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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
dayglow
708 posts
 
Ayre components are designed to sound best balanced?
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
6,996 posts
 
Sunnyjim,
You've have gotten good recommendations and I understand your view on analog LPs for your circumstances. I strongly agree with the choice of the Modwright modified Oppo 105 and 2nd choice the 95 model. I find these two a little better than the Sony Mod (but it's still very good!). For your stated budget the modified Oppo offers wonderful sound that's natural rather than typical digital "hifi"(Esoteric for example) . You'll also have terrific medium flexibility (if that is important to you). With this unit I doubt that you will miss your turntable much at all. Superb value for the money spent. IMO the Modwright out performs quite a few more expensive players.
Good Luck,
Charles,
tonykay
856 posts
 
Sunnyjim,

I second Brownsfan's suggestion that you audition the new Sony digital HAPZ1 player. I listened to one through Audeze LCD-3 headphones and I was shocked at the resolution. The unit does it all, and it's portable. Before you add another CD player, have a listen! It may be your last purchase.
lewm
6,770 posts
 
Sunnyjim, If you never intend to buy another LP, then scrap your vinyl set-up or keep a minimal one for playing your small collection. If you ever leave Hawaii for a vacation on the West Coast, you ought to be able to haul back a few LPs from a high quality re-saler in SF or LA. Just a thought.

You mentioned the Ayre cdp. I own a C5XeMP. All Ayre gear that I know of is said to sound best via balanced inputs and outputs, not via "unbalanced". Perhaps that was a typo, as I don't believe your Rogue gear offers balanced inputs in any case. But that issue is no reason to avoid Ayre products. They're excellent, but so are the Sony XA5400ES and the Oppo BDP105 (or the even cheaper BDP83 SE, on the used market), for less money.
agiaccio
147 posts
 
What about the all-new Rega Saturn-R CD player (roughly $3,000 US).

It comes with a built-in DAC should you ever decide to get into digital downloads or invest in a digital streamer/player.

http://the-ear.net/review-hardware/rega-saturn-r-cd-playerdac
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