyfiaudio.com/products/musical-fidelity-tri-vista-21-multistandard-96-192khz-24-bit-tubed-dac
Re upgrades. I'm primarily upgrading mine for personal use, but I will almost certainly offer an upgrade kit(s) for the Tri-Vista 21 in the future. My upgrade kits come with the selected components and manual/guides, where appropriate. You get all the information and parts required, so such upgrades can be performed by an electronic technician, or a competent electronic DIYer. Basically, the time consuming research, engineering and listening tests with a range of quality components has been done for you.
Hope that helps.
I have an old Burson dac, separate power supplies for analogue and digital compared to the original chord Hugo, I prefer the Burson for the same reason that you mentioned about the trivista
Hi Scott, interesting comparison. I’m also into home modification and a fan of Musical Fidelity to boot. My A3.2 CD player has many upgrades, including recapping with Elna Silmic II caps, fitting RC snubbers on the rectifier and replacement of the stock opamps with Burson Audio V6 Vivid discreet component types. The last was a revelation. Next up is to check if the voltage regs can be swapped for discreet component items also.
There isn’t a component anywhere in my two systems that hasn’t had some sort of modification, including the speakers, both pairs having had crossover and cabinet damping upgrades. I look forward to watching some more of your upgrade videos and good luck with your adventure.
Thanks Mark. Elna Silmics are good in some places, but I think I heard they were to be dropped by Elna. I'm also looking at the discrete op-amp and regulator options so that will be coming up. All the best
@@maudifi My only hint Silmic IIs were being dropped came from the HiFi Collective site. On the other hand, Mouser has plenty in stock. Can’t imagine they’ll leave us without something new to replace them.
I bought a Jays Audio cdt3 mk2 transport but my Tri vista 21 couldn’t read its data stream.
The Tri-Vista 21 has a maximum of 108kHz on its input IIRC. That baffled me to begin with trying to push 24/192 into it without success.
Is your transport upsampling before the S/PDIF output? I found this for you ... "The transport normally outputs the CD data in its native 44.1kHz format. But it also has an upsampling mode that can be enabled via a toggle switch on the rear. When enabled, the transport outputs 176.4kHz"
HTH.
I’ve since bought a Jays Audio DAC2 signature and recently also an Audio Music DAC/1, so the compatibility issue doesn’t exist anymore. I think the jays cdt3 upsampled too high for the try vista. There is no switch on the cdt3. I can use the Tri vista with an Audiolab 6000cdt that I also have.
Thanks for trying to help 👍🏽
Hi Maudifi. Thank you for this last video. I fully agree with your conclusions about the "Hi-Rez". No question, a subtle gain is noticeable, but only very few titles available and beyond 24/96 heavy files / high streaming rate. Moreover, the quality of the recording + mixing is definitively much more decisive. A good 16/44 will always sound (much) better than a bad 24/192 or so.
About DACs. Personally I have been using the model "Audio gd R28" for more than 2 years with happiness: R2R DAC with FPGA, cost in France about 1400 €. OK it comes from China but it is a beautiful well designed material and Audio gd reputed for its high or even very high end material (a Chinese "PS Audio" ?). After breaking in the sound is rich, deep, but not analytical. You can "hear the silences" if you understand what I mean. Now I have no elements of comparison "with your" DACs.
Note: in a previous comment I had put a link to the Audiophonics platform which sells them in France, but obviously because of that my comment was deleted by You-Tube. Beh ...
Nice video, thanks a lot. I've always liked Pro-Ject's DACs; they offer excellent value for money.
Thanks Guido.
Hi Ronnie Barker look a like
Great video pal I could listen to you a day.
If i was you I'd recommend replacing all your voltage regulators with sparks labs
What opamps have replaced
Would you do a video on the inside of your trivista dac
I have the x v 3 I have done some mods gonna run it off 3 separate power supplies with super regs
Hi Jonas, thanks for your feedback. A few other steps first, but VRegs coming later. Great minds, the SparkOS Labs are on my list to try out. They may even make it into the Tri-Vista before other things. I want to try both their regs and discrete op-amps.
The first video (ua-cam.com/video/zTPjFzyd8jo/v-deo.html) has a bit on the inside, but there is more in the pipeline. I think the next video will cover the op-amps (4562 for I/V and 2134 for output). Good luck with your X-Dac V3 mods. I'm sure that'll be great. It looks very similar to the Tri-Vista before the valve output stage.
Is it the glasses? 👓😂
I noticed yiur dac has 3 transformers the original has two is it better than the chord Hugo u had
In my opinion, yes. The Tri-Vista is more involving. It is a pretty close run thing though, and others will have their own preference. If you're more into detail, then Hugo. If you want more body and emotion from your music, then Tri-Vista. After full modification, including getting rid of the nasty capacitors in the signal path (some nice polypropylenes ready and waiting), I think there will be a larger gap.
Did you do the test blind .
Thank you for your question. No, I didn't. In this case, having lived with and worked on the Tri-Vista DAC for some time, I can tell its character immediately, so a blind comparison would be ineffectual. Could I be biased because I am more familiar with it? No, I don't think so, not to any great extent. I listen to all sorts of kit and I try to discover the differences and benefits of all items. This helps direct how an upgrade will progress and to learn what is possible. I have on occasion done blind tests for others for a bit of fun or to see if they hear the same differences as me, but this is more of a back-up exercise.
I think blind tests requiring an almost instant preference are overrated. They have their place, in a limited way, but they introduce their own pressures and regardless of environment can lead to false impressions, poor decisions and sometimes expensive mistakes. In my opinion, living with kit for a longer period of time, where possible, and doing comparisons throughout, you will learn and uncover more than you ever will from a blind test. Just my thoughts based on my experience.
It's like buying a 8k tv to watch DVDs on XD
Good analogy. Yes, there's so much more than chasing numbers.
I have try Chord Qutest For 7 days With Luxman P1u And Focal Utopia , The sound Is too complanate. It seems chords are cheaper in China, I only need RMB7000 Can By One Second Hand
Correct sir.. Cord r Way expensive then it should be.. Just insane rich people buy it. Well its not dat gd.. MEDIOCRE 1..peace!
Audio music better imo but their DAC is £13k.
Naa noobs Mass Kobo 465 is endgame dac Amp for iem and headphones.. Peace!
I was the 200th Subscriber. : ) Do I win a prize? The Tri-Vista will do Thanks : )
Thanks for subscribing! 🤣🤣🤣 It's staying with me. I love it.
Hi maudifi.
You have an interesting channel.
However your sterile approach and passive non inspiring surroundings are a huge downer.
Your views proove that.
You have to change ...
Just a tip.
Odd comment.