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CD player suggestions

S

shane2468

Active Member
Hi,

Can anyone recommend me some good CD players that can go well with my system set up. I like CD players that are Deep, Detailed and Dynamic sounding. My NAD and Rotel combo tends to sound very warm and silky, so it's best looking at a CD player that has a little bright sound too. But not harsh!!

I was maybe thinking off the Linn or Naim CD players. Am I going in the right direction?


My system set up,

TDL Studio 0.75 M speakers

NAD C272 power amp

Rotel RC-03 Pre amp

Michell syncro turntable.
 
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Have you looked at the Cambridge units? The 640 is very well thought of, and the two upsampling models, the 740 and 840, are getting raves. I heard the 840 and it did seem a bit bright, but I am used to McIntosh gear so that might skew me a bit. But there was no arguing with the enhanced level of detail from the upsampling. It was really spectacular. Cambridge gear is well made and reliable. I have a 540D DVD player in one of my systems and have been very happy with it, especially its audio.
 
If you're lucky someone else who is using the Rotel RC-03 will chime in here. I have a theory that the difference we hear between one CD player and another has more to do with the output impedance and voltage being a good match for your preamp than it does anything else. In other words, synergy. Which means that the best CD player for you may be the same one that I think sucks!
I'm not saying all CD players sound alike. I'm just saying the differences are minor compare to good synergy.
 
chathamdad said:
Have you looked at the Cambridge units? The 640 is very well thought of, and the two upsampling models, the 740 and 840, are getting raves. I heard the 840 and it did seem a bit bright, but I am used to McIntosh gear so that might skew me a bit. But there was no arguing with the enhanced level of detail from the upsampling. It was really spectacular. Cambridge gear is well made and reliable. I have a 540D DVD player in one of my systems and have been very happy with it, especially its audio.
Click to expand...


I don't think cambridge will be my cup of tea. Thanks anyway.
 
Thanks for the reply people, For other people looking at this thread please suggest me some more CD players. What about Linn's new Majik CD player?


Nice one thanks.
 
I beg your pardon I'm so sorry, Yes I have just seen this CD player on the NAD site. Is it the top of the range model?
 
Seeking synergy

Chazb11 said:
If you're lucky someone else who is using the Rotel RC-03 will chime in here. I have a theory that the difference we hear between one CD player and another has more to do with the output impedance and voltage being a good match for your preamp than it does anything else. In other words, synergy. Which means that the best CD player for you may be the same one that I think sucks!
I'm not saying all CD players sound alike. I'm just saying the differences are minor compare to good synergy.
Click to expand...
Your theory indicates that objective parameters can be compared to help achieve optimal source/preamp pairings.
Would you elaborate, please? Trial & error can be fun if you have the funds and time. Being short of both, I would be very interested in learning a quicker, cheaper road to....synergy.
 
Cheapest road to synergy is through listening to others systems and/or borrowing bits of kit from friends to try in your system. Impedance and load matching is a black art for most unless you can get the MFG to give you a LOT of design info?

I have run ROTEL gear in the past, but not your pieces. I can say it has a different sensitivity to input than say my Mitsubishi gear. But how any two bits will co-operate is still trial and error :(

I bought a little Onkyo DVD player with Burr-Brown DACs, up-sampling and all disk capability. It was available in silver which is somewhat important to me. It sounds very good. As good as a dedicated CD player, probably not. But at a less that $300, it was a good experiment. It was good enough so that I decided not to look any further. BUT, you need to know that I put my emphasis into vinyl & tape, not CDs.
 
I'm playing an old Nakamichi CD-200 (5 disc carousel), and it's sounded better than the rest of them I've tried. But it's starting to act up, so I'm also in the market for something new in the next year (don't have a penny to my name at the moment).

In my research, I've heard the NAD CD players stick on the uptake after just a few months of use. Others have said Rotels are nice, but very system-dependent.

My experience in digital playback causes me to lean towards tubes. I used to be a musician, and was always upset by the poor representation of our horn section on recordings: that is, until our recording engineer introduced a tube into the mix (an Avalon something or other - I think it was an A-D converter). Since then, I realized you need a tube or two if you want horns and strings and percussion to sound REAL.

That said, I've heard the tubed Music Hall and it's quite nice, but certainly more expensive than the NADs and Rotels. But with the addition of just one tube in the digital mix, you can obtain a much more natural and realistic sound - especially listening to real instruments like saxes, vibes, etc..

Someday, that's what I'm going to get. Right after I pay back Kegger $25 bucks for his opinion on cheap beer.
 
I've also read good things about the solid state Music Hall CD 25.2 (or whatever the current offering is called) for $600 (list price, probably $450 street price).

Anyone have experience with these?
 
shane2468 said:
Hi,

Can anyone recommend me some good CD players that can go well with my system set up. I like CD players that are Deep, Detailed and Dynamic sounding. My NAD and Rotel combo tends to sound very warm and silky, so it's best looking at a CD player that has a little bright sound too. But not harsh!!

I was maybe thinking off the Linn or Naim CD players. Am I going in the right direction?


My system set up,

TDL Studio 0.75 M speakers

NAD C272 power amp

Rotel RC-03 Pre amp

Michell syncro turntable.
Click to expand...

Depends, which NAD CD player do you have now?

If you have the NAD C542, that is a fine player, and a big improvement over the C521i, if what you have is the C521i.

If you have the C542, I can tell you first hand that it can be modified for BIG improvement. If you don't want to try the modding route, I can heartily recommend the Creek EVO CD player. Well worth the grand (about) it'll set you back.

I haven't had a chance to hear the Linn or NAIM players.

If you want to try used, and I don't know how much they go for on the used market at all, but last night I did a house-call repair on an older Sonic Frontiers Transport 3, and its accompanying DAC. All I can say is: :jawdrop::drool::ntwrthy:
 
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