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CD player recommendation

dnewma04 said:
In their respective price ranges, I have always preferred Arcam CDPs to the alternatives on the market. Not sure if there are any local dealers for you, though.
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I always forget about Arcam and I shouldn't. They really are excellent.
 
Whats your take on SACD and upsampling....?? I noticed the DV137 is an sacd player and the cd192 upsamples....
 
My local shop deals Arcam, the CD192 is great and on par with Cambridge, Rega, etc...

Art is quite correct, for RBCD get an RBCD player. Universal players are fine for experimenting with multi channel on a dime.
 
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The DV series is nothing to shy away from IMO. Arcam put a lot of focus on making them perform very well with CD playback. If you can find a nice local deal on a cd192, I'd jump in it. But if not, and a dv137 appears, I'd encourage you to take a listen before dismissing it out of hand.
 
In the last 3 years, I've read reviews that said approximately 493 different CD players were the best player under 5k. Who do I believe? I suppose I just have to listen to as many as I can and decide for myself.
 
dnewma04 said:
In the last 3 years, I've read reviews that said approximately 493 different CD players were the best player under 5k. Who do I believe? I suppose I just have to listen to as many as I can and decide for myself.
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Very valid point. If you happen to be familiar with the reviewer, over time, you can sort of judge for yourself how much credence to put into a given remark.

I did listen to a ton of CD players, and the 840 has been the best I've heard. I had a Sony XA 5400, but after hearing the 840, sold the XA5400.

To be sure, it's VERY subjective at best. I thin it also depends on one's overall playback setup.
 
dnewma04 said:
The DV series is nothing to shy away from IMO. Arcam put a lot of focus on making them perform very well with CD playback. If you can find a nice local deal on a cd192, I'd jump in it. But if not, and a dv137 appears, I'd encourage you to take a listen before dismissing it out of hand.
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Generally speaking you can find a far better redbook player for the price of any compromise DVD player. If you were not to find a CD192 for instance there are still a plethora of other fine makes that will outperform most DVD players for redbook cd playback. That was my point. If you must have an Arcam that may be different. But Arcam has made quite a number of great CD players. Their current generation is excellent. The FMJ CD17 is flat out excellent, but costly. Certainly the DV 137 will be better than the budget Marantz player but I'd still set my sights on a good stand alone player...

That said, dnewma04 is right that the DV 137 is a standout in it's category.
 
I just ordered a FMJ CD17 and it comes in next week....I will test it against the Maranatz SA-1. Back in 2001 it sold for around $7500. I will let you know what i find. Will it be the 41 lbs monster that is built like a battleship....or the high technology model?
 
Art K. said:
Generally speaking you can find a far better redbook player for the price of any compromise DVD player. If you were not to find a CD192 for instance there are still a plethora of other fine makes that will outperform most DVD players for redbook cd playback. That was my point. If you must have an Arcam that may be different. But Arcam has made quite a number of great CD players. Their current generation is excellent. The FMJ CD17 is flat out excellent, but costly. Certainly the DV 137 will be better than the budget Marantz player but I'd still set my sights on a good stand alone player...

That said, dnewma04 is right that the DV 137 is a standout in it's category.
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Ha...i just read your post.... it was between the CD192, the DV137 and the CD17...after reading a ton today I knew Arcam was my player to go up against the Marantz beast.

A review of what the Arcam is up against...

http://stereophile.com/hirezplayers/271/
 
dnewma04 said:
In the last 3 years, I've read reviews that said approximately 493 different CD players were the best player under 5k. Who do I believe? I suppose I just have to listen to as many as I can and decide for myself.
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Agreed....what marketing team is going to say they are number 2???
 
My money's on the Marantz. A 7k+ Marantz player from 2000 is going to be hard to beat, unless they sunk all the money in the SACD playback. But it's going to be interesting hearing how it all goes down! Do you think you can get a home audition?
 
MeatInStereo said:
Agreed....what marketing team is going to say they are number 2???
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Avis rental cars. They had a very famous (in the ad community) ad campaign in the '60s that boasted "We're #2, so we try harder.". Sorry...it's just a fading memory from ad-school.

And now back to the CD-player showdown! Maybe the #2 rated player will try harder?
 
Home audition? I just bought the CD17 and it will be here next week...I currently have the Marantz SA-1 hooked up to my system and it's very, very sweet. i just wanted to see whats better the high end of yester year...or the the newer high technology player swinging at the big dogs.

I like that slogan... :D
 
Ahh..sorry about that. I missed post 73. This will be very interesting indeed! Have fun...I try to follow along a bit closer this time. I had the same question in my head, as i was going to go with an older Marantz myself or something like an EAD high-end DAC from the late '90s. But having the new Marantz here just seemed to easy and I caved. I never got to make the comparison! But I'm still curious as to the outcome because I have two systems.
 
Ha...no worries....sometimes i post the same stuff over again because i'm not paying attention.

I will say this...the Marantz will be hard to beat. I wont give too much away before the review but its literally like listening to music with your hands covering your ears a standard run of the mill player compared to listening to this player.
 
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