i want a dull, caramel colored cd player any ideas

Mr Tennis -

Do Try a Jolida CD Player. I have one. It is a very warm sounding player. Even moreso if you put a mair of Mullards in it. I would also try a Rega cd player, as they have a quite warm "house sound," which is strange to me, because their turntables are very different.

However - given your taste, I wonder why you are not an analog guy? A VPI table with a Koetsu or even Grado cartridge sounds right up your alley.

Mrtennis - Can you let us know what players are in the running in your quest for dullness? Yes, this is an unsual request. Good Luck.

I do understand what are you talking about. since day one of CD, i was thinking of them as sharp as hell medium. during the years every generation of CD players have better sharpness, resolution, details and so on, which makes them up until now pretty unlistenable and harsh. when I read reviews which have spoken about 'clear sound' of a certain CD player I know it is a signal to avoid such thing. CD's are too much clear in nature, so i don't understand why people even today are chasing clearer and more detailed sound. return of tubes is a sign of something is gone wrong with that sound.

well, i can tell how slow, soft, warm, boring, and rolled off sound has Audio Analogue Primo CD. it is 18-bit machine and it will not offend you in any way.

hi tubemiser:

i am considering a granite audio 657, a unison unico and someone suggested a jolida.

i'm beginning to realize that the best i can get, is a cd player that is balanced, without any undue emphasis upon any part of the frequency spectrum.

i am focusing on tubed cd players because there is a chance that finding a nos tube might create some subtractive coloration, especially with respect to high frequencies.

my experience at CES and Stereophile shows, tells me that 24/192 players with up sampling will only highlight the flaws of bad recordings.

most cd players today are 24/192, including the jolida, so i have to hope that the right tube can partially compensate for the high resolution of current cd players.

i also realize that most audiophiles like the high resolution format, so i ahev been criticized somewaht for taking a very unpopular position.

hopefully, as i explain myself and people get to hear some of my comments they will realize i not trying to a non conformist for its own sake.

The Unison Unico and Jolida are both 24 bit/192 Khz upsampling CD players. Are you now open to other bit rates than 20 bit?