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Recommendations for CD players under $700


zuzu

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Thanks Michael. My audio research CD player is in for cleaning and alignment. I just tried your suggestion and my cheapy DVD player sounds pretty good. Boy was I sick of listening to old tapes. It's too early to crank it up and wake the wife. The DVD will hopefully sound even better then. When I get my CD player back I'll A /B the two. Thanks again.

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it is a tough call...I have tried (and purchased) a Cambridge Audio Azur 640v1 and it is very nice...build quality is top notch...I also have tried and purchased Toshiba 3950s (2) and a 3990 for the GF and they sound very nice as well...build quality is cheap but the 3950s are still running with nary a hiccup for over two years now...I cannot tell whether there is that much difference in the sound from the $50 or so Toshiba to the over $500 Cambridge or if it is the "placebo" effect...I know it isn't ten times the sound but...I need to someday hear a Jolida/Heart/Ah! Tube CD to compare but...

Bill

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Hmmm...so far you've rec'd excellent common sense replys. However, I'll not be surprised if this turns into the food fight many of those on the "What's wrong with the forums..." thread have been calling for. For years I've been of the "bits is bits" persuasion due to the basic logic of it when applied to digital files. I maintained then and now that CD's are just computer files and they are read accurately (and you get music) or not (and you get nothing or worse). Recently I responded to one of the "color the edge of the CD with a permanent marker" for some percieved improvement crowd with "You're right, it works! I tried it on a CD with a spreadsheet and found it was suddenly 2 decimal places more accurate and the fonts were much more crisp and defined on the screen." I had no intention then or now of ridicule but even in audio there is some science that is pretty tough to ignore.

In my case I've been off loading my digital music of all varieties to HD for years and useing a top of the line DAC (Card Deluxe and/or ESI WamiRack XL) for playback. I find this highly convenient in that I can construct any kind of playlists I want and never have to look for a CD. Also, these are all now stored on a home server which makes it even more convenient as I have several lessor systems in the house. Linn's recent decision to make hi resolution (up to 24/96) files with no DRM availalbe have made all this even sweeter. The high res "Messiah" I download recently is one of the finest recordings technically as well as artistically I've ever heard...every bit (no pun intended) as good as most any LP ever pressed. While progess is slow, the direction remains towards ubiqitous hi-resolution files distributed in this manner. It works swimmingly for the lo-res (mp3) crowd and it will work for us as well once the audio makers begin to design universal players...visuallize an Alesis CD (the one with the on-board HDD and rip capability) player capable of reading files including BluRay, having internet capability, and a Card Deluxe(s) on board capable of determining how the files are played back with no user intervention. If you've never heard surround at 24/192 (and only a very few of us have) you will be utterly stunned.

Perhaps not your cup of tea, but the point is that what happens in the digital domain stays in the digital domain. Like a Star Trek transporter, you either get back an intact piece of music or a pile of goo. Of course, once you are in the analog domain all bets are off. Worry about your quality there.

Dave

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If your interest is in getting a more accurate sound, then there are probably better places to put the extra money.

A simple (and perhaps simplistic) generalization is that newer CD players will have better performance than older ones (those in a comparable price range) and frequently better than very expensive players from several years ago. The CD player is probably not the weak link in the chain, so the extra money for a "fancy" one would be better spent elsewhere. The DACs & clocks are better than they used to be, and sigma delta modulation (commonly used now) also presents some advantages.

-Tom

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Now that I've had a chance to turn the volume up on the Sanyo DVD/VCR player it doesn't sound as good. Nowhere near my audio research CD 1 player. It's still way better than the tapes I was listening to while awaiting my CD players return. I hope the cleaning alignment of it is all that's needed. Thanks for all the feedback.

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I tend to agree with Dave for the long term...

However, for the shorter term I'd pop for a few extra dollars and get the Rega Apollo (I've seen them used on Audiogon for $800). I've recently auditioned a bunch of CD players (A/B comparisions) and I've found nothing in the price range of the Apollo (even up to the $2,000 range) that even comes close for playing Redbook CDs. A/B an Apollo with a Toshiba and you'll hear a huge difference. I've done it and it only takes about 10 seconds to realize that the Toshiba is almost unlistenable in comparison to the Apollo. I own a Toshiba 3990 and until the A/B with the Apollo I thought it sounded pretty good too. In fact my Toshiba, compared to the Cambridge Audio 840c and the Arcam DV139 and FMJ CD36 and a host of other CD players, sounded very good in comparison (A/B). Not the same with the Apollo. The Apollo is a different animal and it made me realize that not all CD players are created the same.

Good luck!

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Just tried my Sony DVD player [no VCR] and it is MUCH better than the Sanyo DVD/VCR. Still not as good as The Audio Research CD player.

IMOH, what you are hearing is MAINLY the difference in analog components. I would still maintain that it is not possible for transports and related digital storage/retrieval components and mechanisms to provide any audible differences in digital sound. They either work or they don't. After that, the analog components, as in all our systems, are what determine the percieved quality of the musical experience.

About a year ago, I obtained an Audiophile USB (I think it's from the makers of the Revolution cards...at work and can't recall precisely at the moment) external USB soundcard for some (as yet incomplete) recording experiments. I was HIGHLY impressed with the sound quality at the price and the nice thing is the with it you can take an old laptop and make world-class audio component with it using only very basic computer skills, perhaps 350.00 total investment if you don't have an old usable laptop around. Use external USB storage devices and you have unlimited capacity. Again, IMOH, such a rig can compete or beat most any dedicated CD player on the market, as well as do things none of them can (like play real hi-res files).

Dave

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I tend to agree with Dave for the long term...

However, for the shorter term I'd pop for a few extra dollars and get the Rega Apollo (I've seen them used on Audiogon for $800).  I've recently auditioned a bunch of CD players (A/B comparisions) and I've found nothing in the price range of the Apollo (even up to the $2,000 range) that even comes close for playing Redbook CDs.  A/B an Apollo with a Toshiba and you'll hear a huge difference.  I've done it and it only takes about 10 seconds to realize that the Toshiba is almost unlistenable in comparison to the Apollo.  I own a Toshiba 3990 and until the A/B with the Apollo I thought it sounded pretty good too.  In fact my Toshiba, compared to the Cambridge Audio 840c and the Arcam DV139 and FMJ CD36 and a host of other CD players, sounded very good in comparison (A/B).  Not the same with the Apollo.  The Apollo is a different animal and it made me realize that not all CD players are created the same. 

Good luck! 


I agree with the above. After listening to many different CD players at an Audio festival, I bought the Apollo Rega. I'm not saying that it was the best player that I heard but it was at about the $1800 - 1900 tubed CD player level before I found something that was better.
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