$1200 vs $200 cd players


hi, i am new to 2 ch audio.

i have borrowed a $1200 arcam cd82 and comparing it to a $200 sony dvd/cd player. switching between audioquest & highwire (brand) digital coax into my sony es2000 amp. speakers are proac tablettes. i cant hear a major difference playing cd's....is it the amp? music style? or is the difference not that big? i'm just trying to justify the purchase of the cd players....are the differences in equipment/sound mainly personal preference? what should i be looking for to jusitfy the cost?
i listen to jazz and electronic music.

thanks
128x128jupiterfish
Some inexpensive players sound fantastic for what you pay for them. Having said that, some more expensive players & digital combo's add more refinement at most every level of performance. While i'm not directly familiar with the Arcam gear, what i know about it tells me that there is a "bottleneck" somewhere in your system. By no means am i saying that the Sony is a piece of junk, only that i would tend to believe that the Arcam "should be" superior in an audibly discernable manner. If you can't tell a difference, then i can't see any reason to justify the expense of changing components. Spending more money to upgrade without an audible improvement isn't "upgrading", it's just wasting money at this point in time. Then again, there are those that enjoy spending money and buying esoteric gear. To them, the gear is as important as the sound and investment made. To me, the bottom line has always been the best performance for the buck, brand names be damned. Sean
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I compared a $2000 Lynn, can't remember the model name thank goodness, to my Rotel RCC-955 5 disc changer and couldn't identify much difference. What a disappointment--I almost gave up thinking that digital really does sound the same no matter how much you spend, so why spend more?

Then, I auditioned an Ayre Cx-7 at $3000. Man, the difference was incredible! I also tried a Cary 306-200 and Resolution Audio Opus 21--all amazing players that offer significant improvement over what I had been accustomed to with the Rotel. I eventaully purchased the RA Opus and am enjoying my Cd collection like never before.
Am I the onlly one who sees the issue here??

The question is REALLY what's the difference between $200 and $1200 TRANSPORTS! He's using the digital out to his Sony.... I would suspect you would hear little difference.

I also suspect the analog outs would be substantially different.

Jupiterfish... try using the analog stereo outs from these two players into the analog ins on you amp and see what you think.
maxxc-can you provide addition info. on you eastsound CD player?
Im in the market for a new player and I see there is one for sale here.
I can find no info. on this company.
Do you have a link to their website?
Thanks-
Fool
thanks everyone. even after switching to the analog out, it was much of a difference. my conclusion is that its the wrong time to compare cd playr w/ this sony amp....so maybe after i got a more musical amp then this would make more of a difference.

thanks again