CDP suggestions for bright system?

I tend to agree with Redkiwi and Sedond's seconding on this one. Neutrality is the ideal goal. That said, you may want to ask yourself this question. "Do I want the best system possible, realizing the cost and effort may be prohibitive, or am I happy with a very nice sounding system that I enjoy." Neither answer is right or wrong. I think many times we lose touch of the practical in looking for the ideal. If you are looking for an enjoyable, not too expensive option, read along. I had a similar set up with similar findings as you when I started this audio thing many years back. I had an A150 as well and a similar qualtiy CD player. What made a big difference for me was to buy a CAL Icon MKII- used around 400 back then. I think they would be less now. It was a very pleasant addition to the Acurus at a reasonable price. It was a marked improvement over the very thin/tinny sound of my previous CD player. (BTW- that's what I think the weak link in your system is- I think you have already figured it out by your posting). Once I began significant improvements in other components, the CAL left my system for seperates.
If you think you want to spend time building your system piece by piece and experimenting, then the CAL may still be a good deal, as it will probably hold its value if bought used. If you are searching for true audio nirvana, the "as near as possible to the live event", I cannot more stongly agree with Redkiwi's post. Try to get neutral components. Just realize the slippery slope many of us (myself included) are headed down. (Albeit an enjoyable trip).

One more thing Redkiwi alluded to. Room acoustics: If your room has alot of glass, hardwood floors, framed art (with glass), or a lack of soft furniture, this makes a VERY big difference in the sound , turning the sound bright. There have been a lot of threads on room acoustics in the past, done much more eloquently than I can, so check them out. Alot of tweaks in this realm are cheap, and many are visually pleasant as well. That aside, I still think the CD change will help alot. Best of luck and happy listening.

redkiwi,

i can't disagree w/what yure saying, but if widener's only source is cd, then i tink he's kinda stuck, cuz his amplification & speakers are ackshully quite good, at their price-points in terms of sound-quality & neutrality, imho...

that's why i suggested the ase z-man or similar musical-fidelity product. my experience w/the z-man was that it made my cd's listenable w/o really doing anything bad to 'em in regards to losing detail, or negatively affecting neutrality, and it was a cheap fix to my cd-system, where i mostly listen to vinyl & fm-radio anyways. from what i've heard about the cal-audio products, i'm sure they'd do the same, but $100 is less than $400... ;~)

it wasn't until i made a quantum-leap in improving my preamp, that the cd-player was ok on its own, but this costs quite a bit more than widener wants to spend.

while still relatively expensive, a great preamp seems to me the most economical way to get truly decent cd-sound, cuz a comparable leap in cd-player quality (and cost) had no meaningful sonic improvements thru my upgraded preamp. i found that retail $1800 alchemist, or retail $3k resolution audio cd-players offer no worthwhile improvements over my $500 retail nad cd-changer.

while a decent budget system will offer true hi-quality sound for vinyl, i tink yure stuck w/cd-players - either save for a killer preamp, or go on the cheap w/something like a z-man, or a used cal-audio for a bit more $$$. spendy cd-players weren't cost-effective for my system w/a great preamp, i doubt they'd be any more cost-effective in a lower-cost system, imho.

regards, doug

I tend to think that neutrality is relative to one's experience and preference. There are hundred's of people who swear that their $500.00 receiver and $200.00 CD player with stock cables are the ultimate in clarity and neutrality but who am I to judge if that's their experience. In regards to cables, software,room acoustics and sources, I believe this is where you'll find a lot of the brightness and glare originating from. If you upgrade your pre amp, then make sure that you have arteries(I would recommend Harmonic Technologies Truth Link's) that won't pollute or degrade the signals being transmitted. If you have a preference for poor recordings and your choice of software is the CD then you will hear exactly why some hate or prefer not to deal with them in the first place. However, if you have a capable pre amp, along with good sounding DAC's, cabling and good room acoustics, then you should be able to enjoy music on CD and not feel that your teeth are being grinded every time a cymbal splash happens. Is it going to sound like analog? No, not at all but that doesn't mean you can't and won't enjoy CD playback despite all of it's faults.