Quote Originally Posted by Mr Peabody
RGA, if you are using the analog outs there is a problem some where if you can't hear the difference between a $200.00 player and $2k player. Or, even a $1k player. I could easily discern a difference between the NAD 545 and Emotiva ERC-1 and they aren't that far apart in price. In fact, you contradict yourself, you start out by saying source first has merit, to paraphrase what I got from it, then go to say all CDP's sound the same except the glorious Audio Note.
Well Audio Note sounds different because unlike most stuff the design is actually different - not the same things in redressed cases. See the recent Lexicon is really an OPPO but for $3000 thread. It's the parts inside that make the difference and when 90% of them use the same Burr Brown chipset they sound like a Burr Brown CD player which is to say it sounds very digital. Even if the $2k model happens to have better transformers. I didnt say there was no difference - but in a blind level matched session the difference that were big because one can see a $2k sticker and impressive sexy blue lights while the other is a "so-called" rubbish $300 mega changer - those differences narrow quite a lot. Which isn't to say that the $2k model won't sound better - but I am largely unimpressed with what people go around saying is a big improvement - when usually the differences are not - and few of them ever bother to try and take their bias out at least some of the time.

As for AN - sorry - but they make the best digital I have heard. And thus it is "glorious" because it doesn't bother to wow with the looks or 3 inches of brushed aluminum to add weight for the sole purpose of "seeming" to be high quality. Listening at Soundhounds to a variety of players from a variety of makers - the AN players actually separate themselves from the pack in significant ways. While the Bryston, Sim Audio, Classe, Rotel, Cambridge Audio while sounding a little different/better/worse did not present the degree of difference between them that the AN's possessed against them - So while I might conclude that the CA sounds better than the NAD and that the Classe sounds warmer than the Bryston etc the difference seem big until the AN was played and what seemed like big differences before were relegated to minor subtle differences. Kind of like comparing a bunch of oranges - one is bigger one is softer one looks healthier and then someone puts a watermelon on the table and suddenly the big difference between the 3-4 oranges pales in comparison to the difference that the watermelon brings.

And the only thing that can account from that is that the AN is the only "unique" design out of those players using wildly different parts (and far less parts in the signal chain to get in the way) and overall concept. I don't really care to go further with this since it's pointless. I gave my advice for the price range, It's what I would buy in the price range and its the "only" thing I would buy in the price range. What he or others do is up to him and them.