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Sell quality turntable to buy top CD player?

NOTE: A THREAD LIKE THIS CAN OFTEN TURN SOME MEMBERS'S RESPONSES Nasty.... HERE IS THE ISSUE:

I HAVE APPROX 55 LP'S. ON AVERAGE THEY ARE IN FAIR TO GOOD CONDITION. I HAVE ALREADY REPLACED A FEW WITH REMASTERED CD'S There are several LP's that date from 1974-85.Some are getting to be noisy with loud pops. In addition I probably only play 20 of my favorites of the 55LP's

My CD collection is nearly three times the size of the LP's. Therefore, I want to make a major CD player upgrade. I am looking at used CD players and have considered, Ayon,( Saturn "R", Esoteric, Naim, Ayre, Krell

I calculate I can sell my TT and cartridge and upgraded power supply for $1100. I would also sell my Rega Apollo for $450-$500. So my slush fund would be $1600.00 and I would kick in another $1000-1100 to buy a used player for approx. $2700 that retailed new for $4500-$5000.

Previously, I have considered the Cambridge Audio 840C and the 851C, and the Sony XA5400ES. Some members have said, these player, may only provide small improvements in the sound quality of standard "redbook" CD's

My integrated amp does have a very good phono stage should I decide to keep 15 of favorite LP's and buy a Project Debut Carbon T/T with cart much later.

"Useful" advice and comments welcome!!!
sunnyjim
metralla
945 posts
 
You only have 150 CDs, which is not a huge collection. I think you would do well with the Sony 5400 which is very good on Redbook, and use the other money to buy some more CDs. With the way people are ripping collections and dumping disks these days, you could get a ton of new music.

But maybe the Sony is not that much better than your Rega Apollo and it would not impress you - although it does do SACD, which you have not mentioned. I like Needfreestuff's suggestion of the EAR or Modwrights. If you could get a used Ayre C-5xe MP for $2700 you would be doing very well.

What is the rest of your system?

Regards,
brownsfan
1,238 posts
 
For less than $2700, you should be able to pick up a used ModWright Sony 5400 or an MW Oppo 95. My guess is, if you want a cd player, either one of those players is going to be hard to beat in that price range if you can wait for one to come up for sale.

If you are willing to go with a computer based system, you might want to think about the Sony HAPZ1. I think most people would be surprised how good this thing is.

BTW, the situation you describe is exactly why I have not invested in vinyl. No nasty comments here.
ebm
5,165 posts
 
Get a Boulder 1021 only 15k used jump on it now!!
czbbcl's avatar
czbbcl
1,699 posts
 
I would do the XA5400ES and then at some point have it modded by Modwright.
mgattmch
372 posts
 
For just over $1k you can buy an Oppo 105. A very versatile multi format player, you name it, it will play that disc format. Sound quality on Redbook CD is excellent, fantastic for SACD and Blu Ray. But best of all, it has an asynchronous USB B input you can connect to a computer and start playing computer audio files, including HD 24/96 and above. This is what I did, using a MacBook Air and Audirvana Plus. I could not be happier with the results. Redbook CD via Audirvana Plus sound better than regular CDs played directly. As for HD 24/96 files, an absolute revelation IMHO, as good as I have ever heard over the last 45 years as an audiophile.
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