Audiophilepure

https://www.monoandstereo.com/pro-ject-the-classic-reference-turntable/

The new The Classic Reference combines technical fi­nesse and luxury design like no other turntable. It is ba­sed on the The Classic EVO and the experience we won designing and building our iconic turntable, the 175 Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
The Classic Reference is available with a hand-selected Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Anniversary cartridge. The sound of this special cartridge was fine-tuned with members of the Vienna Philharmonics and built in Europe by Ortofon ac­cording to our specifications.

The sound emanating from the RAW-MDA1 varied by source input naturally, and the music source being used. I did prefer the balanced output for listening over the 6.35mm single-ended.

The balanced option helped to spread the soundstage out, allowing the instruments to exercise in their own space. Plus, the balanced output gives a cleaner signature, to me.

The RAW-MDA1 promotes a nearly neutral signature, displaying warmth and richness only if the source or music played does so (or when one of the cool filters is chosen). This comes across as one of the more neutral DAC/amps I have tried and is similar to the DL100.

https://pt.audio/2024/10/25/ampsandsound-arch-power-amplifiers-part-2-review/

The word that keeps coming to mind is clean, almost squeakily so, but still has many stereotypical tube qualities. Holographic imaging in spades. Weight and body. A heft to the music. Pace and rhythm and timing. Maybe not as lightning-fast as say the TAD electronics I had in the house earlier this year, but I’ve never heard anything that fast before or since.

Is the Arch perhaps one of the best tube amps I’ve heard? Yes? No? As an amplifier, I found no faults. It did everything asked of it. However, I’m pretty sure that tube diehards, like those 300B lovers I work with (I’m looking at you, Brian, Marc, and Scot), I’m not sure this amp is “the one” for you. The push-pull configuration doesn’t give you a dripping midrange that oozes vibe. Look to the Bryce, Black Pearl, or Red October if you want vibe. The Arch is a different amp for a different application. If you want to avoid colorations, no matter how pleasant or desirable, then the Arch is what you want.

Switching to vinyl was transformative. There was a sweetness on delicate passages that I hadn’t noticed with digital. Instruments had a weight and timbre more akin to real instruments. But perhaps most importantly there was an emotional connection with the music that I was missing with the digital portion of my review. Decay became more natural and the effect was especially pronounced on piano keystrokes.