mmiles Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 At CES I listened to many "CD players". The range was from $1000 - $20,000 (except at the TAD demo that used a Pacific HDCD DAC). There was indeed a difference but at what true cost vs. performance ration? The Ayre seemed to have widest product line. I wanted to see McCormack, ARCAM and NAIM but did not get to all the booths and suites at the Alexis Park. Well enough of my review of CES. What would you the 2-channel seasoned Klipsch experts suggest as a player? I'd like to also listen to SACD and DVD-A as well but not necessarly on the same player. Regards, Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klipsch RF7 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 ---------------- On 1/24/2005 7:08:15 PM mmiles wrote: At CES I listened to many "CD players". The range was from $1000 - $20,000 (except at the TAD demo that used a Pacific HDCD DAC). There was indeed a difference but at what true cost vs. performance ration? The Ayre seemed to have widest product line. I wanted to see McCormack, ARCAM and NAIM but did not get to all the booths and suites at the Alexis Park. Well enough of my review of CES. What would you the 2-channel seasoned Klipsch experts suggest as a player? I'd like to also listen to SACD and DVD-A as well but not necessarly on the same player. Regards, Mike ---------------- Mmiles, Welcome to the board. If you are looking for a great player at an affordable price, check out this Esoteric UX-1 player. It is an awesome player from reviews and will be sure to fit the bill and whithin your price range. http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1110991154 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 yowza. that's a budget Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 24, 2005 Share Posted January 24, 2005 I've heard positive reviews regarding Shanling's SACD player with vacuum tube output. Also the Musical Fidelity Tri-Vista SACD player would be my choice if funds permitted. I like the fact that both SACD and CD digital paths are completely separate, each having its own choke regulated DAC and filter which are designed entirely for either SACD or CD playback. A perfect player IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 krell, any krell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Born2RockU Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 I am standing line for a KRELL !!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteelerFan Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Did you hear the McCormack UDP-1? I really lust for that player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 I've got a Meridian, which is a very well made and nice moderately priced cd player. I recommend them highly, there not the cheap plastic drawer stuff from SE Asia. But being British, it DOES have the ubiquitous strange "only-the-Brits-could-come-up-with-it" remote control. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meuge Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 The best CD player bar none is not a CD player, but a PC with a pro sound card outputting digital PCM into a good DAC. For under $750 you can get yourself a PC with an M-Audio Audiophile sound card, a large hard drive and a CD/DVD burner. Just rip the CDs to the computer hard drive in uncompressed format such as .WAV and enjoy the most pristine sound reproduction technically available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaffstone Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 For some reason most DVD players have higher S/N ratios than CD players, like 115 db. Since getting a DVD I use that instead of the CD player. Just one less box to deal with. Just got my turntable up and running for the first time in about 10 years. Now I'm thinking the vinyl actually sounds better than the CDs. Just wish I could erase some pops and clicks here and there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicholtl Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 I'll chime in here... As jt1stcav mentioned earlier, the Shanling tubed player, the CDT-100, or more expensive SCD-T200 which plays SACD also, is a pretty damn nice sounding unit. A real surprise to most industry folk, since China isn't really known for producing high-end equipment. But all stereotypes will be broken sooner or later. The Krell SACD Standard is also a fine choice, although I think it is ever-so-slightly harsh and overly-analytical. It was too sharp, for my tender ears. I've also listened to the Denon DVD-5900 modded by Modwright, and it sounds good, make that VERY good, but not terrific. I personally own a Classe CDP-10, which is a generation older than their current Delta lineup. However, it is an awesome CD/HDCD player for $2000 new, or around $1500 used. I personally think it's the best player money can buy up to the aforementioned amount. Many reviews have even stated not only that, but that it's playback is superior to that of mass-market SACD players! Talk about wowzers, eh? I also have the Pioneer Elite 59AVi, but it's easily trounced on by the Classe. Possibly because it has all that extra circuitry for playing/decoding MP3/SACD/DVD-A/DVD-V. In case you wanted some reviews: http://stereophile.com/digitalsourcereviews/924/ http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_10_2/classe-cdp-10-cd-player-6-2003.html http://www.soundstage.com/revequip/classe_cdp10.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-MAN Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Classe is a brand that I would certainly consider. the 3 top choices that I would want to check out: Krell Classe Meridian In any order, of course. I passed on the fancy McIntosh cd as being WAY too spendy. DM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wheelman Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Linn if you don't want to spend a ton. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 If you're on a tight budget like me (and I hope not), then I wholeheartedly recommend the Cambridge Audio azur 640C 24/192 CD player. For less than $500 I find it an absolute best buy. It's well built, accurate, detailed, and the aluminum remote is a handful but functional. Cat vibration dampening is extra... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Mike, I hear ya, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Landau Posted January 25, 2005 Share Posted January 25, 2005 Nice post, Steve. long, full of BS, but still nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike stehr Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 Gee, I just had enough time to read it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted January 26, 2005 Share Posted January 26, 2005 meuge - I'm pretty interested in the pc route as I think it would offer HUGE cost benefits on the dac side. What about the transport issues or "contamination" problems from the rest of the pc components? I was non-believer on transports, but moving from a planet transport (MF Trivista dac) to a Levinson made a world of difference. As far as recommendations go, I recommend a seperate redbook and sacd device, although if one has the time to spare they can check out smilin's audiogons thread)s) for superb results using modified univeral players. For redbook, I have been blown away by the Levinson gear. I also recently heard the new Naim unit and could easily substitute my gear for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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