Need everyones help...DESPERATELY! [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

PDA

View Full Version : Need everyones help...DESPERATELY!



CanMex
06-18-2009, 11:40 AM
Need everyones help in recommending a good CD player as I have absolutely NO dealers within 1000 miles (2200 km's) of me so I have no way to test before I buy. I have been doing a lot of research on the net and am partial to the "Warm" "British" sound, I realize this is an open ended description but figure it is the easiest way to express my needs. I have been living in Mexico for 10 years now and recently decided to awaken my needs of high end audio. The following is a list of equipment I have purchased recently but am still missing a high end CD.

Audio Research LS-2 (brought from Canada as I will never give it up)
Classe CA-3200
B&W 802's
B&W ASW800
Various other pieces for the HT side:
Bryston 4B
Proceed Amp 2
Rotel RB-1080
B&W NHTM-2
etc....

Any suggestions or reccomendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks to everyone in advance.

Hyfi
06-18-2009, 12:02 PM
I like my Rotel RCD-1072. I'm not so sure about a warm British sound since I don't know what that means but the rest of your gear will contribute to whatever sound you get, not just the CDP alone.

basite
06-18-2009, 12:12 PM
Try a Rega Saturn?

what's your budget??

keep them spinning,
Bert.

CanMex
06-18-2009, 12:15 PM
Try a Rega Saturn?

what's your budget??

keep them spinning,
Bert.

I have considered the Rega or Meridian but again I have no Rep or dealer ANYWHERE in this God Forsaken desert I live in.

Budget right now is $2000 max.

JoeE SP9
06-18-2009, 01:47 PM
I have heard very good things about the new Sony SCD-XA5400ES.

nightflier
06-18-2009, 03:07 PM
$2000? That's a lot of options. A few more questions to narrow it down:

- Does it need to do SACD/DVD-A?
- Does it need to play movies (for your HT system)?
- Will you be using a DAC? If so, what?
- Are you partial to some brands?

I presume mail-order is your best option. If so, start with Audio Advisor. They have a lot of "british" gear and they offer fairly decent advice (and they ship to Mexico). Some suggestions that come to mind:

- Marantz SA8003
- Musical Fidelity A1-CD (on special at AA)
- NAD M5 or M55
- Cambridge 840c/740c (not warm sounding, but highly regarded)
- Shanling CD3000
- Vincent CD-S6

Ajani
06-18-2009, 05:26 PM
- Marantz SA8003
- Musical Fidelity A1-CD (on special at AA)
- NAD M5 or M55


I'll 2nd those three suggestions... and add the Marantz SA15S2 to the list

bobsticks
06-18-2009, 05:39 PM
The Marantz was the first thing that came to my mind...

nightflier
06-19-2009, 12:09 PM
Sticks, if Rummy actually had smoked a J a little more often, we'd all probably be better off, LOL

hermanv
06-19-2009, 01:10 PM
I have considered the Rega or Meridian but again I have no Rep or dealer ANYWHERE in this God Forsaken desert I live in.

Budget right now is $2000 max.The DACs inside one piece CD players keep improving, nevertheless I still recommend a 2 box solution. CD players wear out, DACs do not.

It is safe to buy a used DAC, and then any new CD player, one notch up from mass market cheap, will work fine. Of course this won't work for SACD.

I admit to being out of date with the current "best value" DAC, but here is a list of possibilities (a little research should turn up a good one): Audiogon used DAC list (http://buy.audiogon.com/cgia/fsb.pl?dgtlconv&1&ctg&st1)

pixelthis
06-19-2009, 01:54 PM
The best "CD" player is a hard drive with all of teh content of your CD collection loaded onto it.:1:

nightflier
06-19-2009, 02:45 PM
What about that Emotiva CD player. I know it's only $400, but it's supposed to perform like a much more expensive player. Here's a review:

http://reviews.audioreview.com/blog/emotiva-erc-1-cd-player-review/

RGA
06-19-2009, 05:44 PM
I recently reviewed a CD player from Grant Fidelity linked here http://grantfidelity.com/site/MCD-100-Tube-CD-Player - It's $1500 but they are selling a demo unit for $1000.00.

Look into it. There is nothing on the market at the price that I have seen that comes anywhere near the build quality. It's tubed at the back so you can tailor the sound a fair bit - if you have crummy recordings and you need to soften them up you can buy a mushy sounding tube - or if you want lean and mean you can buy one of those. The tubes uses are about $10 and will run for years so there is no worry there.

To all - this units uses a Philips pro transport and that ALONE makes it a bargain - you can always add an DAC later - but when you look at other $1500 cd players from Arcam, Rotel, Musical Fidelity, Sim Audio, Cambridge Audio, Rega - frankly this unit in terms of build quality makes those look like plastic toys.

The thing is over 25 lbs and apparently free shipping. SInce you can't audition before you buy - at least get one with great build quality features and add a DAC later. I think GF has a return policy to boot. You'd be out return shipping but that's not too bad. I doubt you'll return it.

They have linked my review on the page. Good Luck.

02audionoob
06-20-2009, 05:45 PM
I wonder if you might be happy with the Rega Apollo for about half your max budget.

hifitommy
06-21-2009, 09:50 AM
the buzz on the sony 5400 just as a rbcd player (let alone sacd) is VERY enticing. i have two sacd capable players that sound good on rbcd but the 5400 is even tempting to me.

certainly its accessible to you.

LeRoy
06-21-2009, 10:13 AM
I've recently purchased the NAD 545BEE CD player and am very pleased with it. The 545 does have optical out and a very cool feature where it can play MP3/WMA formatted recordings on CD-R or CD-RW discs and using a special section of the remote you can select the folder and file that you want and push play to get the music started. I did not know it had that feature until I bought the player and is something I probably won't use but you might!?! Price paid, $499.00 plus tax.

You may want to have a look at some retail sites online. Earlier this year I purchased a Marantz Universal Player from www.musicdirect.com. I checked last night and the unit is still on sale, MARANTZ - DV 6001 UNIVERSAL PLAYER, $249.00, and it's new. They also list a demo unit for the same model for only $199.00. The DV6001 is a closeout sale on the site just so that you know where to find it quick. The player is also an SACD/DVD-A player.

It's easy to confuse the above model with the MARANTZ - VC 6001 5-DISC UNIVERSAL CHANGER which is also selling for the same price. The reason I choose the DV 6001 over the VC 6001 is due to the many negative reviews on how slow the carousel is and how you are not able unload and reload a CD while there is a CD playing at the same time. You would not experience this situation with the DV 6001 as it's a single disc player only.

Hope this helps you out.

LeRoy

Rega Brio3
NAD 545 BEE
Nola Mini's
Chord Carnival Silver Screen
Chord Cobra 3

CanMex
06-23-2009, 02:23 PM
Thanks to everyone that replied. I have decided to give the new Rega Saturn a try and have ordered one which should be here in a week or so. I will post a review of it after I have sufficiently run it in and had time to do some serious listening.

Thanks again!

emesbee
07-02-2009, 10:19 PM
I've just recently upgraded my fairly ordinary CD player by purchasing a standalone DAC, the Cambridge Audio DacMagic. I thought this might be a better way to go than getting a new CD player. I've only had it for a few days, but I like what I'm hearing so far. Seems to be a worthwhile improvement. I have a British amp, a Musical Fidelity E11, which I would characterise as "warm" sounding. The DacMagic seems to complement it quite well.

One probably wouldn't characterise the DacMagic as "high end", but its a good product, and for me it was a fairly cost effective way of making a significant improvement to my system.

hermanv
07-03-2009, 06:59 AM
My personal experience; use coax not Toslink for the transport to DAC digital connection.

You night consider all interconnects for upgrade or at least a review. The old electronics might have masked a cable issue now audible with the newer DAC.