decent, well built, attractive CD player?

Decent CD player

Hi, to respond to your enquiry, I just bought an YBA CD 2 with a blue diode and externel power supply for the analog section. This thing is all aluminum with a 1/4 inch face plate and the power supply is big enought to power a 50 wpc amp.
the sound is simply amazing.
The price, well new is retailed for 5000CDN. I got it for 1600 CDN tax included with an Audiomat Elixir DAC as a trade-in.
This is my last CD player. Also, the transport is Teac and the Laser is Sanyo. They can be replaced for about 150.00CDN.
Happy Listening
:banana:
 
Nice player, hifidan! YBA is a terrific company, and their products are vastly under-appreciated here in the States.

I suspect that YBA sells a bit better in Canada than they do here - not only because French products are more prominently marketed in most Canadian provinces, but also because some U.S. citizens still seem to have an issue with buying anything from France. Which is ridiculous, IMO.

Case in point: A customer recently visited my shop to audition a few different minimonitors, and fell in love with the Reynaud Twins. And I think he would have purchased a pair on the spot, but I happened to mention that the speakers were French, at which point he said something like, "Oh, I'm sorry, but I'm boycotting anything made in France."

A few minutes later, he inquired about the Manley Labs Stingray integrated amplifier. I told him that it was a fantastic amp, but that I could no longer sell the unit to anyone. When he asked why, I said, "Well, I happen to disagree with the way that George W. Bush has handled Iraq, and therefore I am no longer selling high-end audio gear made by any U.S. manufacturer." The customer looked at me like I was crazy for several seconds, and who could blame him - after all, why should EveAnna Manley be punished for the the Bush administration's foreign policy? I think it took him more than a full minute to realize that I was merely poking fun at his position (and yes, I am indeed still selling Manley Labs gear!).

The fellow wound up not buying anything from me (no surprise), but I do hope that he was able to appreciate the analogy between his "serious" position on buying French products and my joke about selling U.S. products...
 
Okay, I will say it now because you expected it...

If she wants to change my CDs for me, I won't argue.

I knew a big gal that "cleaned" CDGs by rubbing them...well, her name was Lorinda and she wasn't exactly the quiet type. Her husband Cecil liked to sing "Creep" by Radiohead for her. They're in Vegas now, BABY. Wilting like lettuce, I suppose :dunno:

OKAY you can go back to the regularly scheduled AudioKarma, currently in progress.
 
I'm surprised new high-end cd-players are still coming out! Isn't higher-rez digital format inherently of higher-fidelity? However, I have a Toshiba SD-900E dvd-audio/video/cd-player that can make cd's sound better then other players I've heard. It made to quickly sell my Arcam 7se cdp. I wonder what the sound will be on such high-end players as the 'cd-only' 'The Lector', . Still I don't see the logic in getting a new high-end cdp right now. If the cdp can be made to sound as good or better then similarly priced sacd, then you have to wonder what will happen if that company actually uses higher-rez format to begin with?
 
ps, I don't mean to dictate or judge above posters, of course I'm just confused. And you're all free to do or think as you wish!
 
1420-1503 said:
I'm surprised new high-end cd-players are still coming out! Isn't higher-rez digital format inherently of higher-fidelity? However, I have a Toshiba SD-900E dvd-audio/video/cd-player that can make cd's sound better then other players I've heard. It made to quickly sell my Arcam 7se cdp. I wonder what the sound will be on such high-end players as the 'cd-only' 'The Lector', . Still I don't see the logic in getting a new high-end cdp right now. If the cdp can be made to sound as good or better then similarly priced sacd, then you have to wonder what will happen if that company actually uses higher-rez format to begin with?

Several comments, and this has been discussed before. Both DVD-A and SACD are somewhat limited in their selection(tho they are getting better). I jumped on the SACD bandwagon a while ago, and have about a dozen or so discs, but couldn't really replace my collection, or even heavily suppliment it. Also, only DSD recorded SACDs really sound significantly better than redbook, and some of the rereleases sound like crap. I jumped off the SACD bandwagon, and haven't really regretted it at all. Its just a niche media with limited selection(for me), that isn't meeting it's potential-that's one reason why it is going nowhere fast. As for high-end players, a *good* CDP will do redbook better than *most* of the multiplayers out there. That's why everyone has to get their player modded to get optimal sound.
enjoy,
Jack
 
I recently ordered the previously mentioned Rotel 1072. I'm also confused by the fact that Rotel started placing really nice Burr-Brown DACs in a reasonably well-built, yet sub-$1K CD player shortly after SACD and DVD Audio started to take off. But, I had to grab it. It seems reasonably substantial. Somewhere between the Lector shown in this thread and the cheap, plasticy Best Buy variety players.

Regardless, any reasonable high-end audio store should have something nice that looks at least upper-mid fi and is built to last.

If I hadn't just bought the Rotel though, I'd be seriously looking into that Lector. I never heard of that unit before (though I've probably run across the company once or twice in the past), but it looks aweful purty, and Brian's just got me really curious (being the talented hi-fi sales dude that he is.)

Question for Jack G -- As a SACD newbie, I have to ask: what is DSD?
 
Jack, thanks for your clarification.

John, DSD stands for 'Direct To Disc'. As I understand, it's a recording technique using special equipment (designed by Sony?) to make SACD's.
 
Thanks, and a suggestion...

Thanks guys! I'll have to do a little web research on that one.

Before this year, I just bought whatever CDs I wanted based solely on the content. The big AAD/ADD/DDD thing seemed almost irrelevant anyhow. So I've collected scads of discs; some sound mediocre at best, others sound great. But now, there's HDCD, SACD, DVD, DSD, redbook, etc. I

t sounds like redbook has been around a while, but I've never run across it for some reason. That's another thing I'm going to have to research. Is there kind of an advanced tutorial and Q/A thread here on digital format options? If not, it would be cool if one of the walking digital encyclopedias here (yes, I mean that in a nice way) could start one! Just a suggestion -- I know everyone's time is limited.

- John
 
john_w said:
Thanks guys! I'll have to do a little web research on that one.

Before this year, I just bought whatever CDs I wanted based solely on the content. The big AAD/ADD/DDD thing seemed almost irrelevant anyhow. So I've collected scads of discs; some sound mediocre at best, others sound great. But now, there's HDCD, SACD, DVD, DSD, redbook, etc. I

t sounds like redbook has been around a while, but I've never run across it for some reason. That's another thing I'm going to have to research. Is there kind of an advanced tutorial and Q/A thread here on digital format options? If not, it would be cool if one of the walking digital encyclopedias here (yes, I mean that in a nice way) could start one! Just a suggestion -- I know everyone's time is limited.

- John

Redbook is a normal CD. SACD(except hybirds) and DVD-A need special players to be heard. I honestly don't think you should worry about them right now, unless you are prepared to spend big bucks.. You should ALWAYS buy discs based solely on content, unless you are getting duplicates for LP, SACD or DVD-A.
Good Luck,
Jack
 
OK, so it's just my confusion with the terminology. Cool, my digital vocabulary is expanding - thanks again for the info!

As far as diving into the new digital technologies -- Too late! Along with the Rotel unit I mentioned, I just acquired a nice "mid-fi" universal player (Yamaha S2300), and I've had an "el-cheapo" DVD player that also does DVD Audio for about half a year now (Please don't laugh -- Toshiba's $200 player. It's actually a cool little entry-level unit - surprisingly solid!). I haven't plugged in the S2300 yet - just got it out of the box, and I'm still waiting on delivery of the Rotel.

As an incurable geek, when a whole new media format comes out and at least appears to have staying power, I eventually just can't resist! Most of what I buy will remain solely content based, but when something I really like comes out in a higher-res format, I've got to check that out, too.

If SACD isn't quite up to audiophile-level CD "standards" yet, you can just about bet the farm that it eventually will be. One would have to argue against basic laws of physics to say that a lower resolution will beat a higher one, if all other factors are equal. (And they're not equal right now, hence the debate.) I think converters will get better and better, and eventually even smoke the Lector and some of the other killer CD players mentioned in this thread.

For now, I consider SACD and DVD-A to be in the experimental stage. Which is partially why I also picked up the Rotel player as sort of a reference. (I've actually heard from a couple of different sources that the Rotel does out-perform several SACD players, including the S2300. I'll have to compare it with my own ears, though.) However, I think this will be the last big blow I make on digital tech for a while. (Still drooling over that Lector unit though...)


Jack G:

...only DSD recorded SACDs really sound significantly better than redbook...

From what I've seen so far, it looks like DSD is the "standard" format for SACD. So you're referring to DSD-sourced recordings as opposed to conversions from analog or PCM (if that's being done), correct?

OK, I'll stop hijacking the thread. Although it sounds like we've beaten the "decent CD player" topic pretty much to death now anyhow.

- John
 
OK, so it's just my confusion with the terminology. Cool, my digital vocabulary is expanding - thanks again for the info!
LOL. This has been the most fun I've had all day. :banana:

Too late! Along with the Rotel unit I mentioned, I just acquired a nice "mid-fi" universal player (Yamaha S2300), and I've had an "el-cheapo" DVD player that also does DVD Audio for about half a year now

That's cool. by all means go for it. My JVC DVD player does DVD-As, but its in my HT system, not my main audio system. I got it because its all region with progressive scan. I don't own any DVD-As.

If SACD isn't quite up to audiophile-level CD "standards" yet, you can just about bet the farm that it eventually will be. One would have to argue against basic laws of physics to say that a lower resolution will beat a higher one, if all other factors are equal. (And they're not equal right now, hence the debate.)
ALL else being equal, a GOOD (DSD) recording on SACD will beat a good redbook, but all else isn't always equal. There are some good recordings coming out these days on SACD, mostly new classical albums, DSD recorded.
If something I want is available on SACD, I WILL buy the hybrid, just in case I buy another SACD player in the future.

So you're referring to DSD-sourced recordings as opposed to conversions from analog or PCM (if that's being done), correct?
correct.

Its been fun.
enjoy,
Jack
 
There's quite a few nice, mid-priced CD players right now. The Music Hall MMF-25 has received very good reviews. It's about $500 and all aluminum, with a very cool round blue display. Much classier looking that your typical Asian black box. The new one from Rotel is very nice, too.

Depending upon how much you want to spend, the Eastern Electric Minimax has gotten great reviews. It's very attractive in it's aluminum case, and it has a tubed output stage.

The Ah!Tjoeb player is a modded Marantz that's been raved by the A-phile press. Lots of options including upsampling. It's black but classy, and uses tubes in the output.

My feeling is that DSD doesn't really do the high frequencies as well as PCM. The big advantage of SACD, IMO, is the MC output. With stereo discs I've never really heard any advantage to DSD. SACD isn't really doing particularly well anyway, and you'll probably never have access to a really comprehensive catalog for that format.

No biggie anyway, though. I'm a big fan of MC music, but short of that Redbook has really gotten good. There's never been a better time to buy a CD player, and your dollar buys more performance than it ever has before in the history of digital.
 
I like Mariah Carey too, despite all the flak she gets. I saw her before she was a STAR. singing in Carole King's band as a guest artist during the "City Streets" tour in Boise in 1988 or '89 at the Morrison Center Carole said that, "You've never heard this person before, but you will remember her soon." I didn't remember the name until years later I recalled that incredible high, perfectly pitched squeal--insanely high!

What the hell any of the rest of it means, I have no clue. But it's okay, don't explain it to me. It'll be like finding a good Quad LP is now in 10 years. Oh yeah, I've never seen one in person.... :scratch2:
 
john_w said:
If SACD isn't quite up to audiophile-level CD "standards" yet, you can just about bet the farm that it eventually will be. One would have to argue against basic laws of physics to say that a lower resolution will beat a higher one, if all other factors are equal. (And they're not equal right now, hence the debate.) I think converters will get better and better, and eventually even smoke the Lector and some of the other killer CD players mentioned in this thread.

Hi John,

Theoretically speaking, you're absolutely right. However, Sony has not made it very easy for smallish high-end audio manufacturers to jump on the SACD bandwagon. And several of these smallish firms, with their "out-of-the-box" thinking, happen to be the very ones that seem to have accomplished the impossible - namely, to make Redbook CD playback sound nearly as natural and organic as vinyl playback.

I have no idea what the future will bring when it comes to digital audio. For the time being, though, I'm at least as satisfied with my sub-$2K Lector CD player as I would be with any pricey SACD player. After all, there are FAR more well-recorded CDs than well-recorded SACDs out there, and the Lector allows Redbook CDs to give SACDs a real run for their money given the current technology...

Cheers,
Brian
 
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