Agreed aolprodj
Naim does make very nice cd players. I have often thought about that company not getting into the SACD end of development. I have always wanted to audition the 555 top-of-the-line spinner.
Happy Listening!
New or Old CD Player?
Let's say I have $5K, tops, to buy a CD player. I don't need digital inputs, outputs, etc. I don't need to spin SACD's. I only intend to play Redbook CD's and want a one-box solution. Would my money be better spent on a new unit, like maybe a Hegel Mohican? Or should I buy a component that was close to state of the art a decade ago? Like maybe a Simaudio 750D, or an Audio Research Reference CD8? Thoughts?
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@trelja "I cannot recommend the Hegel Mohican... Like the rest of their players, it simply comes off as a rebadged Opera Audio Consonance CDP, typical of that outfit's efforts in the first 5 years of this millennium. At $5000, you're spending 2X - 5X for machines that proved historically unreliable and more than decade old technology." Based on the internals @twoleftears provided, I must reiterate my non-recommendation of the Hegel Mohican. Comparing the rear panels of the Consonance CD120 Balanced shows what appears the reintroduction of a $1000 machine, discontinued 12 years ago with a new faceplate, digital output, downgraded CD mechanism, and going completely against better and better digital becoming more and more affordable, a price tag 5X higher than it used to be http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649267251-consonance-cd120-balanced/images/1202196/ https://www.stereolifemagazine.com/news/item/1235-hegel-mohican Personally, I find this dirty pool. And I'm going to call it out. I have a lot of experience with the original. In no way do I feel it's not an excellent sounding CD player. At its price point, it bettered most of its competitors. And for a few hundred dollars, I heartily recommend anyone to move forward, and would even feel happy to have one myself. But $5000 bought much better performance then (even within the Consonance lineup itself via the Reference and Droplet models) and even more so today. Indeed, Mohican seems the appropriate moniker |
I've owned the Audio Research Reference 8 CD player for a couple weeks now. I figured I should at least give a few words on how I think it sounds. First I dropped it into my Big Rig to get a feel for how it performs. It is highly musical and does nothing offensive. The highs are a touch restrained over my beloved Berkeley Alpha Reference 2 DAC. There's not quite as much air or three-dimensionality as with the Berkeley. The mids are smooth and a bit more pronounced than the Berkeley. The biggest difference is in the bass, where the AR gets a little wooly and not as tightly pitch defined. So, as an absolute, it would not displace my Berkeley DAC. But if the Berkeley is a 10, I'd give the Reference 8 a solid, um, 8.5. But in my headphone rig, where if a recording is too hot on top, it'll blister your ear drums, the Ref 8 filters out a lot of that, resulting in a more enjoyable performance. I find it just about perfect for headphone listening. Musical and quite accurate. And a word on tube testing. I test ALL tubes with a Hickok 6000A tester before use. One of the triodes within one tube that came with the AR had a Significant loss in transconductance, about half output of the others. I had a spare 6h30 tube and used it. I don't know how much degradation in sound that one tube would have had. But it couldn't have possibly been positive. |
No, I did not buy the review sample. I am still waiting on delivery (soon) (I am paying for a new machine, I want a new machine) I just took an old Technics DVD-A10 from the closet. It is the only working RCA digital out CD spinner I have working... I want one RCA and one Toslink drive.(I am wondering about the HDMI input.. Have to see if my DVD players HDMI can connect and play CDs? As I wrote, My main plan is to play other machines through the Marantz SA-10 most of the time. (Saving the Marantz drive for special occasions) that way I figure the player will be the last $$$$ disc player I will ever buy... and even if the disc spinner died after warranty and no parts.. The Marantz as DAC will still be good.) |
I think there are many more combinations to choose from if you go with separates. It will probably be cheaper to just upgrade the dac later than to replace a whole player. There is still innovation around dacs and reclockers. And many dace has usb inputs which makes streaming easier in the future. If it's important with a single box then you should of course get one anyway. |
After reading several people's recommendation for the Cambridge CXC player I bought one. Audio Advisor was out of stock but I bought one from Crutchfield for the same price. $449 delivered. I must say it is a great player and I am very appreciative of the recommendations. It replaced a Marantz. Thanks |
I have never heard a $ 5000 CD player so I definately dont know what I am missing. When my CD player broke I found a W4S Music Server with a 1 GB SSD on ebay for $ 1000. When I replaced my CD player I found the CD's I ripped onto the Music Server sounded a lot better than from a new Marantz CD player. I also was able to explore HiRez files and DSD. I have 2 DAC's that sound very different that I like each in their own way that I switch between. I ripped all my CD's, my kids CD's, my bothers CD's and my brother in Law's CD and still have 300 MB space left. I have a crappy little app on my iphone to control the player that lets me change music as fast as my fingers fly. Its kinda nice. |
For the Marantz SA-10 available to audition... Audio Emporium in Brown Deer (suburb of Milwaukee) Wisconsin. He mentioned to call to ask for an audition. The player may not be in the store.. So call to arrange for listening session. As for old DACs and players sounding pretty good? I totally agree great sounding players are around. (and some that sound terrible!) but it is pretty easy to get decent sound off CD. I was happy with what I had for many years. But I am awaiting the arrival of my new Marantz SA-10 And the upgrade in sound, for $7000 is subtle. and a little hard to justify to myself on the money side (being a cheapskate) But it seems enough of an upgrade in sound (particularly the treble, and I am a treble nut) to go for it. I spent $7000 for upgrades on cables with almost the same amount of ’up’.. So I can justify it to myself. |
Hi..I would echo many of the other comments; - Esoteric - Rega - Audio Note I'm a vinyl guy with some 1200-1500 Redbook CDs that I enjoy on my over 20 year old $425 Jolida 601 Tube CD player with Telefunken 12AX7s....really sounds great and has been reliable except for the replacement of a fuse 2 years ago. |
My suggestion is to get a Cary Audio CD303/300 192kHz/24 bit HDCD player. It plays redbook CDs very well. List priced at $4500 circa 2004-2008, you can find a used one for between $1K and 1.5K. It is versatile, allows for different flavors with it’s upsampling feature. Plus, it has two 12au7 tube slots where you can add a less bright tube flavor, if you desire. I use the CD303/300 including it’s internal DAC standalone as well as a transport to different DACs. A prime candidate for a DAC which meshes well with the CD303/300 is the later still being made Cary product, the DAC-200ts. This DAC like the CD303/300 also has the two 12au7 tubes slot. It is a mood thing – sometimes using the Cary 200ts with the CD player sounds better than just using the CD303/300 standalone, but either way I prefer using with 12au7s but the latter only turned on in the CD player or DAC but not both. Other variables to consider are which speakers you are matching to the CD source. I have found that both B&W Nautilus 804s and the Fujitsu Eclipse TD-512 near range speakers match well with these Cary products using a McIntosh integrated solid state amp for the 804s and the Yamaha RX-V2700 for the TD-512s. |
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If there is any recommendation I can give than it would be in getting an external DA converter together with a good player. My experiences have been that it is an outstanding improvement. You can spend a reasonable amount of money on the drive, Marantz would deliver good ones, Esoteric probably top end. For the DA section I would go for 1000-1500 USD, personally I can recommend
RME ADI-2 DAC, which is phenomenal. Give it a go and you spend your 5K wisely. |
Elizabeth + 1. I agree that a really good SACD player makes for a great CD player. I have tha Marantz SA-15S-2b and my CDs sound wonderful. Also, Matej Isak of Mono & Stereo feels that outside of the recording studio, he's yet to hear anything better a well recorded CD or SACD on a top grade CD or SACD player. There's still life in them thar CDs. All the best, Nonoise |
+1 for Sony 999ES / Signature Truth modifications by ModWright (superclock, tube output stage with external tube rectified power supply, etc.): https://positive-feedback.com/Issue14/modwright999ES.htm Truly unbeatable. Say what you will. I have still not heard better yet. |
FWIW, I have a Marantz SA-11 Mk 2, modied with a vacuum tube output by Underwood HI-Fi. About 8 years old - about $4-5k then. Nothing I’ve heard in my system bests it so far. Also have a Cambridge cd deck feeding a Mytek Brooklyn dac. Sound is different, but most people prefer the Marantz. Tried to sell it once for 2500, but wound up keeping it. Hope Audio Research works for you. |
2psyop, I was open to suggestion, and still am. The CD8 made sense for the reasons I detailed earlier. But I still have not heard the unit, and that's what matters. If, for some reason, I don't like the CD8, I will sell it and again be in the market for a CD player. Besides, I think its been an interesting discussion thus far. |
I auditioned a Marantz SA-10 SACD player this past week. I am mainly interested in it for the fact it has Toslink and RCA digital inputs. The Marantz SA-10 does the decoding in DSD, even for CD data. I am not a big or even mild SACD user. The main joy if the device is playing back CDs on another machine, and using the Marantz as a DAC. Redbook never sounded so good. I AM buying one. Just to play CDs through it from other machines! I am just mentioning this to say do not overlook SACD machines in the quest for a great Redbook CD player. |
@twoleftears WOW, indeed! On the other hand, you do get a few upgrades for the additional $4000 Hegel charge for this player: a more sculpted faceplate with the three buttons on each side combined into one, a different digital out connection, and the Sony CD assembly. Oh wait, that last one might be a downgrade. Dont get me wrong, the CD120 Balanced put forth an excellent sonic presentation for its $1K price point. Just that seeing them go for $300 would upset me had I just dropped $5K on the rebranded one. Somehow, this company skates by this stuff, and their continued growth shows they know more than me |
@trelja Wow! Just wow. Photos of innards of the Consonance and the Mohican. Anyone can compare.... http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/consonance/hero_cdp.jpg http://hifiknights.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Mohican19-820x547.jpg |