nad c542 or Onix XCD-88 cd player?

[knac67]

II am looking at buying a cd player for 400.00 or less. I can get the NAD c542 refurbished for 349.00 or the onix for 299.00. The onix is supposed to be the same as the music hall cd-25(from my understanding).
My current set up is a Harman kardon avr 630 amp and monitor audio gold ref 10"s and a Harman kardon DVD 101 for my dvd/cd source.
The sound I have now is very clear but sometimes a little fatiguing. I am looking for a cd player that would give the same detail that I have now with a little more sweetness. I have not heard either of these players. Could anyone that has, please described the sound?

All comments and suggestions welcome!!
Thank you,
Chris

[anamorphic96]

A CD player might help and either player is fine however you might want to consider adding an external amp using the pre outs of the receiver. Monitor Audio GR10's are picky and like dedicated amps. The recevier you have is great but it wont drive the GR 10's like a dedicated amp will. You can easily find dedicated amps at Audiogon for less than 400.

If you stay with the CD player upgrade. I would try the Onix. There not gonna sound very different from each other and the Onix is new and a steal at 299.

Cheers,
Glenn

[knac67]

Thanks for the info. What amp would you suggest? I also have a Rocket ufw-10 for the sub on my system.
Chris

[anamorphic96]

Where to begin. The main reason I thought of upgrading the amp, is reference quality monitors like yours are very revealing and most receivers amps are not that great. I think you will find that putting a high quality 2 channel amp will open up the mids and highs and take off some of the edge your hearing as well as tighten up the bass and give you cleaner extension.

This is not to say a CD player upgrade is not in order but given the system you are running, the amp upgrade will probably bring the most bang. Plus your receiver will not have to work as hard.

NAD is my company of choice, especially for high quality inexpensive amplifiers. They tend to have a big open sound thats very smooth with a deep tight bass. The C270 can be had for 3 to 400. The newer C272 model can be had for about 4 to 500.

Other amps to look at -

Parasound
Adcom
Rotel
Anthem
Outlaw
Bryston
Boulder
B&K

One other thing to note is acoustics play a big part in the sound your hearing. If your room is reflective with alot of hard surfaces you might want to consider room treatments. I invested in some and it was the best 100 bucks I spent. Granted I dont have to deal with the WAF. Speaker placement is also something else to look at.

Nice system. Looks like you put some thought into your purchases and didnt just run out and buy something.