Hello I am new on this board . I also happen to be lookin at new cd players which is turning out to be harder than I thought due to nobody stocks anything anymore and living in a trendy as hell city where apparently I don't want a cd player I wanna bluray or music streamer (funny thatz newz to me!) . Here's is what I need your thoughts on cd players that you are between $400 - $600 .
If I could actually find one I would listen to the new Parasound Zcd but of course here in ipod Hell I can't find one to listen to ! so far I have only found a NAD C515BEE which was good but I wouldn't buy it without a comparison to something else such as the Freekin Parasound ! so if you recently listened to the NAD C546BEE or the Parasound ZCD Please share your thought's .
What to, and how are you planning to connect the CD player?
If your preamp or what ever device you own has digital inputs, then it will not matter, what and what type of digital disc player you buy.
If you are going to make an analog connection, then you need any player with competently designed analog circuitry.
I would avoid the Not Always Dependable NAD units. I recommended one not long ago, and it is history already.
You will not hear a difference between competently designed units. Often a very cheap unit will sound excellent. I bought a Sony DVD player a while back and it plays CDs superbly. Just as well as my expensive offerings.
In fact lower priced units tend to reject less discs, and there is data on that from Hyperion. They have data to show that a players ability to play a wide range of discs is in inverse proportion to cost.
I personally don't think there is much market now for stand alone CD players. I really doubt I would ever buy one again. I have sold all mine except one, and only use the transport function of the one I have. I no longer have an analog connection to it.
Audio and video are now for ever intertwined. Also the trend to all digital units and only digital interconnection will accelerate.
So yes, DVD and now Blue Ray players have the economy of scale. In addition to playing your CDs superbly, you can also have a superb picture with BD. I find that a truly wonderful tick in the plus ledger.
I doubt I will ever buy another opera CD set. It is BD discs almost exclusively for opera, with the odd DVD of special merit. The audio fidelity of BD is truly something to behold.
In conclusion listening to a player in a store is a complete waste of time.
Your speakers will dominate the sound. Listening to a player through different speakers in a different space will tell you nothing.
Just do your home work and buy a player on the NET, like everybody else.
