SonicSeeker Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 What are the best cd players out there? How about a McIntosh Mcd-301. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'm interested in this also, but I'll throw some more criteria around it: Recommended CD player under $250. Recommended CD player under $500. Under $1000. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Richard Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 What's the best day? The best car? The best TV show? The best color? There will be almost as many different answers as responders to this question, all in line with one's personal preferences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonicSeeker Posted September 26, 2011 Author Share Posted September 26, 2011 Personal preferences: Plays the music as true as it is recorded. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 What's the best day? The best car? The best TV show? The best color? There will be almost as many different answers as responders to this question, all in line with one's personal preferences. I'm aware. I'm looking for advice as I have no experience in high end CD players and I am looking at getting one or two, but I don't know if I should spend $200.00 or $1000.00 and I was looking for some suggestions so I could do the research. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max2 Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 This is a question that cant be answered, not even from taking listed specs.on the best of the best. Generally when you are dealing with the upper or (boutique) brands, the higher the price the more exotic and precise the internals are. Unless you need a CD Changer, I would buy an Oppo 95 Universal player ($500) and call it a day. This unit will play just about anything and perform above many players that cost twice its price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zen Traveler Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'm aware. I'm looking for advice as I have no experience in high end CD players and I am looking at getting one or two, but I don't know if I should spend $200.00 or $1000.00 and I was looking for some suggestions so I could do the research. Thanks! I am not a 2-channel person but one of the things I would look for (if you have a capable sub) is if it does Bass Management. If you get a Universal player that plays different formats, it will have various connection options, whereas a stand alone player may not, but could have better internals when using the analog connections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Unless you need a CD Changer, I would buy an Oppo 95 Universal player ($500) and call it a day. This unit will play just about anything and perform above many players that cost twice its price. I'm looking for a CD (I don't currently own any SACDs) player for a dedicated 2-channel or 2.1 channel system (no TV in the room). I currently have a couple of Paradigm Mini-Monitors (version I) hooked up to a Pioneer VSC-604s and an HTIB sony DVD player I bought back in the day, but will likely move to a 2-channel Heritage (Heresy maybe) with either an integrated tube amp or a modern HK or Yammy 2.1 SS. I want to hook it up analog and I don't currently have a budget set aside, but I want to know what where my best price point might be for performance vs. price. $250. recommendations, $500. recommendations, or do I need to consider spending more? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebrof Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'm interested in this also, but I'll throw some more criteria around it: Recommended CD player under $250. Recommended CD player under $500. Under $1000. Thanks! I recently compared (in my system) Arcam Alpha 8SE, Jolida JD100, Music Hall CD 25.2, Primare CD21, Rega Apollo. All come in right at $1,000 except the MH which was $350 I believe, and the Arcam which can only be bought used. For the money new, the MH was by far the best value. It held its own against all of them, and I liked it better than all but the Rega. I ended up with the Rega because it sounded just a little better than the MH and the others, and I liked the interface and top load. The Arcam was a great value as well (used about $200), but was on its last legs which is why I was auditioning. It died right after I bought the Rega. I had KHorns which could be a little bright, and the MH accentuated this otherwise I would probably have bought it and a bunch of CDs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebrof Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Unless you need a CD Changer, I would buy an Oppo 95 Universal player ($500) and call it a day. This unit will play just about anything and perform above many players that cost twice its price What players did you compare the Oppo to? In your system or the same system? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'm interested in this also, but I'll throw some more criteria around it: Recommended CD player under $250. Recommended CD player under $500. Under $1000. Thanks! Henry, Which is best is a tough one to answer and personal preference will influence most answers. Cornfedksboy, I will suggest a couple of players, some universal and some redbook CD only. This Onkyo universal is a phenominal player that tips the scales at over 26 pounds. Build quality is excellent. I have one and have been very pleased with it's performance for over 2.5 years. http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1319818927&/Onkyo-DV-SP1000- Another very affordable high quality universal player. http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1322266142&/NAD-T585-CD/DVD CD players: http://www.spearitsound.com/Cambridge_Audio/cambridge_audio_740c.asp http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1321565719&/NAD-C565BEE-cd-player-w/usb-in You can't go wrong with any of these players, IMO. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willland Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Unless you need a CD Changer, I would buy an Oppo 95 Universal player ($500) and call it a day. This unit will play just about anything and perform above many players that cost twice its price. Max, If you would show me where I could get the Oppo 95 for $500.00 I will be right on it.[][Y] I think you meant the Oppo 93 is $500.00.[] Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I would not spend money at this point on a high end CD player, but would instead invest in a good DAC. A good DAC can turn any CD player or computer, or for that matter any device capable of sending out a decent digital signal into great sound. I have several different DACs and my current favorite is a little Chinese made tube DAC by a company called Maverick. Absolutely fabulous sound with all the digital sources I have thrown at it so far, though I did take out the el-cheepo Chinese tube it came with and sneak in little Western Electric glass. [H] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRFL Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 ARCAMrDAC uses the Wolfson Microelectronics WM8741 chip. It re-clocks the USB input making it very suitable for computer connection. You can rip all your music to your computer as WAV files and then get better results than "live" extraction from the disk. Ripping the disk permits the computer to re-read the disk to get it right rather than having to get it almost right on the fly reading disks live. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRFL Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Unless you need a CD Changer, I would buy an Oppo 95 Universal player ($500) and call it a day. This unit will play just about anything and perform above many players that cost twice its price. Max, If you would show me where I could get the Oppo 95 for $500.00 I will be right on it. I think you meant the Oppo 93 is $500.00. Bill I'm going to get and OPPO BDP-95 and I'm also interested in where to get it for $500.00 66% discount awesome value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRFL Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 I'm interested in this also, but I'll throw some more criteria around it: Recommended CD player under $250. Recommended CD player under $500. Under $1000. Thanks! I recently compared (in my system) Arcam Alpha 8SE, Jolida JD100, Music Hall CD 25.2, Primare CD21, Rega Apollo. All come in right at $1,000 except the MH which was $350 I believe, and the Arcam which can only be bought used. For the money new, the MH was by far the best value. It held its own against all of them, and I liked it better than all but the Rega. I ended up with the Rega because it sounded just a little better than the MH and the others, and I liked the interface and top load. The Arcam was a great value as well (used about $200), but was on its last legs which is why I was auditioning. It died right after I bought the Rega. I had KHorns which could be a little bright, and the MH accentuated this otherwise I would probably have bought it and a bunch of CDs. The ARCAMrDAC, the Rega and the Cambridge all use the Wolfson chip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRFL Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 ARCAMrDAC uses the Wolfson Microelectronics WM8741 chip. It re-clocks the USB input making it very suitable for computer connection. You can rip all your music to your computer as WAV files and then get better results than "live" extraction from the disk. Ripping the disk permits the computer to re-read the disk to get it right rather than having to get it almost right on the fly reading disks live. You can also rip the CD's to your computer of a network storage and get a Sonos ZP90 to play back. You also have the advantage of internet radio being available plus you can control it with your iphone ipad android phone or any computer. CD players are obsolete in my opinion, maybe you can guess that. The OPPO BDP-95 plays virtually every type of disk including 3D and SACD. It is the only disk player I would consider. Everything else is redundant in my opinion other than the ARCAMrDAC or the SONOS ZP90. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cornfedksboy Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Thanks for all the replies! I've got a good starting point and welcome any addtional info. Keep em coming! As for a CD player being obsolete, well perhaps to you it is. My wife and I have about 500 original recording CDs and another 500 or so that we've burned. Sure, I could recopy them onto my computer, but as of now I'm still looking into buying a quality CD player. This is similar to the "why vinyl" thread for us tweeners that are too old for vinyl but too young to have had an iPod in college. Nirvana and Pearl Jam ruled the airwaves when I was in my teens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tromprof Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Thanks for all the replies! I've got a good starting point and welcome any addtional info. Keep em coming! As for a CD player being obsolete, well perhaps to you it is. My wife and I have about 500 original recording CDs and another 500 or so that we've burned. Sure, I could recopy them onto my computer, but as of now I'm still looking into buying a quality CD player. This is similar to the "why vinyl" thread for us tweeners that are too old for vinyl but too young to have had an iPod in college. Nirvana and Pearl Jam ruled the airwaves when I was in my teens. Sounds like I'm older than you, Pink Floyd and the Who ruled when I was in my teens, but I figured it out, so you can too. It is not hard and not really that time consuming to rip your CDs to a hard drive. It really is worth it, I have over 13,00 music files now on my hard drive! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebrof Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Thanks for all the replies! I've got a good starting point and welcome any addtional info. Keep em coming! As for a CD player being obsolete, well perhaps to you it is. My wife and I have about 500 original recording CDs and another 500 or so that we've burned. Sure, I could recopy them onto my computer, but as of now I'm still looking into buying a quality CD player. This is similar to the "why vinyl" thread for us tweeners that are too old for vinyl but too young to have had an iPod in college. Nirvana and Pearl Jam ruled the airwaves when I was in my teens. Sounds like I'm older than you, Pink Floyd and the Who ruled when I was in my teens, but I figured it out, so you can too. It is not hard and not really that time consuming to rip your CDs to a hard drive. It really is worth it, I have over 13,00 music files now on my hard drive! Just for another perspective - I have about as many CDs as cornfed and I do have all of my CDs ripped to iTunes and on my kid's iPod. I use the iPod in the LR for background music. I play my CDs when I listen in my main rig. I was thinking of a DAC, computer etc about 6 months ago, but I'm glad I bought the CDP. I have friends that have computer audio, and when I go and listen to their systems there is definately something missing for me. Playing music with a mouse...that's just wrong. One guy controls it with his iPhone or touch or whatever. They like it though and I can see why, but it's not for me[ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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