best CD player for music

[kurtholz]

Hi All

I have made the same old mistake again, trying to do some research on CD players, any opinions on who makes the best sounding one, no holds barred?

i know it's subjective, but curious what the consensus is

Kurt

[Jamil]

Kurt,

It is good that you put that "subjective" phrase in there I say go listen to Rotel, Rega, Musical Fidelity, Marantz etc. Take your own music when auditioning.

Good luck!.

--
Nasser

[Jamil]

Oops! I see that money is no factor. In that case, look at the Meridian, Krell, McCormack, Esoteric, Ayre, Linn Unidisk, Arcam, Burmester etc etc. I will stop now since this list makes me want to upgrade as well

[jimmyp58]

Kurt:

May I suggest an ARCAM CD33T? Playboy found it quite special.

Jim

[rpryan]

Kurt- I think if you listen to a Krell you won't need to look any further, but for the money the rotel rcd1072 is sweet.
Bob

[thyname]

Rotel RCD-1072, especially if you have other Rotel gear!! Arcam is good too.

[NonSense]

If you really want to drop some cash, you should check out some of these as well:

Wadia
Cary
Sim Audio (Moon)
Jadis
Naim

All of these manufacturers make exceptional players with differing flavors. I have had a chance to sample them all. Without a doubt, you will need an impressive supporting system to realize their potential.

[booktrunk]

dcs
Meridian 808
Wadia

[gd]

And if you've already got a player, there are any number of outboard DAC solutions.

Upsamplers with jitter reduction <$1500: Benchmark, Bel Canto.

Non-oversampling DACs from boutique mfr's <$500: ART, Channel Island, Audio Mirror.

And there are always mega-buck units: Theta, Levinson, EMM.

[Tha Freak]

Classé
Copland
Proceed
Shanling (tube)

[audiolab]

Hello.

[kirkj]

Not to hijack the thread, but you might want to consider getting a universal DVD-A or SACD player nowadays. I hear the Arcam DV29 is a great DVD-A / Redbook player.

- Kirk.

[Kevin D]

Interesting title for the thread.. I'm still trying to figure out what else you would use a CD player for??

On topic, I concur which most the suggestions. I'd also add Macintosh to the list.

Kevin D.

[stringzz]

I can't believe no one mentioned Oracle cd 2500. The design is artwork!

DCS makes some of the best DAC's so their players must be high on the list.

[kurtholz]

wow, you guy's really got my head spinning now, :-)

hmmmmm, more stuff to look at, that arcam is sounding good since it's available from next level,

i have a Rotel 1060, seems i saw someplace there are some mods done on this, anyone know about that?

thanks for all the help

Kurt

[jimmyp58]

You are right Kirk. The ARCAM DV29 does a phenomenal job in all formats quite honestly.

Jim

[Bostonears]

Kurt,

I think an important question in order to answer your question is whether you plan to use the analog or digital outputs from the CD player.

If you're planning to use digital out, then the CD player's DACs are irrelevant, and you want the best quality transport mechanism. Wadia (www.wadia.com) would get my vote for best transports (which weigh 60 pounds and sell for over $7000!) However, the differences in sound between transports are subtle compared to the differences between DACs.

[tonych31]

Try the Cyrus CD6. Even my wife who is against my hifi hobby was impressed with it.
Also it is the what hifi recommended mid range CD player.

[kurtholz]

stop stop stop, my head is spinning, hahahha

what i wouldnt give to be able to demo them all,

thanks to all for all the good info

Kurt

[scottielee]

wadia is really awesome for the price (proud owner of 861b). it sounds outstanding and saves me the price of a preamp. but for the best sounding cd player, my vote goes to harmonix/reimyo cdp-777. reimyo is breathtakingly full of soul.

[jimmyp58]

I forgot about Jolida too. It is a tube piece.

[Snap]

If you have all that money. The Classe' is a sweet machine. It will run you 3K last time I saw and listend to one was in Wilmington NC and they were selling it for 3K. Nice Machine.

[FCruz]

Audio Research CD3.

as good as it gets.

[mark4x4]

I have the Jolida JD100 and I think it's and an exceptional value. It uses a tube output stage (there are two output tubes), no op amps. It's amazing how changing tubes changes impacts the music that you hear.

The Jolida comes stock with Chinese 12AX7A tubes. Changing tubes is a way of tweeking your system. I first tried a pair of Jan GE 5751 but they were to laid back. Next, a pair of Jan Philips 12AX7WA, these were much better but still lack some texture in the mids and the bottom end was a little weak. I then tried a pair of Electro Harmonix 12AX7EH and these were what I was looking for. Great balance, mids with great texture and great bottom end with smooth extended highs. I also noticed that the slam was much better.

I considered other cd player that were much more expensive, but I never regretted my choice. I like the fact of having a tube output stage, you're getting the best of both worlds.

Just my opinion

[AlanBStone]

Just changed from Theta Transport/Dac to Music Fidelity A5. I auditioned (at home) the Mridian GO8, Arcam FMJ33T, Naim CD5X and the new Cyrus 8. The MF absolutely murdered the others - detail, massive soundstage, ability to recreate the recording venue/ambience, delicacy and most of all MUSICALITY. Only 1500 to be made so go listen.

[NonSense]

I wouldn't worry about missing out on the A5. With A5 series, it is MFs first taste with contracting out to China, so the story goes. The word on the street seems to be that the initial lot size was 1500. I think the market response has been very good, so if the demand is there, they will be building more. I don't think they have the same problem with the A5 as with the Nu-Vista (no more tubes).

IMO, MF seem to have an over zealous marketing group. The A5's are really great looking pieces. Their website made for quite an interesting read the last visit I made.