Nova Physics Corporation
Can you play that from Memory?
Testimonials: Hear what they heard...
Letters from Home, the Industry, the Press and...YOU!
Many Audiophiles, Audio and Recording Industry people and High End Audio luminaries have given us permission to
quote them from their observations on the performance of The Memory Player.
Nearly all of the below have SOLD their: Lector, Stibbert, Theta, Spectral, Esoteric, Wadia, Reimyo, EMM, Zanden
and many more to be replaced by The Memory Player after an audition or comparison was made.
The quotes below date from 2004-2008 except for the first award listed below which was from 2005. We thank them for
their open mindedness, and willingness to accept the possibility that the status quo that has kept CD reading fidelity
development stagnated for 25 YEARS, should be questioned.
When sequential Memory Playback using RUR ™ (Read Until Right) instead of Reed-Solomon and other error
concealment devices was first achieved by the Nova Physics Group in early 2004, a curiously fanatical opposition
took place within the HEA community and more so, in many High End Audio forums.
Today, many of those very same detractors now produce
memory players and some even using RUR ™ !
From the outset we have maintained that to ignore the
improvements in CD READING from simple “tweaks”
that were obviously true but as yet, undefined and ignoring
these results to fit our limited knowledge was absurd.
Obviously something was going on.
Few who challenged us could even read RUR ™ or even
the Reed-Solomon codes they so stubbornly defended.
Today, with the noise on the forums dying out,
other memory players starting to appear, some using RUR ™ itself,
apparently instead of arguing, they are listening :
quote them from their observations on the performance of The Memory Player.
Nearly all of the below have SOLD their: Lector, Stibbert, Theta, Spectral, Esoteric, Wadia, Reimyo, EMM, Zanden
and many more to be replaced by The Memory Player after an audition or comparison was made.
The quotes below date from 2004-2008 except for the first award listed below which was from 2005. We thank them for
their open mindedness, and willingness to accept the possibility that the status quo that has kept CD reading fidelity
development stagnated for 25 YEARS, should be questioned.
When sequential Memory Playback using RUR ™ (Read Until Right) instead of Reed-Solomon and other error
concealment devices was first achieved by the Nova Physics Group in early 2004, a curiously fanatical opposition
took place within the HEA community and more so, in many High End Audio forums.
Today, many of those very same detractors now produce
memory players and some even using RUR ™ !
From the outset we have maintained that to ignore the
improvements in CD READING from simple “tweaks”
that were obviously true but as yet, undefined and ignoring
these results to fit our limited knowledge was absurd.
Obviously something was going on.
Few who challenged us could even read RUR ™ or even
the Reed-Solomon codes they so stubbornly defended.
Today, with the noise on the forums dying out,
other memory players starting to appear, some using RUR ™ itself,
apparently instead of arguing, they are listening :
| “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” Charles Caleb Colton (c.1780-1836) |
Arnis Balgalvis,
The Audiophile Voice
Positive Feedback
This afternoon I had one of the most significant audio
experiences of my life. I heard your Memory Player at Stereo
Times. Wow! I can't remember the last time that something left
me this impressed.
I would venture to predict that this should alter the course of
music reproduction in the home. [Until] I heard your product at
(Clement) Perry's yesterday. I have to confess that I could not
envision that the improvement in the playback of a Red Book
CD could be that dramatic.
I envision great things for your product. People will now have
to completely reexamine the possibilities of the "lowly" 44.1/16
format. It may sound dramatic, but I feel that this the
beginning of a new era in digital sound reproduction… I
cannot recall any analog demo that was that impressive!
I hope this goes down in history as a significant development.
Arnis Balgalvis,
The Audiophile Voice
Positive Feedback
The Audiophile Voice
Positive Feedback
This afternoon I had one of the most significant audio
experiences of my life. I heard your Memory Player at Stereo
Times. Wow! I can't remember the last time that something left
me this impressed.
I would venture to predict that this should alter the course of
music reproduction in the home. [Until] I heard your product at
(Clement) Perry's yesterday. I have to confess that I could not
envision that the improvement in the playback of a Red Book
CD could be that dramatic.
I envision great things for your product. People will now have
to completely reexamine the possibilities of the "lowly" 44.1/16
format. It may sound dramatic, but I feel that this the
beginning of a new era in digital sound reproduction… I
cannot recall any analog demo that was that impressive!
I hope this goes down in history as a significant development.
Arnis Balgalvis,
The Audiophile Voice
Positive Feedback
Billy Drummond
Jazz Musician, NYC
The Memory Player is incredible. When you
(Clement Perry, The Stereo Times) played
being reviewed at The Stereo Times)
through The Memory Player it went to a
completely other level. The tone of the
instruments became so true that it was scary.
(I know because I'm playing on it and know
what it sounded like when we were
recording!)
My cymbals sounded exactly like they sound
with all of the nuances that only I can hear
because have an intimate knowledge of what
they sound like after years of playing them!
Billy Drummond
Musician,
NYC
Jazz Musician, NYC
The Memory Player is incredible. When you
(Clement Perry, The Stereo Times) played
being reviewed at The Stereo Times)
through The Memory Player it went to a
completely other level. The tone of the
instruments became so true that it was scary.
(I know because I'm playing on it and know
what it sounded like when we were
recording!)
My cymbals sounded exactly like they sound
with all of the nuances that only I can hear
because have an intimate knowledge of what
they sound like after years of playing them!
Billy Drummond
Musician,
NYC
Allen Edelstein
Stereophile Magazine
(formerly)
The Memory Player is definitely a product I
would love to take home for a long
audition, and I suspect that I would want to be
away from home when themanufacturer came to
pick it back up.
Allen Edelstein
Stereophile (formerly)
2008
Stereophile Magazine
(formerly)
The Memory Player is definitely a product I
would love to take home for a long
audition, and I suspect that I would want to be
away from home when themanufacturer came to
pick it back up.
Allen Edelstein
Stereophile (formerly)
2008
What I had read previously did not prepare me for this – the reviewers too
something you have just experienced for the first time to someone who hasn’t
yet experienced something. Like the first orgasm.
I have owned two of the most highly regarded digital front ends extant, the
aforementioned) as well as the Forsell, Lector, Stibbert, Theta, Spectral and on
and on. I have listened to almost all the others out there. The Memory Player is
so different in its presentation that it is difficult for me to describe exactly
what I hear. What I had read previously did not prepare me for this –
the reviewers too conservative or maybe you just can’t understand by reading
about it w/o hearing it. In fact I am sure that is true - because it is hard to
describe something you have just experienced for the first time to someone who
hasn’t yet experienced something. Like the first orgasm.
Even CD’s that I could not tolerate listening too at my preferred listening level,
or even much lower levels - such as Dave Matthews, Crash - which always
sounds like a harsh discordant mixture of sounds- to wit : cacophonous -when
all of the various instruments and sounds are played simultaneously.
Heretofore I thought it was just a lousy recording – but it is somehow
decongested – the original previously unrevealed integrity maintained.
It seems to me that all other CD playback somehow truncates the notes and
voices to some small or large degree - the truncation somehow gets filled in
with what then sounds unnatural, harsh, artificial - maybe that is what jitter
is -Idon’t know. By way of analogy - One could speak the sentence “I am going
to the store in one hour”- if that sentence were somehow morphed into
beingmusic- it would have a flow to it, a naturalness – but to me normal CD
digital sounds like someone saying “I go store hour”- basically we know what
the sentence is – but if it was music - it would be choppy, incomplete, robbed of
some of the beauty that sounds and music convey. Now imagine six, eight, ten
or more instruments all at the same time saying, “I go store hour”. Its seems
that the normal CD playback creates the missing words with a substitute, and
sometimes it does it better than others, or it doesn’t create the missing at all,
and it is in those spaces, the missing words or missing parts of a note or voice-
that the harshness, the fatigue, the sterility occur and more importantly some
precious music, some magical quality is lost. I don’t know what the Memory
Player does or how - but it allows for an unimpeded flow that seems devoid of
artificial filler- it allows the precious parts, the clues that tell us we are
listening to musicians and instruments played by them, to come through…
Virtually every CD I put into Memory Playback sounded considerably better
than I had ever heard it before – surprisingly and particularly on those that I
had found to be “poorly recorded”. Not that the good recordings weren’t
better- they were - but the “poor ones “ were transformed to good….
But not now. Hence SACD and normal CD playback are no longer viable
options. If I were making them – I would stop. This is not just a better CD
player. It is a different experience.
Alan Eichenbaum
The Audio Tweakers (fomerly)
Scaena Loudspeaker Corporation
* This endorsement was written two years ago.
Alan Eichenbaum has since entered into a business relationship
with some of Nova Physics Corporation's partners
Alan Eichenbaum *
(former columnist)-The Audio Tweakers
President-Scaena Loudspeaker Corporation
(former columnist)-The Audio Tweakers
President-Scaena Loudspeaker Corporation
John Jonczyk
Audiophile, NYC
(at a Memory Player audition in
The Stereo Times)
...music through your equipment that was
able to fool me into thinking that
somebody real was playing or singing in
front of me.
John Jonczyk
Audiophile,NYC
2007
Audiophile, NYC
(at a Memory Player audition in
The Stereo Times)
...music through your equipment that was
able to fool me into thinking that
somebody real was playing or singing in
front of me.
John Jonczyk
Audiophile,NYC
2007
Lew Lanese
The Stereo Times
I thought CD development had gone as far as it
could go,and significant progress in near state-of-
the-art playback equipment, along comes a unique
technological breakthrough that knocks my
socks off….when Perry (Clement Perry,
The Stereo Times) fired up the Memory Player,
I didn’t expect any really noticeable
improvement. Boy, was I wrong!
Gone was the last vestige of digititis, that peculiar
distortion that often seems to be part of CDs
Perry calls it High Fi Hype, as good a
description as any. To say that I was
impressed is an understatement.
For me, the Memory Player puts the final nail in
the coffin of high-resolution formats, SACD and
DVD-A. By adding the Memory Player to my
system, it will be as if I replaced my entire CD
collection!
Lew Lanese
The Stereo Times, 2006
The Stereo Times
I thought CD development had gone as far as it
could go,and significant progress in near state-of-
the-art playback equipment, along comes a unique
technological breakthrough that knocks my
socks off….when Perry (Clement Perry,
The Stereo Times) fired up the Memory Player,
I didn’t expect any really noticeable
improvement. Boy, was I wrong!
Gone was the last vestige of digititis, that peculiar
distortion that often seems to be part of CDs
Perry calls it High Fi Hype, as good a
description as any. To say that I was
impressed is an understatement.
For me, the Memory Player puts the final nail in
the coffin of high-resolution formats, SACD and
DVD-A. By adding the Memory Player to my
system, it will be as if I replaced my entire CD
collection!
Lew Lanese
The Stereo Times, 2006
Robert Hart
(former columnist) The Audio Tweakers
VP-Vitality Science for Pets
The best digital units available do a better job of minimizing digital
problems, but not eliminating them. When you hear the Memory
Player side- by- side with the Stibbert, you realize how far short
conventional digital processing falls from recreating the live (or
recorded) musical events' pacing, imaging, timing, upper-mid to
high frequencies, and musical ease.
Considering that digital manufacturers have been struggling with
these exact same issues for over 20 years, one wonders why
someone hasn't decided to think outside the box,
That someone is Mark Porzilli. It occurred to him that the only way
to eliminate digital playbacks' inherent problems was to start with a
fresh sheet of paper. His better mousetrap idea? Download the
reduce the errors. Then, play it back directly from a
non-mechanical memory, eliminating the focus, timing, and jitter
problems inherent with a laser reading a disc spinning on a
mechanical transport. What could be simpler?
Using the Memory Player built-in volume control (no signal loss I
could detect) (This is because the volume control is ANALOG. ALL
digital volume controls drop bits) saves the cost of a preamp, an
additional power cord, shelving and isolation devices.
I have friends with extraordinary turntable rigs that cost much more
than a full tilt Memory Player, and yet the Memory Player is in
another league from them, too. My sense is you would have to use
15-30" master tapes in an attempt to level the field, but why?
The $64,000 question for those with a huge LP investment: "Does
the Memory Player record their precious vinyl?" If it does, an
Digital Recorders. One records 16bit, the other records in 24bit or
as high as 32bit.)
Caution: Once you've experienced the Memory Player in your own
home, the hook is set.
Long live the new king.
Robert Hart
Former Columnist
The Audio Tweakers
www.vitalityscience.com
(former columnist) The Audio Tweakers
VP-Vitality Science for Pets
The best digital units available do a better job of minimizing digital
problems, but not eliminating them. When you hear the Memory
Player side- by- side with the Stibbert, you realize how far short
conventional digital processing falls from recreating the live (or
recorded) musical events' pacing, imaging, timing, upper-mid to
high frequencies, and musical ease.
Considering that digital manufacturers have been struggling with
these exact same issues for over 20 years, one wonders why
someone hasn't decided to think outside the box,
That someone is Mark Porzilli. It occurred to him that the only way
to eliminate digital playbacks' inherent problems was to start with a
fresh sheet of paper. His better mousetrap idea? Download the
reduce the errors. Then, play it back directly from a
non-mechanical memory, eliminating the focus, timing, and jitter
problems inherent with a laser reading a disc spinning on a
mechanical transport. What could be simpler?
Using the Memory Player built-in volume control (no signal loss I
could detect) (This is because the volume control is ANALOG. ALL
digital volume controls drop bits) saves the cost of a preamp, an
additional power cord, shelving and isolation devices.
I have friends with extraordinary turntable rigs that cost much more
than a full tilt Memory Player, and yet the Memory Player is in
another league from them, too. My sense is you would have to use
15-30" master tapes in an attempt to level the field, but why?
The $64,000 question for those with a huge LP investment: "Does
the Memory Player record their precious vinyl?" If it does, an
Digital Recorders. One records 16bit, the other records in 24bit or
as high as 32bit.)
Caution: Once you've experienced the Memory Player in your own
home, the hook is set.
Long live the new king.
Robert Hart
Former Columnist
The Audio Tweakers
www.vitalityscience.com
…as impressive a light as the A/B
comparison casts, in some ways the
dissection of its virtues (the Memory
Player) misses the essence of my
real impression – that of disbelief at
how beautiful and true to life the
music sounded through the system
as a whole. The Memory Player
pushed the overall system that
much closer to a disappearing act.
I truly felt privileged being in the
same room or recording venue as
these fabulous musicians – I almost
felt like whispering during the
performances. Had I forgotten to
pay for a ticket?
Sam Laufer
LauferTekNik Corporation
Importer of High End Audio
Products (Behold Electronics,
Germany), 2006
* This endorsement was written two years ago.
Sam Laufer has since joined and helped
reorganize the new, Nova PhysicsCorporation
Sam Laufer *
Behold Audio Electronics USA
LauferTekNik Incorporated
Behold Audio Electronics USA
LauferTekNik Incorporated
Dr. Dennis Parham
The Stereo Times
The Memory Player is the finest
component I’ve ever owned. The
sound, convenience and technology
make it a benchmark to follow in this
ever-changing world of audio. In
addition I’m honored to be among
the first group of audio enthusiast
and press to have an opportunity to
employ this technology in my home.
Dr. Dennis Parham
The Stereo Times
2006
The Stereo Times
The Memory Player is the finest
component I’ve ever owned. The
sound, convenience and technology
make it a benchmark to follow in this
ever-changing world of audio. In
addition I’m honored to be among
the first group of audio enthusiast
and press to have an opportunity to
employ this technology in my home.
Dr. Dennis Parham
The Stereo Times
2006
Greg Petan
Editor ,The Stereo Times
I sold one of my paintings today,
which paid for my Memory Player
plus a dozen roses for the Mrs! We (The
Stereo Times) are honored to be the first
to have at it.
Greg Patan, Editor,
The Stereo Times
2006
Editor ,The Stereo Times
I sold one of my paintings today,
which paid for my Memory Player
plus a dozen roses for the Mrs! We (The
Stereo Times) are honored to be the first
to have at it.
Greg Patan, Editor,
The Stereo Times
2006
Scot Markwell
The Absolute Sound (formerly)
Classic Records, Los Angeles,CA.
The Music .COM, Los Angeles, CA.
The Nova Physics Memory Player invented by by Mark Porzilli is not only the single greatest breakthrough in (theoretical) CD
playback technology since its inception in 1982, but also the finest-sounding digital system for playing music in the home that I
have ever heard,
I am one of those people for whom CDs never really mattered much. Not only did I own a sizeable (4000+) LP collection that I
had toted around with me for the last 37 years without ever giving up on it, but ever since I heard the first CDs and players I
was just not impressed. Early CD sound was not anything to write home about at all except to complain how it sucked. And then
it was back to those records, many of which I still to this day have not managed to have even the first listen to. So program
material was never a problem.
The problem always was that I had been indoctrinated into live orchestral music before the age of 10 and I was smitten from the
first. Many folks these days scoff at the mere notion that actual live acoustic music is a good thing to compare against home
stereos because they feel that, since there is no way that any home system could ever approach the full fidelity of a symphony
orchestra, it is a futile gesture to make such comparisons. I say that this is total bunk, and demonstrably false. Here is why: if one
goes habitually to live orchestral concerts, jazz clubs, concerts of vocal music in churches, and the like, one easily and quickly
develops an ear for what supporting acoustics sound like, good and bad, what various instruments sound like when played in
different-sized venues, how ensemble playing sounds when played loudly and softly, etc.
After a little time, a careful listener can easily develop a reasonable auditory recall, and be able to discern fairly subtle sonic
differences between halls, musicians, and styles of instruments, in a similar manner that any decent rock guitar player can hear
the difference between a Stratocaster and a Les Paul. This translates directly to the home stereo listening experience, and it is in
that arena that early CD showed its ass to the world at large and mostly nobody saw it, as they were too busy taking in the
features and convenience of the new format.
It was pretty obvious, even to this writer as a young 23 yr-old in 1982, that early CD playback left a lot to be desired. It was
harsh, edgy, lacking in real orchestral weight and body, and certainly did not have the sense of almost endless bandwidth and lack
of a high- frequency “lid” on the musical playback experience that LPs had, and I, for one, went away from this early experience
simply not caring about CDs and turning, once more, to my beloved records in order to get as close to the concert experience as I
could. This is not to say that my (at the time pretty basic/primitive…) stereo system sounded like the real thing. Far from it. But
the difference was that if I put on a good record and I closed my eyes, I could begin to suspend disbelief and find myself falling
into the rhythms of the music and the
emotional impact of the experience.
By way of comparison, when listening to CDs (always at someone else’s house), I never got the same effect. I always had a shorter
attention span, the emotion just did not seem to come through, and inevitably I would get bored or restless or both and want to do
something else besides sit and listen to music. Not a great way to spend time, I thought, and so once again back to the records I
would go.
Fast forward 30+ years, and here we are with CDs that sound better than ever and sometimes actually really good, as well as
24/96 & 24/192 DVD sound, as well as SACD. Digital today is actually pretty darn good in many respects. Still not on par with
records, but often listenable and enjoyable enough, as long as one did not make a habit of listening to LPs.
Now we jump to the present day, and have a listen to Mark Porzilli’s (famous and crazed inventor and chief designer of
Melos Audio electronics,tubed & solid state, the original Pipedreams, & now the Scaena Loudspeakers all over 28 years) latest
brain-child, The Memory Player. Not only does it put a fresh new face on CD playback, but it has changed the face of what we
know as conventional 16/44 digital technology to show that not only is “regular Red Book” CD now acceptable to listen to as
music, but it handily eclipses, in sonic quality, any currently available CD system, regardless of price.
This is a big statement, but one easily confirmed with just a little listening. The MP takes the digital information form a CD,
strips it of all digital information except for the original music bits, and spits it back out in a stream of sublimely indescribable
music that literally must be heard to be believed. It is as if one is listening to the original master tape of the musical event in all
of its original glory, and as close to pure analog playback via a top LP as I have ever heard, and let me tell you that I have heard
a lot of records and rigs to play them on.
The MP manages to neatly overcome all of the limitations of CD playback in one fell swoop. In addition to a more organic, flowing
sense of actual music coming out of the speakers, the MP totally does away with the artificial-sounding high-frequency “lid” that
has always been an intrinsic part of the CD experience. Now, no one will claim that a poor-sounding CD can be made to sound
like a masterpiece, but invariably any give CD takes on a new-found sense of body and harmonic fullness, along with an analog-
like sense of musical and sonic continuousness that is both seductive and emotionally comforting in a way that no digital playback
has ever been in this reporter’s experience. The ability of the listener to simply wallow in the musical excitement of a recording
that he has heard many times, now sounding as if he has literally heard it for the first time, can be overwhelming and routinely
takes even serious, experienced listeners aback.
The implications of the MP go way beyond simple listening. This is a device, with the simple addition of an extra line-level input,
which can serve as the lone audio system centerpiece in a newly-dawning era of musical playback in the home. Many folks out
there in the world own sizable CD collections that can easily tend to get out of hand and become somewhat unmanageable. With
a MP with a large hard drive/music storage, these consumers can now load up their collections server-style, but with a decidedly
superior sonic edge: all of the files that the MP extracts and stores on the Music Library can be copied to the Memory Stick and
played back with the ultimate in fidelity to the original master the CD was made from, without any of the anomalies that are
part and parcel to the daily life of CD listeners. Freed from these constraints and able to load and play any CD extant with a
level of musical fidelity that has been impossible for more than 20 years, the MP is in line to take its proper and exalted place in
the long line of classic components that allow the listener to get as close to the music as possible without actually going to the live
event.
The MP is a one-stop CD solution, and with the addition of another analog input the possibilities for endless musical enjoyment
seem boundless. I envision even pros in studios using the storage and playback capabilities of the MP to their great advantage in
order to really hear what they have mastered without having to have access to the actual master tapes.
Scot Markwell
The Absolute Sound (formerly)
Fanfare International (formerly)
Classic Records, Los Angeles,CA.
The Music .COM
PS: I think that it may be beneficial to relate the stories of some people who have come to the shop and heard the Memory
Player. All of them have had a similar experience.
First there was me. I immediately heard what the player was doing and I became very impressed and excited, and got my boss,
Mike Hobson, all juiced up to hear it. But first, Dan Schwartz (formerly long-timer of TAS) came by and had a listen to some of
his CDs in a regular player and then the MP, and he immediately declared that the MP removed all of his long-standing objections
to the CD format, and that he wanted to buy one. Then a customer who came in to listen to some speakers that I had for sale
listened to the MP. As soon is he heard the demo of his CD play in the regular player and then the MP he jumped out of his chair
and danced around and smiled real big and declared that this was the best thing he ever heard and that he had to have one and
that he would be back in 2 months.
Anyone who listens to this amazing device is immediately smitten with it and what it does. To experience it is to want it. ....
…………..................................................the best digital reproduction on the planet!
The Absolute Sound (formerly)
Classic Records, Los Angeles,CA.
The Music .COM, Los Angeles, CA.
The Nova Physics Memory Player invented by by Mark Porzilli is not only the single greatest breakthrough in (theoretical) CD
playback technology since its inception in 1982, but also the finest-sounding digital system for playing music in the home that I
have ever heard,
I am one of those people for whom CDs never really mattered much. Not only did I own a sizeable (4000+) LP collection that I
had toted around with me for the last 37 years without ever giving up on it, but ever since I heard the first CDs and players I
was just not impressed. Early CD sound was not anything to write home about at all except to complain how it sucked. And then
it was back to those records, many of which I still to this day have not managed to have even the first listen to. So program
material was never a problem.
The problem always was that I had been indoctrinated into live orchestral music before the age of 10 and I was smitten from the
first. Many folks these days scoff at the mere notion that actual live acoustic music is a good thing to compare against home
stereos because they feel that, since there is no way that any home system could ever approach the full fidelity of a symphony
orchestra, it is a futile gesture to make such comparisons. I say that this is total bunk, and demonstrably false. Here is why: if one
goes habitually to live orchestral concerts, jazz clubs, concerts of vocal music in churches, and the like, one easily and quickly
develops an ear for what supporting acoustics sound like, good and bad, what various instruments sound like when played in
different-sized venues, how ensemble playing sounds when played loudly and softly, etc.
After a little time, a careful listener can easily develop a reasonable auditory recall, and be able to discern fairly subtle sonic
differences between halls, musicians, and styles of instruments, in a similar manner that any decent rock guitar player can hear
the difference between a Stratocaster and a Les Paul. This translates directly to the home stereo listening experience, and it is in
that arena that early CD showed its ass to the world at large and mostly nobody saw it, as they were too busy taking in the
features and convenience of the new format.
It was pretty obvious, even to this writer as a young 23 yr-old in 1982, that early CD playback left a lot to be desired. It was
harsh, edgy, lacking in real orchestral weight and body, and certainly did not have the sense of almost endless bandwidth and lack
of a high- frequency “lid” on the musical playback experience that LPs had, and I, for one, went away from this early experience
simply not caring about CDs and turning, once more, to my beloved records in order to get as close to the concert experience as I
could. This is not to say that my (at the time pretty basic/primitive…) stereo system sounded like the real thing. Far from it. But
the difference was that if I put on a good record and I closed my eyes, I could begin to suspend disbelief and find myself falling
into the rhythms of the music and the
emotional impact of the experience.
By way of comparison, when listening to CDs (always at someone else’s house), I never got the same effect. I always had a shorter
attention span, the emotion just did not seem to come through, and inevitably I would get bored or restless or both and want to do
something else besides sit and listen to music. Not a great way to spend time, I thought, and so once again back to the records I
would go.
Fast forward 30+ years, and here we are with CDs that sound better than ever and sometimes actually really good, as well as
24/96 & 24/192 DVD sound, as well as SACD. Digital today is actually pretty darn good in many respects. Still not on par with
records, but often listenable and enjoyable enough, as long as one did not make a habit of listening to LPs.
Now we jump to the present day, and have a listen to Mark Porzilli’s (famous and crazed inventor and chief designer of
Melos Audio electronics,tubed & solid state, the original Pipedreams, & now the Scaena Loudspeakers all over 28 years) latest
brain-child, The Memory Player. Not only does it put a fresh new face on CD playback, but it has changed the face of what we
know as conventional 16/44 digital technology to show that not only is “regular Red Book” CD now acceptable to listen to as
music, but it handily eclipses, in sonic quality, any currently available CD system, regardless of price.
This is a big statement, but one easily confirmed with just a little listening. The MP takes the digital information form a CD,
strips it of all digital information except for the original music bits, and spits it back out in a stream of sublimely indescribable
music that literally must be heard to be believed. It is as if one is listening to the original master tape of the musical event in all
of its original glory, and as close to pure analog playback via a top LP as I have ever heard, and let me tell you that I have heard
a lot of records and rigs to play them on.
The MP manages to neatly overcome all of the limitations of CD playback in one fell swoop. In addition to a more organic, flowing
sense of actual music coming out of the speakers, the MP totally does away with the artificial-sounding high-frequency “lid” that
has always been an intrinsic part of the CD experience. Now, no one will claim that a poor-sounding CD can be made to sound
like a masterpiece, but invariably any give CD takes on a new-found sense of body and harmonic fullness, along with an analog-
like sense of musical and sonic continuousness that is both seductive and emotionally comforting in a way that no digital playback
has ever been in this reporter’s experience. The ability of the listener to simply wallow in the musical excitement of a recording
that he has heard many times, now sounding as if he has literally heard it for the first time, can be overwhelming and routinely
takes even serious, experienced listeners aback.
The implications of the MP go way beyond simple listening. This is a device, with the simple addition of an extra line-level input,
which can serve as the lone audio system centerpiece in a newly-dawning era of musical playback in the home. Many folks out
there in the world own sizable CD collections that can easily tend to get out of hand and become somewhat unmanageable. With
a MP with a large hard drive/music storage, these consumers can now load up their collections server-style, but with a decidedly
superior sonic edge: all of the files that the MP extracts and stores on the Music Library can be copied to the Memory Stick and
played back with the ultimate in fidelity to the original master the CD was made from, without any of the anomalies that are
part and parcel to the daily life of CD listeners. Freed from these constraints and able to load and play any CD extant with a
level of musical fidelity that has been impossible for more than 20 years, the MP is in line to take its proper and exalted place in
the long line of classic components that allow the listener to get as close to the music as possible without actually going to the live
event.
The MP is a one-stop CD solution, and with the addition of another analog input the possibilities for endless musical enjoyment
seem boundless. I envision even pros in studios using the storage and playback capabilities of the MP to their great advantage in
order to really hear what they have mastered without having to have access to the actual master tapes.
Scot Markwell
The Absolute Sound (formerly)
Fanfare International (formerly)
Classic Records, Los Angeles,CA.
The Music .COM
PS: I think that it may be beneficial to relate the stories of some people who have come to the shop and heard the Memory
Player. All of them have had a similar experience.
First there was me. I immediately heard what the player was doing and I became very impressed and excited, and got my boss,
Mike Hobson, all juiced up to hear it. But first, Dan Schwartz (formerly long-timer of TAS) came by and had a listen to some of
his CDs in a regular player and then the MP, and he immediately declared that the MP removed all of his long-standing objections
to the CD format, and that he wanted to buy one. Then a customer who came in to listen to some speakers that I had for sale
listened to the MP. As soon is he heard the demo of his CD play in the regular player and then the MP he jumped out of his chair
and danced around and smiled real big and declared that this was the best thing he ever heard and that he had to have one and
that he would be back in 2 months.
Anyone who listens to this amazing device is immediately smitten with it and what it does. To experience it is to want it. ....
…………..................................................the best digital reproduction on the planet!
Clement Perry,
Publisher, The Stereo Times
...it has the uncanniest ability to relay space and voice
authenticity. In this, you get a sense of real people in the
room and the performance taking on such a natural quality,
not from a tone perspective but from a spatial one that it can
be undeniably hard to quantify, much less try to hear at first
grasp.
It gets the music out.
It also won't sound as thick on important bottom octaves,
which can cloud bass fundamentals. This thing has quite an
amazingly transparent signature, or the lack thereof. It is
easily the most graceful sounding digital transport I've ever
heard... Nothing has ever served the music to me in this
manner… The Memory Player’s ability to render the illusion of
space is the best I've heard.
Months later, descriptions of hosting many demonstrations as
an owner of The Memory Player :
Their first impressions (of hearing The Memory Player)
werethe equivalent of a UFO landing on my front lawn.
Obviously,
The Memory Player way out shined the others (digital drives
used in the tests at The Stereo Times) to the point that Ross
Wagner (The Audiophile Voice-TAS) thought I was using it
wrong [he asked me if it was defective, so large was the
improvement]. Stranger things have been said, but one thing
is certain. This baby sounds better, rather more musically
correct and thus authentic of music than anything I've had
digital thus far.
Clement Perry,
Publisher
The Stereo Times
Publisher, The Stereo Times
...it has the uncanniest ability to relay space and voice
authenticity. In this, you get a sense of real people in the
room and the performance taking on such a natural quality,
not from a tone perspective but from a spatial one that it can
be undeniably hard to quantify, much less try to hear at first
grasp.
It gets the music out.
It also won't sound as thick on important bottom octaves,
which can cloud bass fundamentals. This thing has quite an
amazingly transparent signature, or the lack thereof. It is
easily the most graceful sounding digital transport I've ever
heard... Nothing has ever served the music to me in this
manner… The Memory Player’s ability to render the illusion of
space is the best I've heard.
Months later, descriptions of hosting many demonstrations as
an owner of The Memory Player :
Their first impressions (of hearing The Memory Player)
werethe equivalent of a UFO landing on my front lawn.
Obviously,
The Memory Player way out shined the others (digital drives
used in the tests at The Stereo Times) to the point that Ross
Wagner (The Audiophile Voice-TAS) thought I was using it
wrong [he asked me if it was defective, so large was the
improvement]. Stranger things have been said, but one thing
is certain. This baby sounds better, rather more musically
correct and thus authentic of music than anything I've had
digital thus far.
Clement Perry,
Publisher
The Stereo Times
David Nemzer,
The Audiophile Voice
...my impressions after two listening sessions AND based on
my strong expertise in having many years in listening to your
(RW of TAV) system and its growth over the years- a system
that I know with great knowledge and awareness of all subtle
changes over those years.
Added to this is the fact that we (Ross Wagner, David
Nemzer) own or have owned many of the same pieces of
equipment so our knowledge of how "it" sounds is based
upon mutual experience with the same equipment.
Also much more natural in timbre- doesn't matter if its
classical or pop voice. The bottom frequencies are also much
better in their control and focus. Usually when louder, it gets
boomy but not with The Memory Player. Orchestral
presentation also is better in the separation of instruments in
space. All in all the sound is much more natural and pleasing
While I have no technical ability to agree with or refute what
The Memory Player is doing and why it does it I can say with
total confidence that what it is doing is extraordinary! We
both (Ross Wagner, TAV, TAS) own the Pipedreams and we
both are using the same (Melos 400W Triode) amps; the
difference in your system with The Memory Player is radical.
Your image is much more size correct than before The
Memory Player. All instruments are more natural in their
timbre and the spatial relationship of the instruments in the
classical orchestra is much improved. Bass extension has so
much more control and clarity; lower strings on the double
bass are audible with the clarity of vibrato in those bowed
strokes so much!
Where The Memory Player really scares me is with the
human voice- Physical size of the singer is amazingly correct
with the sound seemingly coming from a physical person and
not out of the darkness of the recording background. I refer
to the same Tebaldi recording I always use. The subtle
vibrato in some of her words have never been so audible as
they are with the Memory She IS standing there singing to
me!!!
David Nemzer,
The Audiophile Voice
The Audiophile Voice
...my impressions after two listening sessions AND based on
my strong expertise in having many years in listening to your
(RW of TAV) system and its growth over the years- a system
that I know with great knowledge and awareness of all subtle
changes over those years.
Added to this is the fact that we (Ross Wagner, David
Nemzer) own or have owned many of the same pieces of
equipment so our knowledge of how "it" sounds is based
upon mutual experience with the same equipment.
Also much more natural in timbre- doesn't matter if its
classical or pop voice. The bottom frequencies are also much
better in their control and focus. Usually when louder, it gets
boomy but not with The Memory Player. Orchestral
presentation also is better in the separation of instruments in
space. All in all the sound is much more natural and pleasing
While I have no technical ability to agree with or refute what
The Memory Player is doing and why it does it I can say with
total confidence that what it is doing is extraordinary! We
both (Ross Wagner, TAV, TAS) own the Pipedreams and we
both are using the same (Melos 400W Triode) amps; the
difference in your system with The Memory Player is radical.
Your image is much more size correct than before The
Memory Player. All instruments are more natural in their
timbre and the spatial relationship of the instruments in the
classical orchestra is much improved. Bass extension has so
much more control and clarity; lower strings on the double
bass are audible with the clarity of vibrato in those bowed
strokes so much!
Where The Memory Player really scares me is with the
human voice- Physical size of the singer is amazingly correct
with the sound seemingly coming from a physical person and
not out of the darkness of the recording background. I refer
to the same Tebaldi recording I always use. The subtle
vibrato in some of her words have never been so audible as
they are with the Memory She IS standing there singing to
me!!!
David Nemzer,
The Audiophile Voice
Ross Wagner
The Audiophile Voice
The Absolute Sound (guest)
The Memory Player is staying here. The sound of Memory
Player through the Melos (MAT-1000, 400W Triode
Monoblocks & Pipedreams model 21) is the best ever in this
system, by a substantial margin. Can't be giving that up.
With Memory Player, things have come to life...like kicking
your spurs into the flank of an old nag. Very clean....very
detailed...very musical.
...with very high quality CD's, where there is a lot of info to
extract, and where the CD was carefully recorded and
mastered, hardly matters how loud you play it...stays tight.
The Memory Player adds dimensionality and fascination to the
audio
experience.
A CD copy burned (on The Memory Player) can be better than
the original CD had ever been heard! A remarkable piece of
technology! The Memory Player adds dimensionality and
fascination to the audio experience.
The Memory Player represents the leading edge of what might
be a revolution in the playback of music. I am privileged to be
one of the chosen ones to review a
complete Memory Player.
It will change Audio history. IT WILL .
Ross Wagner,
The Audiophile Voice
The Absolute Sound (Guest Reviewer)
The Audiophile Voice
The Absolute Sound (guest)
The Memory Player is staying here. The sound of Memory
Player through the Melos (MAT-1000, 400W Triode
Monoblocks & Pipedreams model 21) is the best ever in this
system, by a substantial margin. Can't be giving that up.
With Memory Player, things have come to life...like kicking
your spurs into the flank of an old nag. Very clean....very
detailed...very musical.
...with very high quality CD's, where there is a lot of info to
extract, and where the CD was carefully recorded and
mastered, hardly matters how loud you play it...stays tight.
The Memory Player adds dimensionality and fascination to the
audio
experience.
A CD copy burned (on The Memory Player) can be better than
the original CD had ever been heard! A remarkable piece of
technology! The Memory Player adds dimensionality and
fascination to the audio experience.
The Memory Player represents the leading edge of what might
be a revolution in the playback of music. I am privileged to be
one of the chosen ones to review a
complete Memory Player.
It will change Audio history. IT WILL .
Ross Wagner,
The Audiophile Voice
The Absolute Sound (Guest Reviewer)
Bill Wells
The Stereo Times
…affectionately called The Memory Player,
playback then comes strictly from the memory
(no moving parts) with one of the purist
sound reproductions I've ever heard. During
my initial listening experience - it reminded
me of the very best of analog with tube
electronics!!! Absolutely zero digital artifacts
and when compared to another superb and
musically outstanding digital player - as CP
would say...."GAME OVER!" Basically, no
contest - not even close by any standards.
Once you hear something like the Memory
Player, it will make you think about the
limitations of standard CD playback and
possibly rethink your next move.
Bill Wells,
The Stereo Times
The Stereo Times
…affectionately called The Memory Player,
playback then comes strictly from the memory
(no moving parts) with one of the purist
sound reproductions I've ever heard. During
my initial listening experience - it reminded
me of the very best of analog with tube
electronics!!! Absolutely zero digital artifacts
and when compared to another superb and
musically outstanding digital player - as CP
would say...."GAME OVER!" Basically, no
contest - not even close by any standards.
Once you hear something like the Memory
Player, it will make you think about the
limitations of standard CD playback and
possibly rethink your next move.
Bill Wells,
The Stereo Times
| The Memory Player (tm) Awards and Reviews 2005-2008 (Check in often to read more testimonials and reviews as we get permission to publish them!) |
Click HERE to read Clark Johnsen's announcing the debut of The Memory Player in 2005 in
Positive Feedback and his prediction that it will replace mechanical CD playback forever!
Click HERE to see who was the first to discover and publish the potential of "Memory Playback" as an
alternative vehicle to play digital music in 2005, Clark Johnsen of "Positive Feedback" and give
The Memory Player his "Best of 2006" AWARD (scroll down to Clark Johnsen's choices)!
Click HERE to read about The Memory Player's winning the "Publishers Choice"
and "Most Wanted Component" AWARD in 2006 from Clement Perry in The Stereo Times!
Click HERE to read Arnis Balgalvis' REVIEW of The Memory Player in "Positive Feedback" (2006)!
Click HERE to read Greg Petan's (Editor) REVIEW of The MemoryPlayer in "The Stereo Times" (2006)!
Click HERE to read Don Shaulis' REVIEW of The MemoryPlayer in "The Stereo Times" (2007)!
The first to review The Memory Player;
Click HERE for details on Ross Wagner's REVIEW of The Memory Player in
The Audiophile Voice, (Volume 1, Issue 9, Page 12) , December, 2006!
Click HERE to read Clement Perry's (Publisher) full REVIEW of The Memory Player in
"The Stereo Times", 2007!
Click HERE to read the TWO FULL REVIEWS of The Memory Player by Robert Hart &
Alan Eichenbaum of The Audio Tweakers in Positive Feedback, Issue 30, Clark Johnsen's Diaries,
April, 2007!
Click HERE to read about The Memory Player's winning the"Most Wanted Components Award" in
The Stereo Times for the third consecutive year , 2007! By Don Shaulis
Click HERE to read the most recent review of The Memory Player in Positive Feedback review from
Clark Johnsen, 2008!
Positive Feedback and his prediction that it will replace mechanical CD playback forever!
Click HERE to see who was the first to discover and publish the potential of "Memory Playback" as an
alternative vehicle to play digital music in 2005, Clark Johnsen of "Positive Feedback" and give
The Memory Player his "Best of 2006" AWARD (scroll down to Clark Johnsen's choices)!
Click HERE to read about The Memory Player's winning the "Publishers Choice"
and "Most Wanted Component" AWARD in 2006 from Clement Perry in The Stereo Times!
Click HERE to read Arnis Balgalvis' REVIEW of The Memory Player in "Positive Feedback" (2006)!
Click HERE to read Greg Petan's (Editor) REVIEW of The MemoryPlayer in "The Stereo Times" (2006)!
Click HERE to read Don Shaulis' REVIEW of The MemoryPlayer in "The Stereo Times" (2007)!
The first to review The Memory Player;
Click HERE for details on Ross Wagner's REVIEW of The Memory Player in
The Audiophile Voice, (Volume 1, Issue 9, Page 12) , December, 2006!
Click HERE to read Clement Perry's (Publisher) full REVIEW of The Memory Player in
"The Stereo Times", 2007!
Click HERE to read the TWO FULL REVIEWS of The Memory Player by Robert Hart &
Alan Eichenbaum of The Audio Tweakers in Positive Feedback, Issue 30, Clark Johnsen's Diaries,
April, 2007!
Click HERE to read about The Memory Player's winning the"Most Wanted Components Award" in
The Stereo Times for the third consecutive year , 2007! By Don Shaulis
Click HERE to read the most recent review of The Memory Player in Positive Feedback review from
Clark Johnsen, 2008!
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"Copycats" - 1998, mgp
| " The Stereo Times " winner of the " Most Wanted Component " award for THREE consecutive years, 2005, 2006, & 2007 ! |
