CD player recommendations...

[Amras]

Hi all

Looking to improve on the 2 channel sound of my Pioneer dvd- 578, which is a pretty decent DVD player but nowhere near good for cds. There seams to be so many used Rotel cd players out there and though I've read through audioReview.com I could use some suggestions. I'm biding my time till Rotel comes out with a universal player and I'm not entirely sure of my budget yet.
What would you buy, on the used market, if you had:
$100 to spend?(can I improve on the sound of the Pioneer for under $100)
$300 to spend?

Also, for anyone who might know, how does Marantz compare on cd players?

Thanks guys

[Andrew Pratt]

For that budget I'd look on Audiogon for a used player that fits your budget. Rotel's 991 and 990 were the best they've ever made but they're seldom on Audiogon and often more then your upper price point. The 971 should be within that range though.

There's also a host of other CD players that are nice sounding units incl some from Marantz that will all sound much better then the Pioneer's internal DAC's which brings up the point how are you connecting the Pioneer to the Denon receiver? If you're using a digital connection you might try the analog inputs just to see if you prefer the DAC in the Pioneer. Either way though a used $300 CD player should sound better then what you have available at the moment.

For example this Sony is VERY highly rated and it'll do SACD's as well.

333ES

As a universal player this unit here got decent reviews as well...

Here's a Rotel 971

and finally here's a new 970

Of all of the above the Sony 333ES would likely be what I'd jump on as its very nicely priced for a great player.

[CJ Paul]

I know this is in the Rotel area, but when I finally got around to diverting some funds to my 2ch front end, I turned to audiogon as well. I would definately keep you eyes open for a used Arcam. They are VERY sweet machines. I got my Alpha 7se for a song. The guy who had it before hadnt even peeled the protective "cling label" off the LCD display and the remote looked like it had never been used at all.