Advice on CD player

[russm535il]

I recently purchased a Cambridge 640A v2 integrated amp and wanted to add a new CD player to go along with it. ( my current Phillips player is 15 years old !)

I was considering the NAD C525BEE or the Cambridge Azur 340 C.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I listen to all types of music.

Thanks and Happy Holidays !!

Russ DeJulio
Pittsburgh,PA
RUSSM535IL@AOL.COM

[bobsticks]

Hey Russ,

Welcome to the forum! What speakers are gonna be used?

Peace

[blackraven]

Neither, go with the Marantz 50001 or the Music Hall 25.2. Don't skimp on your CDP. The Marantz is probably the best deal around and can be found on sale for less that $300. The Music Hall can be found for about $500 and it has a very transparent and detailed sound.

[russm535il]

Bob,

I have a pair of Dahlquist monitor speakers purchased in 1991 they are 2 way 8 " woofer 2" tweeter with a port- I cant remember the model # ( still at work) I thought that they might be the next thing to consider upgrading .At the time they were top rated speakers.
I appreciate your advice !

Russ

[russm535il]

Black Raven

Thanks I will look into those 2 -

I havent purchased any equiptment in 15 years so I have allot of catching up to do.

I appreciate your reccomendations !

Russ

[blackraven]

If your willing to spend a little cash, $700-1000, look at the Marantz SA8001 SACD-$750, the Rega Apollo and Cambridge Azur 740c for about $950. The Cambridge is an upsamling CDP.

[blackraven]

I might add the Cambridge Azur 640c to that list for about $600. Also, check out the review of the Marantz SA8001 online from stereophile magazine.
Good Luck!

[bobsticks]

Bob,

I have a pair of Dahlquist monitor speakers purchased in 1991 they are 2 way 8 " woofer 2" tweeter with a port- I cant remember the model # ( still at work) I thought that they might be the next thing to consider upgrading .At the time they were top rated speakers.
I appreciate your advice !

Russ

Very nice, ain't nothin' wrong with some Dahlquists...and if there's nothing wrong with them remember that old addage about "if it isn't broke...", but should you be interested a new take on a classic sound I just found these while browsing : http://cgi.ebay.com/SPENDOR-S8E-SPEAKERS-ULTRA-HIGH-END-ONE-OF-THE-BEST_W0QQitemZ220184741437QQihZ012QQcategoryZ14993 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Anyway, back on topic, I think blackraven has covered the bases pretty well. The Marantz 5001 gets a pretty warm reception around these parts and I suspect you'd have to go a little higher up the chain to a Rega for a significant improvement.

[Jack in Wilmington]

Good Evening Russ and welcome to the forum.

Let me throw another excellent player into the mix. The Rotel RCD-1072. I feel it will hold it's own with the other fine players mentioned. You can check it out in your area at
"Lets Make Music LTD"

[russm535il]

Wow thanks for all the advice !! What a great community !!

The Dahlquists are M905's glad to hear that they are still well regarded.

I will check into all your reccomendations !!

Happy Holidays to all !!

Russ DeJulio
Pittsburgh,PA

[jim goulding]

Russ- This is only meant to share some buzz with you about the OPPO DVD/CD player. It's very affordable and it upsamples. The buzz is that it is a giant killer! I do know that the technical editor of Positive Feedback Online and one half of Jena Labs will be doing a modification on the analog section of this player in due course. AR member "Luvin The Blues" uses this in his HT rig, I believe, others here may too, and might can share some info about the audio side. Happy trails!

[melvin walker]

I recently purchased a Cambridge 640A v2 integrated amp and wanted to add a new CD player to go along with it. ( my current Phillips player is 15 years old !)

I was considering the NAD C525BEE or the Cambridge Azur 340 C.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I listen to all types of music.

Thanks and Happy Holidays !!

Russ DeJulio
Pittsburgh,PA
RUSSM535IL@AOL.COM

You can't go wrong with most CD players. Sony , Toshiba , Pioneer or you might try and find a high end CD on Ebay such as Revox , Nakamichi or Tandberg. You can usually buy one for about $300-$ 400 on Ebay. These used CD players are far superior to any sold today. Also look at Sony , the ES series were very good CD's players that are not as expensive as the others listed.
The two CD''s players you listed are only average in quality. Buy used , afterall which is better a used Porsche Carrera or new Corvette ?

[Jack in Wilmington]

You can't go wrong with most CD players. Sony , Toshiba , Pioneer or you might try and find a high end CD on Ebay such as Revox , Nakamichi or Tandberg. You can usually buy one for about $300-$ 400 on Ebay. These used CD players are far superior to any sold today. Also look at Sony , the ES series were very good CD's players that are not as expensive as the others listed.
The two CD''s players you listed are only average in quality. Buy used , afterall which is better a used Porsche Carrera or new Corvette ?

I don't know about everybody else, But I'll take the new Corvette. Z06 in yellow if I have my choice. And of course the 6 speed manual tranny.

[russm535il]

I was looking at the emails and wanted to ask - does it make sense to spend so much for the CD player when the amp only cost $599. Would a more expensive cd player sound better on a budget amp like I have ?

Also my Magnavox is a single play - is about 15 yrs old and works fine.
I assume that any new player would sound better than what I have is this correct ?

Jim what is a oppo dvd/cd player ?

Thanks !

Russ

[bobsticks]

You can't go wrong with most CD players. Sony , Toshiba , Pioneer or you might try and find a high end CD on Ebay such as Revox , Nakamichi or Tandberg. You can usually buy one for about $300-$ 400 on Ebay. These used CD players are far superior to any sold today. Also look at Sony , the ES series were very good CD's players that are not as expensive as the others listed.
The two CD''s players you listed are only average in quality. Buy used , afterall which is better a used Porsche Carrera or new Corvette ?

I don't know if I necessarily agree with this, and if I did it would be very unit specific. The reason being is two fold: first, the used market and shipping are always a gamble. Moreso with something that is ten, fifteen, or twenty years old. Kind of a crapshoot with little recourse in the end and some odds I personally wouldn't feel comfortable with. Second, and just as important, there has been a lot of technological progression in even the last five years in the areas of DACs and upsampling.

Just because something was "hi-end" in the past doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to give you the peak performance for your hard earned, and economies of scale have rendered the quality-by-pricepoint ratio questionable at best.

Russ, the OPPO is a universal player, or in other words, a player that plays a multitude of formats. In this case it's redbook cd, SACD, DVD-A, DVD and a plethora of the burned formats. Word from many is that this unit provides some surprisingly good sounds at its price without any qc concerns.

[blackraven]

The oppo DV-980H is the DVD to get if you go that route. I just emailed oppo earlier today and they recommend this model for the best audio playback. It uses better DAC's, higher quality audio decoder along with audiophile capacitors and resistors as well as a 4 layer PCB for interference reduction and shielding compared to their other models. Its selling for $169. The trade off on this model is that its video processing is not as good as the DV-981H. The reviews on the oppo are great and you get SACD playback as well.

[Luvin Da Blues]

I have the 981 but just use it for Video (which is great) and SACD. For std 2 ch CDs I use my Denon DVD1000 which sounds a bit better than the OPPO. I have them both hooked up via optical cables except of course for the SACD.

I have to admit since I got my new Turntable setup I don't listen to digital much anymore.

[jim goulding]

Russ- Japanese CD players 15 years ago have been WAY surpassed by what is available today. I owned the most expensive Sony ES player of the day. I think you've got an excellent answer above. And, yes indeed, I think you'll have a significant improvement over your Marantz with your current amp! Bet.

[russm535il]

Thanks again guys !!

All the best for the Holidays !

I will let you know what I order - we are in Seattle visiting family for Christmas for the week.

I plan to check out the after Christmas sales !!

Russ DeJulio

[bobsticks]

All the best to you too, Russ...and enjoy the holidays.

I look forward to reading about what you decide.

Peace

[russm535il]

Hey Guys

I tried to locate an audio store to listen to the various CD players in Pittsburgh but was unable to find one that had all the options Cambridge,NAD,Marantz.

I called Audio Advisor in Michigan - and asked for their input- and I then ordered the NAD C552 BEE- it seemed like a good compromise between cost / quality.I know that it will be a tremendous improvement over what I currently have.

A friend who has been into Audio for many years also influenced me- he said that CD players are old tech now and that they will soon be replaced completely by computer files -mp3 files. From listening to my kids players though it doesnt sound like the same sonic quality as CD's - So I ordered the NAD player.

What do you think will CD's be obsolete soon ?

I also wondered do you guys think that the sound quality on CD's that my kids make from internet downloads equals CD's purchased through the record companys? With my budget :cornut: system could I tell a difference?

Happy New 2008 !!
Russ DeJulio Pittsburgh,PA

[blackraven]

Not unless mp3 can beat the audio quality of Cd's! MP3 sounds like horse#*&% to me. And your friend doesnt know what he's talking about with CDP's. Listen to the upsampling Cambridge 740c or 840c or any high end CDP along with quality SACD players.

By the way your system will sound just fine. You bought good quality and sounding equipment. The NAD cdp would not have been my first choice but its a good CDP.

[russm535il]

Thanks Black Raven !



Regards,

Russ

[Feanor]

...

A friend who has been into Audio for many years also influenced me- he said that CD players are old tech now and that they will soon be replaced completely by computer files -mp3 files. From listening to my kids players though it doesnt sound like the same sonic quality as CD's - So I ordered the NAD player.

What do you think will CD's be obsolete soon ?

I also wondered do you guys think that the sound quality on CD's that my kids make from internet downloads equals CD's purchased through the record companys? With my budget :cornut: system could I tell a difference?

Happy New 2008 !!
Russ DeJulio Pittsburgh,PA

Such statements as from you friend astonish me by their ignorance. No, mp3's are most often downloaded at 128K bits per second that is immediately distinguishable from CD which is over 700k bps. This is generally the case for entry level as well as higher level system. At higher bit counts, say 320bps, it might depend on the recording in question; if a poorly recorded one without any real ambience, it might be hard.

[russm535il]

Bill / Feanor

Thanks for the information this has been very helpful - my friend ment well but he is obviously misinformed.

I also wanted to ask you what your thoughts are about CD's purchased from a Best Buy for example vrs. ones my teen age son downloads from the internet. I assume what he gets would be of uneven quality - is this correct or are they of equal quality ?

THANKS !

Russ DeJulio
Pittsburgh,PA

[russm535il]

Guys also - did I make a mistake buying the NAD C525BEE for $349 ? I found the Cambridge 540C v2 for $425- My wife thinks I should of sprung for the Cambridge for the small price difference..
I dont mean to obssess about this but I hate buying something sight and sound unseen. I have been dependent on only reviews that I could find .
The player would be paired with a new Cambridge 640A V2 integrated amp.
THANKS !
Russ

[blackraven]

You will be ok with the NAD. I would have gotten the 640c for around $600 or the Music Hall 25.2 CDP for $$550. The marantz 5001 is also a bargain at $250-300 and has been compared to $600 players. Many people on this forum have and really enjoy this player.
I dont think the 540c will offer any great advantage over the NAD. CDP's all have different sound and its just finding the right one for your system. NAD has a warmer sound and would be good for bright sounding speakers and receiver. The MH and 640c have a more neutral sound and are less forward sounding.

www.hcmaudio.com has the Music Hall for $540 including shipping. Check out the review at stereophile magazine.

[russm535il]

Blackraven

Thanks for your input - I will let the order stand and should get the NAD later this week.

As you can tell I am doing allot of catching up on new equiptment available.

My wife and I just returned from visiting family for Christmas and I hooked up my new Cambridge 640 integrated amp with my current Magnavox cd player WOW it sounds fantastic !!!

I still have the owners manual and I pulled up the specs' on my old player. Its a Magnavox CDB 614 with a D/A conversion :Bitstream conversion 256X oversampling, 1 bit, dynamic range 92db, channel seperation95db and a signal to noise ratio of 100db (A weighted).

I have no idea what that technical data means but at the time aprox 15 yrs ago it was a good player. From what everyone has said the new NAD should sound MUCH better- hard to imagine though - I really am enjoying the Cambridge 640 its a big step up from my 16 year old NAD receiver !
I am hearing things on tracks that I never heard before !!

Happy New Year !

Russ DeJulio
Pittsburgh