Comparison Cary 306, Wadia 581, EMM Labs CDSA

Strange observations, Zieman. There have been as many Wadia 581 SEs for sale here as EMM Labs CDSA SE units, perhaps more. Quite a few Cary 306s, too. Frequency or quantity of a particular model appearing on A-Gon isn't necessarily an indicator of customer dissatisfaction. One the contrary, it often means more customers bought more of these models than others. Therefore, more will eventually appear on the used market. You'll find a lot of used Honda Accords and Toyota Camrys, and they are always top-rated.

For the record, both the EMM Labs CDSA SE and Wadia 581 SE are world-class CDPs. Which is better comes down to personal preference.

Krell smoking them all? Depends what you've been smoking , I guess.

I have had the 505 at home for couple of days. I did not really like it - it sounded too bright to my ears. In my system, I much preferred Accuphase DP-78 and ARC Ref CD-7, which I ended up buying. ARC is not SACD capable, so they would left you with DP-78, which also has digital inputs.

Other players that I have also tried (all in MY system !) are: Audio Aero Capitole (all 4 versions, both SE and non SE), MBL1531, Naim CD555, EMM DCC2/CDSD (both SE and non SE), Opus 21 and the latest Accuphase DP-700 (still have it at home). It was quite a quest for me !

Hi Elberoth, can you discuss the differences that cause you to prefer the Accuphase and ARC over some of the others? Curious 1531 owner here....

Arthur,

I will post my impressions in Reference DAC thread - it will be a longer writeup, which just takes time to write.

In short, MBL have had a certain forwardnes in the upper midrange/lower treble, which I did not notice at first, but made me sell the player eventually.

Both CD-7 and DP-78 also have much better resolution than 1531 (I'm talking about HF-air, delicacy and extension here) and deeper soundstage. Be warned though, that CD-7 takes awfully long to break in. I alsmost gave up on him. It really takes off after ~400h. Before that, it sounds like crap - muddy, diffused and grainy.

Thnaks, I look forward to reading your impressions!